It's been a few weeks and nothing really important went on. Daryl and I spent all of our time together, occasionally I visited with my dad and Michonne. Everything was going well and I wasn't having anymore weird pains or health problems, which is good because I don't know what we would do if something were seriously wrong with me.

However, on this particular day, Daryl informed me about something that I was a little worried about. He told me that he was going on a run and didn't know when he would be back. I didn't like it because I worry enough as it is when he goes out, but he said he would be gone for a while. I was worried.

"I could go with you, you know?" I said. I didn't see the point in him going by himself. "It might even be fun."

"Nah. I want ya to stay here. Yer still recoverin'." He said.

I gave him a stupid look. "Daryl, that was three weeks ago. I'm fine."

"Still though, I want to make sure yer okay. And ya don't gotta go." He shook his head.

"Okay." I nodded. "I still don't see why though." I wasn't mad but I was feeling something close to that.

"Everythang will be fine." Daryl tried to reassure me. I didn't believe that. Of course I trusted Daryl. He can handle himself but…anything could happen out there. Anything.

I sighed heavily. "I know but you know I'm still going to worry no matter what." I said softly. "Look what happened to me." I gave him a look. "That could have happened to anyone. And I'm lucky my dad was there to help me, otherwise I don't even know what could have happened." I crossed my arms in front of me. Daryl sighed. I walked closer to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, then our lips met. We gave each other a long, slow kiss. Then rested our foreheads on each other's once we pulled apart. "Just be careful." I said and put my hand on his cheek. "Please."

"You know I will be." He said. "And I'll be back before ya know it."

"And how soon is that?"

"I told you I don't know—

"Daryl, I don't accept that." I cut him off. "Please just give me an estimate. Just to make me feel better. Please."

He sighed. "Maybe like as long as you were gone." He nodded. "Okay?"

I relaxed a little inside. But just a little! That makes me feel a little bit better. At least it will only be like three or four days. Still…anything could happen. "Okay." I forced a small smile.

Daryl planted a soft kiss on my forehead, then turned to leave. He looked back at me before walking out the door. I watched him leave out the window. I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore.

I sighed and moved away from the window. What to do now? I have the house to myself for a few days. Has this happened yet? I don't think it has. It's weird, it's like I didn't know what to do. It was still early so I decided to have a cup of coffee and maybe read a little.

The book I was reading is called Oracle by H.R. Lutz. I was really getting into it when I heard laughter outside. I got annoyed but ignored it and went back to the story. However, I heard footsteps and then a knock at the door. My shoulders slumped and I put the book down.

I opened the door and Tess and Carrie were standing there. I gave them a shocked look because they never came over here before. "Hey!" They said and came in without me inviting them.

"Hey." I said dully.

"We haven't seen you in a while." Carrie said.

"Yeah, well…I've been busy." I said.

Tess laughed. "Doing what? With your man?" She giggled.

"Actually yes." I said seriously. "We do enjoy each other's company." I nodded. "I love spending time with my man."

"Okay, so where is he?" She asked again.

"He just left. On a run." I scratched behind my ear. I really wish they weren't here right now. I hope they don't stay long.

"Well, anyway," Tess started, there's a little thing at Paige's house tonight. She told us not to tell you but we thought it would be really funny if you came." She widened her eyes and laughed.

I just stared at them for a moment. "Why?" I gave them a look.

"Because she hates you and you always put her in her place." Tess said, then laughed. "We all like you way better."

"Yeah." Carrie said. "You should come. It won't be fun without you. That time you were gone, our parties were lame as hell."

I was a little flattered but still annoyed. "Yeah, I don't think so." I shook my head. "You can count me out."

"What? Why?" Tess said. Carrie just gave me a serious look.

"Because why would I?" I gave them a stupid look and cocked an eyebrow. "Paige is a bitch and I don't get a thrill out of "putting her in her place." I just do it because it needs to be done. And Bridget's fake and so is Brittany yet she calls her out for being fake. She's just as fake." I put my arms out. "I don't need to be around people like that."

We were quiet for a minute. "She's right." Carrie said. "I sometimes even wonder about Dana."

"I know!" Tess said and seemed to get excited. "She acts so nice but I think deep down she's really self-centered." She nodded.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Yeah, I didn't say that stuff so that we can sit here and talk about them. I don't care about gossip. I really wish they would leave! I have better things to do. "Yeah, well, I was just about to—

"Oh, I have a great idea!" Tess yelled cutting me off. "We should all totally flake on Paige's party and go to someone else's!" She laughed along with Carrie.

"We could do it at my house." Carrie said.

"I'm so in!" Tess said. "I'll talk to everyone else and see if they want to." She turned towards me grinning from ear to ear. "Abby, are you in?"

"No." I answered immediately. As much as I can't stand Paige, I would never do that to someone. That's just shitty and makes you just as bad as them. Talk about being fake.

Tess's grin faded. "Why?" She asked almost like I was the stupid one.

I took a deep breath before answering. "Because I just don't want to." I shook my head. "I don't need an excuse to not go to a party. And besides," I cleared my throat, "all we do is drink and I can't anymore."

"You can't drink anymore?" Carrie asked me. "How come?"

I hesitated. "…I quit." I shrugged.

They were both looking at me. "Seriously?" Tess said.

"Yeah, seriously." I almost snapped. "I can't be doing that shit my whole life."

"So, you're never gonna drink again?" Tess said in disbelief.

"Probably not." I took a sip of my coffee.

"Well, that's…lame." She said.

I gave her a stupid look. I almost said something back but I decided not to. I want them to leave not sit here and have an argument with them. "Yeah, cool." I said and cleared my throat. "Anyway, I was about to get in the shower when you guys knocked at the door, so I guess I'll see you around." I said basically kicking them out.

"Oh, okay." Tess said. They both got up and headed towards the door. "I'll miss drunk Abby." She said and laughed. I rolled my eyes.

Carrie walked out after Tess but stopped and turned to me. "Hey, Abby?" I looked at her. "I think it's cool that you quit drinking." She gave me small smile. I returned it and nodded. I watched them leave, then closed and locked the door.

I sighed and sat down on the couch. Well, what now? I glanced towards the clock, it was just passed ten. I sighed heavily again. It's going to be a long day.

I wasn't really hungry when dinner time rolled around so I decided not to make anything. It's just me anyway. So, what I did that evening is watched movies. Yup, I sat on the couch, ate chips and watched movies. It was actually kind of nice. Daryl doesn't like movies that much so I really didn't get to do this. However, it would be nice to have someone else to watch them with.

I stayed up pretty late that night and didn't go to bed until like three in the morning. I always did have trouble sleeping. Daryl made things better for me once we started dating. But it sucked sleeping without him.

Everything was okay for the most part. I probably fell asleep around 3:30. That's actually very quick for me. Usually I would lay awake for hours trying to get to sleep. I guess I was tired.

I woke up to a horrible pain behind my right ribs just like the other day except this one was way worse. I sat up groaning in pain and holding that spot. Oh, it hurts so bad. I thought. What is this? "Ah." I said out loud. I gritted my teeth in pain and tried stretching like I did that one night to try and stop it. It wasn't working this time. I didn't know what to do and I was getting really scared. I was beginning to sweat and feel sick to my stomach.

Just then, I realized how dry my throat was so I grabbed the water bottle off of the end table and started drinking. I noticed that the pain was starting to subside the more water I drank. Okay, this is really weird! I thought. I drank that bottle down though. Before long, the pain was gone altogether.

I took some deep breaths and waited just to make sure it wasn't going to come back. After a few minutes, it didn't so I figured I was good. Still super weird though. I wonder what the hell that is?

I shook it off and got up because it was light outside. I took a nice hot shower, then went to make something quick for breakfast. I was unusually hungry but I figured it was just because I didn't eat dinner last night.

I was in the mood for pancakes but I didn't want to make all that when it was just me so I had some eggs. Then, another weird thing happened. The smell of the eggs frying made me sick to my stomach. However, I still ate them because I didn't want to waste them.

After I ate and cleaned up, I was back to square one like yesterday trying to think of what to do. I spotted my book where I left it yesterday and read another chapter. However, I stopped after that because the silence was really beginning to get to me.

I sighed putting the book aside and laying down on the couch. Man, my life sure was boring before Daryl and I were together. What the hell did I even do before that? Drink? I suddenly got a bad urge after I thought that. No, you cannot drink! You made a promise! I had to shake the thought. Before now, I hadn't had any urges to drink at all. It's probably because of me being alone. I need to think of something to do and fast.

Maybe I could go see my dad and Michonne. Maybe I'll take Judith to the park or something. I suddenly had a great idea! I should bring my sister over here! She can stay at least a day and keep me company and that will give my dad and Michonne some alone time. "Ew." I said out loud. I let out a small laugh. It's still a great idea though.

"Hi, daddy." I smiled sweetly when he opened the door for me.

"Hi, baby." He smiled back and we hugged. I kissed his cheek.

"Daryl went out and said he wouldn't be back for a few days, so I started to get lonely." I said.

"You don't need an excuse to come over." He said motioning me inside. "You're welcome here anytime."

I saw my sister on the floor doing a puzzle or something. It reminded me of that time when Carl and I got taken back to that hospital and Daryl and I made that puzzle after we killed everyone. I remembered how we built the whole thing and there was one piece missing. That seems so long ago now. I mean…it kind of was. Judy was just a baby then. She looked up when she saw me. "Abby!" Judith jumped up and hugged my waist.

"Hi, sis." I patted her head and smiled. She had gotten taller. I bet she gets taller than me at some point, as we all know I was not blessed with the tall gene. The thought annoyed me. "Hi." I said to Michonne and we hugged. She gave me a big smile.

Judith went back to her puzzle, and I sat at the table with my dad and Michonne. "Imma steal some of your coffee." I said pouring myself a cup with a smirk.

"Go ahead and take as much as you want, kid." My dad said.

I looked up at him and he gave me a look. "Jeez, you haven't called me that since…" I trailed off remembering our lives before the turn. Clearing my throat, I shook that thought. I don't want to bring that up. "For a long time." I said quickly, then sipped my coffee.

There was a brief pause. "So, what were you guys doing before I came in?" I smiled.

"What do you think we were doing?" Michonne gave me a bored look. I laughed.

"Damn, you guys gotta spice things up." I teased. Then, I grinned at them and raised my eyebrows. "We have have fun all the time. Daryl and I—

"Stop." My dad said and waved his hands at me. "Abby, please."

Michonne and I laughed pretty hard. "What's so funny?" Judith was suddenly there.

I turned to her. "You won't know for a long time." I said and sighed.

"For a long time." My dad said with raised eyebrows. The three of us laughed but Judith kind of stomped away.

I looked at her, then back at my dad and Michonne. "So, I was thinking…" I started. "Since Daryl is going to be gone for a few days and it's just me there, I was thinking maybe Judith could stay with me for a night." I shrugged. "Take her off your hands for a day. You know, give you two some alone time." I stretched out the word alone and smiled.

My dad and Michonne shared a look. "That's a great idea." Michonne said and smiled at me. I returned her look.

"Yeah?" I said, then looked at my dad.

"Ain't gonna catch me arguing." He said. "And it's about time you spent some time with your sister anyway."

"Well." I said pretending to be offended and put a hand up. Then, I turned around to face my sister's door. "Hey, Judith!" I called.

"Yeah?" She said from in her room.

"You wanna have a sleep over at my house tonight?" I turned back around in my seat.

She didn't respond right away, but I heard a thud and then little feet running. "Really?" She said excitedly next to me.

"Yeah." I gave her a stupid look. "We'll have a great time." I nodded. "Watch some movies, eat some stale popcorn. Maybe I'll take you to the park tomorrow."

"Yeah." She jumped up and down like she just won the lottery.

"Well, go pack a bag with comfy night clothes and your toothbrush and stuff." I said. "And bring any games if you want because we ain't got that shit." I let out a small laugh.

"Okay!" She said and ran to her room.

I looked back at my dad and Michonne and raised an eyebrow. "You believe this kid?" They both laughed.

I'm so excited!" Judith said when we were leaving.

"Yeah, yeah. We didn't even get there yet." I told her.

"You two have fun." My dad said.

I turned around and gave him a look. I decided to tease him some more. "Yeah, you guys too." I raised my eyebrows and laughed.

"Stop it." Michonne said but laughed. She mouthed the words, "thank you" to me.

"You're welcome." I said back lowly and gave her a cool look. Aren't I just the best?

"Alright, Judith." My dad said and bent down to her level. "You be good for Abby now. If she tells us you were bad, you're gonna be in big trouble."

I waved my dad off. "How much trouble could she possibly get in?" I teased some more. My dad and Michonne shared at look and laughed. Wonder what that's about?

"Alright, give daddy a kiss." He said to my sister. Judith gave my dad and Michonne kisses.

I guided Judith out the door before she had second thoughts. I don't think she's ever been to a sleep over before. "I'll bring her back some time tomorrow." I nodded.

"Okay." My dad said.

"See you then." I waved. "Come on, kid." I put my hand on her back and guided her down the ramp. "Are you excited for some fun?" I looked down at her.

"Yeah!" She jumped. I smiled. Dealing with her will give me some practice. Looking after her before probably made me a damn expert.

Judith and I played a few games until it got dark out. I beat her every time, which made her mad. I could have just let her win, but what would that do if I let her think that she could just always win? That's not how life works. In fact, you lose more times than you win, especially now.

"Okay." I said and stretched. "How about we start watching some movies instead of games?" I asked my sister. It was actually more of a statement than a question. I was done playing games. "I'll make some popcorn."

"Fine with me." Judith stood up and sat on the couch. "You never let me win anyways." She pouted.

I smirked at her. "Well, that wouldn't really be winning now, would it?" I opened a bag of popcorn and put it in the microwave, then leaned against the counter. "You think if you were playing with one of your friends that they would let you win?"

"No." She looked at me. "But you're an adult. You're a'posed to let me win."

I scoffed. "Who taught you that? Dad?" I let out a small laugh. "If you want to be treated like a big kid, then ya gotta act like one too." I got a large bowl out for the popcorn. "And by the way, it's supposed to not 'aposed to."

Judith looked like she was thinking for a moment, then she said, "what movie are we watching?"

The popcorn was done so I took that out and poured it into a bowl before answering. "Well, I figured we could watch Alice In Wonderland." I said shoving a few pieces of popcorn in my mouth. "It's my favorite Disney movie."

"I wanna watch Little Mermaid." My sister complained.

"We'll watch that after." I said bringing the bowl over to her. "Besides, you've seen that like a hundred times already. Don't you want to watch a new movie?" I starting setting up the DVD player and played the movie.

"Okay." Judith agreed. "Can we make ice cream again?" She suddenly got excited.

"Sure, kid." I said sitting down next to her. "Whatever you want." I put a blanket over us and put my arm around my sister. "Let's do that after this though."

Judith talked and asked questions through the whole movie, but I think she liked it a lot. I laughed a lot during the tea party scene. I thought it was cute and reminded me of when I watched this movie with my dad. It's funny because I was probably about her age the first time I watched this. I was so in love with this movie back then. I remember I would recite some of the lines when we were doing stuff. And one time during dinner, when we had company over. I said, "fed your head" and I actually put food on my head. My mom tried to stop me but it was too late. We all just laughed, especially my dad. I brought it up one time when I was older and he said it was one of the most precious things he's ever seen. I smiled at that memory and wiped away a stray tear.

"Abby?" Judith brought me out of my reverie. "Are you sad?"

"No, why would you ask that?" I gave her a weird look.

"You're crying." She said seriously.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm fine." I sighed with a smile. "I was just thinking about something." I tapped her nose. "They're happy tears."

Judith and I finished Alice In Wonderland, then made ice cream like I promised. She was so happy to eat it. Then, we watched The Little Mermaid like she wanted to. I really liked this time that I was spending with my sister. Carl and I were super close once upon time ago and I'm glad I'm getting to have that time with my sister. It almost kind of sucks that were so far apart in age. But I guess that's good in other ways. For instance, I could help her out with any problems she will have. I wanted to try and be the best big sister for her. She already lost more than anyone should at her age.

My sister seemed to get tired after the second movie, so I decided it was time for bed. I carried her into my room and laid her in bed, then got in next to her. "Abby?" Judith said innocently.

"Yes, baby?" I turned to her.

"Can you tell me a story?"

I gave her a disappointed look. I'm good at telling personal stories but not so good at making them up on the spot. "I don't know any." I shook my head. "Sorry, kid."

"Please just make something up." She whined.

I sighed. "Okay...Once upon a time, there was girl that couldn't make up stories and her little sister, that should be asleep already, wants her to tell her one."

Judith giggled loudly. "No! Do better!" She still giggled. "I have a better idea!" She got a little excited. "Can you sing to me instead?"

I stopped and just thought for a minute. I really didn't want to but I was losing here. I had to give her something. And then, I thought of the perfect song. "You can't always get what you want." I tapped her nose. She giggled. "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometime you find you get what you need." Judith continued to giggle. "Happy?" I raised my eyebrows and smiled. She didn't say anything and her laughter slowly died down. I reached to turn the lamp off.

"Wait." My sister stopped me. "You don't have a night light?" It was more of a statement than a question.

I smirked at her. "No, because we're adults and we don't get scared of the dark anymore." Especially when I'm with Daryl. I thought.

"But…but…how do you just stop being afraid?" She asked innocently.

I gave her a look and didn't respond immediately. "It just happens. You won't be afraid one day."

"No way." She shook her head. "There's no way I will ever stop being afraid of the dark. Ever!"

I smiled at her. "Yes, you will." I assured her. "I know because I thought the same thing." I turned the lamp off then and got comfortable.

"Abby, I'm scared." She said.

"You're fine. I'm right here." I tried to calm her.

"Will you put your arm around me?" She said. I pulled her close to me and had my arm around her.

"It's okay. You're fine." I nodded. "Just think about nice things and you'll be asleep before you know it."

It wasn't long before I heard her light breathing and knew she was asleep. I thought I did pretty good there. I smiled. I wondered what my mom would think of me now? We weren't really that close. Would she be proud of me? Or would she still treat me the same? I sighed. I just didn't know.