I should have believed you
Paring: Carl Grimes X female character
Summary: You come into Alexandria having been on your own in the dystopian world for a while. After you meet Carl you no longer felt alone. And everything would have been a lot easier if only everyone had been as accepting as him. But Enidâs jealousy gets the best of her.
Warnings: kissing, swearing.
I had never seen such a sturdy community since this curse on the world began.
I heard one of the men from the top of the fence scream, looking down below.
There was a lot of fuss on the other side before the large steel gates began to reveal the buildings behind it. Rick and the other lady who was with him when they found me, Michonne, staggered ahead.
"Welcome to Alexandria, welcome to your new home" Michonne smiled at me putting an arm out, as if she was presenting it herself.
There were quite a few people around the entrance, they stared at me as I walked in. There were a few smiles among the crowd too, but I could see people were weary. I would be too.
"Let's take you to our house, we have a few questions and then we will set you up in our spare room" Rick told me waiting slightly so I could catch up. Im sure he noticed the faces as well.
I nodded and followed them both down the street.
Their house had a large painted porch outside, and a wooden rocking chair to sit on. On the left there was a swing, with pump stripped cushions. The door opened as we got to the stairs and a boy around my age stood in the door way.
He had a brown hat on, and covering one eye was a large white bandage. Nonetheless, I could see how handsome he was when he smiled at the adults in front of us.
"Hey, who did you find?" he raised an eyebrow, swinging the door open further to allow us to walk through.
"Carl, this is Y/n- Y/n, this is our son Carl" Rick smiled proudly and then walked off through a door to the right. Michonne followed him and left me standing in the hallway opposite the boy.
"Hello" I replied, feeling embarrassment spread across my cheeks. "You have a beautiful house" I looked around so I could take my eyes away from his.
I hadn't met many boys my age, and the ones I had met had never been very nice.
"Thank you" he half laughed and his shoulders rose in a shrug. "Are you hungry?".
"I have an apple- but thank you" I replied.
"But wouldn't you like some bread, maybe some hot soup to go with it?"
Just as I was about to reply with a kind no, because I felt awful taking food from people when I had some of my own, a girl called his name from the bottom of the garden.
She had long brown hair and a bright smile, her hand was flapping in the air above her head.
Her face darkened as when I turned to face her.
"Who are you?" she called out, in a nasty tone.
"My names Y/n" I shouted back, and pulled my eyebrows together.
"Oh-" she replied flatly, and turned her glare away. She smiled at Carl and said 'I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk?".
"Not right now Enid, sorry, I need to help Y/n settle in" he told her with another shrug. "Im sure I'll see you around" he waved his hand out and closed the door.
"Y/n" Rick called from the living room.
Both our heads turned in sync.
"Come on" Carl smiled, and walked beside me to the living room. Rick had a pile of clothes set out on a coffee table, some soap and a razor, a pair of black boots, a toothbrush and a large black hair tie.
And placed beside was a steaming hot cup of what smelt like coffee and a small china plate full of sugar coated biscuits.
My eyes had hearts in them.
"Please take a seat Y/n, we just want to know a bit about where you are from" Michonne smiled, and pointed to a singular plushy chair next to the meal laid out.
I waddled over and place my heavy army bag my dad had given me down onto the floor. I stroked it feeling odd letting it go. I sat down and took the drink in my hands. The coffee was milky and I sipped it slowly looking up at the adults.
Carl was leaning on the doorframe in the back, never taking his eyes off me.
"So, where are your parents?" Rick sighed taking a seat on the left side of me on a separate sofa. His hands closed together and he lent forward,
"Both of them? What happened?" Carl gasped, shaking his head gently.
"My dad died first- but my mum wasn't long after" I began, staring down into my cup. "My dad was the only reason me and my mum survived for so long, he was in the army and he taught me everything I know" i replied, smiling at the memories.
"He got us out of every situation, he killed so many of the creepers"
"Creepers? No we call them Walkers" Rick nodded at me to continue.
"We were running from people- they came into the house we were living in and tried to take our food, my dad fought back- his gun misfired and- and the other mans didn't" I closed my eyes and sighed. The memory was still there so I squeezed them tighter until I saw black.
"Im so sorry" Michonne whispered first.
Carl just exhaled deeply and shook his head.
"Your mother?" Rick asked, gently.
"She was hardly anyone after my father died, we did a food run- I shouldn't have left her alone, she always refused to learn from my dad, maybe if she had she could have fought them off..." I trailed, my voice cracking at the end. That was all I had to say. They understood.
âI went back to that house- but it wasnât home anymore, everywhere I looked Iâd see a ghost of a parent, i couldnât bare itâ I trembled, pulling my hands close to my body protectively.
âThatâs enough for today huh Dad, Y/n should get some restâ Carl raised an eyebrow, but it seemed like he wouldnât have taken no for an answer.
âYes, Carl will show you where youâll be stayingâ Rick nodded drawing backwards and nodding his head rhythmically.
Carl gathered up all the stuff on the table and helped take it upstairs for me. He also took the little plate of cookies left for me. I was shown my bedroom and the bathroom I could use as well. It felt great taking a hot shower, i couldnât remember the last time I did. I didnât want to waste the water so I only stayed in for five minutes, but i could have lived in there.
And then after, even though it was still pretty early evening, I crawled into a bed with fresh sheets and no blood stains for the first time in a long time too. I fell peacefully asleep, knowing I was safe in Alexandria.
The next day Carl took me around the place to show me what they did there, and how it all worked. He was extremely knowledgeable on all the work. And I was extremely impressed with what theyâd come up with since the great fall. They were truly rebuilding civilisation.
Around Lunch time that same brunette girl came up to me and Carl who were sitting on a bench enjoying an orange each.
âDo you ever get alone time anymoreâ Enid laughed sourly, but neither of us found it funny.
âIâm showing Y/n aroundâ Carl shrugged off the comment.
âHow are you finding it?â She questioned folding her arms over her chest and staring hard into my eyes until I answered.
âItâs incredibleâ I stated, having no other words for it. Carl smiled and a laugh tumbled out his mouth.
âWe brought Enid in as wellâ he said.
âThey save as many as they can, as long as they can do something, what can you do?â Enid blinked still directing backhanded comments at me.
âI can kill walkersâ I shrugged effortlessly
âEveryone can do thatâ she snapped, rolling her eyes. âWhat makes you specialâ.
âEnid thatâs not why we bring people inâ Carl sighed shaking his head.
âI donât know I donât have a profession I was just a kid when this all went downâ i squeezed my eyes holding eye contact with her.
âHm, anyway, Carl do you want to come round later? I got some new records I could show you?â Enidâs smile returned when she faced him.
âMaybe- weâre kinda busy though, thereâs lot to show, maybe we could for a bit? It would be nice for you both to have a girl friendâ he looked to me as if he was checking, which was sweet considering I knew her invitation didnât extend to my hand.
âBoth of you?â Enid raised an eyebrow being taken back
âYeah, are you free now? We have an hour before we have to help dad with the wallâ Carl offered up, digesting the last piece of his orange. He threw the peel to the floor and stood up slapping his knees.
âSure?â Enid swallowed and dropped her arms.
I stood up next and followed the two to wherever Enid lived. Her house was slightly smaller than the one Iâd moved into. Her porch didnât have a roof or a swing, but it did have a small wooden bench under one of the windows. We went in and sat down on her bed. Enid rummaged around getting her record player out.
âWhat music do you like?â I turned to Carl curiously.
âBefore the fall I used to like slow songs- now I canât think of anything worseâ he said, with a hint of sadness behind his eyes.
âI like rapâ I giggled behind one of my hands
âAmerican or British?â
I laughed again, surprised at his question.
âPerhaps British is better, but I like bothâ.
Out the corner of my eye I saw Enid staring evilly at me. I double took and she turned her face back to what she was doing. She brought her record player to the middle of the room and then picked up two new records on her bedside table and set one of them to play. The music began filling room with a very slow and sad song.
To mine and Carls dislike.
âWhereâd you get this?â He wondered, pushing off the floor and laying back further on the bed.
âDaryl brought them back and gave me two, he got a box of fiveâ she explained âisnât it great musicâ.
Me and Carl looked at each other and smiled.
âItâs not really to my taste, but Iâm glad you e found something you like to listen toâ Carl brightly replied.
âWell what about the other one?â she held up a record with a bright yellow colour in the middle of the ring. But the artist was the same Lady that sang about being alone in the world. And there was no one who has experienced being alone like I had.
âIâm gonna go homeâ I shook my head not liking the environment or music at all.
âIâll take you back homeâ Carl nodded, moving off the bed instantly.
âWhat? You donât need to go just because sheâs leavingâ Enid scrunched her nose up.
âYes I do Enidâ he said back, leaving it at that.
âThank you for having usâ I smiled proudly, it felt nice that Carl was leaving with me, seems she was being so horrible anyway.
âYeah, see you aroundâ she folded her arms, cross legged on the floor next to the record player.
Carl walked me back home, and we sat and had some tea before we had to leave to help with the fence. I was excited to actually let some anger out on some walkers. I tirelessly stabbed until Iâd killed more than I could keep count of. All the walkers around our perimeter were dragged into a pile by others helping and I went and stabbed another head. And another.
âYou werenât kidding- you can definitely kill a walkerâ Carl laughed taking his hat off for a moment to smooth his hair down. âIâve never seen someone our age move like that in a fightâ.
âMy dad taught me wellâ i smiled at the thought of him looking down at my bloody hands.
âHeâd be proud, youâll surviveâ Carl nodded confidently, his hat back where it belonged now.
âThank you Carl, letâs get back and wash this stuff offâ I nodded at the gates. I couldnât stand the smell of iron from the blood any longer.
After we were both clean, Carl had to stay at home and speak with his dad about something I assume was quite important. This was the first time heâd really left my side since Iâd arrived. I was starting to get to know him well, and notice the cute things unique to him.
I left the house to take a walk around. My brain always needed some type of mental stimulation, I wasnât one to stay inside and stare at a wall. It wasnât long before Enid came running over to me.
âHeyâ she brightly smiled, which instantly made me weary.
âI was just at Carls looking for you both, he said youâd gone for a walkâ she told me breathlessly.
I was standing under an apple tree looking at all the gorgeous red fruits. I didnât want to be disturbed.
âYeah, just having some alone timeâ I stated in a steady voice.
âYeah it can get busy here- I just wanted to know- you and Carl? Is that a thing orâŚâ she wondered looking anywhere but at my eyes.
âWhat?â I slimmed my eyes on the girl and jerked my head back. âNot that itâs any of your business but no, itâs not a thingâ.
âSorry if I came across stand-off-ish, I apologise to Carl and told him I needed to say it to you as well, I just⌠I really like the boyâ she awkwardly scratched her arm, swaying on her feet.
âOhâ I replied, feeling a wave of guilt flood through me. She didnât want to be my enemy she was just jealous. But she had come to her senses.
âItâs okay, I understand, Carl is greatâ I smiled small, and she returned it.
âI hope we can hang out soon, even as a three or just the two of usâ Enid shrugged and took off from the convention as fast as sheâd spawned in.
I stayed away from the house thinking about that interaction for a while longer. I was gone for maybe two hours.
By the time I arrived home Rick was waiting for me on the swing.
âI think you better come inside and talk to usâ he told her sternly, standing tall and proudly now.
I swallowed nervously and didnât respond, only followed. He opened the door and already I could hear crying. Michonneâs voice sounded as if she was trying to calm someone down. I followed slowly into the living room and saw Enid on the sofa with Carls arms wrapped around her. Her head was buried in his chest and she was releasing a whaling sound.
No one looked particularly pleased to see me, not even Carl. Who looked up at me as if he was a parent telling me off for getting a detention.
âWhatâs going on?â I asked, sitting down as far away from them as possible.
Enid whipped her head around and thatâs when I saw it. What looked like a huge purple bruise on the side of her temple and eye.
âWhat happened Enid?â I gasped in shock covering my mouth.
âIs that really how you expect to play it?â Carl raised his eyebrows at me.
I knitted mine together in confusion.
âEnid said you did this to her? She came to apologise for her behaviour and apparently you didnât take it very well?â Rick told me, leaning on the arm of the sofa on the right of me.
âMe?â I scrunched my face up, very taken back.
âYou were the last person to speak to herâŚâ Carl explained.
âYeah but I told her that it was okay? And that I understood- I didnât attack herâ I gasped, infuriated that she would suggest that.
âYou know I didnât Enid? Come on?â
âI really did mean it, I was sorry, but I was right you are just here to take advantage of usâ she cried further and looked away again. Carls hand rubbed her back harder in comfort.
âThe evidence is right there Y/nâ Michonne pointed at the upset girl. The lying girl.
I didnât know what to say. She was clearly bruised but I didnât know how it got there.
âBut it wasnât me- this is just another plan to get Carl and everyone to turn against meâ
âWhy would I do that? I just told you I wanted to be friendsâ she burst out, her voice cracking.
âBecause you like Carl and you want me out the wayâ I thundered back. âBut I told you nothing was going onâ.
âMe and Enid are friends Y/n- she doesnât like me like thatâ he shook his head vigorously.
I sighed flatly and sat back in the chair.
âNo matter the situation we donât hit people here Y/nâ Rick warned me with wide eyes.
âI knowâ I muttered looking down at my hands. I didnât think there was a way out of this.
âSo why did you hit Enid?â He asked.
âOkay- well the council are going to have a vote to decide if you can continue to stay with usâ he continued after a few moments of silence.
âYou donât have to organise that, Iâll be gone by tomorrowâ I gritted my teeth together looking over at Carl and Enid.
âIf you learn and show remorse you may be able to stayâ Michonne offered up to me kindly.
âI will not show remorse for something I did not doâ I shook my head once and looked to the adults this time.
âThank you for making me feel not so alone for the few days Iâve been here, itâs a shame not everyone was so accepting of meâ I hummed looking to Enid finally. Before rising from the sofa.
âIt is a shame it had to come to thisâ Carl emphasised. âI liked having you round, but we canât accept this type of behaviour- Enid wouldnât lie Y/n- and youâve shown we canât trust youâ.
I let out a small laugh before exiting the front room. I knew Iâd say something I didnât mean if Iâd stayed any longer. As I took one look back I saw the same smile Iâd given her when I won Carl. It boiled my blood.
I went straight to my room and packed up all the stuff they had given me. I wasnât going to give it back. I wrapped up an orange and a pear that I had in my drawer. There was a faint knock on my door and I called out for them to come in.
Carl weakly smiled at me and took a step inside.
âY/n- come on- you donât have to do all of this- just take some responsibilityâ he sighed looking at my bag on the bed.
âNoâ I told him flatly. âI am not staying in a place where people believe a jealous, attention seeking-.â I took a breath stopping myself. âOver meâ.
âY/n- I really- I just- itâs a shame- thatâs allâ he looked to the floor wanting to get something he couldnât out.
âYeah, itâs a shame you donât believe meâ I turned back to my bag, continuing to pack it.
âThe evidence is on her face- i donât know what more to sayâ he called out from behind me.
I rolled my eyes facing the wall. Everything i thought Carl was, he was being the opposite of. I hated it, I thought he was better than this. I really started to like him.
âI donât have anything more to say to you Carl, just leave me alone, Iâll be out your hair tomorrow first thingâ I mumbled, feeling completely drained emotionally already.
âI donât want you to leave⌠I havenât met anyone like you in this new world and I donât think I ever willâ he breathed out, as if it pained him to say it.
âWell I hope Enid is enough mental stimulation, because Iâm leaving tomorrow morning, first thingâ I repeated again so he remembered it and hopefully listened to the part where I asked to be alone.
Carl sighed at my spiteful comment and a few seconds later I heard the door squeezing close. He was gone. He didnât believe me and his mind wasnât going to change. I was out of here. After I was finished I crawled into bed to get a good rest in, I wasnât sure when Iâd next be able to sleep safely in a bed. Safe from walkers at least.
As the sun cracked up at dusk, I left Alexandria.
âHey Carlâ Enid brightly smiled, waving her arm as if it was a chicken wing. Her bruise was still ripe on her face.
âHi Enidâ Carl said stiffly, his eyes were dull and he appeared with little energy or enthusiasm.
âWhatâs wrong? I was wondering if you wanted to go on a walk?â She questioned, her shoulders bounced with her sentence.
âSureâ he nodded once and stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind him. âAnd Iâm okay, Iâm just disappointed in how everything went with Y/nâ he explained as they continued down the steps.
âWhat do you mean disappointed? In her you mean?â Enid pushed, with one raised brow.
âYeah, I am disappointed in her- but also with the whole situation- it was amazing having someone like her around, before she had to ruin itâ he scoffed.
The two headed towards the meadow of foods. Enid stopped.
âWhatâs wrong? You donât want to walk through the meadow?â He shoved his hands in his pocket and looked across at her curiously.
âWhy? Itâs your favourite place to walk?â He shook his head in confusion.
âIâm just worried about the sprinklersâ she hummed, scanning for the sprays of water.
âThey havenât been on for a few days, we have t had enough water to have them onâ Carl shrugged taking another step toward the first row, which housed tomatoâs and cucumber.
âIf you say soâ Enid took a cautious step and kept her eyes scanning. âAnd what was so great about her anyway?â.
Carl smiled to himself. âShe was cute, her laugh was cute and her smile- she was fearless and so independent, so motivated- I donât understand how she couldâŚâ he sighed trailing off.
âShe was horrible Carl- she punched me and she said that she would get rid of me so she could have you- she was so jealous of us and of meâ Enid exasperated.
âYeah but there is no us Enid- I wonder where she got that ideaâ he hummed, so oblivious to the passion she felt towards him.
âItâs no reason to hit a person trying to apologiseâ Enid added on. And as she did, one of the sprinklers started rattling. Both of the began to peer at it.
âIs it an animal?â Enid began. And she soon found out. The water sprayed from the end bursting straight into her face and then covering the both in faint sprays. Enid howled out as if sheâd been burnt by acid. Carl laughed and put his arms out.
âThereâs more waterâ he breathed, soaking it all up. âEnid whatâs wrong? You love the water usuallyâ.
Her hand was covering her face.
âI um- I need to go homeâ she panted, looking frantic.
âWhy? Is it in your eye are you okay?â Carl worriedly stepped forward towards her and held her head towards him. His face went white.
Where her bruise once stood was a patch of purple and brown drips running down her face.
âMakeup?â Carl took a step back and gasped.
âCarl I- you mustnât tell the council I had to get her awayâ Enid burst out jumping closer to him.
âY/n never hit youâ he whispered before his eyes looked down at his own hands. âAnd I didnât believe herâ he gasped, and pushed past Enid. He could hear her shouts and protests but Carl didnât stop running. He couldnât. He didnât at the gates. And he didnât when he got to the forest.
Iâd been gone from the camp three days before I heard my name being yelled in the woods. I was crouching by my fire and held a knife in my hand incase walkers decided to show. My ears twitched and I looked in the direction of the voice. I must have been hearing things.
âCarl?â I whispered to myself, folding my brows in.
I then heard the voice shout out, and then a loud branch snapping sound filled the forest. I could faintly hear the growl of a walker. I jumped upwards and ran in the direction I thought was right.
In the distance I saw Carl on the ground, pinned by a walker on to of him. And behind him, two more were creeping towards the struggle.
âCarlâ I shouted out loudly, and sprinted even faster towards them. I threw the walker off him and stabbed him in the skull with my other hand instantly killing him. Carl rolled over and picked up the knife heâd dropped.
We rose. We didnât have time to greet, or smile, we looked directly at our opponents. He had the tall slender lady on the side. And I had a shorter, middle aged man wearing a ripped white vest and a huge gold chain. We darted toward them and I kicked the walker to the ground using a snap kick. I pounced on him and dove my knife into his skull. He stopped moving and I looked up.
Carl had pushed his walker against a tree and was pushing his knife through the neck as she continued to snap at him. With a snapping sound and a harder push, the head rolled to the floor still with chomping jaws. He breathed for a second and watched the body slide down the tree. I climbed off the walker and stood up, staring at Carls back.
âWhat are you doing here?â I panted, eyeing the blood stains on his shirt and trousers and the thick mud coating around his shoes. He spun on his heels and looked straight at me.
âEnid lied- she made it all up- she faked the bruiseâ he staggered towards me using his hands to explain as well as his eyes. âYou didnât hit her- you werenât jealous- it was the other way aroundâ Carl expressed desperately. âShe was jealous because she could tell I liked you- that I thought everything you did was cute, and that my heart melted every-time you smiledâ.
I blinked at the overload of emotions he was flooding on me. Enid had faked the bruise? No one had hit her at all. Carl thought I was cute? And malted at my smile? But I did those things too. So I guess I liked him too.
âY/n please say something- Iâm sorry Iâm- Iâm so sorry⌠I should have believed youâ he sighed sadly, his eye contact dropping to the floor. âBut i couldnât let you go, not without trying to get you to come backâ.
I swallowed nervously and took a small step forward closing the space between our bodies. My hand came up to his soft cheek.
âIâll come back Carl, because I think youâre cute too- and Iâve also never met someone like you⌠someone who would walk through the jungle to come and find meâ i giggled with a bright smile.
âThis will worth the three daysâŚâ he smiled and leant forward to kiss me. His hand gently held my face my he quickened the pace of our kiss instantly. Poking his tongue at mine.
âThat was definitely worth the three days camping in this creepy woodsâ I chuckled smoothing his cheek with my thumb. Carl kissed my forehead.
âI will always believe you from now on Y/n, and I wonât ever let you go againâ he whispered, pulling me into a tight embrace and brushing my hair softly.
Im so glad he believes me.
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