Carolina in my mind
Chapter 5
Carolina woke up well rested and still feeling a little silly. The night before, it was possible that worked herself up slightly over what might happen when she came back to the apartment with Merle. After they finally left the medical center. She thought he might make some sort of physical advance on her. Maybe even force himself on her. But other than knocking her a rough kiss on her cheek, he didn't even touch her. Merle kicked his boots off. Said he was goddamn fucking tired. And started snoring about thirty seconds after he flopped down on the bed.
Carolina undressed and snatched a tank top from Merle's side of the dresser, pulling it over her head before she slipped under the covers. She laid awake for a little while, laughing at herself and the loud snorting snores coming from the other side of the bed and wondering how her apocalypse counterpart put up with such a horrible racket on the regular. There was no way she was ever going to be able to sleep with all that going on. She was going to have to do something.
Rolling onto her side, Carolina assessed the situation and briefly considered clamping her hand down over Merle's open mouth until he startled from his sleep. But that wouldn't be very nice. Merle hadn't done anything to her to deserve such rude treatment. Not yet anyway. And honestly, she was slightly afraid to wake him. So Carolina tucked her hands under his shoulder and rolled Merle gently onto his side. The snoring stopped immediately. Carolina gave herself a mental pat on the back. But the problem was that the moment she took her hand off Merle's shoulder, he rolled back to his former position and the horrible snoring resumed.
Carolina bit back a giggle and rolled Merle onto his side again. But this time she tucked her body in behind his to hold him in place. She was stuck cuddling him. But it was infinitely better than listening to his one man band nasal orchestra. And now that her body was tucked up against his, she decided it really wasn't that bad. He smelled like man sweat and grass. But not in a bad way. She kind of liked it. Merle was only wearing his boxers. And his skin was warm where it was touching hers. Instead of wishing she was at home on her couch watching TV, Carolina found herself snuggling closer to him. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep. But by the time she woke, they had switched positions. She was rolled the other way with Merle's body spooned in behind hers. And someone was knocking on their apartment door.
"It's supposed ta be our day off," Merle grumbled. "Go away you fuck."
"I can get it," Carolina offered, moving quickly out of bed and away from the feel of his morning erection pressing against her backside. She headed for the apartment door, her bare feet padding against the worn carpet. Swinging the door open, she almost died right there when she saw who was on the other side. It was stupid to open the door without knowing who it was, she chided herself. His body posture was casual and he had a friendly smile on his face. But that was still Phillip Blake outside her door. Or the Governor. Or Brian Heriot. Or whoever he was today other than a total psychopath.
"Good morning," he said, "...I didn't mean to disrupt you but I… uh… um…" His words dropped off, turning into awkward stutters and stammers. And Carolina quickly noticed that his gaze had shifted downward from her face. It was then that she realized she was only wearing a pair of black lace panties and one of Merle's wifebeaters. The tank was snug on her and it had stretched across her ample chest, making it almost completely transparent. The outline of her breasts and both her nipples were plainly visible through the fabric. Looking down at herself, Caolina gasped and snapped the door shut directly in the governor's face before she hightailed it back to the bedroom.
"It's for you," she announced, pointing Merle towards the door. Unlike her, he had the sense to at least pull a pair of pants on before he left the room. Merle shut the bedroom door on his way out. But Carolina could still hear the governor laughing when Merle reopened the door to their apartment.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," the man joked. Carolina couldn't hear Merle's response. But since she could hear them both laughing, she guessed he made some sort of off color remark involving her. Carolina dressed quickly, pulling on the same black bra that she wore the day before under Merle's tank before she rifled through the dresser and retrieved what she thought was a pair of jean shorts. It was actually a pair of overall jean shorts. But she pulled them on anyway, fastening the straps before she opened the bedroom door.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal your man from you," the governor joked. Carolina nodded, running her hands through her sleep rumpled hair.
"Sorry I shut the door in your face," Carolina said, moving her body so it was positioned slightly behind Merle's. The governor laughed again, assuring her that he wasn't worried about it.
"I was hoping you could do me a favor?," he said. His tone of voice indicated he was asking her. But she knew better than that. Saying no to the governor wasn't an option. Carolina nodded.
"Of course," she said. "Whatever I can do to help."
A short time later Carolina was playing tour guide to Andrea and Michonne. Leading them around town as she invented answers to Andrea's many questions. Merle left with the governor to locate and 'help' the helicopter pilot's comrades. Carolina knew what was going to happen to those men. Why they didn't bring those soldiers in to help them protect this place, she never understood. It was possible that the governor was afraid they would challenge his leadership. Or maybe he just got off on killing people. Either way, when they arrived back with all the guns and armored trucks and no rescued soldiers, Carolina wasn't surprised. Andrea headed away towards the front of the small crowd, leaving Carolina alone with Michonne.
"Lots of bullet holes in those trucks for a group that was overrun by the dead," Michonne said, giving Carolina a sideways glance. Carolina bit back a smile. Michonne was overly paranoid. But she was also right. Carolina wasn't sure if the woman would take any advice from her. But she thought she would attempt to give her a piece of it anyway.
"If you're smart you'll keep that to yourself," she whispered. "If I were you I'd play along until you gain his trust. Once that happens it'll be easy for you to slip away and disappear." Carolina saw the shock that fluttered across Michonne's face before she quickly regained control of her features. She clearly wasn't expecting anything other than a well rehearsed propaganda welcome from her Woodbury tour guide. And Carolina guessed that Michonne had already written her off as a dumb big titty blonde that didn't know anything. She'd been dealing with the same assumptions from men and women alike all her life. That's why she chose a career where she worked with children. Their preconceived notions weren't set in stone yet.
"What's really going on in this place?," Michonne asked, suddenly interested in what Carolina had to say for the first time all morning.
"Everything you suspect and more," Carolina replied, giving the woman a pointed glance before she turned her attention to Merle and smiled.
Merle was heading in her direction and when he arrived, Carolina wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek as he pulled her against him. She glanced back once, winking at Michonne before she let Merle lead her away towards his new truck. She laughed as she climbed up into the passenger seat of the armored utility vehicle. Merle reminded her of a child with a new toy. And he was yapping away, his southern accent thickening as he told her things about the truck that she didn't understand and wouldn't remember even if she did. She made sure to nod her head, trying to show the proper level of enthusiasm for such an impressive piece of machinery.
"Can I drive?," Carolina asked, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Merle raised his brow at her, looking like he'd rather cut his other hand off than let her get behind the wheel of the large truck while he rode bitch in the passenger seat. His expression softened when he saw the smile on her face and realized she was just teasing him.
"Maybe on the way back," he lied. She wasn't driving this truck today. Or any day. Carolina giggled. Her brother never let her drive when he was in the car either.
Carolina's smile faltered and she cringed back against the seat. Merle turned, looking for the source of her discomfort. The governor was standing with his hand on the open window frame of the truck. The man was still speaking to someone behind him. By the time he turned his attention towards the inside of the truck, Carolina was smiling again. But this time her expression didn't look sincere.
"You're scouting out that big box store for the run next week?," the governor asked. Merle nodded. He knew if he wanted to take his girl out for a joyride, he needed to at least pretend that he was going to accomplish some sort of useful task. And he was fine with that. They cleared and hoarded all the pumps in the area. But gas still wasn't unlimited.
"Yup," Merle agreed. The governor stepped back, signaling the guards to let them know they had his permission to open the gate. The moment the man backed away from the truck, Carolina visibly relaxed. Merle waited until they were through the gates before he commented on her behavior.
"He do something to ya?," he asked.
"Who?," Carolina asked, shifting nervously in her seat.
"The gov'ner," Merle said, though it seemed like it should be obvious who he was talking about. Every time she saw the man lately Carolina was acting like she saw a ghost. Merle wasn't sure what was going on with her but whatever it was, he didn't like it. "If anyone's been screwing with you, I will fuck them up," he told her. "I don't care who it is."
There was a long pause as Carolina considered his words. She lifted her arms, pulling her long hair up into a ponytail and securing it with one of the little elastics she always seemed to have on hand. Then she slid across the seat, taking the middle of the bench and leaving the passenger side empty.
"He hasn't been screwing with me," she said. "He just gives me the creeps."
Before Merle could insist that she elaborate on the reason the governor was suddenly giving her the creeps, Carolina was sliding her hand up his leg. Creating a very effective distraction from their current conversation. He lifted his bad arm, resting it across the back of the seat so Carolina could snuggle in closer to him. She scooched down slightly in the seat, letting her head loll against his shoulder. Her long tan legs were crossed, the side of her high top sneaker bumping against his shin with the movements of the truck.
"Don't make me pull this truck over," Merle teased when he felt her lips pressing into the side of his neck. Instead of advancing on him with her usual enthusiasm, Carolina pulled away and slid back over into the passenger seat. "Hey," he complained, "...where ya goin' sugar?"
"Just back to my seat. I don't want you to get a D.W.K.," she joked, rolling her window down and sticking her hand out to feel the breeze.
"...a D.W.K.?," he asked. He knew what a DUI was. But he never heard of a DWK. Carolina laughed. She had a great laugh. It was always loud and unapologetic. Even when she didn't mean for it to be. Other than her tits, it was by far the best thing about her.
"Driving While Kissing," Carolina explained. "They'll put you away for that." She laughed again. And this time his lower timbre laughter mingled with hers. When she was done giggling, he motioned for her to slide back over next to him.
"I'll take my chances."
