Attention
Pt.2
~~~~~~~~~~
Being a Grimes was a hard life to live. Your father as an ex-sheriff, mom a cheating whore and your little brother a menace. The apocalypse didnât help your hatred towards Lori, her cheating with Shane when you all thought your father, Rick, to be dead in the hospital bed you were dragged away from. You felt sort of relieved when Lori passed giving birth to Judith, of course it was rough to lose your mom, but she no longer felt like your mom at that point.
 Carl always hated you for how you acted towards her, but when your family reached Alexandria, you had the chance to explain and his attitude changed drastically. While Alexandria felt too good to be true to begin with, your group melded seamlessly into the community. A few months or so passed with little incident, meeting Jesus from Hilltop, living in a false sense of peace. In the time of peace you had, you were going crazy without music, the songs running through your head never letting you fall asleep easy.
 So, you fixed up an old iPod with hundreds of songs left on it from before the fall of humanity. Skipping through the house you shared with your blood family, you slid on your socks into the kitchen blasting Choke by I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME. You were in your own little world of music when Daryl walked into the room, staring you down with an amused look for a little before he cleared his throat. A gasp left you in panic when you slipped and fell onto the floor, your back meeting it on a personal level once more.Â
âFuck Daryl! What the hell?!â
His laugh filled your ears as you grabbed the counter to pull yourself from the floor. You couldnât help yourself and started laughing at yourself with your boyfriend, his hands clutching his stomach as he keels over. You make your way over and smack his shoulder lightly while wheezing out a small âstop it!â. The both of you kept laughing until you slipped again and pulled Daryl down with you by mistake. He landed half on top of you with a grunt as you coughed from his weight being thrown on you suddenly. The laughter stopped after you gave a few more giggles, glancing up to the doorway to see Rick staring you down with that dad look on his face. You panic and push at Darylâs shoulders trying to get him off of you before your dad came and beat the hell out of his best friend for being on top of his little girl... again.Â
Daryl stayed pinned on top of you while your dad stared holes into the back of his head. You pushed at his shoulders more urgently, your eyes filled with panic. The crossbow wielding man suffocating you looked up and over his shoulder at the sound of cowboy boots, knowing that only Rick Grimes wore those in Alexandria. He panicked as well, scrambling off you before your dad could reach you, his hands pulling you from the floor to use you as a shield of human meat.Â
âWhat were you two just doing? You better not have been fuckinâ my little girl Dixon. If you were I swear to whatever god is-â
âDad! Stop it! We werenât doing anything...I sort of slipped and fell and... Daryl fell with me.â
Blue eyes pierced yours before finding that you were telling the truth and nodded, clearing his throat and scratching at his head nervously,
âMaggie's gone into labour. We have to go to Hilltop. Doc says we shouldnât rush it though. Sheâs not dilatated yet, but she asked for you by her side, Y/N.â
Both you and Daryl gasp at the news, you scrambling to get your running shoes and a sweater to keep warm. Daryl stared you down as you ran around the downstairs floor of the house for your things. Once you collected them, you kissed Daryl on the cheek as well as your dad before you were out of the house in a blur of black. You no longer cared what your father would say to your boyfriend, just focused on getting to your best friend who was going to give birth soon.Â
You muttered hellos towards people you passed on your sprint, their eyes wide as they watched you go. When you reached the building you slowed your pace to a walk, entering the building panting and sweating and tired, but that was easily forgettable when you saw the state that Maggie was in. Glenn was at her side as you expected, him not looking the best either as he watched over and talked to his wife. As Maggie looked up at you, relief came over her face before she winced and clutched at her stomach, Glenn grasping her hands in worry. You stumbled to her side, Glenn matching your concern that she waved away even though she looked like the dead wandering outside.Â
âMaggie... you are not ok. Iâm going to find my dad... youâre way worse than you seem. Stay right here!â, you pointed at her spot in the bed as you kissed her forehead and sprinted away, yelling for Eugene to get everyone to the RV.Â
More people watched you like you were crazy, your hair flying behind you and your steps echoing through the safe zone. Daryl, who had escaped your dad started running with you, questions flying at you as you ran. You answered all of them and he immediately broke away to gather everyone in your group for the trip, also wanting it to be as safe as possible for Maggie and the baby. As soon as you reached your house, you called for your dad and Michonne responded in a tone of confusion and calm. You sprinted upstairs after Michonneâs call back, her stopping you from falling as you tripped on the edge of the carpet.
âDad! Maggie is getting worse, so much worse, we have to go! Right now!â, you tugged on Michonneâs hands, beckoning your dad to hurry the fuck up because he was just staring at you like he found Daryl on you again.Â
They both reacted after a minute, shushing noises coming from both of them as Rick walked towards you to gather you in a hug. You sagged into it as Michonne rubbed your back, both shushing you still before Carl walked in and asked why he heard yelling. Then was when you started up again, tugging at you dad this time, ranting about how pale and weak Maggie looked in the bed. Carl reacted similar to you and began panicking, muttering about who would take care of Judith. You insisted that Olivia should but your dad silenced conversation.
âBE QUIET. OK. Y/N, you will stay and take care of Judith, Carl, grab your gun and lets get Maggie to Hilltop before dark. Donât fight this, Y/N. You know you canât put Maggie under more stress.â, his eyes met yours and you sighed knowing at every turn for the worse you would breakdown more and more.Â
âOk...â, you turned to Carl again and gripped his shoulders, âDonât do anything dumb there kiddo. Stay safe and take care of Maggie.â
He nodded and hugged you before he left the room, Rick hugging you once more as Michonne nodded at you. You followed Carl's steps out of the room and back to the streets of Alexandria. You noticed Rosita and Abraham walking from a house and sprinted to them, sliding to a stop in front of them.Â
âDonât let Carl get hurt. I trust you both. I know youâll keep an eye out for him. I have to stay and watch Judith... be safe.â, you hugged them both quickly before jogging to find the next group of people heading out.Â
You came across everyone else already at the RV, Rick holding Judith and waiting for you to approach. You know he knew you would be running around telling everyone to stay safe and to say a goodbye to Maggie. You grabbed your little sister from his arms, smiling at her coo of content being held by her sister. Your head turned rapidly through the group, searching for your boyfriends gruff expression when you spotted him, Glenn and Abraham helping Maggie out on a cot from the infirmary. You walked over to go through your stay safe speech, Maggie holding your hand until she was in the door of the RV, Rick now helping to lift her into the back onto the bed. Daryl stayed back to give you a peck on lips, you exchanged âI love youâsâ and stay safes before he was in the RV and then they were gone. You waved at the RV with Judith until it was out of sight, a sigh leaving you as you walked back to the house to play with your sister before it was time for her dinner.Â
You estimated it had been at least two hours since your family had left with Maggie. Having no way to know if they were alright terrified you, but you stayed calm because if you had panicked, Judith wouldâve been crying as well and you could never calm her when you werenât. Your little sister had fallen asleep on you as you had read her a beat up childrenâs book in hopes of making her tired after eating. When she finally did, you placed her gently in her crib and wandered to the kitchen. You stared at the floor in contemplation of whether or not you wanted water or orange juice. During your decision you may have zoned out... but we donât mention that. Holding your glass of orange juice, you sighed. This was the second longest you had ever gone without knowing how your group was. It made you anxious, so anxious that you left the house quietly to sit by the little pond near the back walls of the community. The calm water always allowed you to calm your thoughts but as you sat watching the small ripples, it made you more anxious. You had to move, do something with your body because you just could not sit still, your bouncing leg testifying the truth behind your thoughts (unlike Amber Heard). So you got up and began a jog. It was all you could think of until the old crap box of an ipod fell from your pocket. You stared at it reflecting the moonlight before you realized that staring at it wouldnât turn it on and calm your thoughts as you ran.Â
Turning the ipod on and stuffing the headphones into your ears, you started your journey as a light jog. Your pace slowly progressed as you made your way around the entire community, soon enough you were sprinting through streets and weaving around lamp posts under the light of the full moon and stars. The breeze caressed your shoulders as you ran for a while, only stopping when you nearly fell over the edge of a sidewalk. When you did and wiped your brow of sweat, looking around to see where you ended up. Seeing that you ended up at the gates, you sighed remembering why you had began your run in the first place. Time wasnât really something you were entirely sure of anymore so when you glanced at the ipod time out of habit, you sighed. You never asked any member of Alexandria if they had a clock that was never changed, so your ipod time just read 1:23am. You estimated it might be right but really you just hoped it wasnât. That would mean that your family had gone for most of the day and night, with no way of knowing when they would be back...well. Until the gates opened for the RV as you had started a slow walk back to the house. Seeing it covered in bullet holes and the look on your dads face as he drove, you knew deep down that something happened.Â
Your worst fears were confirmed when the door opened and out stepped everyone except for Glenn, Maggie, Abraham and Daryl. Not seeing them brought tears to your eyes as you rushed to your dad and pulled him into an embrace, looking around for answers. Rick looked like he had died and been revived three times with no proper recovery to look like a human again, Rosita was crying, Carl was dead silent and looking angry if anything. It did not settle well with you as your little brother made eye contact with you and shook his head before he walked away from everyone. No one gave you answers as they all split ways, whatever happened out there shaking them all to the core as your dad sobbed into your shoulder. Michonne was the only one who looked semi-normal, her hand steading you under your dads weight. You stared her down curiously, wanting answers about what had happened and where your boyfriend and best friends were. She just shook her head while staring at the back of Ricks head. You knew that meant it wasn't wise to discuss what happened in front of the broken man. He hadnât cried this much since... well, since Lori died.Â
So, you went along with it and helped your dad to the house, silently as possible bringing him to his room where he could shower the blood off him and maybe regain some thought. When Michonne situated him under the stream of water and sat beside you on the couch, you didnât ask what happened. You knew she would let you know when she was ready to put into words. The two of you sat in silence, only the water running providing background noise.
âEverything was on plan. We were making our way to Hilltop but we encountered blocks in the road. The saviors put them there. Negan. Thatâs the leaders name.â, Michonne took a big breath, not knowing how to explain the rest as she stared at her hands, âIt was unexpected. They cornered us. Eugene took the RV the route we were going while we ran through the woods carrying Maggie on the stretcher. We were cornered that way too.â
You listened avidly, leaning forwards onto your knees and reaching to hold her hand, Michonne squeezing it lightly in thanks for your silent comfort.
âHe made us kneel. On the ground, in front of him. Negan, I mean.â, she corrected herself when she saw your confusion, âThere was a lot of them though. He said he was pissed about the outpost we attacked a while back. Said we had to pay for killing so many of his men, even when he sent more to kill us and we killed them.â
Michonne paused and tilted her head towards the stairs where the sound of the shower running was coming from, âNegan took your dad in the RV somewhere... he wonât talk about it. Before that... he took revenge.â
You could see the struggle in her mind on how to word the happenings before the RV trip with Negan. Michonne had just opened her mouth to phrase it gently, knowing you lost your boyfriend and two good friends without knowing it yet when Carl chimed in from the stairs as he walked down them to the kitchen.Â
âHe bashed in Abrahams head with his baseball bat. Daryl got angry at his taunting, punched Negan, Negan got more angry and based in Glennâs as well.â
He vanished up the stairs after that, leaving you and Michonne to stare after him in disbelief. On your end it was because you had learned so coldly that two of your friends had had their heads bashed in brutally by a baseball bat, which Michonne soon explained is also covered in barbed wire and called Lucille. You had scoffed at that, as any person would, but the look your dadâs girlfriend sent you had you rethinking your choices. She continued to explain that because of Darylâs burst of energy and anger despite being injured caused Negan to take an interest him. Which led to the Saviors pulling him from the ground and into a truck to be taken to the sanctuary.Â
You had frozen, your mind blank with the thought that you wouldnât be seeing your boyfriend in a long while despite seeing him earlier and everything was ok. Tears leaked down your face as you shrank into the couch, your entire body shaking as grief washed over you. Michonne rubbed your leg soothingly for a little while until the shower turned off, she then excused herself to go and stay with your dad, knowing you had your ways of dealing with sadness. She was right, you did. Sobbing still and shaking violently, you made your way outside again, walking with your head down until you made it to the gates. It would never be the same and you knew that when Rosita came up to you with tears streaming down her face as well and hugged you tightly.Â
As you both stood sobbing into each others shoulders, you knew that you both had just gotten closer, but also that safety was never something you would get again. With the moon casting shadows over your hugging figures as cries of despair filled the night, something had set in steel deep down inside you. You, along with the rest of the community, would never be the same. Not even with Jesus smiling at you from Hilltop.












