Red River Blue

Chapter 78

He waved goodbye to Tyreese and Aaron before turning and heading for the other end of town. Carl had Wren's hand in his. She squeezed his fingers and smiled at him, gently bumping her body against his as they walked. They were supposed to be walking out to the gardens with Glenn and Maggie. But Carl was purposely lagging behind the other couple, hoping for an opportunity for them to make their escape.

"Come on," Glenn hollered back, "Hurry up."

Carl sighed, making Wren giggle. They reluctantly picked up their pace, catching up with their assigned chaperones of the day. Since they got caught having their little sleepover, all the adults had been watching him and Wren like freaking hawks. It was so annoying. Carl reminded himself that being watched by Glenn and Maggie was better than being watched by his dad. Or by Merle. He couldn't even sneak a kiss in when that grouchy fucker was around.

"Let's wait until they get busy with the gardening," Carl whispered, "Then let's make a run for it."

Wren giggled again. She stopped walking and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his. Carl kissed her back, pulling her body tight against his.

"Come on!," Glenn hollered again, yelling louder this time. He and Maggie stopped and waited for Carl and Wren to catch up with them.

"Are y'all supposed ta be suckin' face like that?," Maggie teased.

"My mom just said we betta not have any more sleepovers or my dad was gonna have a fuckin' cow," Wren corrected. Her mom also gave her a much more thorough than Wren thought was necessary sex talk. Complete with a graphic description of her own birth.

Maggie laughed. River's parenting techniques were a constant source of amusement for her. The woman wasn't much older than her daughters, giving them a different dynamic than Maggie remembered from growing up with parents that started having children much later in life. If her father caught her with a boy in her bed at thirteen years old, Maggie didn't even want to think about what he would have done. She would have got a lot more than a stern warning and a sex talk. That was for certain.

"What did your dad say?," Glenn asked, looking at Carl. He certainly heard what Merle said to Rick. Which was if his fucking kid's dick jumped outta his pants that Rick was going to jumping out off his roof. With Merle's help. Glenn wondered if that message got passed along to Carl.

"He said I better be respectful or I was gonna be in a LOT of trouble," Carl said with a shrug.

Carl wasn't really sure what respectful meant exactly. But he assumed his dad was worried that he and Wren might make a baby. After seeing his mother bleed out during childbirth and having to shoot her in the head, Carl certainly had no intention of making any babies. Not anytime soon. And probably never if he had his way. Just because he slept over with Wren, it didn't mean that they were making babies. All they did was kiss and hold each other. Carl didn't know everything about sex. But he knew it took a lot more than kissing to make a baby.

Carl helped Glenn clear out an area of weeds where they were planning to plant a fall garden. Then he and Wren both helped Maggie with some trellises she was reinforcing to keep the large tomato plants from toppling over. Glenn kept a close eye on them at first. But like Carl knew he would, the man eventually lost interest in them and became absorbed in the task he was working on. Maggie was on the far end of the garden, pulling the weeds from a patch of green beans.

"Now's our chance," Carl whispered, tugging on the hen of Wren's shirt. She nodded, slowly edging back from the spinach she was picking. She left her half full basket on the ground near the base of the plants. "Move quiet until they notice," Carl said. Wren nodded, a grin spreading across her face.

"Then lets run like fuckin' hell," she added. Carl bit his lip to hide a laugh. They all knew how to move without being heard. Anyone that hadn't acquired that skill was long dead by now. Carl and Enid got a fair distance away from Glenn and Maggie before Glenn popped his head up and noticed what they were doing.

"Carl!," he hollered. Wren broke out into a wild shriek of laughter as they both turned and started hauling ass towards the back section of the wall. "Come on man!," Glenn yelled, his voice laced with annoyance. Maggie watched the young couple as they scaled the wall and disappeared over the top of it.

"Think we should go after 'em?," she asked. Glenn shook his head. Even if he was interested in running them down, Carl and Wren had a hell of a head start. And they clearly weren't looking to be caught.

"They can hump their freaking brains out for all I care," Glenn huffed, waving his hand dismissively towards the wall. "I said I would keep an eye on them. Not chase their asses all over Virginia."

"Rick better invest in a parachute," Maggie told him with a laugh. Glenn laughed along with her, pulling the woman into his arms and kissing her as hard as he guessed their two escapees were kissing each other now that they were alone.

Wren ran until her ribs ached. Once she was sure that no one was chasing after them, she flopped down on the ground and leaned back against a fallen log to catch her breath. Carl scooted in next to her, adjusting his hat on his head. He smiled over at the girl next to him. Wren was breathing hard, her skin covered in a glistening sheen of sweat. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a ponytail. But the lighter sun bleached strands around her face were loose and hanging wild around her face. There was absolutely no doubt in Carl's mind that she was the most beautiful girl left alive in the entire world.

"I love you," Carl told her, reaching over to clasp her hand in his. Wren's face lit up, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"I love you too," she told him, leaning close and pressing her lips to his. They lingered in the moment, kissing each other in the way that they couldn't when everyone was watching them.

"I like it out here," Wren said when she finally pulled back and broke the contact between them. "It feels weird to be in there," she added, gesturing back towards the high walls of the safe zone. Carl nodded. It did feel weird in there. Not bad. Just strange and sort of uncomfortable after all their time on the road.

"I don't want us to forget how to survive," Carl told her as he pulled his knife from his belt. He flipped it around in his hand, poking at the bark of the tree they were leaning against. Carl smiled at Wren and told her to close her eyes. She didn't question his reasoning. She just fluttered her eyes shut and clasped her hands in her lap. Wren could hear the sound of Carl's knife scraping against the bark of the tree. When he told her she could open her eyes again, she turned and glanced in the direction she heard the scraping coming from. Between them on the tree were their initials carved inside a wonky uneven heart. Wren giggled and wrapped her arms around Carl, hugging him tight. Before they could kiss, the hiss of walkers broke the silence of the forest around them.

"Sounds like a lot," Carl told her, "We better go back."