A/n: I suck. This wait was far too long, and I apologize :( Thankfully, there was no cliffhanger though, right? lol Besides random life issues I had to deal with, I was also struggling hardcore with this chapter, because I didn't know how I wanted to continue. I have stuff lined out for the story in general, but...yeah. Lol I still had major writers block. So, once again, I'm sorry my lovely readers!
A big big big thank you to: Dixonrocks , peonies01, eieball326 , Peta2, HGRHfan35, definitelywalkerbait, Guest2, and SilverWolf84! :) Your reviews mean the world to me and keep me going! Also, thank you to those of you who have favorited and are following my story :) All of your support means so much! Now, on with Chapter 10 :)
Chapter 10: Tears of Joy from Curious Eyes
~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~
Sophia sat with Carl under the awning of the R.V., playing cards once again to pass the time. Mr. Walsh had awakened her that morning, and quickly shuffled her out of the tent so he could speak to her mother in private. Sophia strained her neck a little to stare into the woods where her mother had vanished through not too long ago. All of a sudden, she could see her mother's form exit the trees in a flash, sprinting towards the small tent where she had recently left. Just by looking at her, Sophia could tell something was wrong. There was a slight limp with every step she took, and she was hunched over, shielding her face from the rest of the group. Sophia immediately stood to her feet, not even looking at Carl when she excused herself from their game, and ran after her.
Sophia ducked as she made her way into the tent, and found her mother lying on the floor. She had her knees clutched to her chest, and her face was buried within them to muffle the sound of her already uncontrollable sobs. Ever since she was a little girl, Sophia had always heard her father's screams at his wife, and the hits that he dealt her; but in all that time, not once could she remember seeing her mother cry like she was now. Her shoulders shook from the force of her sobs, causing her to clutch herself tighter in order to calm down. Sophia slowly crept towards her mother's weeping form.
"Mama?" She whispered. She eased closer still, her eyes noticing the multiple bruises littering her mother's arms. Carol shakily tried to sit up, using her arms to help her, and lifted her head to look into Sophia's eyes, revealing even more cuts and bruises to her baby girl. Sophia gasped and scooted to her mother's side instantly, wrapping her arms around her stomach. She felt her mother jerk out of her grasp as a wetness seeped through her shirt. Sophia looked down and felt her stomach clench in horror at sight of blood staining both her and her mother's shirts. She felt her own eyes water as she looked back at her mother's tear stained face. Sophia's lower lip quivered as she stared at her, picturing the worst scenario that could have happened in the thick woods.
"Mama, were..." Sophia frantically whispered, "In the woods, did you...were you..." She couldn't say the words, but reached out her tiny hand to touch her mother's blood stained shirt.
"No, Sophia, no, I'm, I'm fine," She said softly, taking Sophia's hand and giving it a reasurring squeeze as she gave her a watery smile.
"But, but there's so much blood. Why is there so much blood?" She said in a panicked voice, searching her mother's face for the truth. The sob that left Carol's throat had Sophia holding her mother's hand even tighter, wanting to give her as much support as she could.
"Your father... He was... I had to..." Her mother's attempts to talk were interrupted by her gasping breaths as she continued to cry, looking behind Sophia at the tent flap. "He would have come back... I had to do it... It was my fault that he... That he..." She broke down once again, sobbing freely now, not bothering to hide herself.
Sophia's eyes grew wide at her mother's words. A weight that she never knew existed lifted, freeing her from it's grasp. She clutched her chest as a rush of emotions flooded her system, feeling relief above all others. Sophia felt herself wrapping her arms around her mother's form once again, and pull her into her embrace. The two sat in the tent for minutes on end, allowing their emotions to take over as they cried together. Her mother extracted herself from her arms, only to pull Sophia into a hug of her own.
"It's over now," Sophia heard her mother whisper in her hair as she held her. Happiness, freedom, and relief engulfed Sophia as she wept, causing a smile to slowly form on her face. She laughed as she felt it, unable to feel any despair at the thought of her father's death. Her mother looked at her, joy filling her face as well, her eyes shining with happiness, only a hint of sadness coming through her expression. Sophia found herself being pulled into another tight hug, the wind practically getting knocked out of her. She tried to slowly extricate herself from her mother's tight grasp so she could catch her breath and wipe her eyes.
"I'll go get you some water, Mama," Sophia said to her mother, who began hiccuping, tears still streaming down her face. She stood quickly and headed outside, instantly noticing the concerned faces that followed her every move. Trying to ignore the blatant looks of pity and sympathy, Sophia focused on the task at hand, searching for the bottle of water she had been drinking from earlier that day. The bottle was sitting on the small table under the R.V. where she had left it, and she rushed to retrieve it, not wanting to be in the spotlight any longer. Sophia kept her head down as she made her way back to the tent, but stopped momentarily when she saw movement in the brush up ahead.
Sophia couldn't help but watch the man that emerged from the woods, pick axe and shovel in hand, and his crossbow slung across his back. He moved with a purpose towards the rusted blue pick up truck by his tent, threw his tools into the bed of it, and wiped his hands on his pants. As she stood, somehow transfixed, she noticed what looked like fresh blood on his shirt and pants. But he didn't come back with any fresh kills, only tools that now lay in his truck. Her eyes widened in realization as she turned her gaze to the shovel and pick axe, noticing the large amount of blood on the tip of the axe as well. Sophia looked back at the man quickly to find his eyes on her as well, glaring slightly from where he stood. She stood there like a deer in headlights, unable to avert her gaze from the man in front of her, the water bottle clutched in her hand long forgotten. He finally huffed, in what seemed to be frustration, and turned around swiftly, his crossbow still hanging over his shoulder, and headed back into the woods.
Broken by the trance, Sophia rushed back to her tent and handed her mother the bottle of water, before leaving just as quickly. She didn't know what happened to her father, but she was determined to find out.
~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~
She didn't feel the twigs scraping her face. She didn't feel the rocks under her feet. She didn't even feel the sweltering heat of the Georgian sun as she sprinted out of the woods. All Carol could feel in that moment was the freedom, shock, and happiness that was threatening to overwhelm her. She tried to contain most of her tears until she made it to the safety of her tent, but she knew they were streaming down her face no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. Carol ducked her face from the rest of the campsite when she exited the woods, and made a b-line towards her tent. She stumbled through the flap, and collapsed to the floor as she finally let her emotions consume her.
Carol clutched her knees to her chest and buried her face within them as the sobs wracked her fragile form. She felt herself breaking with every wail that left her chest, the constricting chains her now dead husband bound her in loosening with every cry.
"Mama?" Carol heard Sophia whisper not three feet away. She slowly lifted herself from the ground with shaky arms, and looked at her baby girl. The eyes staring back at her contained concern and panic, and she suddenly felt Sophia's small arms around her stomach, causing her to flinch at the sharp pain in her ribs. She looked down and saw Ed's blood covering her and her daughter's shirts. Carol could see Sophia's panic resurfacing as she stared at the blood that now stained her shirt, before her daughter's large blue eyes met her own once again.
"Mama, were...In the woods, did you...were you..." Sophia frantically whispered, unable to complete her thoughts. Carol understood what her daughter was trying to say, knowing that she feared Carol had been bitten in the woods.
"No, Sophia, no, I'm, I'm fine," She reassured soothingly. Taking her baby girl's hand in her own, Carol squeezed it gently, while giving Sophia a watery smile. However, her attempt to calm her daughter seemed to fall on deaf ears as Sophia continued to worry.
"But, but there's so much blood. Why is there so much blood?" Sophia questioned in a panicked voice. Carol felt a sob escape her throat as she remembered how the blood came to stain her clothes and skin.
It was the supportive squeeze of her daughter's hand that gave Carol the courage to choke out what happened in the woods. "Your father... He was... I had to..." Images of Ed's mutilated corpse flashed through her mind, followed by the memory of driving the pix axe repeatedly into his skull. The thoughts had Carol gasping for breath once again. She tried to put the images out of her mind as she continued, and stared blankly behind Sophia at the tent's flap, tears still wetting her cheeks. "He would have come back... I had to do it..." The sound of the pick axe slamming into Ed's brain echoed in her mind, "It was my fault that he... That he..." Carol could feel herself breaking down once again, only this time, it was guilt that consumed her.
She didn't hide from her daughter as she cried, feeling the need to take full responsibility for her husband's ultimate demise. If she hadn't been such a bad wife, he wouldn't have drank. If she hadn't been talking and socializing, he wouldn't have become so upset. If she hadn't cried out in the woods, Daryl may never have found them, and he wouldn't have beaten Ed unconscious. She cried in despair as the guilt weighed down upon her, suffocating her happiness.
Two small arms wrapped themselves around her middle once more, shocking Carol from her guilt. Sophia's warm embrace and scent surrounded her, ebbing the guilt, and replacing it, once again, with happiness. She sat there, in the arms of her daughter, and cried without thought, feeling the wetness of her daughter's tears as well. Alongside the joy she felt, was love for her daughter, and hope for her future. Carol pulled out of her daughter's arms, only to envelope Sophia in her own instead.
"It's over now," Carol whispered in Sophia's hair. As her daughter wept against her chest, Carol could feel a smile form on Sophia's face, before her little girl let out a joyful laugh. She looked down into the big blue eyes of her baby girl, and clearly saw the happiness and joy filling them, causing her to smile as well. As she felt her lips turn up, she couldn't help but feel a slight sting of despair that Sophia felt nothing but bliss at her father's passing; that she had stayed with a man who caused her daughter glee at his passing, rather than sorrow. Carol pulled Sophia to her even tighter than before, knowing that she wouldn't make such a horrible mistake for her daughter's future like she did by staying with Ed for so many years. They were going to make it through this, together.
Carol felt Sophia trying to ease herself out of her grasp, and she loosened her grip. She began hiccupping as she tried to catch her breath, knowing the tears had yet to cease their trail down her cheeks.
"I'll go get you some water, Mama," Sophia said, to hear, turning quietly and exiting the tent, leaving Carol alone, once again, with her thoughts. She sat on the ground, sniffling and hiccupping, replaying the scene in the woods over and over again in her mind. I should have done more. I should have... Don't be think that way. There's nothing you could have...But I should have done something. I should have gone back to him last night after... After what? After he beat you half to death? After he nearly raped y...STOP IT! It's not his fault! He was drunk. I was the one who...Who what? Was talking and sitting with a group of people? Stop defending him!...But he told me not to! He told me to never...HE'S NOT YOUR MASTER! YOU. ARE. NOT. HIS. SLAVE!
Carol whipped her head to the flap of the tent as it opened, where Sophia appeared with a bottle in her hand. Her daughter handed her the water, which Carol took gratefully, and was out of the tent in a flash."Where are you..." Carol started, but Sophia was already gone. "Going." She finished to herself, still staring at the place where her daughter had just been. Carol wiped her eyes with her bloodied sleeve, and felt a smile creep it's way onto her face once again. As a laugh of glee erupted from her chest, Carol made a pact with herself; at this moment, she wouldn't allow herself to feel any guilt, that would come later. For now, all she was going to do was bask in the happiness and freedom she felt for the first time in over a decade.
~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~CD~
Daryl trudged through the woods, having spent the last fifteen minutes watching Ed's corpse burn. He felt nothing but satisfaction as he buried the bastards charred remains, spitting on them one last time before he made his departure. Daryl still couldn't believe he'd witness Carol smash the fucker's head over and over like she was playing Whack-A-Mole. He was glad she had left when she did, because as proud of her as he was, he was still uncomfortable about dealing with a crying woman. It's one of the reasons why he was more than happy letting that cop break the news to Carol himself, that and he was looking forward to smashing Ed's face in.
Wonder how her little girl took the news he thought. Pro'lly doesn't even know yet. Daryl shook his head. The last thing he needed to be concerned with was someone else's kid. Stickin' yerself in that bitch's business again, Darylina. Thought I told you to stear clear from 'er. Now 'er husband is dead. You some kind of retard, or are ya just lookin' to cause trouble with o'le Merle? Daryl's eyes widened. He hadn't even thought about how Merle was going to handle the news of Ed's demise. Fuuuck.
The edge of the woods came into view, and Daryl hesitated leaving the sanctity of the forest. Avoidin' your problems like some kind a bitch ain't gonna help no one. Stop being such a pussy. Daryl squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and made his way back to the campsite once again. He didn't look at anyone as he moved towards his truck, not wanting to deal with their questions and stares. He placed the pick axe and shovel into the bed of his truck, wanting to make as little noise as possible, before he quickly looked up to scan the campsite. His first glance went to the tent he shared with Merle, and he wiped his hands nervously on his pants. . Daryl felt himself let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding, relieved by the lack of movement coming from the tent. Merle was either wandering around somewhere, or still passed out on the earth's floor in the tent. Daryl then scanned the rest of the camp quickly, but found that the people were not focused on him, but on Carol's little girl, who was standing fifteen feet away from where he stood, staring at his clothes.
He watched as her eyes went from him, to the bloodied tools in the back of his truck. His gut sank as he saw understanding flash across her face, and quickly built a wall as to not get involved. He automatically felt himself glaring at the girl who had just lost her father, her large blue eyes finally meeting his own. Daryl narrowed his gaze on her even more, until his wall was in place. He hated that he had to force himself to not get involved with Carol and her little girl, but it wasn't his place. He needed to separate himself from these two before he got himself killed. Daryl huffed in frustration and tore his gaze away from the blue eyed child. Keep fuckin' walking. Don't look back.
He found himself seeking solace in the woods once again, needing to calm his nerves from the past twenty four hours. He took a deep breath as he walked, readying his crossbow as he went. Peace settled over him again, as he moved, and Daryl felt in tune with his surrounding. A snapping branch behind him had him turning swiftly around, his crossbow aimed between to bright blue eyes.
AN: Yay! :) What did you guys think? You know I love them reviews :) Tell me if you liked the little Sophia POV, because she might pop up in the future :) Chapter 11 won't be as long to get out, I was just seriously stuck with this one :/