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justinewt · 1 year

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Father And Daughter - TWD REWRITE Chapter Fourteen

[TWD FANFICTION-MASTERLIST]

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Summary: The Whisperers’ threat had been put to an end and finally, the survivors of Alexandria and the other communities could focus on rebuilding their homes after the confrontations with their enemies had a toll on them. Alden and Anna enjoyed the peace that was given to them, raising the poor Adam who first lost his biological mother and then Earl and Tammy Rose, his adoptive parents and helping around in Alexandria, but the troubles never really stop and as they cared for the boy, Anna found herself thinking of her late mother, remembering her early days in the apocalypse, and the traumas that followed...

Words: 6.9k

Warnings: TWD spoilers season 10 (finale episode “Here’s Negan”), long chapter, some peaceful everyday life scenes, fluff, but then; LOTS of flashbacks, angst, loss, grief, mention of suicide, childhood traumas, diving into early days of Anna’s survival with her parents,

The people of Alexandria had been working hard on rebuilding the community for the past month or so, even Anna helped renovate the ruins that had been left of their homes after the Whisperers came through the camp. If a couple weeks ago she was just a bit sick and not really sure if she was pregnant or not, she was getting more and more convinced of it as her stomach looked way more bloated than usual and she felt tired a lot more and a lot quicker, and her father had to tell her to take a break and have some rest. He knew of her condition and neither he nor Alden wanted her to overwork herself and be exhausted as a result. Her relationship with Alden also took a new turn when they adopted the little Adam as his first adoptive parents, Earl and Tammy Rose had both died and they found themselves already parents of a 1-year-old boy. Anna grew to love that boy as her own, caring for him and raising him alongside Alden, which greatly strengthened the bond between them. She loved having her little family and being able to focus on that in the aftermath of the last confrontation with the Whisperers. There was finally some peace they could enjoy.

But even that peace was disturbed by the animosity Maggie felt towards Negan, even though it was a little less bad than what Anna expected. Anna went to sat on the steps in front of the house in which Alden, her and Adam had moved into, and she held Adam on her laps, looking around. In the distance she could see her father hammering nails into a beam when Maggie and her son walked down the street and looked at him. They stared at each other for a few seconds and despite the distance between them, one could easily feel the tension. It had been like this ever since Maggie came back to Alexandria and saw Negan around. She stood up, carrying her son in her arms and approached her father. He noticed her approaching and smiled tenderly at her and Adam, for whom he had had no difficulty in loving like his actual grandson. He stroked the little boy's blond hair and Adam looked at Anna innocently grabbing the pendant around her neck. The very pendant containing old pictures of her and her parents. She looked down, glancing at the necklace.

“You still have it.” Negan said softly and she raised her head, nodding. These two pictures inside of the locket were the only memories she had of her life before the outbreak, the only memories of her mother.

“Of course. I still have your knife too.” He chuckled, and as she looked away, she felt him staring at her. It was a soft gaze, with a glimpse nostalgia in his eyes.

“You remind me so much of your mother.”

“I know.” She glanced down, her eyes getting teary at the thought of her mom. He softly drew Anna into a hug before she walked away to go and find Alden. She swiftly wiped her eyes and as she left her father, she looked back and saw Carol talk to him. She frowned a bit, having no idea why they then going the opposite direction together. Given Carol had all her gears and bow, Anna didn’t think much of it, figuring they left to hunt or something. She eventually found Alden, working on cutting planks of wood. He straightened up at the sight of Anna and Adam and gave her a sweet kiss before smiling at Adam and kissing him on the head, caressing his hair. The little boy giggled, calling out to his dad and he stretched out his arms to him. Anna smiled, passing the child to Alden. In that moment, everything that had happened outside the walls of Alexandria as well as inside was gone. They were in their little bubble, the three of them. It was those moments of peace that Anna cherished so much after all she went through. It was really refreshing to love and feel loved. She loved the family she was making with Alden, and it had become the one thing she cared for most and the fact that her father, the one person that had always had so much importance and influence in her life, was a part of it was her dream come true. She wished for this peace to last forever if it only could.

She never knew such a serenity and now that she looked back, even when she was a kid and thought her life was perfect, it wasn’t. Her father cheated on her mother, and he was never the perfect role model she thought he was, which she found out the hard way during her years at the Sanctuary. She remembered the day she was stuck in the trailer with her father and Gabriel and the latter made him confess “his sins”. Gabriel almost got some tears out of that tough man as he told his story, and it was a sight Anna never thought she would witness. For as long as she could remember, she had never seen her father cry or get emotional. She had seen him get aggressive, but it was never towards her. She heard him yell, or argue with her mom, but he never scolded her. Anna kept thinking about this as she walked around Alexandria until she noticed Carol coming back, alone. She remembered seeing her leaving with her father, but he was nowhere to be found. Frowning in confusion, looking around, she took a quick step towards her. Carol noticed her but didn’t stop walking until the young woman addressed her.

“Carol, where’s my dad? Didn’t you go out hunting with him?” Carol stopped in her tracks, apparently not so pleased to be stopped by Anna to talk about this but she turned to her.

“We decided it was best if he went to live outside Alexandria.” Anna was left there in bewilderment and watched Carol walk away, not really giving her time to reply or say anything. She could only realise that her father had been taken away from her again. Anna wasn’t alone but she had spent so long both trying to get away from and then back to her father, that it felt like it in that moment.

15 YEARS AGO (yeah, I know it’s supposed to have been around 12 years but shut up thank you I’m too lazy to fix my fic’s timeline)

Anna threw her school bag on the backseat, slammed the car door shut and went to sit on the passenger sit, in the front, sipping the strawberry smoothie her mother had bought her since after picking it up from school, they had gone to the mall. It was a bit hard money-wise lately but Lucille, her mother, had wanted to get her a little something she liked since the young girl was doing so well at school. Unlike in school, things weren't going as smoothly at home. Her father had lost his job as a high school gym teacher after getting into a fight with a man. That's hos her mother explained it to her anyway, but Anna knew her father beat up a man in a bar, but she didn't know the details of what happened and never dared ask him, even though he would probably just tell her. She wasn't scared of him, he would never hurt her, but she was smoewhat disappointed maybe, because he had lost his job because of it and the girl could see how her mother was burdened with taking care of the house and having to scold him all the time. He had become quite the man child since he was fired and the 11-year-old wondered if they would find him already in the basement, playing video games and yelling profanities while doing so. He had become less of the role model that Anna used to look up to. She always adored both her parents and see their relationship deteriorate was hard on her.

Anna stared at the cup in her hands as she slurped the smoothie through the straw, amusingly cupping her cheeks to the max. Music was playing on the radio and a song that the girl instantly recognized started playing. She smiled at her mom as the woman already started to hum the song but there was some sort of sadness or nostalgia in her eyes. She didn’t really understand why she looked this way and turned her head, staring straight ahead. They arrived in the driveway to the side of their house and Lucille parked the car. Anna got off, grabbed her bag and followed her mom inside. Her father’s voice could already be heard from downstairs along with some loud Rock music. Anna sat down in the living room to do her homeworks while her mother tried telling Negan that the two of them came home but he was too busy with whatever game he was playing. Anna bit her lips, silently watching as her mother sighed in annoyance and grumbled as she walked back and forth around the house, picking up things that were lying around and doing some tidying up and cleaning.

After about an hour, Anna was almost done with her homeworks and Lucille was finishing the dishes when her father finally came out of his cave.

“Oh, you’re home?” He asked, as if it were surprising to see them already home, and walked into the kitchen, opening up the fridge to get a few bottles of beers. Anna looked at what he was doing from the corner of her eyes, dangling her legs under the dining table.

“We have been for over an hour.” Lucille retorted, her back to him as she washed the dishes. He glanced at his wife, noticing she was mad at him, but he didn’t say anything else and walked into the living room, holding about three or four bottles in his hand.

“Hey, apple pie.” He kissed her on the head, stroked her hair and headed back to the basement. This was a typical afternoon for the young girl, ever since her dad lost his job and spent his days at home doing basically nothing, going out when he had appointments. She finished her homeworks and almost jumped on the couch, turning the TV on to watch some cartoons. It had only been about ten minutes of peace when she saw her mom walk across the living room, holding some leather jacket and a piece of paper and went to the basement. Anna was a bit confused so she turned off the TV and discreetly followed her downstairs, staying in the shadows as her mom entered the room. She never willingly listened to her parents’ fights, where it was mostly her mom doing the yelling and her father being rather passive, but right now she was wondering what it was about, and on top of that, she had never seen this jacket so it made her curious.

“Don’t be such a pussy! This is how you get better! You gotta take it!” He declared, not realizing Lucille was walking towards him until she stood in front of the TV.

“Are you playing with children?”

“Uh, teenagers. I think. Mostly.” He shrugged before replying to someone in a lower voice and looked up to his wife, clearly not knowing what she wanted with him. Anna could hear the anger in her mom’s voice as she looked down at the piece of paper in her hand.

“Please tell me that you did not spend $600 on this “Happy Days” bullshit.” She shook the jacket, staring at Negan who was apparently not as troubled by the amount of money. Anna didn’t even dare to ask her mom for stuff because she knew they had money problems and her father was spending the little they had recklessly. At 11 she was almost more mature and thoughtful than the grown man that he was. At the time, Anna didn’t realize it wasn’t normal. It used to be her normal.

“Calm down. Don’t worry.” He said in a casual voice. “I got two leads. One’s a lock, but the other one pays better, and I am just celebrating a little early, is all.

“Really?” He nodded with a silly smile that was probably going to annoy her mother even more. Her tone got harsh as she gradually rose her voice. “Tell me about these two leads. Cause you can’t be a gym teacher anymore You have a misdemeanour assault on your record, and you refuse to go back to school. So, please, oh, I would love it if you would tell me all about this job that you got that’s gonna pay for this.” He kept quiet and understanding he couldn’t explain himself, she turned around. As her mother was about to walk out of the basement, Anna quietly climbed the stairs.

“I threw the receipt away.” She heard her father say and as she settled on the couch, lying down, acting like she was watching the cartoon on the TV, her mother let out a grunt at his reply and she slammed a door. While she went back to doing house chores, outside the sun was setting and soon, night had fallen and it was time for dinner. Anna and her parents were quietly eating, all seated around the dinner table, her mother and her on one side, her father in front of them. The girl was just staring down at her plate, purposely not eating the heap of green beans to the side. Like many kids her age, she didn’t like vegetables and luckily for her, even though her parents always tried to get her to eat some, they never forced her.

“How’s the food?” She glanced at her dad as he tried making conversation.

“It’s good. Did you do somethin’ different?”

“Yeah, I… uh… I tried a little rosemary instead of oregano, and there’s a little white-wine reduction in the chicken stock.” He explained, and Lucille listened but kept very quiet. Anna picked up some green beans with her fork, watched it for a second, and slid it off the fork with her finger deciding against eating it.

“Do I have to eat those?” She asked, staring the beans down and her parents looked at her.

“No.” Negan chuckled and shook his head while Lucille smiled softly at her daughter. Besides from the disliked vegetables, her plate was practically empty already. “Was it good?”

“Yeah.” She sketched a smile. “Can I taste your chicken?” He looked at Lucille for permission and then cut a piece of his chicken stock and handed his fork to Anna. He had cooked hers apart from theirs so there wouldn’t be any alcohol in her food since she was a kid but he ended up letting her get a bite anyway. She took the fork and Negan chuckled at her reaction because she apparently found the taste of it very good. Then, her mom turned to her.

“It’s getting late. If you’re done, clear your plate and check your bag’s ready for tomorrow. Don’t forget your books.” As Anna stood up, she followed up with another question. “Oh, and Emma's mom confirmed it wass still ok for tomorrow night, don't forget your stuff and your pjs.”

“Yes, mom.” She replied mechanically as she put the dish in the sink and walked out of the kitchen to kiss her dad good night. Her mom was often the one who came to tuck her in, sometimes her dad came before she had fallen asleep and he would read her a story but she deemed herself not a baby anymore so it happened way less than it used to when she was under the age of 9. She walked into her room and stood by the door as she heard her mother spoke.

“My appointment’s tomorrow at 2:15.”

“What appointment?”

“I’m getting an MRI.” Anna had no idea what it was but by the tone of her mom’s voice rising up at the lack of reaction from her dad, she figured it was somewhat of a big deal. She went to change into her pjs, trying not to listen but in vain. “I need you to drive me home.”

“Uh, I can’t. Tomorros at 2:15? I-I have a meeting with the probation officer. Besides, you know how the doctors can be. They have you sit around for three hours with your ass hanging out, and then they tell you everything’s fine.” He sounded dismissive, like whatever it was wasn’t important and Anna knew her mother woudn’t like it. Anna turn off the checked her bags and sat in her bed, turning off the lights and with her diary, the cover over her head, a small flashlight and a pen in hand, she wrote in her diary. She had no idea at the time of how much doing this helped her process things that happened in her daily life, especially the things that happened with her parents’ rocky relationship. She was very young and often wondering if her mom didn’t divorce him because of her was a bothering thought to have. They used to look more in love. Her father used to be less careless too. It was all these little changes that she noticed happening over time that confused her, as she didn’t understand why things changed like that. She wished she could just never become an adult, because it looked so troublesome and in the long run, unhappy.

6 MONTHS LATER

Anna sat cross-legged on her parents bed, holding one of her stuffed animals on her laps, watching her father changing the bags hanging from her mother's IV stand while the latter rummaged through a case of DVDs. They had moved all their things in the basement after the outbreak. The house was locked, the windows barricaded to protect the three of them from the dangers of the outside while they tried to survive and continue her mother’s chemotherapy. Anna remembered when she heard her parents talk about this MRI she was getting and at the time, she had no idea what it meant but the next day, when going to sleep over at her friend’s house, she looked it up. She didn’t say anything to her friend and kept it to herself, thinking about all that she had read on the disease. It was scary and deeply upsetting. Then her mother told her the news when she got home and for weeks on end, she would cry herself to sleep. Then, things went downhill, and the dead rose and started to prowl the streets and now, it had been months and even though her father’s behavior had greatly improved, it was hard on the young girl to see her mother struggle, wearing wigs to dress her head as it got bald due to the heavy treatment, her face dull and ringed.

“Trying to figure out what James Bond movie I want to watch.” Lucille said in a low voice. Anna listened to them with one ear, playing with his stuffed toy to alleviate his boredom. Their daily life since the arrival of these monsters outside had not been as hectic as before. They spent their days locked up, sometimes watching movies thanks to a generator outside and sometimes his father went on an expedition to find what his mother needed for her treatment, or sometimes he read books to them. Her mom on her sofa, him sitting on the edge of the bed and Anna curled up next to him, reading over his shoulder or snuggled in her mother’s arms. The world going upside down did give her one thing she wanted, spending time with her parents and being like a family.

“Well, baby, I think we’re gonna have to skip the movie just for now. Generator’s making too much noise.”

“Hey.” She looked up at him. “We’re gonna have to kill it.”

“Why bother right?” He wondered, adjusting the bags on the IV. Athe sound of some monster snarling outside, Anna raised her head and glanced at the small windows blocked by a few boards, the light from the outside seeping into the basement, which was very dimly lit due to the lack of electricity. “I turn the generator off for a little bit, and they lose interest. They always do.” He then walked back to the fridge, grabbed a couple bags and moved them to the freezer on top. On his way out to go check the generator, he gently stroked Anna’s hair and left the basement. The girl never liked when he went outside but someone had to, and she was forbidden to step out of the house. It was too dangerous. Eventually he came back inside and he took a book at his wife’s request, settling his glasses on his nose and sitting on the bed. Anna sat next to him, her head resting against his shoulder as he read.

“‘I see what you are feeling,’ replied Charlotte. ‘You must be surprised, very much surprised… So lately as Mr. Collins was wishing to marry you. But when you have…” He sighed, pausing. “Mama.”

“Hmm?” She hummed.

“This book sucks. It’s killing me. I-I-I can’t… I can’t do it.” He shook his head, glancing at the book with a half amused smirk. Anna chuckled at her father’s reaction and he kissed her hair before looking at Lucille.

“You’re the one that won’t let me watch James Bond. Read.” She mischieviously kicked the book with the leg she rested on his lap. Anna straightened up at the sound of the fence surrounding their house rattling because of this monster that the sound of the generator kept attracting there. Negan put a hand on his daughter’s back to reassure her and Lucille stared at him.

“You gotta take care of it.” Negan knew she was right. He got ready and went outside, armed with a hammer. He was gone for a couple minutes when Lucille grew tired of waiting and stood up.

“I’ll go see what’s taking so long. He’s never gonna kill that thing.” She dragged her IV along with her as she walked away. “Stay right there, okay?”

“Yes, mom.” Anna replied, watching her leave. A silence disturbed by the noises of struggle outside fell on the room and she lied down, sitting her plush on her stomach, silently playing with it, moving her toes around in her socks until she suddenly heard a gunshot outside and curled up, covering her ears in surprise. The monster had stopped making scary noises afterwards though. She just heard her mother’s voice coming from outside but it was muffled and she couldn’t understand what she was saying but when her parents came back, the generators was on and they watched a movie together before her father went out to get some fuel to keep the generator going because it was not only useful to watch movies, it maintained the cold temperatures needed for the bag for her mother’s treatment because without it, she would decline even quicker then she already was with the perfusion. When he came back, Lucille had taken off her wig, wrapped her head in a scarf and was lying in bed with Anna next to her. The young girl hadn’t slept in the same bed as her parents since she was a toddler but there wasn’t really enough room to move her bed out of her room and sleeping in their bed was comforting for her.

“I’m good.” Lucille said softly, resting her eyes.

“I got something for you. I found someone’s stash.” He pulled out a tiny purse and unzipped it. She chuckled. “Now, it’s a little bit dried out, but this is gonna help with your nausea. Hey. No drugs, all right, young lady?” He added, glancing at Anna and she nodded, making an expression of exaggerated disgust and he smiled.

“You’re having to go further and further every time.”

“Well, generator needs gas, and this place has been picked over. But the bright side is… that I reckon that’s exactly what’s keeping us safe. There is nothing here that anybody wants.”

“You can’t keep it up.” She declared weakly. “We need to move. We need other people.”

“It’s just too dangerous out there.”

“That’s’ my point.” Anna silently watched her parents talk, holding her stuffed animal against her chest.

“Baby, you have three treatments left. That’s it, okay? So we are gonna get your strength up, and then I will put you and Anna on my motorcycle and I will take you wherever you want to go… wherever you can dream up. I promise.”

“Okay.” She eventually agreed to it and the day went by and night fell. Every time they would go to sleep, her father would wrap his arms around her mom, trying to warm her up and fight the chills and shivers that shook her weakened body. Anna was curled up next to her mom and often find it hard to find sleep. She looked at her mom when a shiver ran through her body and she made a sound that got the girl to open her eyes. As her father began to softly sing their song to her and saw that Anna wasn’t sleeping so he gave her a comforting smile, caressing her cheek with his thumb and she closed her eyes to try to fall asleep, curled up against her mother.

“Ugh. Damn it.” Negan swore, looking out the window as an umpteenth walker came snarling by.

“It’s not like killing a person, babe. It’s not even like killing an animal. You can’t let it keep bothering you.” She said as she cut a can of food open. He turned to her.

"It doesn’t bother me. I… I’m just worried that I’m gonna get used to it.”

“Okay.” She nodded, smiling tenderly. While he went to turn the generator off, Anna helped her mom set the table and by the time he returned, they had lit a few candles and Anna was seated, touching the floor with the toes and her parents joined her, sitting in front of each other. They ate, chatting and laughing together. It was one of these light moments that made it all seem like everything was fine and there weren’t zombies outside their house. Some normal moments were good for all three of them.

‘How, um… how’s your dinner?” He enquired, after some sauce on his plate.

“It was good. If I had known that dog food could taste like this… I would have been eating that shit all along.” They laughed heartily together. It was crazy that it took all this shit happening outside for Anna to see her parents be so loving towards each other, like old times. She loved to see it; it was very heartwarming.

“Hey.” Lucille called out to him as she turned around to grab something. It was a shopping bag that she had Anna pass to her dad. “Happy anniversary.”

“Wait. You actually know what day it is?” He asked as he took it, adding a thank you for his daughter. Lucille chuckled.

“No. I just want you to have it. Open it.” He looked at her with curiosity and proceeded to open the bag with a sound of paper rustling. Anna turned to her father to look into the bag. He glanced at Lucille, who smiled cheerfully, laughing and he took his vintage jacket out of the bag, the exact same she yelled at him for after he had spent hundreds of dollars on. She never got rid of it apparently.

“Holy… shit!” He was so happy to have the jacket. “Where did you get this?”

“Okay, it was in the crawlspace this whole time. Cause I was mad. I was so mad that I couldn’t return it, so I just hid it, and I told you I returned it. So, there you go.”

“You’re awesome.” They laughed together again and he motioned for Anna to come closer and held up the jacket with an amused grin on his face. “You want to try it on?”

“I can?”

“Yeah.” He chuckled, nodding and she turned around, slipping one arm after the other in the sleeves and she then turned back to them, stretching out her arms with a big smile. The piece of clothing was way too big for her body, but she loved having it on. He joked that she looked like a little badass and then drew her into a hug and she sat in his lap, and he pressed a kid on her forehead.

“I’m sorry.” Lucille then said, catching his attention. “I’m really sorry I made a big deal out of it. If I’d known…” She took a deep breath, briefly closing her eyes. “like, all this was gonna happen, I wouldn’t have cared about a stupid credit-card bill.”

“No. No, no, no…” He shook his head. “See, I, um… I don’t deserve anything from you. And you shouldn’t be apologizing to me. Uh, it should be me apologizing to you, and you.” He glanced at his daughter, soflty holding her chin in between his thumb and index before turning to Lucille as he spoke. The smiles on both Lucille and Anna’s faded as the conversation got a little more serious and the girl just looked down at her empty plate, listening. “the pain that I put you through… You know, uh… You know, I lie awake at night just wondering how I got so lucky that you have stuck with me.”

“Come here.” Lucille stood up and walked around the table and sat on his laps, holding his face in her hand, the other on her daughter’s shoulder. “I stuck with you ‘cause I could always see the man you are right now. Even when you weren’t. And that asshole really had it comin’.” She assured, almost crying.

“Yes, ma’am.” They shared a kiss and they all fell asleep easy that night, until he woke up suddenly at the sound of water dripping from the fridge. Lucille and Anna both sat up in the bed after he jumped off, almost running to open the freezer and the moment he did, water came flowing out of it. This was really bad. He grabbed the thermometer inside and looked at it with a grave glimpse in his eyes. After a cheerful evening, the day was starting off on the wrong foot and even the 11-year-old knew that it meant nothing good. She wished she could just go back in time and spend another good dinner time with them. “Remember that guy and his family came through here a while back? The kid had leukemia, uh, and they were looking for this group of doctors that travelled around in a mobile clinic? Well, I remember. I sat down with him. He showed me his map. These doctors, they take the same route every time and they make the same stops. I think I know where they are, and if I leave right now, I can catch them before they move on.”

“They could be dead by now if they even existed to begin with.” Lucille retorted. “And then what do you do when you find them? You have nothing to barter with, so just stop.”

“I will figure it out.” He insisted, grabbing the bag he had put all his stuff for the journey in, but she cut him off, raising her voice, telling him to stop and Anna, still sat on the bed, looked at her feet.

“I have something to tell you. Anna, could you go upstairs, for a moment? I need to talk with your dad.” The young girl nodded, and hopped off the bed, and going upstairs. She stayed in her old room for about half an hour, going through her diaries and looking at toys lying there and pictures. Before leaving, her dad came to hug her and promised to come back quickly but Anna was scared he wouldn’t and she went back to her mom, who tried explaining to her that even if he did come back with the bags and things needed for her treatment, she wouldn’t make it. He just didn’t want to give up. There were a lot of crying and tears from Anna who didn’t want to lose her mom but then a few days passed, and then a couple weeks during which Anna took care of her mother the best she could but her health was declining more rapidly without her treatment. She was very weak and tired all the time so Anna would read her books and cuddle with her until one day, Lucille asked her to take some of the food in the basement and go upstairs to wait for the return of her dad, telling her she wanted to be alone as she was extremely tired. Anna didn’t know what to do so she gave a big hug to her mom, gathered her things and went upstairs, as requested. The girl was growing even more scared of ending up alone as time went by and her dad didn’t come home. After a few days, she decided to go check on her mom. She had realized she forgot to take her father’s jacket with her and went to get it. As she stood by the door, she read a message her mom had written on it but didn’t understand what she meant so she knocked timidly.

“Mom? Sorry, I- I forgot dad’s jacket. Can I come in?” She waited, almost holding her breath and put her ear against the door. There was no noise, just complete silence so she opened the door and walked in on her mother, sitting in bed, one hand cuffed to the bed frame and a plastic bag taped over her head. “Mom?” She stared at her, her eyes getting teary. She stepped towards her to take off the bag but immidietaly backtracked when her mom let out a death rattle and her head slowly rose. When she groaned at Anna, trying to get at her with her other arm, the young girl screamed and then started to sob hysterically. She stepped back, slipping on something on the floor and fell, begging her mom to stop. She didn’t want to face it. Her mother had had enough and killed herself and came back as one of these monsters she heard outside but it was so traumatic to see for her. She managed to get back on her feet, took the leather jacket and ran out, covering her ears, letting out sharp cries. She ran upstairs and went to hide in her room. It had only been a few weeks that her dad was gone and she was scared she was going to die alone in this house, but she was too fearful to go out on her own. She waited there, under her bed, curled up, clutching onto her dad’s jacket, only daring to come out when she was getting hungry, but she quickly ran out of the little food left.

Weeks later, her stomach was hurting from not eating and she woke up under her bed, almost jumping, hitting her head to the bed when she heard the door open and a voice rise in the house. She was still a bit sleepy and didn’t recognize the voice so she stayed hidden, burying her face in the jacket and crying, like she would do every day since she found her mother turned into a monster. She hoped that whoever came into their house wouldn’t search it because they would find her, and she didn’t want to be killed but when she clearly identified her dad’s voice, coming up from the basement, calling her name as he walked around the house and came to her room, she stopped her crying, sniffing slightly and came out of under the bed.

“Oh, my god…Oh, Anna… baby…” He immidietaly fell to his knees and drew her into a tight hug, holding onto her as if his life depended on it.

“Dad…” She sobbed. “Mom… she…”

“I know. I know, apple pie… it’s gonna be all right, I’m here. Shh, shh, it’s all right…” He caressed her hair, rocking her in his arms, stroking her back, trying to calm her down and comfort her but he knew that after witnessing her mother in such a state and spending weeks alone, she wasn’t going to forget it at the snap of a finger. His daughter would be left traumatized from the death of her mother. “Hey, hey, hey… look at me.” She tried getting a hold of her crying as he held her face in his hands. “We’re leaving, okay? Together. It’s you and me from now on, all right? You gotta stay close to me, and do what I tell you, okay?”

“Okay.” She said, in a shaky voice. He then had his daughter grab an old school bag, telling her to take a few things and as night fell outside, she accompanied him to the fence, where equipped with pliers, he cut a long end of the barbed wire stretched above the fence and wrapped it around a bat he had with him. Anna had no idea where he got that baseball bat, but that didn't matter. Her mother was dead and now, it was only her and her father against the world. The two of them against the monsters. He told her to stay right by the door, outside and he came out of the house coming up in flame a couple minutes later. She was silently crying, following him to his motorcycle and sat behind him, holding onto him.

They drove for a while and he pulled up next to an old bar and got off the vehicle. He turned to his daughter.

“Hide here, keep quiet and stay out of sight, you hear me? Don’t come out until I come for you.” She nervously nodded and she crouched in the shadow of the motorcycle, looking around, holding her breath, watching her father walk around the establishment. She jumped in surprise at the sound of a gunshot in the distance and closed her eyes shut, her hands covering her ears. She was shaking. When a shooting started, she pressed her hands harder, burying her face in her knees, tears rolling down her cheeks. This was a lot for one night and she couldn’t even know what was going on as it was too risky to come out and she was too scared to even move anyway, and maybe find her dad shot or something like that. It was her worst nightmare, losing her father now that she had lost her mother, and be alone forever. After a few minutes, the shooting stopped, and she dared look up. She didn’t see any movement around the establishment but stayed behind the motorcycle. Her father hadn’t come back for her, and she didn’t want him to get mad if she disobeyed and maybe put herself at risk, which is what she understood to be the reason of her having to hide. And she had no idea that she was going to have to hide even more in the future. Little did she know who she would see her father become after tonight…

Anna was walking around Alexandria, Adam in her arms while Alden still worked on renovating the place; staring into space, she was lost in her thoughts, letting her mind dwell on old memories from her childhood. She was young when it all started, and greatly traumatized by the death of her mother. Everything that happened made her who she was today but maybe some of that trauma could have been avoided but it was never up to her. Her dad fucked up. She was a child who followed him around, stood by his side but then happened what happened when Rick and his group came around and here she was today, with a son, in a relationship with Alden and pregnant with his child. With how things started out for her in this new world, she never thought she would have a family of her own, beside her father, whom she always fought for, despite hating him sometimes. It had always been only the two of them in the end and he was the only one who would never wish her harm while everyone could one day turn on her but she didn’t really believe that anymore. She trusted most of these people and knew which would help her if in need.

As she walked, she came near the gate, opened as a group amongst which Carol and Maggie, got ready to go out and do whatever, she saw her father casually walking into Alexandria and froze. She was surprised to see him back, so confident, after Carol told her she brought him outside to live away from everyone else, and especially, from Maggie who still held a grudge against him. From a distance, she watched Maggie stare at him. One day, she was definitely going to kill him, and it coud only be a matter of time.

[To be continued…]

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Published (11/13/2022) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405 @kika64

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