2—Welcome to Hilltop pt. 2
It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit,
I'm just the same as I was,
Now don't you understand?
That I'm never changing who I am...
~It's Time; by Imagine Dragons
With Deanna gone—news of her death had been announced to Alexandria, a memorial having been put together not long after—everyone who lived in Alexandria either kept the jobs they had been previously assigned, or got new jobs. Watches were stationed around the walls; rations were put into place; Rick made it clear that there'd be a curfew; anyone who wanted to leave Alexandria, for whatever reason, would have to tell whoever was watching the gates, but more preferably, whoever wanted to leave had to leave with someone else; there'd be daily checking of the traps put out front of the gates.
Everyone wanted Alexandria to be as safe as possible.
Rick made sure that everyone had a weapon on hand. In case of another invasion, they had to be ready.
It made everyone feel safer.
Rick and Daryl had been on their run for most of the day, which meant that the rest of Alexandria would be continuing with its usual routine. Aibileen, with a little help from Merle, had settled for helping expand the wall into the closest neighborhood; Selena was helping Denise with her medical training; Maggie and a few others were helping with the crops—everything felt really normal. For once in a long time, they weren't constantly looking over their shoulders for some kind of threat.
That feeling of normalcy was something they all welcomed.
"Carl, can ya come here a minute?" Aibileen called. In the time since Carl lost his eye, he'd become a bit withdrawn. He hardly left his house, only if it required taking Judith out to get some air. He wore the sheriff's hat at an angle so it'd cover most of his face and he made sure to have his hair swept in a way to cover his bandage.
Aibileen had since taken a break from helping with the wall. She noticed Carl with Judith, the young boy looking a little anxious to say the least.
When he saw her, the corners of his mouth turned up into a small smile, but the anxiousness didn't remove itself from his expression. Seeing Aibileen motion him over, he gave in and went over.
Aibileen was sitting on a small patch of grass, nibbling on some crackers she managed to snag from Olivia. Carl sat beside her, positioning Judith between his legs.
"Haven't seen ya in a while," she said, taking a small bite from her cracker.
"I've been...busy," he murmured, frowning slightly.
Aibileen nodded. "Everythin' holdin' up OK?" she asked, gently nudging his shoulder. He hesitated before nodding. "Carl, ya don't have to lie to me, ya know that, right?"
"I'm not lying."
"Carl Grimes," she said in a curt tone, "no lyin'. I worry about y'all."
"You don't have to."
"I want to," she said firmly. "I promised Lori I would."
"She's dead." The way Carl said it, so dismissively, even with a hint of disdain in his voice, made Aibileen's shoulders stiffen. "Besides, why does it even matter to you? You can't keep using my mother as an excuse."
"It ain't an excuse," she seethed. "I don't like breakin' promises, and promisin' Lori I'd watch after y'all is somethin' I intend on doin'."
"So, what? You're trying to mother us now?"
"No. I could never be like that." Aibileen's brows furrowed. "Not for you or Judith. But I can be someone y'all can talk to when ya need the chance."
Carl glanced over at Aibileen. She had always been someone he could tell certain problems to—he'd had no problem doing so in the past. But it felt different for some reason. Maybe he was still trying to get used to everything that happened. But he was starting to notice everything in a different light, and he wasn't sure if it was going to end up being good or bad on his part.
"Sorry," he murmured. The small smile returned to his face when Aibileen offered him some crackers.
"How's Judith comin' along with her food?" Aibileen asked. She could tell Judith was in the teething stage, which meant she could eat more solidified foods.
"She's good."
"I got not problem givin' some food for her." Aibileen threw a look Carl's way. "Nathalie tends to overstock my house sometimes. Daryl and I don't eat a lot and Francesca probably can't eat half the stuff she gives us anyway."
"I'll think about it."
"I should probably get back to work, then." Aibileen stood up and dusted herself off. Playfully flicking the sheriff's hat, she threw him a slightly mischievous smile. For the first time in a long time, Aibileen saw what looked like to be a genuine smile on his face. "Take these," she said, putting the crackers next to him. "In case you're hungry. Stay safe, OK?"
He nodded.
Aibileen had been a little hesitant in the amount of work she did while working with the construction crew. There were moments where she'd feel—out of nowhere—suddenly out of breath. It was like her body was going through some kind of change. Not to mention the fact that her period was late. It didn't bother her at first, her period would get late when she overworked herself and got stressed. After about three days and still no sign of it happening, Aibileen got a little worried. She didn't tell Daryl, only because she was scared on how he'd react. They had been extra careful! He'd managed to find some condoms on a run he had last week!
But that didn't mean something couldn't happen.
Condoms didn't always work. They could break and it could only take one moment of carelessness to end up...
Aibileen swallowed thickly.
In the very back of her mind, she silently prayed she wasn't, even if there were parts of her that really wished she was.
Author's Note:
Sorry for putting the chapter up late and sorry for the sloppiness of it. I hope you guys still like this chapter, though. Let me know what you think, please!
I own nothing in TWD universe, all I own are my characters and fillers.
Honestly, thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! You guys are amazing. I'd like to thank everyone who favorited/followed the story. I didn't really expect so many this soon. Hopefully this story can live up to 'Silhouette'! Thanks to everyone for their support.
Leave a kind and helpful review, please.
Thank you.
Susan Strong
