CHAPTER EIGHT: THE PRESENT

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," Carol said as she guided Callie around the house. She had led her to the spare bedroom that was made up for her stay. As she glanced around the room, she noticed the pristine bed with pillows plumper than she had ever witnessed and bright windows that allowed the golden evening light to stream in. "Fresh towels are in the en-suite."

"Thank you," Callie said appreciatively. "Again… thank you for opening your home to me."

"It's my pleasure," Carol smiled. "You brought Beth home, we can't thank you enough."

"It was nothing," Callie whispered with a smile.

Carol only offered a grateful smile then. "There's fresh clothes in the drawers there. The water is warm if you want a shower or bath. I'll leave you to settle in."

As Carol closed the door leaving Callie alone, the woman looked around at her new room. It felt so strange being in a room with a fresh bed made up when she spent months upon months lying on the hard ground. It was almost foreign, a stark contrast of her very real reality. She moved over to the chest of drawers and looked through the available clothes folded neatly before pulling out a simple jumper, t-shirt and jeans. She then opened the top two drawers that were smaller in length and noticed clean underwear; there wasn't much selection of size, but it was a choice she never had in the outside world.

She moved into the bathroom and switched on the shower. She quickly stripped out of her clothes which she was sure would've crumbled off her body if she wore them for another day. As she stood underneath the warm water; the warmth only lingering on the skin for a moment before it was replaced with the coolness of the dying summer weather.

The cold air clung to her naked body as she scrambled to find a towel. She dried herself quickly before adorning the new clothes. And though the sun outside still shone defiantly despite the changing of day, she laid upon the bed and closed her eyes. Sleep beckoned her in a way it had never done before; as for so long, growing tired had become her enemy. But now… she felt safe for the first time in months.

And though sleep had beckoned her quickly, the dreams were kept at bay. She was able to settle but habit had forced her to be aware of her surroundings; the sounds around her being something she focused on, the movements around her being something she was aware of. So as the evening stretched into night, she found herself falling deeper and deeper into a sleep that her body and mind so desperately needed; one that healed the aching muscles, the tired mind, and kept the anxiety at bay for just a few hours.

She stirred a few times, aware of the change in light in the room, aware of the stillness of the world outside the window, and aware of her calm breathing, but sleep was a drug for her in that moment. As the hours stretched by slowly and she relished in the good night's sleep, she was unaware of the movement outside her bedroom door.

It took her a few moments to realise, and when she did, she cursed herself mentally for being too comfortable too quickly. There were different sounds she had to get used to, but this was something she had heard before; the scuffle of feet upon the floor of a walker or an enemy, the slow and steady movement as if waiting for the best moment to pounce. She opened her eyes and grabbed the knife she'd placed under her pillow just as the door was pushed ajar. She slipped out of bed soundlessly and stepped around the bed, her footing cautious and ready for an attack.

The realness of the new world was something she had found difficult to comprehend; the survival of the fittest, the innate reaction in her body and mind at any potential dangerous situation that arose.

As the door opened further, she watched as the darkened figure masked by the blanket of night entered the room.

"C-Callie?" the soft voice of the young woman she had spent every single day for the last five months with entered her ears.

"Beth? Is everything okay?" Callie discarded the knife on the chest of drawers with a clatter.

"Yeah… no…" Beth began, her voice jumping slightly at the clatter of the knife. "I… I c-can't sleep…"

"It's okay," Callie whispered reassuringly. "You can stay here tonight if it'll make you feel better?"

"Y-yes please," Beth whispered, closing the door. Callie and Beth moved over to the bed and they both laid there in silence. "It's w-weird seeing M-Maggie a-again."

Callie turned her head to Beth's voice, hearing the fear in her voice. "It can be, but it doesn't have to be."

"S-she thought I was dead," Beth whispered sadly. "For ninety… six days, they all thought I was g-gone."

"They saw you get shot in the dead," Callie whispered. "That's tough for people to witness, and a shot to the head isn't something you recover from. But think of it as day one. It's the start of something so wonderful where you can all get to know each other again."

Beth was silent for a moment before she nodded in the darkness.

"And she needs you more than anything now," Callie continued. "She's about to give birth any day now, and your return will mean so much to her knowing her child has their auntie."

"Thank you," Beth whispered, reaching for Callie's hand and Callie squeezed it wordlessly.

They both laid in silence for another moment. They heard people conversing beneath the window and heard the change in the night shift. The whole system of Alexandria was something that Callie had been pleased with since she had first arrived at the community; and from what Rick and Daryl had told her about the threat that Negan had descended upon the safe haven. Negan had been a terrible man who had taken everything and more from them that to know they were now safe from the work of a man so ruthless.

"I kissed Daryl," Beth continued after a moment.

"Wait… tonight?!"

"No… before we were… s-separated," Beth answered honestly. "We sat and spoke tonight and I remembered everything he did for me… and how he never gave up on me no matter what… and I… wanted to kiss him again…"

Callie smiled, remaining silent as she listened to Beth. She thought about the last few months of being on the road with Beth and being in awe of how defiant she was despite the reality she was now living in. She would only speak in written notes for a long time before she was confident enough to know her voice was worthy of being heard. And she had spoke about her family and a man who had protected her with his life; and for a while, Callie hadn't been able to put the puzzles together. His name was one that she struggled to remember but she remembered the sheer defiance of the man as well as a few images she was able to conjure up. Dark, longish hair; blue watchful eyes; and a crossbow.

And it had taken a few weeks for Callie to realise the man Beth was talking about was Daryl.

The very same man who had shown sheer defiance when it came to protecting her; and though his crossbow was missing from his side, the man Beth spoke about was every inch the kind and considerate man she knew.

"You… you brought be back to everyone…" Beth whispered noting the silence coming from Callie. "Why did you put… your life… on the line for… me?"

The truth was never easy and sometimes it became suffocating and completely unavoidable. Callie bit her lip as she tried to figure out the best way to tell Beth, but no matter how she tried to word it make it seem okay, it wasn't. It stung more than she had ever believed it would but this was her reality and there was nothing she could do about it.

But when her voice filled the quiet room, it was like her voice cut through a perfect painting of a perfect world and the realisation began to set it.

"I'm dying."