"I saw it first." Carl said to me, clenching his jaw.
"Really? You're going with that line? What are you 5?" I scoffed.
My best friend Carl Grimes was fighting with me over the last fruit cup I'd found in the pantry of an abandoned old house we were currently in. When the apocalypse happened, it was just me and my uncle Dale living at the camp with the others in the mountains. And then I met Carl and his mother, Lori. She seemed stuck-up and wanted nothing to do with me or my mother. But Carl was different. We'd been best friends ever since that day.
My mother had died since then. Eaten by walkers at the farm. I thought I was going to be on my own after that - that I'd be fighting alone against these dead things. But Daryl and Carol had saved me and I ended up back with the group. And Carl had been my everything ever since. Okay...maybe I'd formed a bit of a crush on him.
Although I'd never tell him that. How could I? There was no place in this world for love anymore...at least that's what I told myself.
"Yes because that, my dear Holly, is how you play the game of life now." he said, smirking as his sheriff's hat slid down over his eyes.
I laughed at his statement as he pushed his hat up again.
"Yeah, so you say, cowboy-" I started, moving the fruit cup from hand-to-hand as I walked around the kitchen island.
"IT'S A SHERIFF'S HAT!" he cried out in exasperation, slapping his hands down on the counter.
I smirked at him before sprinting up the stairs of the two-story home. I heard him clamoring up behind me, his heavy boots hitting the steps. Finally reaching the top, I grinned in triumph.
"It's mine now!" I said gleefully, turning around.
But once I did, there was no one there. I looked down the stairs and then around me.
"Carl?" I called out.
I started to walk down the hallway, hoping he was there.
"Carl?" I called once more, getting concerned.
Why wasn't he answering me? Where did he go? My hand went to my gun in the holster on my leg. What if we weren't alone in here? What if someone had taken him? All of a sudden, I heard a thud from somewhere nearby. I snapped my head around, searching frantically for whatever it may be.
Another thud sounded then, closer than before. I decided to make a break for it. I ran as fast as I could through the hallway,my heart beating wildly in my chest. Just as I rounded the corner of the hall, two hands reached out from one of the rooms and grabbed me around the waist. I yelped in surprise and then melodic laughter filled my ears.
I rolled my eyes and hit the arm of my "attacker".
"Carl!" I whined, trying to make him let me go, "That was not funny!"
He snickered, "You should've seen your face! You were so scared!"
"Yeah, yeah..." I muttered as his laughter subsided.
Abruptly, I finally took notice of his hands on my waist and butterflies erupted in my stomach at how close we were. I'm so glad he couldn't see my face because I'm sure it was beet-red. His hands were warm as they rested on my torso, I acknowledged.
"Do you want me to let you go now?" he whispered into my ear, his hot breath on my skin as his arms wrapped around me tighter.
A shiver ran up my spine and I closed my eyes briefly, feeling intoxicated from it. Suddenly, the sound of glass breaking downstairs made us jump apart. Carl hurriedly pulled out his gun and motioned for me to get behind him. I nodded unquestioningly, retrieving my gun from its holster and following him down the stairs. Several walkers were roaming around in the lower part of the house. I nearly gagged at the smell of death lingering on them.
Carl's blue eyes met mine. We both knew there were too many of them. We'd never be able to kill them all. He gestured wordlessly with his gun back the way we'd come. I headed towards the window at the end of the hall, Carl treading along quickly behind me. Opening the window quietly, we stepped out onto the roof.
It was at least a four-foot drop to the ground and it made my head spin. I gripped onto his arm in fear as my eyes drifted down below.
"Hey, hey, it's alright. We're gonna make it through this, okay?" he said, cupping his hands around my face.
If it wasn't a life and death situation, I probably would've kissed him then and there. He looked gorgeous in the fading sunlight. It lit up his features making him look angelic. I shook the thoughts away as he removed his hands from my face and took my hand in his calloused one. Moans of the walkers hit our ears as they started gathering around the window, their decaying arms reaching for us.
"Carl!" I warned and suddenly we jumped.
I didn't think we'd survive that fall but it all went by so fast. Pain seared through my legs as we hit the ground running, trying to get as far away from the house as possible. Several minutes later, we came to an empty clearing. Out of breath and exhausted, we both lied in the grass. Carl looked over at me and smiled. I arched an eyebrow at him.
"We almost got eaten back there! What are you so happy about?" I asked, looking into his piercing blue eyes.
Grinning, he reached a grubby hand into his pocket and pulled out the fruit cup.
"Well...I did see it first." he laughed.