7th Life

"We ain't ashes."

Carol could feel his eyes on her as she stood by the window, looking out over the deserted Atlanta street. Her shoulders slumped as she thought back to the last time she slept in this room, the night she thought she might die, the night she'd never felt so alone in her entire life.

She took a deep breath and moved to the bed, sitting down next to him, laying back, staring at the bottom of the top bunk. And then he lay down next to her. She'd wanted him to hear her heart, she'd wanted to tell him so many things, but there were always interruptions. She'd wanted so many things, and now was her chance.

"I killed Lizzie. She killed Mika, and she was going to kill Judith." He rolled onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow to watch her face as the tears slipped down. "I failed them."

"Stop."

"I promised their father. I didn't see it. And then there was Mika. She reminded me so much of Sophia. . She was…she was sweet. She was good. Innocent. And Lizzie took that away. She took her away. And…"

"Hey. It's ok. It's ok."

"It's not! They're dead, Daryl. They're dead, because of me."

"I know you," he murmured. "You did what ya had to do." He reached over, stroking her face, wiping away her tears, and she wrapped her fingers around his wrist. Their eyes met, and she felt that familiar longing in the quickening of her heartbeat.

Carol's eyes fluttered open, and she felt a pounding in her head. Her memories were garbled, and she knew it hadn't happened. She knew they hadn't talked about it. He'd tried with her, but she'd shut down. She couldn't talk about those children, about the weight of that little dead girl as she and Tyreese lowered her into the ground. It was too much.

Tears stung her eyes as she thought about all the things she hadn't said, all the things they'd had the opportunity to say. I need you.

She blinked, her eyes unable to focus on much of anything. She could hear voices nearby, perhaps in another room, a familiar voice that reminded her of music, but nothing was clear. He wasn't there. That's all she knew. And the way her body ached with even the slight movement of a fingertip made her ache and made the pounding, throbbing in her head worse.

"You're still here. Tryin'."

"Daryl," she murmured as her blurry surroundings turned black around her and she faded out of consciousness once more.