Chapter 3

A hundred different emotions cross his face at once. Rick looks me up and down and shakes his head, non-believingly.

"Grimes," breathes Beth. "You're related?" she questions, looking back and forth between us.

"He was my father," I drawl out the 'was'.

"You were the one that left, Athena. You… you…" Rick shakes his head again. "Why did you leave? How did you get here? You… you look so grown up. You have kids? Why didn't you come home?" with each question his words got quitter.

I shack my head in disgust "What that bitch tell ya'?!"

"Don't you dare call her that, she was always a mother to you even when you were an ungrateful drunk!" Oh no he didn't.

"The only reason I even started drinking was to dull the pain of the bruises she gave me, and don't ya' ever say she was a mother. I raised myself and then I raised Carl, even when I would pass out drunk I would be up in the morning to make him breakfas' and get him off to school. Then I would ditch school, not to do drugs, like that bitch said, but to do the house work, so the ungrateful bitch could live her second life and you, and Carl wouldn't be living in a sty with no food, clean clothes and everythin' else that mattered back then."

He didn't know how to respond and I wasn't waiting to find out.

I walk to a shocked Beth and take Sami-Jay in my spare arm. Then I waste no time getting back to my cell. I put both kids in the crib and Raider cuddles Sami-Jay close to him. I rub my temples and take a sit on the bed. I don't know how much time has passed before someone clears their throat at the cells entrance.

I lift my head from my hands. I don't know who I was expecting to see, but I can be sure it wasn't Daryl. "Sorry for the yelling, it won't happe' again," I look at the crib and see the kids haven't moved an inch.

"Not here for a sorry. Don't blame ya for yelling at 'em," Daryl says and I look up at him.

"Then why ya' here?" I ask impatiently.

"I'm here ta' tell ya' that's not the same Rick ya' know from before, he's-" I cut him off.

"Yeah seven years of living with that bitch would change 'em," I scoff.

"Ya' ma' died giving birth to sister, don't think that makes her that much of a bitch," he raises his voice slightly.

I laugh and can't stop from smiling like a loony.

"She wasn't my ma'. She didn't start wrecking my life till I was four. And she didn't die on purpose, did she. It was a C-section, wasn't it?" I laugh.

"What's wrong with ya'?"

"Karma's a bitch. She didn't have to have Carl as a C-section. She was too pussy to put up with the pain so she ordered it," I laugh again, "and let me guess Rick ain't sure he's the father. Right?" he raises an eyebrow at me – 'right'.

"How ya' know that?"

"The bitch had a second life, always swapping spit with Rick's cop partner, what was his name…" I ponder.

"Shane," he answers, and I laugh again.

"Yeah that's him. Whenever Rick was working late – always, Shane would be over. It slowed the older Carl got, Lori would threaten me whenever I called her out so I kept my mouth shut, but she was nearly caught by Carl a few times so they had to lay low."

"She really hit ya'?" he asks.

"Yep… I would end up black and blue all over. Couldn't fight back though. One time I did, she got scratched and went crying to Rick. The mea' reason I left home was coz one day when I was cooking dinner and she came up to me saying I was doing all wrong, I had a knife and owe- shit you don't know how much I wanted to stab her. If Carl didn't walk in I would have," I sigh. "Carl's still alive right?"

"Yeah, kid's still going strong," he says eyeing the photos on the wall.

I go to talk but Sami-Jay crying interrupts. I jump up off the bed, pick her out of the crib and start soothing her as quick as I can. "What happen to their pa?" Daryl ask as Sami-Jay quietens.

"Radar's dad left me the second he heard I was knocked up, and Sami-Jay's dad did himself over in the outbreaks first weeks, coward," I hiss the last word.

"Must o' been hard, out there with two lilies," Daryl said, causing me to scoff and look his way.

"You have no idea, but it was a fuck ton harder before shit hit the fan… I was working three jobs trying to put food on the table, coz my ass of a boyfriend quit his job coz it wasn't his passion." I roll my eyes at the memory. "He really thought serving drinks to a bunch of smoking, drunk off their ass men was my passion."

"Why ya' stick with 'im then?"

"Found out I was pregnant, and when I told him the prick went out and bought me a rock that could have bought my trailer three times over." I put a calm Sami-Jay back in the crib next to her brother. I know she will be hungry soon and it wouldn't amaze me if she's crying again this hour.

"Ya say yes?" he asks.

"Yep," I say, popping the p. "Next day I went to the pawn shop in town and cashed it, just wore an old cheaper ring I had lying around. But that was just as the news reports started. Prick did himself in soon after," I snarl.

"…Ya' never thought of goin' home?"

"I did go home… when I found out I was pregnant the first time, I went home on my hands and knees. Bitch answered the door, told me every curse in the book. When I said I would wait till Rick got home she raised her hand to me and I was out of there. I had to give up drinken', smoken', drugs, dancing and more coz I was pregnant… I was not letting her hurt me and risk hurting my baby, so I was out of there, never looked back." I look up from my feet to look at Daryl. "If ya don't mind I'm sick of questions and want to get some shut eye before the crying starts again."

"That ky', night," he says, turning and walking away.

"Night," I sigh as I lay back on the bed.

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