chapter nineteen !
❪ "hair holds memories" ❫

THE SHOWER hit her back as she closed her eyes in relief. all the dirt, dried blood and sweat was washed away.

riley washed her body about fifty times because of how dirty she felt.

she washed her brown hair and scrubbed really deep into her scalp. the bathroom became foggy after she showered for an hour with hot water.

she continued to scrub under her thighs and body repeatedly until her skin turned red.

when she finally felt clean enough, she turned off the water and grabbed the towel that was hanging on the handle.

riley dried herself and wrapped the towel around her body before whipping the curtain open and hopping out of the bathtub.

daryl had placed her clothes in the bathroom for her to change into when she was done. riley made sure the door was locked and opened the bathroom cabinet to see if there was anything she can moisturize her body with.

she found some baby lotion and it was half way full. the brunette opened the cap and shook the bottle, causing the lotion to come out in her hands.

riley rubbed her hands together and applied the lotion all over her dry skin.

she changed into her clothes afterwards. a pair of tight dark blue jeans that she styled with a brown belt, a black tank top with a heavy sweater over it. she put some white socks and a pair of boots on her feet.

she grabbed her tooth brush and applied tooth paste before brushing her teeth for about twenty minutes.

riley couldn't stop until she did.

she wiped the fog off the mirror, staring right at herself. riley rubbed the towel on her long hair and untangled it with the hairbrush.

she kept muttering cuss words due to her hair being so tangled that the hairbrush couldn't run through it. eventually she was able to untangle her hair, still pinned straight and wet.

riley looked down at the sink and saw a pair of scissors that was laying on the counter. she stared at the hair tool for awhile until she picked up the hair brush and placed all her front hair to the center of her forehead.

when she did that, she lifted up the pair of scissors and lined it up between her eyebrows.

hair holds memories, she thought. and she didn't want those memories anymore.

with one snip, her brunette hair fell on the sink.

TWO KNOCKS riley heard that banged outside her front door. daryl wasn't in the house at the moment since he went to go speak with rick in his place.

she checked the window and smiled when she saw the person. riley opened the door, looking at the grimes boy in front of her. "carl, hey."

carl was too stunned to say anything. the girl looked so different and pretty? he thought. "your hair," he spoke, "you got..."

"bangs! yeah, i wanted to try something new. my hair also looks a little shorter 'cause i had to cut my dead ends." she explained. "come in," riley opened the door wider for him.

carl stepped into the house and looked around her place, "so you're gonna be staying here with daryl?"

"i guess so," she shrugged and closed the door. "the best part is i took the better and bigger room. not that he cared anyway."

"hm, that's nice."

"i love that this house has a fireplace," riley pointed out. "look come on," she grabbed his hand and dragged him all the way upstairs to her room.

"riley slow down," he chuckled.

they went inside her room and riley let go of him and went over to the drawers. "look what i found," she pulled out two comics.

carl gasped before going over towards her, grabbing one of the comics out of her hands. "where did you get this?"

"honestly, i don't even know. i just found it in this house, in these drawers."

"so cool," he murmured while flipping through the pages of the comic book.

"i was so happy when i found them." she smiled and grabbed multiple comics before throwing them on her bed and laying herself at the edge of the mattress, her two feet dangling.

carl laid at the opposite side of the bed so that their heads were right beside one another. riley stared at the ceiling with curiosity, "carl?"

"yeah?"

"do you think we belong here? in alexandria?"

the boy looked up at the ceiling also. "i'm not sure yet but i know that we're stronger without them." he turned his head to look at her.

a small smile was written on her face and she whipped her head around, seeing the boy already gazing at her. their noses were slightly brushing against one another until a knock came from the door.

the two broke apart and daryl came inside. he saw the boy and riley together, "carl, your dad lookin' for you."

carl nodded, "okay, i'll see you later rye." he walked out of the room before she can respond. daryl slightly raised his eyebrows at the girl and she shook her head.

"don't even."

"i didn't say nothin'." he grumbled and closed her bedroom door.

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AUTHORS NOTE:

SO HOW WE FEELIN ABT THE BANGS?

also thank you guys for the support on this book! i love when my readers say "reading from ..." it gives me so much comfort that my book is getting read all around the world 🩶

carley angst will be starting soon! ;)

rileys outfit inspo >>

please vote for the next chapter and DONT BE A GHOST READER <3