"You are such an ass," Beth hissed at Remy once Bailey had left the room.
"For waking up?"
"I am so sick of your sarcasm. You ain't funny."
"You're no doll, either, peaches."
"Do not call me that!"
He smirked. "Fine, I won't, sugar."
"Remy." She wanted to shoot his face—off!
"Sweetie? Baby? Boo?"
"Get out."
"This is my room too." He stood up. "And I'm not leaving Bailey alone with you."
"Why not? I can teach her manners! I can teach her respect!"
"You can teach her how to sit around and care for a baby? Useful!" He rolled his eyes. "You're so useless, Beth. You're the type of character people write to kill off."
"You're the kind of character that will be ripped apart by walkers and everybody rejoices!" She grabbed her bag and stormed out of the room. That bastard. She really wanted to kill him. She didn't even care about the consequences. He was rude, disrespectful, had no comprehension whatsoever of the words "my space" or "shut the hell up", and he was without a doubt the biggest waste of human she'd ever seen. How in the hell did she end up sharing a room with him? She'd rather share a room with Carol and Mika. Maybe Daryl would—never switch, because he wants to keep a close eye on Carol. Damn it.
She knocked on Maggie and Glenn's door, shifting her weight off her bad ankle, and she waited. Maggie opened the door and smiled a good morning, letting her inside. "I cannot stand Remy," she erupted. "He is so annoying! He's condescending and the biggest jackass I've ever met. Don't let me ever work with him, because I may just feed him to walkers. Or leave him behind, because he deserves it." She sat down hard on the bed across from Glenn. "Mornin'."
"Morning." Glenn tied his boots and stood up. "I'll go grab breakfast and give you two time to talk." He kissed Maggie before he left, and Maggie closed the door behind him.
"So...Remy?" Maggie sat across from Beth.
"I hate him, Maggie. I haven't even known him that long, and I despise him." She sighed. "He's so irritatin'."
"Who starts?"
"Starts what?" She met her big sister's eyes.
"The arguin'."
"Him."
"Beth."
"Both of us then." She would rather just blame it all on him. She's tried to be nice to him, but the only person he's really nice to is Bailey. Beth's nice to her too, but he still treats her less than human, and it's really annoying. She'd rather he be sexist. She wouldn't mind him being such an ass if he was an ass to everyone, but it seemed like he was only an ass to her when they were alone or no one could hear him. What the hell did she ever do to him?
"I've met Remy. He's seems all right."
"Yeah, seems."
"If he bothers you so much, stay away from him and go to bed early. You can stay with us tonight, okay?"
"I don't want to bother you and Glenn."
"You won't be. Glenn, Rick and Gareth are goin' on a run, so it'll be just us."
"Okay."
"Let's go get breakfast. I'm starvin'."
They joined the others at the picnic area, Sasha and Rosita were helping with the food today, and Abraham was on watch with Rick. Eugene was non-stop talk, but Beth didn't mind. She needed to hear someone else's voice for a while. If Remy so much as looked at her with that stupid, arrogant smile on his face, she really would kill him.
––
"Carol." Daryl shook her, and her eyes snapped opened. "It's mornin'. Breakfast's ready."
She sat up slowly, Mika was waiting by the door, and she glanced at him. "Take Mika. I'll be there shortly."
"We can all go together," Mika assured her.
"I think I'm going to take a shower first, though."
"Oh." Mika looked at Daryl. "Are you coming?"
"Be right there." Daryl sat on his bed, adjusting the knife in his boot.
Mika left the room and ran into Carl and Michonne. She didn't bother to ask where they were going. She wished there were more kids around here. She and Carl weren't friends at the prison. She didn't want to be his friend just because she was the only one around his age either. At this rate, she'd only have Bailey. Bailey was a strange too. A good strange though, not...messed up.
"Hey, Mika."
She turned to face Carl. "What?"
"Have you ever played Foosball?"
"Once," she replied. "Before the Q.Z. was overrun. Why?"
"They have one here. I found it but not a partner. Wanna play after breakfast?"
She smiled a little. "Sure."
Michonne smiled down at Carl when Mika fell out of sight, and he looked at her. "What?"
"You can be such a softie." She lightly hit him with her hand.
"What?" he scoffed.
"Uh-huh."
He wished that was true. He still felt like a monster. He only offered to cheer her up. She'd been so down for the past few days. She barely smiled. He knew it was because of Lizzie. Carl couldn't imagine losing someone like that. He knew Lizzie was different, but he didn't think she was that different. He could see her being a serial killer if the world hadn't gone to hell. It was horrible to think of her like that since was dead, but it was probably true.
Carl glanced over then stopped. He saw Remy talking to Bailey, hidden by some barrels, and the girl was nodding. She had a look on her face that told Carl she wasn't really listening—he used to have the same look when his mom would complain about his room—and she finally sighed and told him yes in an annoyed tone. Carl wondered what they were talking about.
"What are you looking at?"
He looked over at Mika. "I thought you were hungry."
"I wanted to see if Bailey was coming. She's not with the others."
"Shit." Carl grabbed Mika's wrist and they hid behind barrels behind. "Shh." He looked through the crack between the barrels, seeing Remy checking out the area and approaching Gareth. Carl noticed Bailey was gone now. What's going on?
"You haven't reported in," Gareth hissed at Remy. "Do you have any idea how fucking worried I was?"
"I'm sorry, but she's my responsibility," Remy shot back. "Not you or this twisted little shithole."
"Remy, don't push me. You may be my brother, but I can't control everything. Mary's been keeping a close eye on the people you came with, and she's categorizing you with them."
"Am I supposed to care?" Remy crossed his arms. "I'd rather be with Carol and the others."
Mika gasped when Gareth slammed Remy into the wall hard, his hand tightly locked around Remy's neck, and Carl covered her mouth with his hand, holding her close to him, so she didn't try any heroics. Carl knew something was off between with Mary, Gareth and Remy. They're keeping a close eye on them? Why?
"Ga-Gareth," Remy struggled.
"Shut the hell up," Gareth snapped. "You've been away for quite some time, so I'll let that slide. I won't let you forget your place, baby brother." Remy struggled to break Gareth's grip. "I'm only letting that child stay because you care for her, but you keep this up, and I'll have to rethink my decision."
"Ga...reth—stop." Remy looked like he couldn't breath.
Gareth blinked and dropped Remy, Remy fell to the ground, gasping, but not taking in any air. "Oh, God, Remy." Gareth dropped beside his brother and grabbed an inhaler out of his pocket, helping Remy with it. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, you know how—"
Remy jerked away, glaring at Gareth. "I've done my part. That's all you need from me. Let's keep our relationship business only."
Gareth's eyes flashed, and he stood up. "Fine." He turned and left.
Remy leaned against the wall behind him, coughing and gripping his throat. This job was going to kill him faster than his brother. Next time, he should just kill Gareth and call it a day. They may be brothers, but Remy had nothing but nightmares from their time together. He'd rather have just died when the infection broke out than see what he saw, continued to see. God, help him.
"Remy?" Carol stopped and lowered herself down beside him. "What happened?"
"Nothing. I just needed to sit." He gave a small smile. "It's hard being a vegetarian in this world."
"I wish you'd rethink that." Carol felt bad. He looked like someone had nearly choked him to death. "You look so pale."
Remy averted his eyes. God damn it.
Daryl glanced over when a barely noticeable sound caught his attention. He saw Carl and Mika moving out from behind barrels, and he narrowed his eyes. Why were they hiding? What made them hide? He walked over to them, Mika looked shaken, and Carl wasn't taking his eyes off Remy.
"Don't trust him," Carl said softly.
"I don't."
"Is he okay?" Mika asked.
"He will be." She nodded. "What were y'all doin'?"
"I'm starving." Carl turned to Mika. "Breakfast sounds good. Let's go, Mika." Carl led her away, and Daryl saw Mary walking over to them.
"Remy?" She looked at him with concern. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." He stood up and avoided her touch. "I need to lie down."
"You need to eat," Carol corrected. "You need protein and vitamins."
"If you say so." He followed Carl and Mika.
"You both should eat as well," Mary said to Daryl and Carol.
Carol rose. "Shouldn't you eat?"
"I already have." She smiled warmly at Carol. "I have things I need to take care of. Perhaps you and Beth can help me."
"Not Beth. She's injured, and she needs to stay off her ankle." Carol stepped towards Daryl. "If you need me, I'll be here."
She nodded, watching them as they walked away, and she scoffed softly.
"You ain't goin' anywhere with her," Daryl whispered.
Carol simply walked ahead of him, and he had a feeling she wasn't going to listen to him. If she wanted to be stupid, he would be her shadow until it passed. They needed to talk about what Carl saw, and Daryl didn't trust anyone here that wasn't from the prison. He'd noticed the way Gareth would watch Remy and Bailey, and he knew that look. It was the look of a severely disappointed older brother. Why would Remy not tell them he was related to Gareth? Remy hadn't shown any surprise when they met. Something was wrong here, and their act was fading day by day. It wouldn't be long before Daryl had it figure out.
Rick pulled Glenn and Daryl aside after breakfast, and Carl chose that moment to tell them what happened. They made their conversation seem natural, and Rick wanted Daryl to look into it while they were gone. Rick was going to get to know Gareth on their run, and if it came down to it, only two were returning.
Carol gathered the dirty plates as the others went back to making their signs, doing their chores and broadcasting about Terminus. Mika and Bailey helped her out since she couldn't was them, and to pick them up, she had to set down a bucket and place them inside it with her good hand. Carol saw Tyreese sitting at a table. She walked over to him, setting the bucket on the table. "Is everything all right?"
He lifted his eyes. "No."
"What's on your mind?" She sat down.
"I've been thinking about this for the past few days, and I can't keep pretending like nothing happened."
"Whatever it is, you can tell me," Carol reassured him, setting a hand over his comfortingly. "We were friends?"
"Yeah, we were. That's why I need to ask you: do you remember her?"
"Her who?"
"Karen? She worked with you back at the prison. You were friends with her too."
"I'm sorry. I don't remember a Karen." She could see this person meant a lot to him. She wondered if Karen's last moments were with her, and she was supposed to tell Tyreese something. If that were the case, she wished she remembered, but she didn't. Karen was just a name to her, one she did not know. This poor man. He was hurting, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"You may not remember, but I do." He took a deep breath. "I want you to know I forgive you."
"Forgive me?" Carol was confused. "Forgive me for what?"
"For killing Karen and David."
"What?" Carol stared at him. "Kil—What are you talking about?"
He explained it to her slowly, her gray-blue eyes were cloudy with confusion, and the sound of laughter turned to white noise in her ears. Mika was waiting for Carl to finish his talk with Rick and the others, so she decided to help Carol. She and Bailey were going to wash the dishes since it looked like Carl would be a while. They were having fun with the suds when all of sudden a loud crashing sounded from where Carol and Tyreese spoke.
Daryl, Rick, Glenn and Carl looked at them, Mika and Bailey both yelped in surprise, Gareth and Bob came running and Maggie and Sasha hurried into the dining area as they were on watch and thought walkers had gotten inside. They all saw Carol standing in front Tyreese, plates shattered beside her, and Tyreese was looked at Carol.
"You're insane," Carol stated, speaking softly, but her voice was steadily growing in volume. "I didn't kill anybody—I wouldn't. That makes no sense. Why would I? How could accuse me of something like that?"
"Oh, Christ." Rick pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You're lying." Carol's head was aching, the hole were trying to fit what Ty had told her into the their empty spaces, but it didn't fit. Her head began to throb, and she felt dizzy.
Bob and Daryl hurried over to them, Daryl grabbed Carol by the waist to pull her back, and Bob reached into the small pouch he was carrying and pulled out a syringe, working quickly just in case Carol went hysterical. They'd talked a few times since they arrived at Terminus, and Bob should've told them Carol's memories were completely erased and telling her anything from her past would only confuse her and possible put her and their people at risk. Luckily, Carol was only shaking in Daryl's arms, but she wasn't fighting. She was staring at Tyreese with wide eyes, and Bob injected her with a sedative.
"What did you do?" Daryl hissed toward Tyreese once the drug had taken Carol under, and he picked her up.
"What the hell is going on?!" Gareth demanded.
"It's nothing," Bob lied. "Due to her amputation, she's been having spams, and she must've knocked over the bucket. We'll get this cleaned up."
Gareth slightly nodded, eying Carol's unconscious body in Daryl's arms then Tyreese. "I'll show you where the broom is."
"We ain't done," Daryl told Ty before he took Carol away.
"Carol?" Bailey and Mika followed Daryl.
"Is she okay?" Mika walked ahead to get the door for him.
Once inside their room, he set her on the bed. "She will be. She just needs to rest. Go and help the others."
"No. I'll stay with her." Mika climbed onto the bed. "You had to finish talking to Ty anyway." She scooted closer to Carol then looked at Daryl. "Go."
Daryl nodded and hunted down Ty. He was in the front yard with Bob, Glenn and Rick. He kept his temper in check, because he knew something was off with Mary and Gareth. He didn't want them to know about Carol. Them or anyone else from their group who didn't already know. He had a feeling this would news to Glenn, if he stayed long enough.
"Why would you do that?" Glenn asked Ty softly. "She was just getting to a point where her old memories and these new ones weren't confusing."
Ty said nothing.
"Look, I know you don't like this," Rick told Ty. "I don't either, but you need to adjust. We can't afford to be choosy."
"I know that," Ty finally spoke, "but there are things that need to be said."
"What things? What did you say that made Carol freak out like that?" Glenn searched his face.
"It doesn't matter what he said." Bob interrupted, "Carol can't process the missing memories. Her mind is fragile right now. Hearing whatever you told her may have put her into a catatonic state. It wouldn't take much."
"Catatonic state?" Daryl repeated.
Glenn sighed and ran a hand down his face as Bob nodded. "Let's hope that won't happen."
"Let's hope she forgets talkin' to you," Rick mumbled at Ty.
Glenn saw Maggie enter the yard with a rifle, giving him a look to tell him they were on watch, and he joined her by the fence. Tyreese left Rick, Tyreese and Daryl to talk, and as Rick slowly walked away, Daryl asked Bob about Carol's condition.
"What do you want to know?"
"Will she ever remember?"
"That's hard to tell." Bob crossed his arms. "It depends on her. If she wants to remember, she might, but in time."
"And if she don't?" Carol seems to think there was nothing worth remembering. She knew there were wholes, but she didn't want to fill them. Maybe he was playing on his fears, but he knew her. Carol was stubborn, but he knew she was strong and sooner or later her mind would find a way to make the pieces fit. He wondered if they would be properly fit or just thrown together and ignored.
"Then she never will."
