Out of the Woods (The Walking Dead)
Self Help:
"May the work I've done speak for me," she heard the song sing over and over.
They couldn't have been on the road for more than thirty minutes. Maggie and Glenn sat opposite the front row across from Suzy and Rosita. Behind Glenn and Maggie was Eugene then Tara behind Suzy and Rosita. For a while Glenn and Maggie chatted with each other while Rosita and Suzy messed around in their seat, Rosita completely annihilating her in a serious thumb war. Eugene was being uncharacteristically quiet and Abraham drove with that confident smile on his face like he was content everything was finally working out for them. Eventually, they all quieted down and listened to the music play on the radio. Rosita and Suzy tried to discreetly talk about Abraham even though they were sitting directly behind him. Rosita couldn't keep it to herself how it has been a while since she and Abraham hooked up and she was just waiting for the opportunity.
"You girls can't seem to keep it down back there, can ya?" Abraham chuckled.
"Eyes on the road, champ," Rosita replied to which Suzy giggled with her. The only reason they quieted down at all was because Rosita got distracted by caressing Abraham's bright red hair over the seat. Despite their little girl talks, Suzy still couldn't help but feel a little awkward whenever she saw them being all lovey-dovey together, same with Glenn and Maggie. She took a sip of her water and looked out the window to act like she wasn't paying attention anymore. She realized she wasn't thinking about Merle as much as she used to like when she was alone all the time. Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, hell-even Tara provided a good distraction to make her forget how alone she felt. Her eyes glanced over at Rosita's blissful smile as she chatted with Abraham. She remembered when she would look at Merle like that. She thought about it. Could she ever truly move on? Would he want her to? She knew in her heart she would never love and care for someone that deeply ever again. How could she expect herself to be happy with someone else? Would there ever be someone else? It wasn't like she had options available because forget Eugene. Rick's group was how far behind them? She was surprised when Daryl came to her mind. No, she immediately brushed off the idea. She didn't see him that way, she could never. He was Merle's brother nonetheless. He didn't even want her as a friend anymore, let alone welcome the possibility of anything more than that. Why would he, she thought, he drove off with his little bestie Carol. That's all he cares about anyway.
"May the work I've done speak for me," she heard the song sing over and over. Suddenly she didn't want to hear the music anymore. She wanted to act like she was all alone again so she could run through her thoughts guilt-free.
"I'll cut it for you tonight," Rosita said.
"Yes, ma'am," Abraham chuckled.
"And what about you?" Rosita sat back in her seat and bumped Suzy on the shoulder.
"What?" Suzy asked. She hadn't been listening the past few minutes on what was going on. What were they even talking about?
"You want me to cut your hair later?" Rosita asked, "I don't mind."
Suzy's hair was dry now from washing it down at the creek that morning. It was about the same length as Rosita's now who had hers in two low ponytails so she could wear her hat. Their shirts looked almost the same too except Rosita's was purple with longer sleeves and Suzy's had no sleeves, just straps, and was black. Did she want her hair short again? She couldn't remember the last time she cut it. Since it was dry, she had put it back up in that familiar high messy bun with wisps of hair out in various places.
"You think I need it?"
"I think you'll be pretty either way," Rosita replied, "Just know I won't mind."
"Hey," Tara turned towards Eugene who was sitting right across from her, "Maybe Rosita can also give you a trim while she's at it. Party's getting a little long in the back. Or is it your source of power?"
"I ain't slayin' a lion anytime soon," That was the first time Eugene had said anything all day. He continued, "I wouldn't be placing any wagers on seein' me dispatch a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass."
"Whatever that's supposed to mean," Suzy grumbled under her breath.
"Means more than what your little minds can comprehend," Eugene replied.
Before Suzy could make a comment back to him, Tara laughed to diffuse the tension and continued talking to him like he didn't just insult them.
"Oh, so you'll just settle on saving the world, right?" She asked to which Eugene agreed with a simple "Yeah" and nothing more. Tara finally noticed something had to be bothering him since he had been quiet the whole way thus far and didn't seem interested in talking to anyone, even her.
"What's up?" She asked, "Last night?"
"Nope," Eugene replied, "Yes that and tomorrow. And I'm thinking about that preacher, what he did."
Suzy felt and itch on the back of her neck when last night was brought up. She scratched as she remembered the bits and pieces. She still couldn't recall everything a hundred percent. Did she feel guilty about killing that kid? Why should she? He deserved every bit of what he got yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she innately did something wrong. If the Governor knew, he would be proud of you...Where did that thought come from?
"That's classified," She swore if she heard Eugene say that one more time she was going to punch him until he lost consciousness.
"I thought we were over that," Glenn replied.
"Not with this joke around," Suzy commented. Rosita nudged her shoulder to tell her to lose the attitude. Suzy shrugged, "What? It's true."
"What if we all live?" said Eugene.
"The secrets will matter then?" Glenn asked.
"They might," Eugene replied.
"Yeah, sure," Suzy muttered to herself so Rosita wouldn't nudge her again.
"Anyway, the speed with which things normalize depend on a number of factors," As Eugene kept on his yapping, Suzy felt a sudden pain in her stomach, or rather below it. It made her intake sharp breath in an attempt to soothe it. She put her hand on her lower belly as she felt the spontaneous cramp get stronger to where it was going down her legs and into her back. This wasn't like what she felt back at the church. This was definitely worse and wasn't going away.
"Why the hair?" Glenn asked Eugene.
"Because I like it," Eugene replied, "And no one is takin' scissor or clipper to it anytime soon. Do you hear me, Miss Espinoza?"
"Yes," Rosita laughed, "Loud and clear."
"Y'all can laugh all you want," said Eugene. And there he was yapping again. Suzy felt the cramp get stronger. This had to mean it was that time of the month, right? Though she couldn't remember when the last time she had it was within the past few months since she left the prison. Exactly, she thought, it'll go away in a couple of hours. Just tough it out. Everything will be fine...
"No one was makin' fun," Maggie giggled.
"The smartest man I ever met happened to love my hair," Eugene yapped on as Abraham drove past a group of walkers in the road, "My old boss, T. Brooks Ellis the director of the Human Genome Project. He said my hair made me look like, and I quote, a fun guy. Which I am. I just ain't Samson."
"Hey," Rosita drowned out Eugene's talking when she noticed Suzy next to her looking uncomfortable, "You okay?"
Suzy immediately straightened herself up to act like she wasn't in pain at all after taking another breath. Bang. Before she could answer, the bus made a sound like something inside had exploded.
"Bitch nuts!" Abraham screamed as he slammed on the brakes.
The brakes screeched as he swerved left and right on the road in an attempt to control the bus and avoid the turnt over cars on the road. Bang. There was another loud noise that made something in the bus start smoking. Everyone held on for dear life to the seats since this bus had no seat belts. Suzy gasped when Abraham eventually hit one of the broken-down cars because of all the smoke which had the bus go completely airborne. All she could think to do at that moment was to throw her arm in front of Rosita to act as a safety bar so she wouldn't fly from the seat once the bus landed on its side. As soon as the bus made an impact, Suzy's head uncontrollably jerked to the side and made her hit the window, inevitably making her pass out along with everyone else as the song continued to play.
"May the service I give speak for me. You remember this. The work I've done..."
The good thing about hitting her head on the window was that she didn't feel much pain in her stomach anymore. She felt her body slumped over one of the seats and she wasn't sure which one it was. Glenn helped a stiff Maggie stand up. Abraham and Rosita called to Eugene to see if he was okay.
"The preacher..." He muttered, barely conscious, "He didn't see another way out..."
"The engine's on fire," Rosita said as she sat herself up, "We gotta get out of here."
Suzy heard her but couldn't get herself to move or even open her eyes. She felt blood trickling down the side of her face from her left brow where she had hit it against the window.
"Suzy come on," Rosita pulled her arm in an attempt to make her stand up, "Wake up, we gotta move!"
Suzy's eyes fluttered open as Glenn tried to make a plan with Abraham. She could hear all of the walkers outside of the bus growling to get in. She couldn't get herself to move anything else other than trying to keep her eyes open.
"All right. We do it live," Abraham said as he stood up. He noticed Eugene and Suzy still weren't moving as he made his way over to the back of the bus, "Tara?"
"Yeah?"
"You cover Eugene and Suzy, come out when it's clear," He commanded.
"Okay," Tara replied.
"On my go!" Abraham yelled before kicking down the back exit of the bus, "Go!"
Once everyone ran out of the bus, Eugene finally stood and went to cower in the corner of the bus. Suzy wasn't sure if she couldn't move because of her head or because of the pain in her lower back. Perhaps it was both. Tara was too busy trying to convince Eugene to get out of the bus to do much about Suzy. She handed him a small knife and begged him to try being brave if it meant he could help one of them not die from this. Suzy knew he was lucky she didn't have the ability to yell at him and drag him out of that bus herself because she knew if she could, she would be pulling him by his ear like he was a spoiled child.
"I'm right behind you," said Tara, letting him go first. Once he started moving, Tara got Suzy's arm around her shoulders and hoisted her up as best she could.
No, not you, Suzy thought. She wanted to scream she could do it herself even though she knew she wasn't in any condition to do so right now. Once Tara got her out of the bus, she gently sat her down on the road so she could go take out the rest of the walkers with everyone else. Suzy opened her eyes and looked around at everyone's adrenaline-fueled bodies taking out the dozens of walkers that came to the crashed bus. She wasn't going to let this pain consume her. When she saw one of the dead creeping up behind Eugene's shaking form, she knew she had to pull it together. She gathered whatever strength she had to stand up and pull one of her knives from her belt. Holding the handle tight, she took the corpse out with ease. Eugene jumped at the sound of the body dropping behind him and turned around to see Suzy with the blood trailing down the side of her face. She looked so banged up and tired and was still able to be tougher than him. He gripped his knife tightly with both hands and tried to use it to save Tara's life when he saw a walker sneak up behind her. He didn't succeed, but Tara helped him finish it. Even though she felt shitty, Suzy didn't let it affect her aim. She was able to throw her knife at the last walker that was no more than a foot away from Glenn and had it land right in its temple.
Both Suzy, Maggie, and Rosita dropped to their knees to catch their breath once it was over. Everyone was banged up, the adrenaline was fading, and the bus was completely shot. What were they supposed to do now?
"Check Eugene," Abraham commanded.
"I'm fine," Eugene replied, "Just cuts and dings is all."
"Check him!" Abraham shouted. Suzy put her hands on her knees to make herself stand up so she could check Eugene if it meant Abraham would stop his yelling.
"Is that your blood?" Eugene asked Abraham, seeing all the blood on his knuckles.
"Yeah," Abraham nodded, "Damn thing opened again. I swear, the cuts are finer than frog's hair. They're just big bleeders."
Once Suzy double-checked Eugene to make sure he was okay, she commented that some painkillers wouldn't be so bad either, blaming all the pain on her head.
"First aid kit's in the bus," Maggie panted as she made herself stand up, "I'll see what we have."
As soon she she said that, the bus went completely up in flames. Right, Suzy recalled, Rosita did say the engine was on fire. That's just great. Everyone looked back at Abraham to see what he would do. How did he feel seeing the bus go on fire? No one could tell. For a second, it looked like he could've thrown a big fit but he didn't. He composed himself, kept a neutral face, and picked up his bag.
"We're not stopping," He said, "We're rolling on. We'll find another vehicle down the road. The mission hasn't changed."
"Devil's advocate, nothing more, we smashed to a stop hard," said Eugene, "We spent a lot of time rolling things out of the road. The church is just fifteen miles back that way-"
"No!" Abraham snapped as Suzy went over and pulled her knife out of the dead walker in the street, "We don't stop! We don't go back. We're at war and retreat means we lose! The road fights back, the plan gets jacked, you all know that! Now we will get through this because we have to. Every direction is a question! We don't go back!"
"Aaaaaaand there's the fit," Suzy mumbled so Abraham wouldn't hear her. She knew he wanted to yell. Eugene proposing they go back to the church triggered him so hard that he couldn't hold it back anymore.
"Hey," Glenn stopped him, "Are you okay?"
"I am fit as a damn fiddle!"
"Like hell you are," Suzy commented from behind him.
"Excuse me?" He turned around at her comment but Glenn put his hand on his shoulder to bring him back.
"Hey. We are going with you, you are calling this thing," said Glenn, "I just need to know you're good."
Abraham paused for a second and composed himself.
"This is how things stop," He said, "I can't afford that right now. The world can't afford it. Listen, I took a pretty hard shot to the sack with that crash. I am stressed and depressed to see that ride die, but if you say we're rolling on, I'm good."
"We're rolling on," Glenn replied.
"Yep," Suzy added, "Rolling on."
"Good," Abraham replied, I'm gonna rub some dirt on it and walk it off."
"Yeah," Suzy said, "We can walk it off and find what we need on the way."
"Like we always have," Rosita smiled.
"Maybe we can find some bikes," said Tara, "Bikes don't burn."
"Then let's roll," said Abraham as he walked off down the road. The others followed except for Eugene who was busy looking at the walker he was almost able to kill.
"Eugene," Rosita snapped, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," He said.
"Let's go," Rosita demanded and he got up. She and Eugene caught up with Suzy who was trailing at the back of the group. Rosita took a look at Suzy's face and lightly touched the edge of her brow where she was bleeding.
"I'll see if I can find anything to stitch this up later, okay?" She said.
"Don't worry about it," Suzy replied, "A little bit of painkillers and I'll be fine. Promise."
Her hand found her lower tummy again and she felt the pain come back. It felt like she had taken one of her knives and stabbed herself over and over then twisted it for good measure. She told herself over and over the same thing; if she took some meds then she would be fine. It will go away on its own. She had nothing to worry about. They had bigger things at stake than whatever pain she had. She was fine.
There was nothing more to worry about...
The group walked until it was completely pitch black outside and had no choice but to find somewhere to turn in for the night. They didn't stop until they found a sign that led to a government complex. The sign pointed them in the direction of a police station, a fire department with another school nearby, and a public library. Since it was so dark, their visibility of what was around them was pretty shit, so they had yet to notice most of what was there besides the library itself.
"We'll take a quick sweep," said Abraham, "I'll go in first. Ready?"
"Yeah," Rosita replied.
"Let's go," He said.
With everyone's guns at the ready, Abraham burst through the front door and aimed. They were met with only silence. The more they looked around, the more they noticed this place was completely untouched. Nothing was moved around, nothing was missing, hell the books were still perfectly aligned on the shelves. Though it was hard looking around in the dark, Suzy made sure to check the desks and break rooms for any water or food. Unfortunately, none of those librarians cared to leave them anything so Tara had to gather water from the toilets. The one good thing that came from her search was when she checked one of the employee cubbies above the office desk that held random personal items like keychains, papers, phone chargers, sanitary pads, and more. In one of them, she found a small bottle of ibuprofen.
Thank you sweet merciful Jesus, she thought. Even in the office, she could hear Eugene's familiar humming he often did whenever he was hyper-focused doing something. In this case, he was making a fire out of a double-A battery. As he continued humming, Suzy took the largest dosage of ibuprofen she could that one, wouldn't kill her, and two, would make the pain she felt both from her head and her stomach go away at least a little. She even took the sanitary pads from the cubby and went to a secluded place in the library to make her own spot to sleep in. Glenn and Maggie were already on it for their own. She passed Glenn shifting around some of the bookshelves to make a private spot. She moved only a few feet down to make her spot and took whatever shelves Glenn didn't take so she could make them into walls around her little corner. There, now she could pretend she had her private room away from everyone else instead of sleeping all side by side in the grass outside. It was surreal.
Now that she had her own spot, she decided to take whatever toilet paper was still in the bathroom and bring it to her spot so she could check herself for any blood. She didn't know what to do when she saw what happened to the toilet paper when she wiped herself. There was absolutely nothing... How could that be? Maybe this was only premenstrual pain? Maybe the bleeding hadn't started just yet... She had no idea what to make of it. She took the ibuprofen, that was the only thing she could do in this situation at this rate. What else was she supposed to do? Tell someone? Tell them what? She had some pain that ibuprofen was going to fix? What would it matter if it was nothing or it was serious? What could any of them do about it? She had to trust everything would be fine. This isn't the first time the bleeding took a while to start. This also wouldn't be the first time the week before felt just as bad as the actual week. I'm fine, she told herself until she believed it to be true. There's nothing to worry about. The concussion must be making me paranoid...
She decided to act like nothing happened. She went to find Rosita so she could stitch up the side of her head. She felt the ibuprofen working already. The pain was so dull now, she had no idea why she was freaking herself out before. She found Rosita finishing up stitching Abraham's hand. She noticed the way they were looking at each other again. She didn't want to be one of those people who hated seeing other people happy. It wasn't their fault she was alone. That thought came to her mind again, the thought about moving on. Could she ever grant herself that? She still didn't know. She thought she already had the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He was dead. She didn't want anyone else. How could she ever love anyone else the way she loved him? She knew in her heart no matter who she moved on with (if she were to even bother) and no matter how much she loved them, it wouldn't be the same. If that's how she felt, then maybe she was better off alone.
"I'm gonna do a sweep," Abraham whispered. He touched Rosita's face before he stood and walked off. Rosita smiled and giggled to herself until she noticed Suzy watching her.
"Hey," Rosita smiled, "Ready for me to take a look at that?"
"Oh-" Suzy came to her senses and nodded, "Sure."
Suzy came over and sat where Abraham did just a minute ago.
"Not sure how you're able to do this in the dark, but-" said Suzy, "Give it a go."
"You trust me?" Rosita smirked.
"The pain will remind me I'm alive," Suzy said with the most neutral tone and expression. Rosita laughed and picked up some gauze she wet with her bottle of water so she could wipe off the dry blood that had run down the side of Suzy's face.
"I'm just letting you know," Suzy said while Rosita dabbed the gauze on her face, "I saw the eyes you were giving Abraham a second ago. If you guys could keep it quiet tonight, I'm sure we'll all appreciate it."
"Don't be such a prude," Rosita replied. She used her free hand to lightly hit Suzy on the arm. Once she got all the dry blood off, she grabbed another piece of gauze and dabbed on some rubbing alcohol she had found along the road earlier that day. She laughed, "Don't act like you've never done it."
"How can I," Suzy replied, "Anyone I've ever slept with is all dead. Even Martinez."
"Who's that?" Rosita asked as she prepared the stitching needle.
Suzy wasn't sure why his name of all people spilled out of her mouth. Did she still feel guilty for leaving him like that? Maybe he's still out there all heartbroken wondering where you've gone, her thoughts patronized her.
"Just a friend," Suzy replied, "From that place I used to live in. We found each other again not long before I met you guys."
"He was the last guy you slept with?" Rosita smirked to which Suzy nodded. Rosita didn't wipe that look off her face, even when she started stitching, "I had my fair share of love 'em and leave 'em too."
Since Suzy didn't reply, Rosita continued the stitching in silence while she tried to think of the right thing to say. The cut wasn't big so it didn't take her more than a few minutes to finish up.
"I don't know much about that Daryl guy, but-" said Rosita, "You'll find your man one day. I wouldn't worry too much about it."
I already did, Suzy made sure to not let that slip out.
"And don't feel guilty about the whole sleeping with them just to slip away in the middle of the night," Rosita added, "It's the end of the world. Everyone deserves to get their rocks off without having to always worry about commitment."
"But that's not you and Abraham, now is it?"
"No," Rosita smiled, "He's too good for that."
"And I would clear out of here as fast as you can, little one," Abraham's husky voice said quietly. When did he come back from his little sweep? It was so dark neither of them noticed he was there.
"Loud and clear," Suzy stood and quickly made a run for it. She was tired of hearing them going at it like nobody's business. It wasn't like she could run away far enough. This was a big place. She could hear them no matter where she went in the building.
"Great," Suzy whispered to herself, "Just when I thought I could actually try getting some sleep tonight."
"Uh-Did you hear what I just said?" Suzy's head perked up when she heard Tara's voice. Was Tara talking to her? She always had this habit now of zoning out into her thoughts or giving the thousand-yard stare that she wouldn't hear people talking to her or around her. It was something she was good at nowadays. However, she looked around and didn't see Tara anywhere.
"The bus crashed 'cause of me," She heard Eugene's voice now. She realized Tara wasn't talking to her, she was talking to Eugene and the only reason they didn't see her was because of the bookshelves separating them.
"No, it didn't-"
"Yes, it did," Eugene said more sternly this time, "I put crushed glass in the fuel line. Light bulbs I found in the church."
Suzy couldn't believe what she was hearing. They crashed, almost killed them all, and she got a concussion because of him? She decided to drown out Rosita's moaning as best as she could so she could listen in on everything else this fucker had to say.
"The vehicle should've failed before it ever got to the road," He said. Oh, how Suzy wished she could see the look on Tara's face in that moment. Was she angry? Furious? Was she about to chew him out so Suzy wouldn't have to?
"You would've killed us," Tara said once she got over her initial shock. No, she doesn't sound nearly angry enough, Suzy thought, she's gonna let him off the hook. Just watch.
"It wasn't supposed to go down like that, not hardly, not half," Eugene replied, "The glass wasn't supposed to wear out the fuel line next to the spark plugs. We fully pulled the short straw on that one."
"What the hell?" Tara whispered, "Why did you do that? Eugene-"
Once Tara started questioning him, Suzy saw him coming into her view as he tried to make a run for it, but Tara stepped back to stop him. Suzy quickly moved out of sight behind the bookshelf so they wouldn't see her.
"Eugene," said Tara once she stopped him, "Why did you do that? Answer me."
"I appreciate the positive affirmations and looking the other way on the perversion," Eugene said quietly, "But I know empirically and definitively I cannot survive on my own. I can not."
"So you killed the bus?" Tara said in disbelief. As Eugene kept talking, Suzy found herself reaching to her belt and pulling one of her knives. She gripped the handle so tightly that her knuckles went white. She tried so desperately to remain undetected by not making a sound. She didn't know what was coming over her at that moment, but she knew Eugene had better pick a religion and start praying.
"If I don't cure the disease," He said, "If I don't save the world, I have no value."
"That's not how this works-"
"If I don't fix things, there's no way you people would keep me around, share resources, even protect me," He continued.
"Of course, we would," Tara replied, "We're friends. We have each other's backs, that's it. That's how it works. Don't tell anyone else what you did. I'll keep your secret and we'll keep going. You know you messed up. You're trying, but, dude. You can't do something like that again."
Oh hell no, Suzy took a deep breath to compose herself. Don't tell anyone? Was she serious? He almost killed all of us!
"I won't," Eugene replied.
"You're stuck with us," Tara smiled, "Just like we're stuck with you. No matter what."
"I don't know why I told you," said Eugene.
"I do," Tara chuckled and playfully hit his shoulder, "Welcome to the human race, asshole."
Suzy allowed them to finish up and Tara let him go. Suzy backed away into the darkness undetected since Tara decided to discreetly sneak a peek at Abraham and Rosita as Eugene had done. Suzy stayed on Eugene's tail and looped around so she was now in front of him. She pointed her knife so it would be the first thing he felt before he stopped walking. As soon as he felt the tip of her knife touch his chest, he froze where he stood and took a sharp intake of breath. He knew who it was the second he felt it. Suzy came forward into the moonlight that was shining in from the window. It wasn't much at all, it was still so dark in that library they could barely see a thing. He saw her eyes though; the way they glistened like the most beautiful pair of silver bells on a winter night. In those eyes, he saw her anger and he knew he was powerless to do anything about it. She knew she did not come all this way and experience the shit she did for her to get taken out by some coward's stupidity. There was nothing she hated more than a pathetic coward.
"I want you to listen to me now," Suzy whispered, "Tara may be all nice, sweet, and understanding, but I'm not so sweet and understanding so you listen and listen good. Your story has been off since I first heard it so I'm going to tell you this only once. If you ever do anything to compromise us again. You slow us down. You get someone killed or hurt. You do anything like that again. If I find out there's something else you're hiding from us, I promise the guilt you feel will eat you up inside until you can't take it anymore. And one day? Whether you want it to or not, it's gonna be known. If you're lucky, you won't have to feel guilty about it for long because I will kill you if you do anything like this again. Do you understand me?"
When she asked them that question, he opened his mouth to answer but couldn't muster the words. She moved the tip of her knife from his chest to his neck, right at his jugular. If he wasn't whimpering in fear before, he definitely was now.
"Tell me you understand," She said. She watched his lip quiver as he tried to find his voice again. Even in the darkness, he could see where Rosita stitched up the side of her face at the end of her left brow. That was there because of him. He understood she almost died because of him, they all did, but especially her.
"I-I..," Eugene stuttered, "I understand. Wholeheartedly. I didn't mean for it to go down that way, it wasn't supposed to. I truly am sorry."
"I don't give a flying sack of shit how you wanted things to go down," She whispered, "It did go down that way. So I don't give a fuck about whether or not you're sorry. Don't let it happen again. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Eugene replied with a shaky voice. Once he said that, Suzy lowered her knife and put it back on her belt. She gave him a fake smile and hit him on the shoulder, but not lightly like Tara. Hers was hard enough to make him grab his shoulder in pain and make a face.
"Then we have no problem," said Suzy with that fake, snide smile, "Go get some sleep. We're leaving early tomorrow."
Suzy left him to go back to her secluded spot near Glenn and Maggie. She could lie to herself all she wanted, she knew she was getting absolutely no sleep tonight. She couldn't sleep the night before either, not after what she did. She tried but then all she could accomplish was three hours of her tossing and turning because her mind wouldn't shut off. Maybe she did feel a little guilty over killing that kid. She didn't regret doing it, those people weren't people. They lost that title when they became no different than the walkers. Eating people was a line that should've never been crossed and once they did, they lost any chance they had at redemption. She was only scared of one thing and that was the feeling of killing people becoming easier. She didn't want the Governor to be proud of her. She didn't want to mindlessly kill people without a shred of guilt in her heart. If that was the case, then maybe the guilt she felt was a good thing? It meant she hadn't truly lost herself yet. She wasn't like the Governor and would never be. Her guilt was her reminder she wasn't a heartless monster. If that was the case, she supposed she could try getting some sleep tonight.
Would Merle be proud of you? Suzy's eyes shot open when that thought came into her mind. She realized she didn't know the answer to that question one bit. He did things to keep her safe. He did so many things he wasn't proud of and the worst of it was when they were with the Governor. He had killed over sixteen people...Wouldn't he be impressed with what she was now? She didn't need him anymore. She didn't kill as many people as he did, at least not yet, but she knew for sure he wasn't a killer like she was now. He hated killing people. It was why he never lost count. It never got easier for him. He could deny it all he wanted, but he was a lot more like Daryl than he could ever admit. Daryl once said Merle would be proud of her. She wasn't sure about that anymore. If he could see her now, he wouldn't even recognize her...Suzy felt her lip quiver as her eyes became cloudy from all the tears she was holding in. Her body shook as she tried to steady her breathing. She kept both of her hands on her lower belly where she had felt the pain before the ibuprofen kicked in. What was happening to her? Why was she still thinking about him after all this time? Maybe she hadn't cried in so long because she never had an opportunity to be alone anymore and she didn't want to burden Rosita again with being a sad mess. She let herself cry there on the floor in her little corner as quietly as she could so Glenn and Maggie wouldn't hear. She promised this would be the last time she would cry. There was no room for baby stuff anymore. She was someone who was willing to do what needed to be done. She wasn't going to cry anymore. She wasted enough time with that.
Unfortunately, it still meant she wasn't getting any sleep in this place after all.
Suzy was surprised she wasn't the first one up the next morning. Abraham was. He was already waking everyone up so they could pack their things and get ready to leave. Rosita insisted she had to check the wound on his hand again to make sure it didn't get infected from yesterday. Suzy rearranged the bookshelves back to how she found them and went back into the office to check the cubbies above the desk to make sure there wasn't anything she missed. Tara tapped out whatever else she could from the toilets for water, and Eugene helped Glenn and Maggie with packing up all of their bags. Suzy went into the lounge room where she found Rosita finishing up Abraham's bandage. She fixed the stitches since she had sunlight now and redressed it with clean gauze and medical tape.
"Hey, Suzy-" Rosita said once she saw her walk into the room, "I want to check yours too, okay?"
"Whatever," Suzy replied. She sat down in one of the chairs and let Rosita finish up. To keep herself occupied, she took out a rock from her bag she had found back in the woods when they escaped Terminus so she could sharpen her knives.
"It's not infected," Rosita said.
"You been going to nursing school on the sly?" Abraham asked.
"Roger and Pam taught me," Rosita replied. Once she finished wrapping the bandage around his hand, she said something that made Suzy's head perk up, "I think we should stay here today."
"Oh boy," Suzy said quietly, "Not the forbidden words."
"No," Abraham replied in a low yet stern tone, "You got some readin' you need to catch up on?"
"We got lucky yesterday," Rosita said, "But we're all banged up, you two especially."
"Leave me out of it," Suzy commented.
"We've been through worse," said Abraham, "We keep moving."
"Maybe-" Rosita was clearly upset now. Suzy couldn't remember the last time she raised her voice, "We always wind up stopping because we never start at a hundred percent."
"Every minute we waste getting him to Washington, people are dying." Abraham's words made Suzy fight a chuckle. She remembered what happened with her and Eugene last night.
"If only you knew," She whispered as those two kept fighting.
"You think I don't understand that?" Rosita raised her voice, "After everything? You see, I want us to actually get there!"
"No, you want us to sit around," Abraham replied, " You want us to stop!"
"Hey," Suzy smirked, "Listen. Rosita's right Abraham, I mean think about it. Sometimes we need to sit down in order to stand up."
"What the fuc-" Rosita whispered under her breath while Abraham sat there with a face like he was really trying to comprehend what Suzy said as if it were actually philosophical or something and he just couldn't figure out how it made sense.
"You know what?" Abraham said while the others walked into the room, "You just shut up."
Maggie and Eugene took the two seats across from where Suzy sat. Tara decided to stay standing and leaned against the doors that were boarded up completely with cardboard they had set up the night before. They had no idea what they had walked into, so Maggie decided to diffuse whatever tension remained from Rosita and Abraham's little spat while Suzy gave Eugene the biggest death glare he had ever seen in his life as she continued sharpening one of her knives. She wanted to make sure he remembered what she had said to him the night before; every bit of it.
"This town isn't in bad shape," said Maggie, "This store wasn't even touched. We could make a good base here. We could spend one last day doing a sweep for supplies?"
"Are you asking or telling?" Suzy commented to which Maggie sighed.
" You, don't start," Rosita said, "And we'll sweep as we go. We've done it since Houston, we're not stopping now."
Suzy knew exactly what that meant. In the end, she was taking Abraham's side, like she always did. Abraham knew it too from the way he looked at her.
"You heard the lady," said Abraham, "We're taking it north."
"We tapped out the toilet," Tara butted in, "Broad River is five miles west. At the very least, we stock up there before we find wheels."
"We got a vehicle," Abraham said as he stood up and opened the little flap in the cardboard on the window so everyone could see, "And it just so happens, it's got five hundred gallons of water on it."
That's right, they were directly across from the fire department. Turns out there was one firetruck left parked, sitting there waiting for them to take it.
"You know how to drive that thing?" Suzy asked as they all looked through the flap at the firetruck. Abraham nodded.
"I can figure it out," He said, "Grab your stuff. We're headin' out."
Everyone grabbed their stuff and left the library to climb onto the firetruck. Rosita and Abraham checked the side of the truck to ensure it was okay and nothing else was left behind before trying to get inside. Abraham climbed up into the driver's seat while Eugene slid in to sit in the middle. Suzy watched from below, waiting to see if Abraham could actually figure out how to operate the truck. He looked at the switches and the buttons all confused before twisting the key. The engine purred as it started, making Abraham grin like he had just won the best prize of his life.
"'Bout time things started goin' our way!" He cheered. Suzy stayed outside of the truck to direct him through before she hopped in the back of the truck. She gestured for him to drive forward, taking notice the truck had been keeping a door shut this entire time. As Abraham drove the truck, the door gradually opened to reveal a stacked tower of tires. He didn't get much further than that. Suzy was starting to think their luck was only meant to last five minutes or less with how quickly things went to shit. The truck came to a stop and that grin on Abraham's face was gone instantly. He was right back to being all pissy and complaining as he climbed out of the truck to inspect it.
"Just once," He said, "One damn time!"
"We'll find another ride," Glenn said.
"Optimistic," Suzy said in a sarcastic tone while Abraham ranted and Rosita got out of the truck.
"If there was a ride worth a shit in this town, we'd have seen it," said Abraham. Rosita and Suzy stared at each other in both disbelief and amusement while Abraham picked up a plastic bag to start pulling the remains out of the vent. He continued, "This thing's done some crowd clearing. Right up into the intake. Which means we've got an air filter filled with damn human remains. And there is no damned corner on this damned earth that has not been dicked hard beyond all damned recognition!"
Suzy and Rosita looked at each other as if silently asking who was going to tell him. Suzy shook her head and gestured to Rosita to say it was all her. Rosita rolled her eyes and obligied.
"Abraham?"
"What!" The attitude he had behind that one word was enough to make Suzy chuckle.
"That feeds the radiator," Rosita smiled, "The intake for the engine is actually on the roof. Abraham had to do a few double takes to the vent and back to Rosita to comprehend what she said. The look of clarity on his face almost held a hint of mutual amusement.
"If you girls know so much about firetrucks, maybe y'all should drive it," He said of course more as a joke than anything.
Before Suzy could make a joke back to him, she noticed the door again where the truck had been parked. One of the tires somehow was able to roll out to them as if someone had pushed it. It was loud enough to make Rosita turn around to notice it and it ended up rolling out far enough to where Glenn and Abraham saw it too. Suzy looked back at that tower of tires that had been just behind the door and watched them come tumbling down upon a group of at least a dozen walkers stumbling outside.
"Tara! Maggie!" Glenn called out. Tara warned Eugene to stay in the truck as she and Maggie rushed out to help take down the walkers.
"One! Damn! Time!" Abraham groaned repeatedly as he grabbed his gun to start killing them while Rosita pleaded with him to wait in formation instead of running up into the crowd of the dead so close to the door. Suzy quickly grabbed two of her knives to start stabbing any that came nearby and tossed the one in her left hand at one approaching Maggie from behind.
"There's more from the back!" Glenn called out, "Suzy and Rosita, you come around with me! Maggie and Tara, hold the fort here!"
"Abraham!" Suzy shouted. She watched as he started getting engulfed in the walkers still coming out from the door. One grabbed a hold of him from behind, but he was able to throw it off and keep going. Just when Suzy was about to cut her losses and go around the truck with Glenn, the water hose from the roof of the firetruck began spraying down everyone. Tara wasn't dumb, she immediately took cover behind the wall to avoid the walkers and to stay dry. Suzy looked up and saw Eugene waterboarding down all the walkers. Suzy and Rosita backed up to the truck and took out whatever walkers were still strong enough to make it past the firetruck's water pressure. Because of Eugene's sudden act of bravery, the walkers were taken out in less than a minute. Tara and Abraham came out the driest out of everyone, Glenn, Rosita, and Suzy getting the worst of it. They were dripping wet as if they had jumped into the river. Suzy spat whatever was in her mouth and on her lips. She looked up at Eugene who gave her this look of "Yeah, I did that". What exactly was that supposed to mean? That he took her words last night to heart? To prove he wasn't a pathetic coward after all?
"I've been to eight county fairs and one goat rodeo," Abraham grinned, "I never seen anything like that."
"There was a goodwill over there by the bookstore," Glenn said, "It's pretty blown up, but there might be some supplies, some dry clothes, maybe?!"
"Not necessary. I can clear that intake in two shakes," Abraham said. He climbed up to the roof of the firetruck so he could clear out the remains from the intake, "Then the engine will get some wind and so will be. You'll air-dry. We roll on."
"Okay!" Suzy shook off her wet arms and put her knives back on her belt. She squinted when she looked up at Abraham due to the sunlight and pointed at him accusingly, "But if I get gangrene, I'm blaming you!"
Abraham looked down at them, or past them rather, and took notice of something that made him start laughing like a crazy person. Damn, Suzy thought, haven't heard that from him in a while.
"What is so damn funny?" Suzy called out to him. She turned around, as did everyone else, and looked down to see there was a message on the ground written in red paint. There had been so much dirt, cardboard, and other trash on the ground they hadn't seen it until the fire hose washed it all away. As an extra convenience, there were enough bodies from the walkers to practically make a circle around the message. It read, "SICK INSIDE" and "LET THEM DIE".
"What?" Abraham cackled, "This shit's screwed up!"
Once Abraham got the intake clear, the truck started up fine and the crew jumped into the truck to roll out. Abraham drove with Eugene next to him and Glenn on the right. The girls all sat in the back and chatted with each other to try to pass the time. Since they were out of the view of the men, Eugene in particular, they were able to partially undress so they could ring out their clothes into a bucket so they weren't soaked. It helped them air-dry much faster and earned them some laughs from each other. Their hair dried quickly from the breeze as they drove by. Unfortunately, they didn't make it more than another forty minutes down the road before having to stop again.
"One damn time! Just one goddamn time!" Abraham started grumbling again and hitting the steering wheel.
"What's goin' on?" Maggie asked as the girls hopped out of the truck.
"What always happens," said Abraham, "The goddamn intake!"
"I thought you cleaned it out?" Suzy said to which Abraham hit the steering wheel again.
"I did!" He shouted, "It's so clogged up with so many goddamn innards, there's only so much I can pull out with two hands!"
Abraham got out of the truck and went up on the roof to try to see if there was anything more he could pull out himself without having to take tools to it, considering the main thing they lacked at the moment was tools. He ended up being up there so long everyone got out of the truck to keep watch around the truck and Eugene took out his book written by H.G. Wells to read while sitting on the truck's bumper.
"Hey," Suzy got his attention, "That thing you did with the hose earlier...Good job."
Eugene could tell saying that last part was causing her physical pain to say.
"Anytime," He replied, not looking up from his book.
"But don't think it lets you off the hook," She said.
"Understood," He said. Maggie was the next one to come talk to him, a conversation Suzy was not interested in. She decided to go keep watch at the front of the truck with Glenn. They didn't talk about anything. They often didn't have much to talk about. She was starting to wonder if they could ever be closer friends than they were now. He held no ill will towards her, but the memories still stuck with her.
"You good?" He asked. He kept his eyes ahead, which confused her. Was he a mind reader all of a sudden?
"Yeah," Suzy replied, "Why?"
"I don't know. You keep looking over at me like you wanna say something," He smiled a little, "I still have peripheral vision, you know."
"Right," She smiled back, "I just wanted to know something."
"What is it?"
"I know there were things that happened I didn't know about back then," She said, fidgeting uncomfortably, "After everything...Are we friends?"
To her surprise, Glenn laughed like she said something hilarious and stupid at the same time.
"What, you expect me to say no?" Glenn chuckled. Before she could say anything else, he looked over at her and nodded his head, "Of course we're friends. Not only that, we're family. You belong with us, no matter what we've been through. Never doubt that."
"Huh," Suzy said as a realization. Family? She would've never thought he or anyone else would consider her family. She figured she could get used to that. The only reason she couldn't respond was due to the sudden rotten smell that filled her nose.
"Oh my god," Suzy said before she plugged her nose.
"Whoa," Glenn did the same, "What the hell is that?"
"What?" Maggie called out from the back of the truck.
"Wind's picking up, you're about to smell it," Glenn replied and Maggie groaned in disgust.
"What is that," She whined. Abraham had been trying to start the truck for the last few minutes to no avail. He perked up at the sound of everyone whining about the sudden smell and poked his head out of the truck to get a quick whiff.
"Whatever's making that stench, ain't nothin' nice," Abraham said, "We're not stoppin'."
"Uhh," Tara looked at the truck that still wouldn't start, "We're stopped."
Abraham got out of the truck so they could all walk up the small hill and get a closer look at what was down the street. Up ahead, there was nothing but farmland. The only problem was the farms along with the streets were absolutely covered in wandering corpses. The only reason none of them were coming after where they were was because they were too far up ahead. Abraham stood there staring at it as he mumbled to himself.
"Let's go," Said Glenn.
"Come on," Rosita had everyone turn around so they could leave. They were going to have to find another way around, perhaps another road that led them north.
"Abraham," Rosita called out to him, but he didn't move. He kept mumbling to himself and ignored Suzy and Rosita calling his name. Rosita tried again, "Abraham, let's get out of here."
Once he finally stopped mumbling to himself, he seemed to compose himself so he could come up with a proper plan.
"Hold up," He said.
"We gotta go," said Maggie.
"No," Abraham looked back towards the horde of walkers up ahead, "No, we don't. They can't hear us and they can't see us. Not from here. We're fine."
"Yeah, because this is the definition of "fine"," Suzy was surprised that didn't come out of her own mouth.
"Good one," Suzy said quietly to which Tara said a quick "Thanks".
"We need the map. There's gotta be a detour," said Glenn.
"I have mine right here," Suzy said as she pulled her folded-up map out of her pants pocket.
"I'm not doing it," Abraham said, not taking his eyes off the road ahead, "We detoured and detoured and detoured from Houston to Georgia. I'm not playing that game anymore."
"So what else do you expect us to do?" Suzy called out. Now he was pacing back and forth.
"We are not going through this, okay?" Glenn got closer and pointed to the road, "It isn't gonna happen!"
"You got a shit storm behind door A and a storm of shit behind door B," Abraham finally turned around to look Glenn in the eye. His voice raised with every word he said, "If you're lucky, it's walkers or a shot-up truck. But sooner or later you get cornered. You wind up stayin' and you wind up killin'. We don't go back. We can't go back!"
"Okay, I'm not talking about going back," Glenn said, "Just south a few miles-"
"No!"
"We already hit a full stop 'cause of an air filter compromised by innards," Eugene said from the back, "That will happen again."
"Then we'll hit 'em with the hose," Abraham said, pacing again.
"The tank is empty, Abraham," said Rosita.
"If we floor it-"
"Then we still hit them, they still slow us down, and then they stop us," Glenn said.
"I'm not saying we just go straight!" Abraham shouted.
"That's the way the road goes," Maggie commented.
"Going straight is exactly what you're expecting us to do, what are you even talking about?" Suzy added.
"Abraham!" Rosita started trying to plead with him so he would start making sense, but he wasn't listening.
"We can get through!" He shouted, "I know it! And that means we are not going south! Going around! Or going back!"
"No," Rosita said, shaking her head, "They're right."
Abraham did a double take looking at the road and then back at the group, contemplating what he was supposed to do. Was he going to listen? Suzy already knew they were long past that. Instead, the only thing he could think to do was go back to grab Eugene by the arm to take him back into the truck. Everyone immediately started following him, talking over each other, trying to get him to let Eugene go.
"Hey!" Rosita yelled, "Abraham, what are you doing?"
"Where exactly do you think you're taking him? To his death?!" Suzy called out, trying to keep up with everyone.
"I'm not gonna let you do this!" Rosita said.
"Yes, you are," Abraham replied. Tara caught up to him enough and reached out to get him to let Eugene go and pushed his chest which, to him, felt like nothing more than a light tap. Without thinking, he instantly shoved her, making her stumble backward and almost fall.
"Hey! You are done!" Glenn shouted and grabbed his arm. It was all downhill from there. Everyone was shouting now, especially Abraham and Glenn.
"Do not!" Abraham screamed at him repeatedly and tried to make him let go.
"Stop it!" Everyone pleaded to some degree.
"Abraham! Stop!" Rosita tried grabbing his hand to make him let go of Glenn.
"You do not touch me!" He kept shouting at Glenn and tried pushing him, but he only ended up pushing down Rosita. As soon as Suzy saw Rosita hit the ground, Suzy knew all gloves were off now.
"Hey!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and reached up to slap him across the face, "You are done! You don't touch her!"
Everyone kept shouting over each other and shoving, it was hard to pinpoint who was saying what and who was shoving who. It made it almost impossible to hear Eugene yelling now as he squirmed his way out of Abraham's grasp to no avail.
"I'm not a scientist!" He shouted at the top of his lungs over and over until everyone could hear, I'm not a scientist!"
Once everyone heard what he said, they all went purely silent and Abraham finally let him go.
"I lied..." Eugene said, looking Suzy in the eye. He remembered what she had told him the night before... I promise the guilt you feel will eat you up inside until you can't take it anymore. And one day? Whether you want it to or not, it's gonna be known...Here he was now, letting it be known. "I'm not a scientist."
Everyone stood there in shock except for Suzy. She wasn't surprised in the slightest. This was what happened when she doubted her instincts, every damn time. She could always tell when someone was hiding something. She knew it the minute she met the Governor and she lied to herself and made her doubt what she knew to be true. And here she was again, knowing the whole story about Eugene having the cure was completely insane and she lied to herself again to give him the benefit of the doubt because why would anyone lie about such a thing? All she could do was tighten her lips and duck her head.
"I don't know how to stop it," He said, "I'm not a scientist."
While Maggie looked devastated, Tara didn't look all that surprised either. It made sense now, why he killed the bus and by proxy almost got them all killed. Suzy helped Rosita stand.
"You are a scientist," Rosita said, "I've seen the things that you can do."
"I just know things," Eugene replied.
"You just-" Glenn said, "Know things?"
"I know I'm smarter than most people," As Eugene ranted, Suzy glanced over at Abraham, worried about what he might do or say. If anyone was in shock, it was him. His mouth was fully agape as he stood there in complete disbelief. As of that moment, he had nothing to say. She wasn't even sure if he was able to hear everything Eugene was saying right then due to how his thoughts must've been racing to comprehend what he had already heard. Eugene justified it, thinking D.C. held the strongest chance of stability and survival and if he was right, the people he lied and cheated into taking him there would benefit too. Abraham dropped to his knees in shock as he listened. Suzy kept glancing over at him to make sure he was okay. Well, "okay" was a strong word in that moment.
"People died trying to get you here," Rosita said. She sounded so heartbroken. If she wanted to, she could cry, but Suzy knew she was too strong for tears.
"I'm aware of that," Eugene replied, "Stephanie, Warren, Pam, Rex, Roger, Josiah, Dirk...And Josephine...And Bob..."
Josephine. Suzy remembered Josephine. She felt so guilty for how she treated her back then. All she tried to do was help her and how did she repay her? By getting her killed. Suzy frowned at the memory.
"You see, I lost my nerve as we grew closer," Eugene continued, "For I am a coward...And the reality of getting to our destination and disclosing the truth of the matter became some truly frightening shit. I took it upon myself to slow our roll. Whether that be putting glass in the fuel line of the bus or removing the alternator belt of the truck, or shootin' it up fightin' walkers. Find time to finesse things so then when we got there..."
Suzy's jaw dropped when he said that. The reason they lost Abraham's army truck wasn't an accident? He had shot it up on purpose? Not only that, but the alternator belt...That was the reason they had to go find a new one which resulted in...Josephine...Suzy couldn't believe it. He spent all this time letting her think that was her fault when it was his.
"But at this moment, I fully realize there are no longer any agreeable options," Eugene said with shame, "I was screwed either way...I also lied about T. Brooks Ellis liking my hair, I do not know T. Brooks Ellis. But I did read one of his books and he seemed like the type of guy that wouldn't blink twice at a Tennessee Top Hat."
Eugene then looked down at Abraham who was still on his knees in shock.
"Again," He said, "I am smarter than you. Now, you may want to leave me here, but-"
Even though she tried keeping her eye on him, Suzy still couldn't react fast enough to Abraham getting up and punching Eugene square in the face not once, but twice.
"Hey! Get off of him!" Tara screamed. Abraham once again pushed her away like she weighed nothing. Glenn also reached in to stop him, but Abraham was still able to clock Eugene again who was already knocked out clean from the second punch to the face. There was no way he could take a third. The third one made Eugene's head fly back and hit the windshield of the firetruck before he collapsed face down onto the street. To her surprise, Suzy couldn't make herself move to do anything. She had her hand on one of her knives, but she couldn't do it. She realized it was because she didn't want to stop him.
"Oh my god," Maggie said when she saw Eugene fall on his face completely unconscious.
Suzy made no move to stop Abraham who was already charging back over to finish the job. Rosita made the move instead to get in between them and put her hand on her gun, which Abraham noticed. Seeing Rosita look so afraid of him made him glance back down at his hand he used to punch Eugene. His wound had been opened again and was covered in blood. He came to his senses then and backed away. Everyone crowded around Eugene to turn him over and check to see if he was even still breathing. His face was covered in blood. He didn't stir. Rosita kept calling his name to try and wake him to no avail. Suzy didn't move from where she stood. She didn't want to stop Abraham from doing what he did. If she had it her way, Eugene wouldn't have stood a chance. She watched as Abraham walked down the other side of the street, keeping his back to everyone. She watched as he fell to his knees and completely broke down.
Suzy remembered what Abraham said when he told her why he saved her in the first place. She had told herself that last night would be the last night she would ever cry, that there was no room left for tears. She was wrong. This time, she wasn't crying over herself. No, her tears this time were for Abraham. At one point, he was just like her; Someone who had lost everything he had ever cared about and had attempted to end his own life. The only reason he was here today was because of Eugene's lie. It wasn't a lie, it couldn't be. It had to be real. It had to be...And because of that lie, he saved her so she would have the same reason to live on...
"Nah, don't worry about it. I don't do things like savin' people for thank you's."
"Then why did you save me?" Suzy asked. Abraham shrugged.
"When I plucked you off the street, I saw someone who was at their lowest. Reminded me of someone else who needed a reason to go on. Thought I would offer the same reason."
Suzy looked at Abraham curiously, "And who was that?"
Abraham didn't turn to look back at her in return. He kept his eyes fixed on the road. He didn't give her an answer. The longer she stared at how tight his expression became, hers softened. He didn't didn't need to answer her question. She put the answer together very quickly.
What did this mean for them now? What do you do when your reason for being alive and breathing turns out to be nothing but a lie?