oOo
They were almost at the Quarry. After the adrenaline had trickled down on the ride over, Diana had started worrying. Had everyone gotten out safely? What would her parents say when they found out about how much danger she'd been in? How would the survivors react now that her secret was out? Would it spread? Would she have to bring justifications? Would she be ostracized?
She had many anxieties over that matter.
The rush of air whipped her hair in front of her face. Diana curled it behind her ear and looked out the rolled down window at the sparkling waters of the lake. She was enjoying the scenery until her stomach started turning and clenching due to Glenn's carefree and nausea inducing driving around every curve.
She slapped a hand over her belly and glared at Glenn. "Can you stop that? I know you're doing it on purpose, man, it's not funny." She felt something rise up her esophagus. "I will puke on you, Glenn, I ain't warning you twice."
Glenn laughed, then shouted over the blaring of the alarm, "You're such a spoil sport, Diana." He started driving straight nonetheless, a teasing smile on his lips. "That better?"
"Yeah, much. Thanks, stupid-ass." Diana pouted to hide a smile.
Glenn snickered at her irritability. He drove up the entrance road and into camp where many people were already there to receive them. Among them was Shane, whose stalk in their direction and deep furrow of his brow could only indicate trouble for them.
Diana rolled her eyes at the sight of him. The alarm in her ears made it easy to guess what his scowl was about. It annoyed her because she agreed with him this time.
She and Glenn climbed out of the car. It was even louder from the outside and Dale was shouting at Glenn to shut it off.
There was a confusing jumble of noises. Shane demanding the hood to be popped, Amy drilling Glenn about her sister's whereabouts and wellbeing, the car alarm resounding in her head. The amalgamation made everything seem to spin.
Diana huffed with nausea and bent at the waist while grabbing on to the roof of the car. "Ah Dios mío," she mumbled under her breath.
She walked around the front of the car and shoved the borrowed machete into Shane's grip. "I didn't need it," she informed without sparing him a glance and shouldering her bow purposefully. Then, she turned to Amy, whose eyes were wide like she was on the verge of tears. "Andrea's fine, alright? Everyone made it out safely."
Jim finally turned off the alarm by disconnecting something under the hood of the car. It engulfed them in welcomed relative silence and Diana heard Amy ask, "Is that true, is she okay? Is she alive?"
"Sweet baby Jesus, am I that questionable?" Diana mumbled and rolled her eyes half-heartedly.
She heard her name being yelled in her native tongue and was almost thrown off her feet by a large body colliding into her. She was enveloped in strong arms that she recognized all too well. "Pai? Hey you, I'm okay, man, I'm okay," she said from above his shoulder.
She put her arms around his middle and patted his back comfortingly. She heard her dad sigh deeply, a shuddered, emotional sigh that prickled Diana's heart. "Hey, I'm back in one piece, nothing's missing. I'm fine, I'm safe."
He finally let go and held her at arm's length. His face wasn't zealous with hazel-green eyes bright because his daughter's safe return – like she'd expected – instead, the lines of his face were hardened, accentuating his age. A frown deepened his crow's feet and the crease between his brow. He looked aged with worry and ire.
"You're never stepping foot out of my fucking sight again, you hear me?" Sam said and clenched his jaw. His eyes bored into hers, almost as if imbedding his words into her brain.
Diana swallowed hard and chuckled sheepishly. "C'mon, it wasn't that ba-"
"Never," he interrupted. His hold on her upper arms tightened to the point it hurt.
She winced but didn't say anything to either acknowledge or deny his command. She let her face go blank and pulled away from his hold with a senseless nod.
"Diana, cariño! Graças a Deus, you're safe, you're here," came Irene's sentimental voice. She, too, hugged Diana fiercely, like only a mother could. Then she whispered in her ear, "We'll talk later."
Diana swallowed drily again, knowing she was facing a shitstorm, and nodded dolefully.
Fortunately for her, the other survivors had been too occupied worrying over whether or not the wailing alarm would draw walkers to their location to notice the interactions.
Felix and Alice joined them shortly after. They were more interested in the tale of her adventure and whether she'd brought them anything than celebrating her safety. It was a nice change.
"-It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?" Dale asked, wide eyes and bushy brows. He pointed an accusatory finger at Glenn, whose face dropped.
Glenn apologized, shrinking in on himself. Diana frowned and cleared her throat. "Actually, Dale, the idea came from this new guy we met, real Class-A dude. He looked like some kinda Apocalypse Cowboy, but like, way cooler."
"And also, I got a cool car out of it," Glenn defended with a lopsided grin. He gestured proudly at the red and dusty sports car. Diana gestured grandly as well to help his cause. I mean, it was missing a window, but it still looked awesome.
Dale shrugged with a tilt of his head, agreeing half-heartedly.
The engine of the truck with the rest of the survivors was heard as it pulled up at the entrance of the camp. Everyone's attention deviated toward it as they looked on in silence and anticipation.
Diana glanced around their reception committee with her dad's arm heavy around her shoulders. Amy was bouncing on the balls of her feet, craning her neck as her blonde hair cascaded down her upper back. She was so pretty. Miranda Morales and her kids with eyes full of hope as she kissed the tops of their heads.
Their families were coming back after a close call with death and they couldn't wait another second to have them back in their arms. Diana leaned into her dad and slipped her hand into her mom's.
There was someone missing, though. Daryl's absence stood out with an alert. She'd expected him to be there to welcome back his brother, and her, if she was being completely honest with herself. She thought that since they hadn't seen each other off that morning, he'd be there to welcome her back.
It was no wonder people thought what they did regarding their relationship. She wondered if either Glenn or Daryl knew about those supposed rumors. Glenn had kept silent about the confrontation back in the city.
Whatever! There were other things that mattered more than that at this moment.
She tore her eyes away from Andrea and Amy's relieved embrace and whispered to the kids, "You seen Daryl?"
Alice shrugged with an 'I dunno' sound. She left Diana's side at Glenn's beckon to come hug him. He enveloped her in a bear hug that made them sway and Alice laughed. Diana didn't even try to deny her jealousy.
Felix raised an eyebrow at Diana's questioning look. "The hell should I know? I don't have a Dixon GPS."
"Oh God, look at the poor kid," Irene lamented. She tugged on Diana's hand for her attention and gestured with her head to Carl. "It's so sad."
The little boy's chin was shaking on the verge of tears, Lori was kneeling in front of him, expression heartbroken as she once again had to tell her son that his father wouldn't be coming back.
Sam pulled Diana's head down to kiss the top of it and then pulled Irene to himself. Her arms went around his middle in near desperation. Diana untangled herself from them to offer some privacy.
"You are a welcome sight," said Dale to Morales as the two men hugged and shared a joyful laugh. "I thought we had lost you folks for sure."
Shane tuned in, asking Diana, "Y'all said something about someone new? Who gave you the authority to bring a stranger into our camp?"
Diana raised an incredulous brow. "I did," she spat out, heart racing with suddenly spiking adrenaline. It was a blatant lie and she didn't know why she'd blurted it out, but it seemed like she never had enough of provoking Shane. "Glenn helped him out of a tight spot and then he volunteered to put his ass on the line to get us all out safe and sound. In my eyes, that makes him worthy of coming back with us to this stupid camp. I don't need your authorization."
She was being unnecessarily insubordinate and borderline childish. But she just couldn't stop. She heard Felix 'ooooh' under his breath at her side.
Morales cut through the tension and distracted Shane's dark clouded eyes from hers. He told him, "Yeah, crazy Vato just got into town." His arms were around his smiling wife and children. He shouted out in the truck's direction, "Hey, helicopter boy. Come say hello."
Diana heard the thud of the door being slammed closed. T-Dog was explaining to Shane that Rick was also a cop and then the man himself made his appearance.
He looked exhausted, his gait was subdued and his face was dull with the taste of grief. Diana remembered what he'd said to Merle about being on the search for his wife and child. She felt for him, putting herself in his shoes.
When he looked up, he changed completely. His expression went from sorrow to disbelief and finally to the features of a man about to cry from overwhelming happiness in 0.1 seconds.
Diana frowned in confusion and followed his line of sight across the field and saw Shane, who looked like he'd just seen a geek turn back human. Her eyes landed on Lori and Carl. The kid's teary blue eyes sparkled with unbound joy as if his entire being had been filled to the brim with everything good left in the world.
He up and started running towards Rick, like an overexcited puppy. He almost tripped over his own two feet several times, all the while calling out to his 'dad'.
"Ay, Cristo, don't tell me that's his father?" Irene commented, astounded. "Lord help me. This looks straight out of a telenovela."
"Oh, fuck me," Diana whispered back as Rick stumbled towards Lori, crying with Carl's limbs fast around him in a koala embrace. Lori looked like she was toeing the line between panic and incredulous happiness.
"Scheeeeisse, weren't she and Testículo esquerdo screwing, though?" Alice asked as she rejoined her family, louder than necessary. Felix snickered and bumped her outstretched fist.
"I thought those two were together," Sam commented while frowning in confusion down at his wife.
Irene raised both eyebrows with a knowing look. "You and everyone else, 'mor."
It was very obvious and they weren't exactly subtle. Lori could blabber on all she wanted about him being a close family friend and whatnot, but there was no hiding the sudden disappearances and the bedroom eyes whenever they were in each other's close vicinity. One only had to have two eyes on their face to see it. Or one. Even one was enough.
It really was like a telenovela. Not to mention that Diana had once caught them kissing in the forest as she was making her way to her rendezvous with Daryl, so she had definitive proof.
And once again she realized that the same way she'd speculated about them probably paralleled how many speculated about her and her supposed active love life. What a double-edged sword.
The reunion was very beautiful and emotional on all sides, even if there were many contrasting emotions involved. And while Diana was happy for them and whatever, it was easy to grow tired of it.
She really wanted Daryl to be there. She knew he'd make an inappropriate joke about the situation, the kind that she'd have to hide her laughter because of how ill-timed it was. She caught herself beginning to smile just imagining it in his voice.
Putting her attention elsewhere, she noticed they'd come back one person short. Diana joined Glenn while craning her neck to make sure she hadn't just simply missed him. "Hey, d'you see Merle anywhere?"
"Dixon? Who cares about that asshole?" Glenn shrugged and turned to Diana with wide eyes and pointing over his shoulder. "Can you believe that Rick is Lori's husband? I mean, the coincidence, you know? And we helped do this, how awesome is that?" he asked in astonishment.
Diana rolled her eyes good-naturedly and glanced at Shane's less than stoked state. "Yeah, it's totally amazing, man, but uh- seriously, where's Merle at?"
Glenn realized her genuine concern with a raised of his brow. She retributed with a face that said 'believe me, it's not for my own sake, he could get run over by a truck for all I care'. Somehow Glenn got it.
The novelty of Lori's reunion with her husband wore off and the survivors moved on, going back into the camp. Diana told her mom she'd be right with them and received a stern look in return. She joined Glenn as he called out to T-Dog, who trailed at the end. "Hey man, you seen Dixon around somewhere?"
"Merle," Diana added with a gesture of her hands, "I haven't seen him."
The wrinkle between T-Dog's brows and the downward tug of his lips were answer enough. Diana felt her gut twist. Sweat broke out at her hairline.
"You kidding me, right?" she asked. T-Dog looked up at her meaningfully. "Okay, you're not, huh? What happened?"
His jaw clenched and he looked off to the side. "I dropped the damn key down the drain." His eyes were sincere on Diana's. "I didn't mean to, Diana, I just tripped."
"Shit. Okay, cool cool cool cool," Diana breathed out, channeling her inner Jake Peralta. She chewed on the inside of her cheek in pensiveness. She cleared her throat and said to him, "It's alright. I believe you, man. It just doesn't make the situation any less complicated."
Glenn laid a hand on her shoulder. "Why're you making such a big deal out of it? After all the nasty things he said to you, what he did to T-Dog, what he almost cost us… I'd say it's righteous punishment."
"Glenn, c'mon, I know you don't mean that. He's an ignorant piece of shit who runs his mouth more than he should, but he's still a human being. Although barely," she added with a quirk of her brow. "But more important to me, he's my friend's brother and we just left his only family handcuffed to a roof with a 100% chance of dying from death by zombie!" Diana grabbed her belly, churning with anxious anticipation. "Ay mami, today's the day I throw up my guts."
Glenn sucked air through his teeth with a grimace and glanced at her and T-Dog. "She's right. Daryl's gonna be pissed and that's a gross understatement."
T-Dog turned to Diana, looking sure of himself. He said, "I chained the door closed, there's less of a chance that geeks got to him."
Glenn gestured with his hands. "Great. See," he said to Diana, "there's a chance he's still alive."
Diana tilted her head. A locked door could buy him some time. But that was only the half of it. She huffed. "Okay, a chance, that's good. But that's only part of the problem. You know, 'cause while we brought Rick and Lori and Carl together, we also tore Daryl away from his last living relative. You know how shitty that is?" T-Dog and Glenn shared a look that implied indifference. "Okay, know what? Forget about it."
She turned on her heel and stalked away, back to home camp, while ignoring Glenn's sighed calls with a heavy heart.
oOo
The spoils of their scavenging were unloaded and divided accordingly. The medical supplies were given to Diana's responsibility.
She tossed her dad a pack of Metformin pills and told them of how she'd disclosed her secret. She sat down with her family and told them of her insecurities and anxieties.
Her parents comforted her by reminding her of the inner strength she possessed. They said that what others said and thought wouldn't matter if she knew who she was and believed in herself. It was a nice sentiment, even if not very realistic to her.
The moment was accompanied by Alice whining about the lame sappiness of it all.
Eventually, they moved on to a thorough interrogation regarding the run. Probably to have grounds to back up their arguments against her volunteering to go on one ever again. With that thought in mind, Diana omitted every dangerous stunt that she'd done.
She even went as far as to say it had been pretty boring, with the clear exception of their getaway. But even then, she managed to evade some trick questions and say she'd remained in the sidelines for most, if not all, of the action.
Even so, Sam and Irene still forbade her from going to the city again and gave her a ten-minute lecture about parents knowing better and her being irresponsibly reckless and blah blah blah. She tuned out for most of it, letting herself respond automatically when a nod or a murmur of agreement was appropriate.
Diana was tired of being treated like this.
Dinner wasn't much better. The atmosphere was heavy and quiet.
Deep in thought, her mind went to Daryl. It was late and he wasn't back from his hunt yet. Worse than that, he'd raise hell once he came back and discovered that his brother had been left behind. He'd blame it on her for letting it happen and he'd never speak to her again, she just knew it…
To be fair, Diana knew her thoughts were probably anxiety-induced, but they were so overwhelming that they weighed down on her conscience even more.
Evening fell, the sky turning into a palette of inky navy and indigo. The stars were beautiful and bright, and Diana couldn't help thinking about the night before. Her eyes stopped reading midsentence as she was caught in the physical memory of Daryl's body heat at her back, his breath on her neck and the burning touch of his skin on hers.
The fire in the pit crackled loudly, making her blink out of her reverie. She blamed her flushed cheeks on her proximity to the flames and turned her back to them.
Irene interrupted her conversation with her husband to ask, "Diana? You alright, mija?"
Diana gave them a weak smile over her shoulder and nodded. "Yeah, it's just a little too hot for me."
"Go on inside and catch some sleep," Sam added and motioned to the tent with his head.
She waved her hand in dismissal and furrowed her brow. "Nah, I'm alright." Even though she was actually feeling exhausted, she had too much in her head to fall asleep immediately.
She stared emptily at 'The Passage', which she'd been on the process of rereading, and her eyes wandered thoughtlessly toward the main camp. She could see the orange glow of their fire. She worried the inside of her cheek between her teeth. They could be talking about her this very instant… a thought that toed between the narcissistic and the paranoid.
They could be commenting on what she could do, spreading rumors with their insufficient knowledge of the matter. It had happened before, on another subject, and today's events would only add more fuel to the flame.
The curiosity was eating at her. She dog-eared the book and tossed it on top of the blanket Felix and Alice were sitting on, competitively playing round after round of UNO. Diana had found a Star Wars deck at the store, so plus point for that.
Alice scoffed at the book that had fallen near her lap and raised an eyebrow at Diana. "That could've injured me fatally. You better watch yourself before I wreck you…rself," she finished with a confused nose scrunch at her own words.
Felix perked up. "Unrelated, but are you gonna go pee? 'Cause I gotta go real bad."
Diana stood and shrugged in bafflement with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow. "Then why don't you just go?"
"Because it's dark out and the toilet is on the other side of camp," Felix responded like it was the most logical thing he'd ever spoken.
"Then go in the woods," Diana said while gesturing at the looming darkness of the forest behind their home camp.
Felix stared blankly at her and then lifted one disbelieving shoulder. "Do you even hear the words outta your mouth sometimes?"
She stared back, unblinking, and then turned to Sam and Irene, "Okay. Mami, pai, I'mma go do some espionage work real quick. Be right back."
"Espionage?" Sam repeated with a frown. Irene put a hand on his arm and shook her head, signaling that it was better to not even question it.
"Just be back before we go to bed," she told her with a wagging finger.
"I'm going with you, 'cause I'm fucking bored," Alice said as she gathered the deck and stood. She looked at Felix over her shoulder with a smirk. "Full offense."
"Boi, I just wanna go take a wizz without getting attacked for it," Felix sighed and swung himself forward and up to a stand.
Diana sighed back, "Fine. Come along, little ducklings, follow momma duck."
They ventured not far into the woods behind their home camp, quacking at each other and chuckling and shushing one another. Felix did his thing while his sisters watched his back. When they came back, Diana gestured towards main camp to wordlessly inform their parents.
A nod of acknowledgement and thirty seconds later, Diana, Alice, and Felix walked up to the edge of the group huddled around the fire. They overheard Rick's voice dripping with sentiment, "-can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane." Lori smiled up at him in his arms. There was something bitter in her smile.
Alice snickered and whispered, "Yeah, for fucking your wife in your absence." She and Felix bumped fists.
Diana whacked her side and shushed her.
She tightened her red hoodie around herself and cleared her throat gently. The ones who had yet to notice their approach looked up by then. Short greetings were exchanged between both parties. She bounced on the balls of her feet once and lifted a shoulder. "Mind if we join for a bit?"
Glenn immediately made space by his side. Dale spoke up, "Sure thing, sweetheart, make yourselves comfortable. We were discussing our new friend here and the dreadful times he's been through."
Diana sighed in relief internally. Hopefully that was all they'd discussed until now. She sat next to Glenn, Alice next to her and Felix on the ground leaning back against her legs.
Dale smiled bitterly and nodded in agreement. "I have to agree with you on that."
A little farther away, Ed 'the Pig' Peletier did some shit that he wasn't supposed to and Shane shot up and stormed over.
Diana couldn't help but feel pity for Carol and Sophia. To share a bed with such a disgusting man must be a special kind of hell, and to share his blood, another.
Glenn leaned toward her, breaking her line of vision and pulling her out of her thoughts. Shadows danced on his illuminated face and he whispered, "Diana, look, I'm… I'm sorry about earlier. With everything that's going on, I should've realized that-"
"It's alright," Diana interrupted with a forced smile. Except it was not alright.
She didn't want to feel bitter over it, but she couldn't help it when almost every single person around that fire held the Dixons in such low regard. She could stand with them when it came to Merle. He was white trash with probably zero known redeemable qualities.
Daryl was not his brother. But no matter what he did, they still put him in the same box as Merle. It didn't matter that he was their most reliable supplier of meat or the best tracker or the most skilled hunter. No, it all meant squat to them, because they didn't even give him a chance.
"No, it's not alright," Glenn persisted, "I'm pretty neutral on Dixon matters, but I know that Daryl means something to you. It's obvious that you'd be upset on his behalf, that's the kind of person you are." He put a gentle hand on her forearm. "I'm sorry I didn't bother to care on your behalf."
She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel moved. She'd reached ultimate friend goals, there'd be no finding anyone better than Glenn.
She smiled, genuinely this time, which made a twin smile blossom on Glenn's lips. Diana touched her forehead to his and thanked him. Okay, she understood how the dating rumor had come to existence.
They parted and heard Alice whisper, "You're both disgusting." She had a grimace on her face, but it was in good humor. Felix looked up at them and hummed in agreement.
Glenn leaned forward and said, "Jealousy looks really ugly on you."
Alice pretended to flip her hair over her shoulder and prepared to say something, but Felix beat her to it. He scoffed and said, "Probably why I look dazzling all the time."
Alice murmured something about spotlight-stealing-brothers. She curled her lip at the back of his head and lifted her hand as if she were going to backhand him.
Once Shane came back, Dale, ever the voice of reason, said what Diana had hoped would be acknowledged. "Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."
"Thank you," she whispered to herself.
"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me," T-Dog said. His jaw clenched when he glanced at Diana.
Rick pursed his lips and shook his head. He tightened his arms around Lori and Carl. "I cuffed him. That makes it mine."
"Well, I clubbed him in the head," Diana added with a bold roll of her eyes. "Where does that leave it?"
Glenn interrupted, "People, it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy."
"Or, you know, this black girl," Diana said in near exasperation, "No offense to any of you, but you don't know Daryl, not like I do." She looked at Rick and then the others. "Don't you think it might soften the blow coming from someone he trusts."
"No. No offense, I don't care if y'all really are hooking up or not, sis, but this isn't your responsibility," T-Dog opposed, sounding solemn. "I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from him."
"I'm not saying this for any of your sakes," Diana interjected. She didn't care if it sounded insensitive. She sat straight as a board, heart thumping loudly. "I'm not telling you to hide from your actions or whatever. You can work over your guilty conscience some other time, T-Dog. I just think it's important that such a piece of shitty news be delivered as delicately as possible, you know? For Daryl's sake."
"She could be right," Dale commented. He looked Rick and T-Dog in the eye with that owlish knowing gaze of his. Both men offered no resistance.
Good! And not to overanalyze things, but why did it take Dale speaking up for her to have her opinion be acknowledged? Seemed kind of sexist.
"We could lie," Amy chimed, her head perking up from her sister's shoulder. Diana almost rolled her eyes at that.
Alice shook her head in disapproval. She murmured so only Diana would hear, "Normally, I'd say the same, but coming from someone else it sounds like the worst idea ever."
"Or we could tell the truth," Andrea provided, rectifying her sister, "Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed. We're grateful to you, Diana, for what you did. And Lori, your husband only did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's."
Diana found it better not to mention that her hitting Merle had been born more out of the need for catharsis than the intention of coming to anyone's rescue.
Instead, she snorted. "Yeah, 'cause that explanation will sit great with Daryl. I mean for real, you should try coming at him with that. I bet he'll even thank you." She shook her head with a cynical smile. "Andrea, put yourself in his shoes, what if it had been Amy who got left behind?"
Andrea's gaze faltered away. "That's different."
"No to him. That's his brother." Diana leaned forward, one hand resting on top of Felix's head, which he shook off.
"Once again, I have to agree." Dale shook his head at Andrea, apologetically. "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you?" He gave Andrea a pointed look, from which she turned away, defeated. "Word to the wise… We're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."
T-Dog stared at the fire pensively. He shook his head and said, "I was scared and I ran, but I stopped long enough to chain that door."
The others stared at him in surprise at the detail that he'd previously disclosed Diana and Glenn. "Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that. Not that chain, not that padlock. My point… Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us." He looked at Diana with a slight nod. Then he stood, pain in his features, and left.
oOo
"Don't even think about it," Alice warned as Diana squeezed her head through her pajama shirt. "Don't even think about thinking about it."
"What?" Diana asked innocently, hoping her face hadn't betrayed anything.
Felix joined in, "You fucking know what, no use pretending to be all innocent. Knowing you like we do, you're thinking about going back to the city."
Diana huffed a cynical laugh. "And how'd you suggest I do that, smart boy? You guys know very well that I can't drive. I ain't gonna up and walk there like a cardio-loving loser."
"Aha." Alice pointed an accusatory finger at her. Diana snapped her jaw at it. "But you're not denying it."
Diana wiggled herself into her sleeping bag, avoiding her siblings' incriminating gazes.
"Seriously, just don't. Don't be a fucking Arschloch. You don't even know what mãe and pai went through while you were out there." Felix provided, sitting down on his own bag.
"I know-" Diana began but was interrupted by Alice.
"No, no you don't," her voice was hard. "When we heard you guys were trapped, mãe just fucking disappeared on us. We found her trying to drive off in T-Dog's van. She was so angry, she punched Shane in the face when he dragged her out. I don't know if you noticed the bruise." She pointed to under her right eye. "Right there."
Felix nodded gravely. "And pai. He was really pissed at first, you know how he is, cursing out the entire alphabet or some shit. Then, while we were waiting for an update, he started crying."
Diana was shocked to hear that. It likely showed on her face, eyes wide and eyebrows halfway to her hairline.
Alice looked away with downturned eyes, her coiled hair hiding her somber face. Diana directed her gaze back to Felix, whose face mirrored Alice's. "Remember the last time we saw him cry?" he asked with a small voice.
Diana nodded. She did. It was awful.
It occurred in the aftermath of a heavy argument that Felix had unintentionally instigated. It resulted in the boy threatening to jump down from their apartment's balcony, saying he wished he didn't exist, that he'd been an accident anyway.
Sam, in the rush of his anger and hurt, yelled at him to do so, see if he cared.
That had caused Irene to break down crying, shouting at him, asking how he could say such a thing to his own son.
The situation escalated further and further and evolved into an extremely emotional affair that had lasted through the evening and had brought everyone to tears. The exception being Alice, who had mediated the situation like a pro.
That was the first time any of the kids had seen Samuel cry. It had been heartbreaking to the point where it felt like they'd taken a literal knife to the chest.
"It was worse than that, so much-" Felix's voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "He was so helpless. He-he… Don't do that to him again, to neither of them."
"Don't be the asshole that breaks their hearts," Alice provided. She tucked herself inside her bag, back turned to them.
With a storm raging in her soul, Diana turned off the lantern and stared into the dark, feeling conflicted and guilty. She fell into troubled sleep hours after, the image of her father's teary hazel eyes tormenting her.
Hi people, if you're liking the story so far, please drop a word in the comments about what you think.
Don't forget to check my side story "even if the pack is no more" for some extra content I'll be posting in the near future, hint: Alice's polaroids ;)