"So, how old are you?" I asked Monty.

"I think I answered enough questions about myself." He said. "How about you tell me your age?"

I bit my lip. "Oh, but…that's not how this goes. You're always first. That's how it works."

"It is, huh?" He laughed. "What ever happened to ladies first?"

"That idea died along with the world."

"…I don't really think of the world being dead, it's just…surrounded by the dead." He said. "Wouldn't you agree?"

I casted my eyes down and never answered his question. "I'm fourteen." I said instead.

"Fourteen?" He sounded like he didn't understand for a moment. "Oh, right. I'm eighteen."

I smiled. "My dad would say you're too old for me."

"Too old for you? It's only four years."

"Yeah, but that's eight in dad years."

Monty laughed pretty hard at that. I honestly didn't really think about it, I just said it. But now that I think about it, it is kind of funny. "You're funny. I wish I knew you months ago." He said. I smiled at that compliment. "But…who said anything about dating? I thought we were just talking?"

My face flushed. I didn't know what to say. He's right. Just because he's a guy and I'm a girl doesn't mean we have to hook up. I felt stupid and embarrassed. "Yeah." I shook my head. "I-I don't know why I said that. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. I just had to clear that up because…well because we'll probably never meet anyway. I don't even know where you're located."

"Yeah, you're right." I let out a laugh. "I didn't really think about that."

There was a brief pause. "Speaking of that, where are you from?"

"Oh, we're just—" I immediately stopped myself. You can't tell him where you live! Are you crazy? No, you're just an idiot. I scolded myself. My mood seemed to suddenly change. "Nowhere." I stated firmly. "Actually…everywhere."

"Well, what is it?" He said. "Are you Abby from nowhere or Abby from everywhere?"

I thought about his question and how we moved around so much. "Everywhere."

There was a brief pause, then Monty laughed. "Okay. Abby from everywhere it is." He laughed again. "I kinda like that." He cleared his throat on the other end. "Well, I'm everywhere too."

"Really?" I cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I'm from West Virginia and before that, Maryland. Right now, we're in South Carolina. A town called Anderson to be more exact. But I don't have a camp. I'm currently homeless."

"Oh." So, he really is from everywhere too. I blinked a few times. Anderson? That's not far from here. "So, you're actually the one from nowhere." I shook that thought because I just realized what he said. "You said, "we're" as in plural. Do you have a group?"

Monty was silent for a minute. "Well…yeah, I mean…you didn't think I was completely alone out here, did you?" He said. Damnit! I angrily bit my lip. "It's too dangerous. And I mean…you have a group too, right?"

I thought about if I should answer his question. Now that I know he isn't alone, this changes things. "…yeah. Yeah, I have a group."

"And who's all in that group?"

"You first." I said. Good thinking, Abby.

"Oh, you." He said and laughed. "Okay, fine. It's just me and my dad." I grinned. That's a good thing. Our group is bigger. "Your turn."

"Well, it's me, my dad and two other people." I stated. "We're not family by blood but…we consider each other family."

"Mm." Monty said. "Your dad, huh? No mom?"

My smile faded and I became a little saddened. "No, she's gone."

"I'm sorry to hear that. What happened to her? Is she just dead or…?"

An image of me putting my mom down flashed through my mind. I had to shake the thought. "No. I mean…yeah, she's dead. And I don't really want to talk about it." I looked down.

There was a brief pause. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…to pry."

I cleared my throat. "No, it's fine." I tried to straighten up and forget that conversation. "So, what about you? What happened to your mom? Did you have any siblings? You know, before?"

"Well, my mom died giving birth to me so I really never knew her." Monty said. Oh. I put my head down. "And yeah, I had an older sister." He paused for a moment. I was about to ask what happened to her but he beat me to it. "She was raped and killed by a couple of guys about seven months ago."

My eyes widened. "Oh." I said. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry." I shook my head. "I'm…sorry." I didn't know what else to say. I felt like an asshole. "Were you close?"

"Well, we were twins…so yeah we were pretty close." He let out a laugh.

I made a weird face. "You said she was older though?" It was more of a statement than a question. He did say that.

Monty seemed to hesitate on the other end. "Well, yeah, she was…by four minutes."

Oh. I was relieved yet felt like a jerk again. "Oh, I get it. I'm just terribly sorry to hear that."

"Yeah." He said quietly. "Yeah, she was kind of my best friend. So, I've been kind of lonely."

I brightened up a little. "Me too." I said quietly.

"Really? You're lonely when you got those people? Did you have any siblings?"

I hesitated. "You don't understand my situation though. My dad, Daryl and Michonne are all way older than me. And…yeah, I had a little brother. We were four years apart." I let out a small laugh. He said he and his sister are four minutes apart, and me and Carl are four years. I became more serious. "He's…gone too."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry to hear that. So…that's why you said you're lonely and desperate?" He laughed a little. My face flushed. I didn't know what to say. "Hello? I mean…you did say that. I heard it."

I did say that. I shook my head. "Yeah, I did say that…but…I was in a bad place."

"Okay. So, you're in a good place now?"

I didn't really know how to answer that. I didn't know if I was in a good place. But what I do know, is that I wanted someone to talk to…and now here he is. "I think so." I finally said.

"Good to hear it…Abby from everywhere."

I smiled a little. Suddenly feeling comfortable, I said, "I'm not Abby from everywhere. I'm Abby from Atlanta."

"Well, look at that." Monty said. "That's not too far from here. Looks like we have more in common than we thought."

My lips slowly formed a smile. "Yeah, I guess so."

Monty and I have been talking all night and I was really starting to like this guy. He was funny and actually made me laugh a few times, but he could also be very sweet. I honestly wish I had known him before. I wish he was part of our group.

Although I enjoyed talking with him, I was also getting pretty tired. I'm going to have to end our conversation soon. I mean…I could barely keep my eyes open.

"And then there was last winter when we stayed in a department store." Monty said. He was telling me a story about places he stayed.

"Yeah, that's awful." I said apathetically because of how tired I am. This guy could really talk about himself. I wondered if this is how the others feel when I tell stories. If so, then I understand why Daryl called me annoying. Not really but I was just really sleepy.

"Oh, it was. It was." There was a brief pause. "Am I boring you?"

"No." I said too quickly. "No, not at all. I love hearing your stories. But—"

"Well, that's good because I got plenty more." He said. Oh joy. "So, there was another time when—

"Monty. Monty." I stopped him. I wouldn't last long enough to hear another story. "Not to be rude but…look at your clock."

"…what?" He said.

"Just look at a clock."

"Yeah, it's…almost four in the morning."

"Yeah, exactly." I said with raised eyebrows. "It's time for my bedtime." I said with a laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Monty said. "I didn't realize I was keeping you up."

I blinked a few times. "What do you mean? You're up too."

"Yeah, but I have to. I'm on watch."

"Oh." I said suddenly feeling like a child.

"That's okay. You're right. You should get some shut eye." He said. "Talk again in the morning?"

"Yeah, sure." I smiled. I suddenly remembered something. "But before you go," I said immediately, "there's something I have to tell you." I nervously tapped my fingers together.

"What's that? You have a boyfriend?" He teased…I think.

"No." I said with a laugh. "And what happened to us just talking?" I cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

"That was before I knew how cool and funny you are." He said. This might sound weird, but I could tell he was smiling on the other end when he said that. It made me smile, too.

"But you don't know me." I was still smiling.

"Oh, but I want to. I want to know everything there is to know about Abby from everywhere."

I smiled again. "Well…maybe I too want to know everything about Montgomery from everywhere but his name." I said. He laughed. I don't think I realized it before but I did right then. I think I just flirted with this dude. I became serious again because I realized that I still didn't tell him what I needed to tell him. I straightened up and cleared my throat. "But anyway…what I wanted to tell you is about my dad."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

I sighed. "He doesn't trust anyone…I don't blame him with everything we've been through but…what I'm trying to say is…he wouldn't approve of us talking. So, he can't know about this. Or anyone else in my group for that matter. So, if you ever hear another voice. Just stay completely quiet."

"I get it." He said. "I get it."

I felt a feeling of relief. "So, I'm gonna go now. But I'll talk to you again in the morning."

"Sounds good. Night, Abby from everywhere."

I smiled. "Night, Monty from nowhere." I turned the radio off and sat it on my dresser, then laid down to get some sleep. Maybe I can actually get an hour or two. I hated not getting sleep. However, for the first time in a long time, I went to bed feeling happy.

"So, how's the weather where you are?" Monty said. "It's cloudy here, looks like it's going to rain any minute now."

I snorted. "You're asking me about the weather?"

There was a brief pause. "It did sound kinda lame, didn't it?"

"Ya think?" I teased him.

He chuckled. "I guess we're running out of things to talk about." He sounded a little disappointed when he said that.

I didn't want that, I enjoyed talking with him. "Well…before the turn…when I was with my friends the one time, we came up with this game where we just ask each other random questions. You know? To get to know each other better. We could do that?" I shrugged.

"That sounds pretty gay." He teased. I giggled. "But…sure. Why not?"

"Alright." I smiled. I felt giddy all of a sudden.

"You first."

"Okay, just gimme a minute to think of something." I started to think.

"Abby!" My dad called me. I heard him coming up the stairs and gasped.

"Monty, I have to go." I said quickly. "Don't respond to this. My dad's coming. I'll talk to you when I can." I hurriedly switched off the radio, put it back on my dresser and even threw a blanket over it for some reason. Then I got back on my bed and grabbed the book off of my end table to make it look like I wasn't just sitting here.

"Abby?" My dad knocked on the door, then opened it. "What are you doing?"

I shrugged. "Nothing."

He hesitated. "It sounded like you were talking to someone." It was more of a statement than a question.

Shit. My eyes glanced over at the radio covered up on my dresser, then they casted down to the book in my hand. I quickly thought of something. "Oh, you probably heard me reading." I nodded. "I read out loud sometimes. I swear I don't even realize I'm doing it." I rolled my eyes and smiled.

My dad eyed me suspiciously, which made me nervous. "Okay. Come down and eat breakfast."

"Okay." I nodded. "Be right there." He closed the door and I got up to brush my teeth and fix my hair before going downstairs.

After that, I opened my blinds to let some light into the room. That's when I saw the sky. It was cloudy here too…

I walked downstairs and saw that the others were still in the dining room eating breakfast, they all looked at me when I walked in. Awkward. I just ignored it and went to my seat.

Everything was quiet for a minute. "Hey-hey, Abby." Daryl said. "Michonne made pancakes. They're really good. You should have some."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. That almost sounded rehearsed. What? Did my dad get Daryl in on trying to get me to eat now too? Wow, how annoying. "They look good…but I'm not that hungry."

"You're not hungry again?" Michonne asked me. I gave her a questioning look. "You didn't eat last night either." Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I'm sure they didn't. "Honey, are you sick?"

I blinked a few times. "No, I'm fine." I shook my head and tried to get the attention off me. "I'll just have an orange." I grabbed one from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table.

"You're eating more than that." My dad told me.

I just sighed and decided not to say anything. It's no use anyway. The same thing happens everyday. I wish he would just lay off me. I mean…it's my body. If I don't want to eat, then I don't eat.

"So, what's the plans fer today?" Daryl asked. I think he just didn't want an argument. "Anyone goin' out? I was thankin' about checkin' this one place. It's a little far though." He said. I was listening but not paying much attention, I was still peeling my orange. "Maybe I could take Abby?" He shrugged. I stopped and looked up at him. "If it's alright with you?" He said to my dad.

I was a little surprised but not shocked. Why would I be his first choice? I mean…it's dangerous out there. He knows that. I would assume he would rather have my dad have his back or even Michonne before he would pick me. And especially after what happened yesterday. Surely, he didn't forget about my breakdown. Something is up and I wonder what.

"That's a good idea." Michonne said smiling at both of us.

Then I knew exactly what was going on. Daryl told them what I said about being lonely. He definitely did. That's what those looks were when I first came down here. That's why Daryl wants me to go on that far run with him. And that's why Michonne encouraged it. I smelt that bullshit a mile away.

"Well, that's nice of you, Daryl," my dad started to say, "but I have my own plans for today and I was actually going to take my daughter with me."

This time I was shocked. I looked over at my dad. He stood up. "It's been a while since we went on a run together." He kind of smiled at me and kissed the top of my head as he walked by.

Now I was a little confused again. I looked down at the pancakes, they did look and smell pretty good. "Maybe I'll have just one." I put one on my plate.

"Monty? Hey, are you there?" I said into the radio.

There was a pretty long pause. "Well, hello there, Ab. What's up? Are we going to continue the game we never started now?"

"Uh…no." I said. "No, I can't. Not right now…I mean." I hesitated. He didn't say anything. "Um…I'm going on a run with my dad. I just wanted to let you know because I don't know when I'll be back." I nodded. "So, I'll hit you up whenever I can."

"Alright." He kind of sighed. "I'll miss your company while you're gone."

I smiled. "Oh, shut up. I'll be back probably tonight."

"You promise?"

"…I promise." I bit my lip. I probably shouldn't make promises like that, you never know when you're coming back when you go out there. You never know if you're coming back. I looked down. "So, I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, later. I'll be looking forward to it." He said. I was about to switch off the radio. "Abby." He stopped me. "Be careful out there."

I took in what he said, but I didn't respond. I just switched the radio off and covered it back up.

"So…where we goin'?" I said to my dad as we were driving. "More importantly, why did you want to take me out?"

He glanced at me before answering. "Didn't you wanna come?"

I shrugged. "I don't mind…but you and I don't really go out on runs together that often, especially now."

"Well, that's why I wanted ya to come with me." He gave me a small smile. There was a brief pause. "And we need to have a talk." He grabbed my face, briefly, with one hand.

I looked at him with my eyes a little wider. Oh God. He knows about Monty. I swallowed hard. "Okay. What did you wanna talk to me about…dad?" I waited nervously.

He looked at me. "Daryl told me what you said. That you're lonely."

Oh. I kind of exhaled in relief a little. I knew it! I knew that sneaky hillbilly told! "I didn't…" I trailed off and shook my head.

"Baby, why wouldn't you tell me you were feeling that way?"

"I don't know." I said suddenly not knowing what to say. "I guess I didn't want to worry anyone. And I didn't mean to tell Daryl either, it just slipped out."

"Oh." He nodded. "So, that's why you told him and not me? It just slipped out?"

The way he said that made me look at him. "Dad." I said. He looked back at the road. "We already had this conversation. Are you jealous of Daryl?" He didn't say anything. "Why?"

"I'm not jealous." He finally answered. "But you two spend a lot of time together. And we don't. It's like you don't need me anymore."

I looked down suddenly feeling emotional. I wish he wouldn't say stuff like that, it makes me want to cry. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "That's not true."

"Yeah, it is. You don't even call me daddy anymore." He kind of laughed right there.

There was a silent moment. "I still do sometimes."

He snorted. "Alright. Never mind. I don't wanna bring the mood down." Too late for that. "Let's check this grocery store down here."

We drove the rest of the way there pretty much in silence. He parked the car in the parking lot. "Stay close." My dad said to me as we were walking to the store. We peeked in the window, there was nothing or no one that we could clearly see. We pounded on the window just like Daryl and I do, then waited.

Only one walker emerged after some time. "Okay, that's long enough." My dad said. "I got it." We walked inside and he took care of the walker. I started to go ahead but he grabbed my arm. "Where ya goin'?"

I turned giving him a stupid look. "To go look around." I said obviously.

"Stay with me." He said.

My eyes widened a little. "Seriously?" He looked at me. "When Daryl and I go out…we usually split the list, if we have one, then we go our separate ways."

"Well, I'm not Daryl and I say stay with me." He said with raised eyebrows, then walked passed me. I rolled my eyes. "And don't roll your eyes at me."

My eyes widened now. Whoa! How'd he do that? Does he have eyes on the back of his head? The thought made me laugh.

We moved about the store, my dad practically made me be his shadow. He HAD to lead the way and he kept turning around to make sure I was right behind him. It was really getting on my nerves. See, this is why we don't go on runs together. I can just imagine if I said that to him.

I stopped by a wrack of clothes. There was a cute pair of black sweatpants that had pandas on them. I smiled at them and showed my dad. "I'm definitely taking these." I said stuffing them into my bag. He gave me a quick smile, then we started walking again.

At one point, I split off from him and started to go over to the next aisle. "Abby." My dad called me.

"It's okay." I said. "I got it, dad. Really."

"I don't care. Get back over here."

I turned around and looked at him, he looked kind of serious. I sighed and rolled my eyes but went back over to where he was. "Okay." I put my hands up.

"What did I tell you about staying close?"

"That it doesn't need to happen." I said smartly. He gave me a look. I had to smirk.

"Gimme your hand." He said.

Now I was serious. "For real?"

"Yeah, for real. So, I know you won't go anywhere." He put his hand out. I sighed and reluctantly took it. Now we were walking through the store holding hands. I'm just glad no one else is here.

After what felt like an eternity, we got enough stuff and got out of that store. I was thankful to get back to the car. We loaded our bags in, then got in ourselves. "Seatbelt." My dad told me. I fastened it around me. "So, you wanna go anywhere else?"

"No." I said too quickly while I was looking down at something. "I need to get back. Monty is waiting for me."

"Who's Monty?" My dad gave me a curious look.

Realization just hit me. Oh, you idiot. How do you let stuff slip your mind like that? "Uh…it's the character in the book I'm reading." I said it without much thought.

My dad was still staring at me. "Must be a pretty damn good book if you can't wait to get home to read." He raised his eyebrows at me, then started backing up. I had to smile at that.

We were headed back home. I had my head down and was trying to put something together that I found when I felt the car stop. I looked up knowing that there was no way we were back yet. We were parked outside of a little store. "Dad?" I gave him an annoyed look.

"I'm sorry, I know what you said but I wanna check in here while we're out." He said. "And besides that, I'm in charge here." He raised his eyebrows at me.

"Yes, sergeant." I said smartly. I heard him chuckle.

So, we went into the store taking our normal precautions like always. This place wasn't as big as the other one. Good. We should be able to do this quick.

We checked around and grabbed some items. Just then, we heard a thud. My dad grabbed me and pulled me to him. We listened. "Pretty sure it's just one." I said.

"Yeah, and it sounds like it's trapped." My dad said.

That triggered my memory, I remember when something just like this happened with Daryl and I. I opened the door to kill the walkers, which resulted in an argument. I wondered what my dad would be like in this situation. It gave me an idea.

"You can look around this time." My dad. "Just be quick."

Sure, dad. I'll look around. I walked around trying to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. It was the bathroom. I tried to open it, it was locked. My shoulders slumped. Damnit. Then, I remembered that they usually keep the key up by the registers. So, I went up there and looked, it was right on the counter. I grabbed it and went back and unlocked the door. The walker came right at me. I threw it against a shelf. "Abby, you okay?" I heard my dad say from a few aisles over. I didn't answer him, I killed the walker. Then, my dad was there. He just stared at the scene.

"I killed a walker." I stated.

He looked down at it, then at me. "Good job." He said. What? My shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure."

I hung my head as we were walking out of the store. I don't know how I expected him to react but…I hoped it was similar to how Daryl reacted. It was the complete opposite.

Just as I walked out the door, a walker came right at me. I squealed but then held my knife up ready to stab it. Suddenly, my arm was grabbed and I was pushed aside also falling to the ground. My dad killed the walker. "Sorry, are you okay?"

I was a little mad. "What the hell, dad? You didn't have to throw me!"

"I had to protect you."

"I had it!" I put my arms out. "I'm not defenseless against walkers. I do this shit all the time."

"Hey." He said to get my attention. "I'm sorry." He raised his voice a little. "And don't talk to me like that."

I gave him an annoyed look. "Like what?" I snapped.

"Like that." He answered.

I huffed. "See, this is the kind of shit why we don't go on runs together." I crossed my arms and briskly walked out to the car.

My dad was there a few seconds later. "What's that supposed to mean?" He sounded calmer than before.

"Forget it, dad. Just take me home." I put on my seatbelt and sat back in my seat.

"Not until you answer my question."

I looked at him. "Do you really not know?" I paused. "You're too overprotective! It's annoying!" I yelled.

"I know, I'm sorry." He said calmly. "I just wanted you to be my little girl again."

"Well, I'm not." I snapped. Those mean words just came out, I regretted saying it almost immediately. I could feel him looking at me but I didn't make eye contact. I couldn't.

After about ten seconds, he was still looking at me so I had to look at him. I didn't hide my expression, I could see the hurt in his eyes. I looked down then back at him again. He nodded slightly, then started the car.

What do you think will happen with Abby and Rick? What will happen with Monty? Let me know your thoughts! Thanks!