Part Two

Two Months later

We found a new home about twenty miles away from that neighborhood. It was a big house on a golf course. It had plenty of space, more than enough. We all had our own rooms, except for my dad and Michonne, of course, with them dating and all. My room had its own bathroom, which I liked. I always wanted my own bathroom.

So, things went back to normal after everyone was settled in. I started to go off on my own again. My dad's rule about partners seemed to be completely forgotten. I didn't mind and I don't think anyone else did either.

I went fishing our first day there and brought back a whole bunch of fish even though there was only four of us. I cooked them too. My dad got mad at me for the amount of butter and salt that I put into the pan. "That's lot of salt." He said.

"So what?" I said annoyed.

"So it's bad for you." He said again. I put in the butter. "Hey, you don't need that much butter."

"I care about taste not health." I put up my nose.

"Well, ya should. You wanna be unhealthy?"

I got annoyed and looked at him. "Daryl!" I called into the other room. "Tell my dad to stop being mean to me."

Daryl walked around the corner. "You leave that little girl be." He said to my dad and put his arm around me. I smirked at my dad.

"Yeah, okay." My dad grabbed my chin and gave me a look. I just smiled.

It was a good dinner. It was a good day.

Something out of the ordinary happened today, though, while I was out. Something that changed everything. I had told the others I was going scavenging. However, I found something awesome in one of the houses. It was a CB radio! I was so excited to show my dad and the others that I went straight home forgetting about looking for food.

Everyone was in the living room when I got back. "Hey." I said to no one in particular. Their heads turned in my direction. "I found something cool."

No one said anything for a moment. "I thought you went looking for food?" My dad asked me.

My excitement faded a bit. "I did. But then I found this." I pulled the radio out of my bag. "Look, it's a CB radio!"

No one seemed to react. "That's yer cool item?" Daryl said. The way he said it made me look at him. "What the hell you thank we're gonna do with that?"

I gave him a strange look. "We can try to find others." I said. "Maybe people we can help or that can help us. Maybe they have a safe place to live."

"Abby." My dad said.

"What? It's possible." I was wide-eyed.

"But not likely." Said Michonne.

I stopped and looked around. Wow, these people really know how to take a dump on me. I thought. "So, no one cares?" I looked around. No one said anything but I read their expressions. I sighed. "Okay." I nodded then walked away up to my room taking the radio with me.

What jerks. I thought as I plopped down on my bed. I laid back and stared at the ceiling. No one here appreciates me. And they wonder why I wanted to be on my own. Makes me so mad sometimes. And so…alone. I wish I had a friend. Someone a little closer to my age, or at least just someone to talk to. Someone who understood.

My eyes drifted over to the radio on my dresser…and I got an idea. I grabbed it and sat back on the bed with it. "Hello?" I talked into it. "Is anyone out there? Anyone at all?" I waited a few seconds just hearing static. "Can anybody hear me?" I waited again. Still nothing. "Look…I just wanna talk. So, if anyone is there, anyone at all, please just talk to me. Please talk to me. I'm desperate." I started to feel sad when it wasn't working. I don't know if I actually expected it to, but it was still disappointing.

I gave up after that and sat the radio back down on my dresser. Maybe I will try again later tonight.

"Abby! Come down and eat something!" I heard Michonne call me. I sighed and walked downstairs to go eat dinner.

I was very quiet during our meal and barely ate any of my food. I knew the others noticed, I could see them looking at me. I didn't even care though, I was upset at them from earlier about their reactions to the radio. And even besides that, I was sad. I was lonely.

It seems like everyone has somebody but me. My dad and Michonne have each other because they're together now, Daryl and my dad are pretty close in age and are good friends and Michonne is also his friend. Daryl and I were pretty close, but sometimes I would just like to talk with someone closer to my age.

So, I was alone.

"Abby, do you not like the pasta?" Michonne asked me. "You've barely touched your food."

"No, it's good." I said without looking up.

"Well, then are you sick?" My dad asked.

"I'm fine." I looked up just in time to see my dad and Daryl share a look. Great. Now those two are going to be up my ass. It's almost like I have two dads now. "I'm just not hungry." I said before anyone else said anything to me. "I think I'm gonna go for a walk." I got up and left hurriedly before someone could stop me.

"Don't go too far." My dad called. I didn't say anything back. Right before I closed the door, I heard him say, "she needs a friend." I stopped but it was too late, I already closed the door so I couldn't hear anything else. I couldn't open the door either or they would know I was trying to eavesdrop. So, I just swore under my breath and walked away.

I wandered into the woods. It was nice for a while until it started to rain. It was only a little though. And I didn't want to go back yet, so I just kept walking.

I eventually wandered out of the woods and down a big hillside. As I was walking, I came across a big rock that was pretty much being held by a tree. I would hate to get crushed by that thing. The thought made me wince. It looked dangerous but as long as the tree holds up and no one pushes the rock, it should be fine. Hopefully.

I continued walking through the woods. After that, there were houses. It was a rundown neighborhood just like the other one. I sighed. Everything is the same.

I walked around for a while and spotted a pool. Like a public pool. It reminded me a lot of the one that I used to work at, maybe a little bit smaller. It even had a little snack shake and everything. I legally wasn't allowed to work at fourteen, but the person who owned the place was a family friend so we worked something out.

Something caught my eye just then. There were bubbles coming up from the water. I went over there and looked, there was a walker at the bottom of the pool. It was looking right at me and was reaching for me. I just stared back at it.

That would suck. I know they don't really think but that thing's life is shit. Imagine drowning but never dying. I mean…technically they're already dead but…you know what I mean.

Just then, I realized that I kind of feel like this walker. It's like I'm drowning but still alive. And no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try to change things, everything just stays the same. And I get nowhere. I could end it all right now. All I have to do is jump in that water and let that walker bite me. It would look like an accident.

I closed my eyes and took a step forward, then another. I was almost off the edge now. Exhaling sharply.

"You can do this, Abby." I coached myself. "Take control and end your pain."

I was about to do it, I was about to step off.

But I didn't. I couldn't. I'm a coward.

I stepped backwards away from the edge.

I just sat on the edge of the diving board, even though it didn't seem sturdy, for a while staring at that walker. Staring at me. That's what I feel like. I didn't want it like that anymore. I couldn't stand it for another second. I raised my gun.

"No!" A voice said. "Abby, don't." It was Daryl. I stared at him wondering how long he was there. "Ya don't need to. The sound will just draw more."

I lowered my gun. I was still feeling emotional though. My lip quivered and I was close to tears. "But-but…I don't wanna leave it like that. I can't."

"It ain't botherin' no one." He shook his head.

"You don't understand." I cried and looked down at the walker. "It could be me."

"Abby, what are ya talkin' about?"

I sobbed. "It didn't ask to live like this."

"Abby." Daryl said gently. "Step away from the edge." I shook my head. "Yer upset. Just…back up."

"It shouldn't have to live like that." I said. I pulled my knees up to my chest and cried.

"Abby, I'll kill it. Okay, I'll kill the walker." Daryl said. "Just c'mere and get down." He seemed frantic. "C'mon, yer talkin' crazy."

I breathed out. Maybe I was acting a little crazy. I turned to look at Daryl, he was on the steps of the diving board. He gestured to me. I took a few deep breaths trying to calm down, then I shakily stood up and started over to Daryl.

Before I got close enough to him, though, I heard a crack and my eyes went wide. Daryl and I made eye contact just as the board snapped in half. I screamed.

As if by magic, I landed right by the walker.

"Abby!" Daryl yelled.

The walker grabbed onto my leg and pulled me under, I tried my best to shake it off. It took a little bit but I eventually did. Then, I spun it around and grabbed its arms like I would if it was a drowning victim and moved closer to the edge. Daryl was there and stabbed the walker in the head. It went limp, then I let it go. I swam over to the ladder and slowly climbed out while coughing. Daryl helped me up. He bent over so he was level with me and moved my wet hair away from my face. "Did you get bit? Scratched?" His eyes were wide.

"No, no." I shook my head.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded. We both began to calm down. I looked down at my leg where I felt pain, it was bleeding. I must have scraped it on the diving board when it broke. "I cut my knee."

Daryl looked at it. "Let's see if we can find a first aid kit or something."

"There's usually one in there." I pointed and started over but all of a sudden, my legs felt like jelly and I went straight down.

"Abby." Daryl said. He got down with me. "Are you okay?"

I lifted my head suddenly feeling weak and like I was going to pass out. "I think so." I breathed out. "I just…I just need a minute."

"Yer pale." There was a brief pause. "Here." He said then lifted me to my feet, then he lifted me again and carried me inside the lifeguard's office place. "Here, just sit here." He lifted me onto the counter. I watched him as he looked around for medical supplies. I twisted the front of my shirt and rang it out as best as I could. He found the first aid kit and cleaned and bandaged my wound. He also found a towel and wrapped it around me.

"I don't know how long it's going to stick with me being wet."

"Well, it'll have to do fer now." He said. I nodded. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do that?"

"I was just—

"You was just gonna get yerself killed is what ya was gonna do." He cut me off. "And yer dad said don't go too far."

"I didn't."

He gave me a stupid look. "You call this not too far? Can you imagine if he was here right now?"

I put my head down and just sat there while Daryl scolded me like a naughty, little kid. "I didn't mean to."

He sighed. "Look…I won't tell yer dad about any 'a this if you do me a favor?" He said. I gave him a curious look. "Stop comin' out here and tryin' to get yerself killed. Don't come out by yerself no more. Got it?"

I looked down and back up before answering. "Okay."

There was a brief pause. He pushed my hair out of my face and looked me over. "C'mon, let's get back." He helped me down, I was about to start walking but he grabbed the towel and roughly started to dry my hair for me. "Good enough." He said then gave me a quick swat.

Daryl kept a pretty tight hold on me as we were walking home, maybe he thought I was going to pass out. Or run off. Either way, he kept putting a hand on my back. "Why'd you come looking for me anyway?"

"I don't know. Dangerous." He shrugged. Then his expression changed. "And it's a good thang I did." He sent me a glare. I just looked down. There was a brief pause. "Why was you so upset earlier? About that walker? Why was it so important to you to kill it?"

His question caught me off guard. I wasn't sure what to say. "I don't know." I shrugged. "I felt like that walker."

"What do ya mean?" He spoke a little softer.

"Drowning in darkness and lonely." I blurted out.

"What?" He said.

"What?" I repeated. I tried to pretend like I didn't say any of that.

"Yer lonely?" He said.

"Sometimes." I shrugged.

"Why? Ya got all us."

"Never mind. Forget I said that." I shook my head. "And don't tell anyone."

"Well, it must be true, if ya don't want me to say anythang."

I didn't say anything, we walked the rest of the way home in silence.

"I want ya to go straight to yer room once we get back, okay?" Daryl said to me. "Get some rest." He put his hand on the back of my neck as we walked up to the porch and into the house.

"That was a long walk." My dad said when we walked in.

"…uh…yeah." Was all I said. I tried to walk by him but he stopped me.

"Abby, why are you wet?"

I hesitated and looked at Daryl before answering. "It's…raining."

"You're soaked. Was it really raining that hard?"

"Sometimes."

My dad hesitated. "...why isn't Daryl wet?"

"He wasn't out there as long as me."

We just stared at each other for a minute. My dad let out a laugh. "Okay." He put his hands up. "Well, we were talking about playing a game tonight."

I glanced at Daryl, then back to my dad. "I don't want to." I said shaking my head. "I'm goin' to bed." I walked towards the stairs. It was really dark up there.

"I'm right behind ya." Daryl said holding a lantern. We walked up the stairs together, he gave me a swat as I entered my room then he continued down the hall to the bathroom.

I took my wet stuff off immediately and decided to take a shower before going to bed. I wasn't even sure I was tired. Daryl told me to get some rest though. I guess I will see how I feel once I'm done.

I cried in the shower that night. After everything that happened, I was pretty upset. And I wish I wouldn't have told Daryl that I was lonely. He might tell my dad and Michonne. I didn't want their attention. Well…maybe I do but I want their attention without them knowing that I want their attention. If that makes sense?

I quickly dried myself off, fixed my hair then put on some clothes. I cleaned the wound on my knee again too, I didn't waste another bandage on it though. I don't think it needed it. After that, I laid back on my bed. I was really missing my big pillow that Daryl got me right about now. I really liked that thing a lot.

I wonder if the others are playing that game my dad mentioned and if so, I wonder what it is? I could just go down and find out but I wasn't really in the mood for a game. Although, I wanted to do something but there really wasn't much for me to do. I just sighed and laid back.

Just then, there was a knock at my door then Daryl opened it. "Hey, did you have water today?"

"I think so. This morning." I said.

"Well…drank this." He handed me a bottle. I took it from him and took a sip. "How ya feelin'?"

I shrugged. "Fine."

He seemed hesitant. "Can I feel yer forehead?"

"Go ahead."

He walked closer to me and touched my forehead with the back of his hand. "You don't feel bad. Maybe a little bit warmer than normal."

"Probably because I just got out of the shower." I suggested.

"Maybe." He nodded. "What about yer knee?"

"It's fine." I pushed the blankets off me and showed him my knee. "I cleaned it again."

"Ya cleaned it?" He asked. I nodded. "Why didn't ya put a bandage on it?"

"I didn't wanna waste one, I didn't think it needed it."

His mouth pressed into a thin line when he looked at me. "Put a bandage on it." He nodded. "It'll help keep it from gettin' infected. In fact, where are they? You got any in here?"

"In the medicine cabinet." I pointed in the bathroom. He went in there and came out about thirty seconds later with a bandage, then put it on for me. "Thanks." I said.

He nodded. "There anythang else ya need? Ya hungry? I could make ya somethin'."

I gave him a weird look. Why is he taking care of me so much? "No. But I'm not crippled. I could get it myself."

"Just let me do it." He nodded.

"Thanks but I'm good." I gave him another weird look but then let out a laugh. "You don't have to take care of me so much, Daryl. I'm a big girl." I raised my eyebrows.

He hesitated. "Well…ya worried me today. It just wasn't you. But…ya must be back to normal since yer smartass comment." He sent me a glare. I giggled. He gave me a slight smirk back. "Ya comin' down fer a bit?"

I thought for a minute. I guess I was in a little better spirits…but still not good enough. "No…I'm just gonna maybe read a little then go to bed." I nodded.

He just looked at me for a few seconds, then finally nodded. "Alright. Get some sleep then." He walked closer to me and quickly kissed my head.

"I'll try." I smirked.

"You better, little lady." He pointed at me before closing my door. I smiled a little. It faded shortly after though. I should go down there with them for a little, I just didn't want to for some reason. I sighed and looked down.

When I looked up, something caught my eye. The radio! I did say I would try again later. Was it worth it though? The same thing is just going to happen. I stared at it while thinking.

I'm just going to give it another try. I scooted to the bottom of the bed and grabbed the radio off of my dresser. "Hello." I said. "Is anybody there? Can anyone hear me?" I waited before speaking again, there was just static on the other end. "I repeat, can anyone hear me? I just wanna talk. That's it." I shrugged. I paused again listening to the static. "Please. Anyone?" I was getting more and more disappointed. I knew this was going to happen, I don't even know why I let myself get upset like this.

I put the speaker part up to my forehead and just sat there for a long time listening to static.

I give up. There's no point. There's no one out there anyway. I eventually just gave up and sat the radio aside. Then, I flicked my lantern light off and got under the covers getting ready to go to bed. I laid down with my eyes closed trying to get comfortable.

About five minutes later, I heard static coming from the radio, then a voice said, "hello?" My eyes shot open and I jolted up. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?" I heard the voice again. It sounded like a boy. I sat there staring at the radio with wide-eyes, my heart pounding. "Is anyone there? I heard a voice, I know I did. Are you still there?"

What are you doing, Abby? I said to myself. You wanted to talk to someone, so talk. Now's your chance. I turned my lantern back on for some reason, and slowly scooted to the bottom of the bed. I reached for the radio. With shaky hands, I lifted it to my mouth but still hadn't said anything.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He said again.

I hesitantly pressed the button. "...I'm here." I said. "I'm here."

"Holy shit!" The guy said. "There really is someone there! I've been trying to reach someone forever!"

I didn't answer right away. I feel like I'm doing something wrong here. I swallowed hard. "Really? I just started today."

"Well, this is great." He said. "So…who am I talking to?"

"Uh…I feel like I shouldn't tell you my name." I said. I felt stupid right after saying that.

He laughed. "Why not? What harm would that do?" I didn't reply to him that time. "Look, I heard what you said. You said, that you just wanted to talk. So, let's talk. Let's get to know each other better."

I hesitated. "…I don't know. I mean…I don't know you…which means I don't know if I can trust you."

He took a while to answer me and for a second, I thought he left. "Trust is such a hard thing to come by these days. If you're around people that you can trust, then I'd say you're winning." I didn't know what to say to that so I just didn't say anything. "So, what do you say?" I still did not respond. "Okay, what if I go first? Will you tell me your name then?"

I thought about his question. Honestly now, what harm would it be in telling him my name? It's not like he can look me up on the internet and come find me. So, I agreed. "Sure, okay." I nodded even though he couldn't see me.

"I'm Montgomery. But most people call me, Monty." He said. I wondered briefly if that was his real name. "And you?"

I hesitated. You said you would tell him if he told you! Now you have to! "…Abigail." I finally said. "But most people call me Abby."

"Well, hello, Abby." Monty said. "Nice to meet you."

I hesitated briefly then nodded. "Nice-nice to meet you too…Monty."

Welcome to part 2 of this story! :D I hope you are enjoying it so far! What do you think will happen with Abby and her new friend? Do you think her talking to him will be a good thing or a bad thing? Hmm...? I would love to hear your opinions so please leave a review and let me know! Thanks! 3