For Those You Love
Chapter 9
The first thing Carley did when they arrived back at the motor-inn was wordlessly walk to the room her and Lee shared, turn the shower on and let the warm water soothe her stinging cuts.
Yes, he had hurt her more than she had let on. She wouldn't let anyone see just the extent of her injuries. She couldn't remember most of it, as she seemed to become a shell, only feeling pain in the duration.
Even remembering it was painful. Her hand unconsciously ran over a large cut on her hip that was inflicted by that bastard's belt buckle and winced. Blood trickled down her leg, forming a pool by her feet.
Out of all the things that had happened to her, the thing that hurt the most was that he wasn't Lee. Only he had ever touched her like that. Lee had been the one to take her virginity… on their wedding night. And to have someone else take her as Andy had, it made her feel (for want of better words) dirty, filthy and unclean.
She stayed in that same spot for a while, allowing the water to wash all the evidence of that experience away.
Eventually, she stepped out of the shower, grabbing her fluffy, blue towel off the rack and wrapping it around her securely. She lightly wrung out her hair, leaving it slightly damp and pulled her dirty clothes back on. Taking in a deep breath, she walked out of the bathroom, stopping short when she saw her daughter curled up on her bed, fast asleep under the covers.
She sighed, sitting beside her and threading her fingers through the little girl's hair.
Carley was a strong woman. She never cried, not even at funerals. Normally, she would be humiliated by her parents, especially when they found out about the time Lee cried at 'Monsters Inc.' in the movie theatre.
A tear escaped her eye when the realisation that, no matter how much she wanted it to, life would never be the same. Hell, what she had just gone through was a damned good example. She, just like every other woman and girl would be treated the same as they always had.
"Don't cry, mom." She heard, snapping her from her memories. She looked down to the source of the noise and saw Clementine, cuddled into her chest with her eyes fixated on her mother. She brought her tiny hand up and wiped away a tear with the pad of her thumb. "Please don't cry…"
She sniffed and sent her what she hoped was a realistic smile, brushed her hair from her face and hugged her daughter close.
"I'm not, sweetheart." She lied, not allowing herself to break down. She decided to change the subject. "Where's dad?"
"Outside. He took Ben's first watch." She replied. Of course! Ben had been found that morning, his shaggy, brown hair flying in all directions as he tried to help his teacher. They managed to get the poor bastard's foot of the bear trap to no avail. He was well and truly dead. They had discovered not long after that the lanky boy had next-to-no experience with gun handling.
"Figures." She chuckled, resuming the gentle smoothing of her daughter's unruly mop of curly, black hair. Eventually, Clementine's breathing evened out and she became more of a dead weight by her side. She soon followed, allowing the stress of the day to finally take her into a dreamless sleep.
The first thing she noticed when she awoke was the missing weight by her side. Panic consumed her and she sat up quickly. Her body screamed in protest, still severely sore from the previous day. She forced herself up, however, and stumbled to the door, out into the parking lot. Everything seemed to stop.
There, curled up in the tiny lawn-chair that was perched on top of the RV, was Lee. He was sleeping soundly, drool trickling down his face and his soft snores rumbling around the open space. She chuckled lightly, starting off towards him. She was careful to not wake him, her boots barely making any noise on the thin, metal ladder.
Hearing the soft footsteps, he startled awake and hastily wiped the drool from his chin and almost dropped the rifle in his panic. He twirled on the spot, standing from his chair and raising the gun, not really knowing who had woke him up. He visibly relaxed when he saw his wife staring at him through wide eyes.
"Morning." He muttered, plopping back down and rubbing the heels of his hands to his eyes, desperately trying to wipe away sleep. Then, he was reminded of the previous day's events and his head shot up. He stood and ushered her to sit down. She looked at him in confusion, the only sign of fear being a slight wince when he reached out to her. He sent her an apologetic look as she sat down slowly, still staring in confusion. He sat on the edge of the RV, letting his legs hang over the edge loosely and rested back on his hands. "If you're wondering, Clementine went to stay with Ken and Kat about three hours ago. She's fine." Then, they both fell silent, just listening to the morning crow of birds.
They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, neither wanting to break the comfortable silence they were in. Lee, unfortunately, couldn't help the guilt he felt. He should have done something… Anything to help her! He couldn't hold it in any longer.
"How're you feeling?" He asked softly, looking up at her from his seated position. She shifted uncomfortably, but was flattered by his concern.
"I'm… well, I'm coping." She admitted, not daring to look at him. She knew what had happened. She knew how he had to be feeling. She knew it'd be eating him up that he was powerless to stop what had happened to her. Thirteen years of marriage had taught her that, if nothing else. She could never lie to him; no matter how good an actress she was. He would be able to tell if she was lying.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk." He said softly, sending her a sad smile. "No one will judge you."
She scoffed, wrapping her arms around her body tightly and running a hand through her hair in frustration.
"I find that hard to believe." She whispered quietly. What would everyone say when they found out? She did NOT want them to treat her like an invalid, even if she felt like shit. She wanted to earn her keep.
"They really won't." He assured, reaching out and taking her hand in his. She didn't flinch that time, comforting him only slightly. He ran his thumb across her knuckles softly and squeezed it gently. "They know you want to be out there, doing stuff. But you can't."
She sighed in reluctant acceptance, sending him a look that clearly said 'If you're wrong about this, so help me god.'
Their exchange finished just as Kenny emerged from his room, stretching lazily and yawning. He saw the pair and smiled goofily, evidently still exhausted.
Two Hours Later
"Alright, we're heading out guys!" Lee bellowed, his voice echoing around the parking lot. He clasped the rifle in his hands tightly and shifted it slightly. "Anything in particular that anyone needs?"
Carley practically ran over to him, dropping the chalk drawing she and Clementine were working on and approaching the two men. She held a tiny slip of paper out to her husband and blushed slightly.
"I need you to… uh… pick these up for me." She mumbled, playing with a few strands of loose hair. He creased his brow and stared at it inquiringly.
"Sure, just tell me where to find it and I'll do it." He smiled, slipping it in his back pocket and smiling at her.
"Uh, try the family planning section." She muttered, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek softly before scampering back over to her daughter. He turned to Kenny and motioned for them to leave, earning a quick nod from the older man. They left, waving to their families as they went.
The journey seemed to fly past, because before they knew it, they were approaching 'Everett's Prescriptions'. The two men shared a look and entered, lists and guns at the ready.
Later That Day
They approached the motor-inn once again, this time surrounded with darkness. It had taken them longer than they'd expected and had run over by several hours. They had to toke shelter in the Pharmacy's office for the duration of a herd they hadn't seen.
The motel was bathed in a warm glow from the neon lights hanging out front, giving it a warm, homely feel. Clementine was curled up next to Carley, who was sat in her lawn-chair, playing with loose strands of her daughter's hair. Their heads snapped around at the sound of their footsteps and they were soon running to them.
"Daddy!" Clementine screeched, falling into her father's embrace and allowing herself to hoisted off the floor. He saw Carley from over the girls shoulder and gave her a thumbs up, holding a small paper bag up that contained the things she wanted. She took them off him and smiled gratefully, stuffing them in her pocket.
"Thank you." She mouthed, hugging her husband and daughter tightly. They simply swayed on the spot for a while before Lee felt Clementine become more of a dead weight in his arms. He moved away and shook her slightly, checking to see if she was truly asleep.
"I'll go put her down." He said softly when he got no response but a small dribble of drool on his coat. Then, he remembered the pills he had given her. "If you're gonna do it, you'll want to take those as fast as you can. They're only three days out from expiring."
She nodded, striding off towards her and Lee's room, holding the small box of pills in her hands and running her fingers over them. It wasn't long before she was changed into Lee's baggy t-shirt and sleeping soundly.