Chapter 10

Welcome to Woodbury. It even sounded like a town you would see in a television show. Melissa watched The Governor walk away, wondering how he had accomplished all this.

"Come on, sweetheart. Let's go." Merle said, leading the way.

She followed him and lightly pinched her arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming…or hallucinating. They walked to a three story brick building in the center of the square.

"Your room's in here." Merle pointed to the building with his good hand.

He led her inside the building and up two flights of stairs.

"This used to be a Hotel, as you can probably see." Merle explained as they made their way down a hallway with squeaky wooden floors. "Now it serves as one of our primary residences. This one's your room." He said, pointing just ahead of them.

The door was already open and there was a man standing outside her room in the hallway. He looked like a guard. Merle stood next to him and waited as she took a step inside and surveyed the room. It was perfect. A nicely made up queen size bed, furniture, a few books on the bedside table, a door to a working bathroom and two sets of clothes folded neatly on the bed, just as the governor had promised.

She turned around to face Merle. A look of disbelief on her face.

"It's overwhelming, I know." Merle said without stepping into the room. "Uncomfortable, even, to be living in such comfort all of a sudden."

She nodded.

"Is there anything else you need?" Merle asked.

Anything else? She was speechless.

"Why don't you take a hot shower, get changed and relax a little. I'll have Tony here bring you up a hot meal in a bit. You missed dinner and it's almost curfew, so you'll have to eat in your room tonight."

She couldn't remember the last time anyone had brought her a meal, unless you count the last time she ate next to Daryl days before and he pushed a few bites worth of his dinner onto her plate with his fork. She had looked at him and turned her head, but he refused to acknowledge her rebuttal and stood up to clear his plate. She felt her eyes tear up at the recollection as she surveyed the room once more.

"I'm glad you're here Melissa." Merle said gently. "I'm glad you're safe. I mean that." He nodded to her. He had always felt kind of sorry for her. He never thought she had a chance in hell. Everyone at the camp knew what her father was, but it was none of his business, so he didn't give it much regard at the time.

He gave Tony a look and the two made their exit.

She closed her door and locked it. She turned back to look over her room once again. She didn't even have a prison cell to herself and now she was in her own hotel room. Was this place really as good as it seemed or were they just creating a false sense of security? She was skeptical, but figured she'd take advantage of it for the time being. She was so tired and she couldn't say no to a hot shower, hot meal and a good night's sleep.

She made her way to the bathroom and turned the light on. They had electricity. She hadn't realized it until now. The sun had gone down and she recalled the last time she stood under a working light was when they were on the farm.

On the sink there was a toothbrush wrapped in plastic and a small tube of toothpaste placed in a porcelain cup. On the other side of the faucet was a bar of soap wrapped in paper. She was aware there was a mirror over the sink, but figured she'd better not look in it at the moment. The towels were folded nicely and smelled clean. She gently pulled back the shower curtain and turned on the water. She felt it get warm under her hand.

She removed her clothes that now seemed much filthier than they had earlier and let them fall in a pile on the wood floor. She turned the shower on, stepped in and closed the curtain. It felt wonderful. There was another bar of soap and mini bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the shower. She held her face under the flow of water and rubbed her eyes. She noticed she had dirt under her fingernails. She suddenly felt exhausted. She sat down in the shower. She was overwhelmed, she was tired and she felt homesick. But she didn't have a home. Not really. Her mind raced through everything that had happened that day. Had this really been the same day that started with her and Lori hanging laundry outside?

Lori! Who is going to help Hershel with Lori's delivery?

Maybe she still could. Maybe if she told Merle or The Governor about the prison they would bring her here and she could have the baby in the closest place to a functioning Hospital that was probably left. But something told her not to do that.

She ran one of her hands over her wet hair and rested her head on her knees. She missed her group and feared she would never see them again; that fear magnetized now that she was alone. She missed Daryl. She felt uneasy at the thought of not sleeping in the same room with him anymore. She wondered if he would be looking for her, if he was still alive. She remembered what it had felt like kissing him earlier that day. What it felt like to be held in his arms. How much she liked it and how badly it hurt when he told her it was a mistake. Part of her anger returned at the thought, but most of it was swallowed by the sadness of a new revelation… somehow she'd lost everything she cared about.

Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, she put her face in her hands and cried quietly. She cried for T-Dog, she cried for Sophia, she cried for Daryl, she cried for herself. Not even a warm meal and a hot shower could comfort her tonight.

Okay, so now we know where Melissa has been hiding. Sorry this chapter is kinda short, but the next one is really long and this one felt like it belonged on it's own. Hope it wasn't too depressing with the crying, but to say she's had an overwhelming day would be an understatement.

i'd like to say a big THANK YOU to those of you who are sending me such nice and positive reviews and PM's! It's so great to hear that you all like this story. I have lots of ideas for future chapters and if you've been paying attention you probably know what's coming. Things should get pretty exciting. :)

I'm always happy to listen to ideas and suggestions, so if there's something you want to see happen feel free to PM me.

Thanks again for reading! Bless you all. ;)

Here's my song recommendation for this chapter: Sigur Ros - All Alright.