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Peaceful.
A word Violet hadn’t truly felt since all this started. Maybe not even before that. Her past home life left much to be desired. Now, in a world filled with reanimated corpses, she felt it. Really felt it. After all this time surviving, she finally found a place she was proud to call home. Family.
Feeling a slight chill on the air, she shivered. It was getting late. Maybe dusk, if she had to guess. Remnants of a fire crackled, slowly burning up. The occasional groan or lazy shuffled carried over from outside the school’s wall. Walkers. After what happened on the Delta, the explosion, sound was the only way she could sense their presence now. Smell and touch too, but that meant they were way too close for comfort.
When things were quiet, she could almost pretend they didn’t exist. A weird concept.
Something nudged her thigh and shoulder, a hand gently taking hers. Ring finger missing, rough and calloused from years of hardship out on the road. Warm. Her hand was guided towards a familiar worn deck of cards.
“Your turn, Vi.”
That voice. She recognized it instantly, from the very first syllable. Of course, she already knew who it was before then. Her heart skipped a beat, feeling at ease. Clementine. Smiling, Violet leaned over until her lips hit something. Harder than she was expecting. She heard a chuckle, music to her ears. Soft, genuine.
“That was my jaw, but close enough.”
Violet pouted playfully. “Maybe I was aiming for there.”
“Oh, really?”
Shaking her head, Violet raised her hands until she found her girlfriend’s face. Taking hold of it, she used her thumbs to map out features.
“Now I’m gonna aim for somewhere else. Don’t move.”
She felt hands over hers, holding them in place on Clem’s cheeks. “I won’t.”
It had been so long since Violet last saw her face. Every day, she tried hard to remember every single detail. The way Clementine smiled, so gentle. Her golden brown eyes, filled with love. An expressive face, decorated with scars both old and new. Pretty, of course. Always.
Now with a rough idea of where to kiss, Violet leaned in again. Their noses bumped lightly, a good sign. When she felt Clem’s breath on her lips, she tilted her head slightly.
“Target acquired,” she whispered, kissing the girl she loved more than anything.
Clementine melted against her, letting out a soft, satisfied sigh as their lips met. A tender kiss, filled with more emotion than any words ever could convey. So simple, yet ultimately complex in meaning.
“You guys are adorable,” Louis commented as they pulled apart.
Rolling her sightless eyes, Violet flipped him off. She could just imagine the smug smirk he must have right now. After all these years, it was burned into her memory. No need to see it.
He laughed, smacking his hand against his thigh. “You’re too damn easy to tease, Vi.”
Ignoring him, she drew her card. This one was really battered, folded at the top right and bottom left corner. Louis’ idea. He had good ones. Sometimes. Must be a three of something.
A card flipped with a whoosh, sounding melodramatic. Louis, for sure. “Five for me.”
“Three…”
“Guess that means I’m asking.” There was a moment of silence as Clementine came up with a question for her. “Before all this, did you ever have a pet?”
Violet shook her head. “I wanted one. My family never had enough money or space, though. I used to feed strays. This is gonna sound gross but I, uh, check trashed cans and kept leftover food for them. Hell, I built a little sheltered place near my family’s trailer. Old blankets, cardboard boxes, toys I made with fabric scraps. Stuff like that. I spent so much time there.”
That felt like a lifetime ago now.
“Violet and her animal army,” Louis repeated, approving. “I can see that.”
“Sounds pretty cool,” Clementine agreed.
“It was. I still remember all their names.” Violet smiled, letting the happier memories from before the apocalypse wash over her. “Cheese, she loved those burger patty cheese squares. Like, addicted almost. We always had some in the fridge, so I’d take one every time. Bat was a weird ass black cat who liked sleeping upside down over my shoulder. Sometimes, he’d climb on my back and lay there, expecting me to walk around hunched over… which, of course, I did. He had these huge pointy teeth, too. Like a vampire.” She briefly held her index fingers up to her mouth, mimicking canines. “Never bit me even once. Drooled on me a few times, though. Unlike Bat, Cactus was all teeth and claws. She was pretty nervous and got excited easy. Not a great combo if you like your hands. I’m surprised I don’t have more permanent scars.”
She paused, expression shifting to melancholic. It was bittersweet thinking about this. She didn’t even know what happened to them after her parents shipped her off to Ericson. They probably weren’t even alive anymore. Hopefully, they didn’t think she just abandoned them.
“Moonshine… she probably stopped me from becoming an alcoholic, like my dad. He was being a real dick to me that day, so I broke into his booze cabinet and stole some of the really strong stuff. I took it back to the hideout. At first, I was gonna pour it away but then I wondered what it tasted like. You know, because dad chose it over his own family like all the time.”
Bitterness stabbed at her heart, making her frown. The first betrayal. No wonder she had a hard time trusting people.
“Anyway, I put the jar on the ground. She was an old dog, sorta blind. Always got so damn excited when she realized I was there. She knocked the moonshine over. God, the smell was awful. It took days before it even started fading. Never really went away, though.”
Realizing she’d been rambling for longer than usual, she cleared her throat. Clem and Lou were probably bored by now. It was hard to know without seeing.
“But, uh, yeah. No pets. I went through a phase of wanting a chinchilla, which never happened.”
Louis nudged her leg under the table. “I knew you had a heart of gold under all that ice.”
She felt Clementine rest her head against her shoulder. “That was really sweet, Vi. You’ll have to tell me more about them all sometime.”
“Yeah, I will.”
Violet drew first this time, then Clem and finally Louis. This card felt less damaged, the top left-hand corner folded over.
“Nine for me,” she announced, putting the card face up on the table.
“Two,” Clementine muttered to herself, disappointed. “Are you kidding me?”
“Read ‘em and weep, losers!” Louis exclaimed triumphantly. She could hear the mischievous smile in his voice. “So, how’s the looooove life?”
If Clem wasn’t leaning on her shoulder, Violet would’ve slammed her fist on the table. “I swear to god, Louis, I will hit you.”
“You’ll need to find me first.”
“With how loud and obnoxious you are, won’t be hard.”
He scoffed at her confidence. “What if you think you caught me, but you actually got Aasim?”
“First off, he’d sound different, idiot. And I’d know your stupid face anywhere, especially with that pineapple hair tuft.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. You know, since you do remember what my fabulous hair looks like.” Louis nudged her leg again. “But you didn’t let Clem answer my question, Vi.”
“Because it’s stupid. You see us together every day.”
“But I never get to hear you talk about it. I just…” Louis paused, voice softening as he finished his sentence. Violet could picture his kicked puppy eyes now. “...like hearing that my friends are madly in love and happy. We went through a lotta shit to get here.”
A pang of guilt forming in the pit of her stomach. She knew he only meant well. It was so easy to get defensive.
“Sorry…”
She felt Clementine kiss her cheek, then nuzzle into her neck. “I couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend. Or friends. Well, family. This is where I belong, where we all belong.”
“Thank you, Clem. Perfect answer, A-plus.”
A soft swish filled the air, Louis picking up another card. Clementine picked out her card, then helped Violet take one. This card felt like it was about to fall apart between her fingers. All four corners were bent. There was a diagonal crease line, too. She knew what this was instantly.
“Boom, I am the champion.” She heard Louis slam his card on the table, not even waiting for them to reveal theirs.
“What card?”
“Ace of diamonds.”
“Bullshit. I know you’re lying, Louis.”
“How?”
Shaking her head, she put her own card face up on the table. “Because I have that card.”
“Damn.” He clicked his fingers. “Guess I’m losing my touch. Our very own Vi detector. Well, go ahead. Ask your question.”
“Your turn, Vi,” Clem said, confirming her card was lower.
Violet knew what she wanted to ask. She only hoped he would answer truthfully. “Do you blame yourself?”
“For what?” His voice wavered slightly, nervous.
“You know what.” Violet gestured to her damaged eyes. “You keep avoiding the question, but you have to answer me now. No deflective humor.”
He was quiet for a long time. Unusual. “Short answer, yes. Long answer, if I’d been taken instead, you would’ve been okay.”
“We both know that’s not true. You would’ve pissed those raiders off so damn much. They would’ve hurt you…”
“Maybe, but we’ll never know.” The defeat in his voice made her heart ache. “And, given the choice, I’d take that bullet. You’ve saved me so many times and… I couldn’t do anything to stop you getting hurt…”
Violet had heard enough. Getting to her feet, she used the bench to guide herself around the other side. She stood there, holding out her arms awkwardly. Waiting until she felt him close by, she hugged him tight.
“It’s not your fault, Louis. And you’ve saved me plenty of times with your stupid sense of humor.”
When another pair of arms envelop them, Violet smiled. “Never one to miss out, huh?”
“Never,” Clementine replied. “Gotta make sure Louis gets some Clementine love, too.”
He laughed, watery. “You sure know how to make a sad Louis happy.”
They stayed like that for a while, all needing the hug. So damn much.
When they finally broke apart, Violet felt Clementine wobble, holding her steady. “Whoa. Don’t want you face planting the dirt.”
“Not really, no.”
Violet could hear the exhaustion in her voice, feel her lean more and more. “Tired?”
“Kinda, yeah.”
Shifting Clementine’s weight, she put her arm around her girlfriend’s waist. “Come on, let’s get our asses back to the dorm.”
“Here, let me help y-” Louis didn’t get the chance to finish.
“No,” Violet interrupted, sounding harsher than she meant. Stupid pride...
“Alright, be stubborn.” She could practically hear his pout. “I’ll just stay out here, all alone.”
“You’re on guard duty with Aasim,” Violet scoffed. “Drama queen.”
Louis sighed melodramatically. “He never gets my jokes.”
“Nobody does.” She playfully stuck out her tongue.
“Way to kick a guy while he’s down.”
“We’ll be fine, Louis. Promise,” Clementine reassured.
“I know you will. You guys are actually preeeeeetty scary together, sometimes.”
Violet got a better hold of Clementine, ready to retire for the night. “Maybe that’s the point.”
“With you, I wouldn’t be surprised.” He chuckled, shuffled footsteps indicating he’d moved back.
“Don’t do anything stupid, okay.” Violet’s voice wobbled at the end.
After everything they’d been through, she didn’t want Louis to get hurt too.
“Nothing dangerously stupid.”
“Good.”
Turning to the left, she and Clementine slowly made their way back to the school building. Her girlfriend made slight adjustments, leaning to one side to help guide them. Feeling the ground change underfoot, she knew they were getting close. Navigating Ericson - well, Texas Two now - had been hard at first. So many things to bump into and trip over. Everyone worked hard to make their home accessible, both for her and Clem.
Violet really appreciated it.
“I’m really happy you want to help me Vi, but…” Clementine paused, a door creaking open.
Before entering the building, Violet stopped walking. “Clem. I need your help as much as you need mine. You’re my eyes, and I’m your legs. Besides, it doesn’t make sense for anyone else to do it. They have other shit to deal with. We gotta practice being independent.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
“Good, because I want to spend as much time with you as possible.” Violet stopped walking when Clem leaned back, turning to the left. “You know, the only thing that pisses me off is that I lost two eyes, and I don’t have a single chicken nugget to show for it. So unfair.”
“Maybe we need to stop eating body parts we don’t want to lose,” Clementine suggested, trying to sound light-hearted. “You with horse eyeballs. And me with somebody’s leg.”
Now facing the right way, Violet continued moving forward. “So, you were being serious about that before?”
She felt Clem’s shoulders slump. “Unfortunately, yes. When I was with Lee, we went to this farm. Big electric fence around the border and a cow. One of our group, Mark, got injured by some raiders. The people who owned the farm told us they’d take care of him… Lee found him upstairs, no legs. Still alive.”
“Shit… that’s fucked up.”
No matter how much she knew about Clementine, there was always something else. Something no kid should ever have to deal with.
“Yeah. I spat it out. The other kid in the group, Duck, he’d… eaten a lot already. Kenny was furious. Did I ever tell you about him?”
“A little.”
Violet always noticed this sense of reluctance when Clementine’s past came up. Totally understandable, really. Since she lost her leg, Clem seemed less resistant to talking about her post-apocalypse experience. Piece by piece.
“His eye got smashed by this real asshole. Carver.” The name was said with so much bitter hatred. “We got caught and tried to escape. I stole some walkie talkies, so we could communicate with this other guy from our group. Carver found out. If Kenny hadn’t taken the blame, it could’ve been me…”
“He must’ve cared about you.”
“Yeah, he did. But, he’s gone now.”
“He’d be proud of you.” Smiling, Violet lightly bumped her hip. “Well, maybe not your driving skills, but everything else. If we ever find a car, I’m still driving, by the way.”
“Ouch.”
Clem came to a standstill, opening the door to their room. With so few kids left, they all felt safer in numbers while they slept. Less alone. Stepping inside, they shuffled over to the left side bunk bed. Carefully, Violet helped her girlfriend sit down. The bed creaked, a tired sigh accompanying it.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Violet walked around the room, no hesitant steps. She knew every inch. The room that had once been Minnie and Sophie’s. She ran her fingers against the wall, smiling at a bumpy section. AJ had tried to make a drawing she could appreciate, even without her sight. So many textures. Her heart dropped as fingertips brushed against the paper.
Would they really be okay?
“Uh, Clem?”
“Yeah?”
“This might sound stupid, and you can say no if you think it is, but…” Stopping just short of the bed, Violet held out her hand. “Dance with me? I know it’ll be hard, with your leg and me probably stepping on your toes now, but I just…”
She wanted to know if the universe would let them adapt. If they were strong enough to do the small things that made them feel alive, even if it was difficult or painful.
Clementine laughed gently, taking her hand. “Lucky for us, I have fewer toes.”
Pulling her up from the bed, Violet wrapped her arms around Clem. They were unbalanced at first, taking a moment to adjust. Then, when they felt confident enough, they began to sway gently from side to side. Their feet bumped against each other sometimes, only on one side.
“I’m glad AJ chopped off your leg.” Violet suddenly announced, frowning at the strange sentence. “Huh, never thought I’d say that.”
“Me too.” Clementine chuckled, then sighed heavily. “If he’d listened to me…”
She didn’t have to finish that sentence.
“You taught him to think for himself. Gave him the confidence to make the tough calls. Like he did with Marlon…” She gripped onto Clem’s shirt. “And Tenn… shit, I still miss that kid. Too soft...”
“He’s in a better place now, with his sisters.”
“I- I hope so, Clem.” Violet buried her head into her girlfriend’s shoulder, nearly knocking them both off balance. “That was all he wanted. I could see it in his eyes. There wasn’t much left to stay for...”
“You. He had you. I could tell he looked up to you, loved you.”
“But I still couldn’t get him to jump over that gap… and Minnie, I couldn’t save her, either. Or Soph. So many people. And… I nearly lost you, too.” A painful almost daily reminder. “If it hadn’t been for AJ, I would’ve. If I’d stayed with you, maybe you wouldn’t have got bit.”
“And if I’d stayed with you on the boat or dragged your ass out of there, maybe you wouldn’t be blind.” Clementine’s voice flickered with guilt.
They could do this forever, blame themselves. It wasn’t worth the suffering.
“I guess it’s silly thinking about what could have been.”
“Kind of. All that matters to me is this.” Clementine’s hands found her face, soft lips brushing against her forehead. “You and me. Everyone, safe.”
“Safe,” Violet repeated with a small nod. “And sound.”
While it wasn’t the perfect fairytale ending, she wouldn’t change being here with Clementine for the world.