I was holding Coco. The baby was only three months old but the amount of times Eugene had checked every single detail about her was slightly worrying. I didn't mind though, it meant that she was healthy. Socorro Eliana Espinosa was apart of the only biological family I had left. Yes, Eliana was after me, and yes I did cry when I found out. "My two girls." Rosita smiled, entering the room and sitting next to me on the sofa.

"She's adorable." I smiled at the sleeping baby, looking up to Rosita. "You did an amazing job."

Rosita smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders while the other went to the front of her daughter to play with her tiny fingers. "Thank you, mi amor." Rosita kissed my temple.

I hummed and nodded. "What do you think she'll be like when she grows up?" I asked.

"If she's anything like you then she'll be perfect." Rosita hugged me tighter.

I laughed, letting the silence sit before I spoke. "Carlos and Megan keep bugging me. Asking me if I know when you're gonna let them meet her. You don't have too, ya know. She's your kid."

Rosita let out a breath. "I'm thinking I'll invite them over for dinner tonight. I want you, Carl and Daryl to be there. Everyone else family wise is in Oceanside so I'll take what protection I can get."

"Protection against what?" I questioned.

"Questions." Rosita laughed. "It'll be us three, Daryl, Carl, Carlos, Megan, Siddiq and Gabriel."

I nodded. "If anyone bothers you I'll cut their tongue off and stick it to their forehead." I said in a sweet voice while looking at Coco.

Rosita smiled. "I appreciate the violence."

I nodded. "Anytime."

"When you come round tonight can you bring your camera? I want to take a family photo." Rosita stated. "Well, two. One for me to keep and another to go in your famous scrapbook."

I laughed quietly. "I'm gonna need another scrapbook soon. I'm running outta room."

Rosita kissed my cheek. "Thank you."

"I better get going. I told Carl I'd bake cookies. I'll bring some round tonight." I said, gently moving so that Rosita could take Coco from me. "Goodbye, little baby." I smiled at the child before looking up to Rosita. "Goodbye, big baby."

She laughed at me, swatting my arm. "I'll see you tonight. Six sharp."

"Got it, sergeant." I gave a two fingered salute before leaving the house.

I headed home where I found Carl sitting on the sofa, looking at my scrapbook. "Hey." He said without looking up.

I sat next to him and saw that he was looking at a photo of him and his dad at the prison. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Just miss him extra today. I mean... We never found his body. I don't even know what really happened that day, that herd came outta nowhere."

I bit my bottom lip, shifting in my seat to face him more. Carl noticed my change and turned to face me. "Carl... There's something I need to tell you about that day."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What it is, Ellie?"

I let out a breath as he closed the scrapbook and turned his body to face me. I cleared my throat before speaking. "That herd didn't come outta nowhere. It was going towards my farm... I didn't know that the bridge was being rebuilt. Last I heard, it was destroyed. I knew about the fast currents and I thought I knew that there was nobody there." Tears formed in my eyes as I remembered how naive I was. The look on Carl's face turned to pure horror. "I redirected the herd... I led them straight to Mama Rick. I'm the reason he was forced to make the decision that he did. I'm the reason he died, Carl. I killed him."

Carl stood up from the sofa and walked to stand by the tv. His back facing me. "How could you not tell me?" He asked, his voice rough and dark.

"I meant too." A quiet sob left my lips. "I was so scared to tell you. You'd just lost your father, and when I waited... I just couldn't find the right time. I'm so sorry."

Carl turned to face me. "It's been four years, Ellie! For four years I've cried about my father being dead! I cried over what I thought was an accident! I blamed myself, I was the reason he was even out there that day! I was ill and asked him to swap with me! I blamed myself when it's been your fucking fault this whole time!"

Tears ran down my face and a sob escaped my lips. "I didn't know how to tell you."

"You just say it! You say that you murdered my father! It's four years too late!" He screamed. "You orphaned me, Ellie! I'm an orphan because of you!"

I tried to wipe my tears but more fell. "We still have mama." I tried in a weak voice, I had no idea how to make the situation better. I couldn't, because he was right.

"She's not our mother! Just like Carol isn't your mother! Your mother was a child beating, alcoholic, deadbeat, druggie!... After everything that my father did? Everything he sacrificed? For us? For you? How could you do this to him? To me? I thought I was your brother, and you-" I interrupted him.

"You are my brother, Carl." I stood up. "I love you... And I am so, so sorry." My voice shook with fear. "Sorry isn't enough... I don't know how to say it. Words cannot express to you how sorry I am."

Carl walked over to me. I'm not sure what he was going to do. I hoped that he would hug me, I knew he wouldn't though. I screwed up too bad this time. Before I knew it, his fist flew at my jaw. I stumbled back a few steps, holding onto where he'd punched me. "You just took away the one thing I had stopping me."

"Stopping you from what?" I practically whispered.

"Doing what needs to be done." Carl spat, before pushing me aside and leaving the house.

"Carl!" I tried to call after him. It was no use though. I let my knees give out on me as I fell to the ground. I sobbed loud and hard. My chest was in pain. I could barely breathe. Another panic attack, but this time, there was nobody to help me.

"Pass the bread please, Ellie?" I heard Siddiq's voice. I looked up and passed him the bread.

"She really is a beautiful child." Carlos said. "I'm so proud of you, Rosita."

She pursed her lips together and nodded as Megan spoke. "Can I hold her?"

Rosita shook her head. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that just yet. I trust you guys on runs, I trust you to have my back in a fight... But, she's my daughter."

"It's a shame Carl couldn't join us tonight." Gabriel said. I hummed and nodded. "How did you say you got the bruise again?"

I swallowed the soup in my mouth before speaking. "I tripped. Hit my face on one of RJ's damn toys."

"I don't know how you fight the way you do yet you're so clumsy." Dad commented. I forced a laugh.

"Carlos, do you mind passing me the water?" I asked.

Carlos spoke while handing over the jug. "I'm your grandfather, you know. You should start addressing me as such."

Dad took the water and poured it for me. "Thanks, dad." I smiled at him, ignoring the man.

"I'm serious." Carlos continued. "I haven't always been there, but that's not my fault-"

"I just don't think we're there yet." I interrupted. The man huffed before going back to his soup.

"So, does Coco have a middle name?" Megan asked.

"She does. Her full name is Socorro Eliana Espinosa." Siddiq answered.

"Eliana?" Megan repeated.

"I named her after my favourite family member." Rosita smiled at me, so I smiled back.

"Right." Megan muttered, tearing off some bread to eat.

"I don't know why you still go by Espinosa." Carlos stated. "I only met your daddy a couple times. But, he wasn't a man of any sorts. Dreamed of being an artist. He was good, but not good enough. There's no money in that. A real man supports his family."

"He was following his dreams. Mami always spoke good of him for that." Rosita answered.

"You should be Rosita Gomez. Your father? Rodriguez Espinosa?" Carlos scoffed. "Do you know why he left your mother? Why he left you?"

Rosita nodded. "Mami told me that he had an opportunity to show off his art in California. He never came back."

"You know what I think? He was one of those fa-" I cut him off.

"You better watch the next words that come outta your mouth." I warned.

Carlos rolled his eyes. "I forgot, Sophia thinks she's one of these gays."

"You wanna take this outside? You talk bad about my daughter one more time and see what happens." Dad warned.

Carlos raised his hands in mock surrender. "Thought this was a free country."

"It is. Until you come after my girls. You stop pestering Rosita about her daughter's name, you take Sophia's name out of your mouth and you leave Ellie alone." Dad spoke with anger in his tone, his eyes never leaving Carlos'.

"Are you threatening me?" Carlos leaned forward slightly.

"Yes." Dad answered without missing a beat.

"Should be try to keep it civil, gentlemen?" Gabriel suggested. Dad glared Carlos into submission so that he went back to his soup. 

I wiped my mouth with a napkin. "You know, I'm not feeling to hot. I think I better head home. Check on Carl. He wasn't feeling great earlier." I stood up.

"You want me to walk you home?" Dad offered.

"I'm okay." I denied, kissing his head. "Thanks for dinner, guys. It was delicious."

Rosita stood up and hugged me. She kissed the top of my head. "I'll see you tomorrow. Feel better soon, okay?"

"Will do. Bye, Siddiq, Padre." I smield at the men, purposely avoiding Carlos and Megan as I picked up my polaroid camera and one of the photos we'd taken earlier.

"Goodnight, Ellie." Gabriel smiled.

"Night, kid." Siddiq waved with a slice of bread.

I walked home by myself, letting the cool evening air wash over me. I let out a breath before I entered the house. "Carl?" I called out. "You home?" I knocked on his door before pushing it open. I saw a note on his bed. I opened it, and read it.

Ellie,

It's possible I was a bit harsh earlier. I am sorry for that, I really am. But, you really hurt me. I lost a lot this afternoon. I lost my trust in you, my faith. But, I didn't lose my sister. I still love you, Ron Weasley. Hurting you and the others is the only reason I haven't gone after Alpha for what she did to our people. Now, I'm sorry but I can't care who I hurt. I need her dead. I need them dead. What they did to us was evil and I have to stop them. Please don't come after me. I'll see you on the other side.

- Harry Potter.

I scrunched up the note before heading into my room. I packed my backpack with spare clothes, I ran to the kitchen and packed water bottles and some food. I then wrote a note and left it on the counter.

So... Don't be mad. I got some things I need to do. I won't be long. Go to Oceanside with the others. Don't worry, I'm staying safe, I'm with Carl. I know you want to come after me, but don't. If you do it could ruin everything. As my father, I need you to trust me. I know you can do that. If I'm not back by my seventeenth birthday in a month then you can come looking. I'll stay off of Alpha's boarders. Carl just needs some time away to think about mama Rick. I need to be there for him. I love you, daddy.

I then li the fireplace and chucked Carl's letter into it. I went outside and headed over to inventory. We had emergency bags packed, I grabbed one that I knew was filled with a gun, some ammo, knives, a basic medical kit, feminine products, food and water. I then snagged the keys to the RV me, Sophia and Carl used while on the road during the war with the saviours. I went over to where we kept the vehicles when a voice behind me, forced me to stop. "Where you going?"

I turned and saw Finn. "There's some shit I got to take care of."

"What shit?" Finn demanded to know.

Me and Finn had gotten closer over the past few months. Hell, I still found him hot, but I found a way to ignore that. "I need to find Carl. He's going to do something stupid because of me and it's my job to stop him."

"Well, I'm coming with." Finn stated.

I shook my head. "I can't ask you to do that."

"You don't need to ask." Another voice said, I looked to my side and saw Ben approaching us. "You're waiting twenty minutes for us to grab some clothes and an emergency bag each."

"Guys, it's dangerous." I warned them.

"Exactly why we need to help you." Finn responded.

"Ben, what about your mother? Finn, your brother? No, no way. It ain't happening." I denied.

"Ellie, you're not leaving without us." Ben ordered. "Come on, best friend. Please."

"I gotta cross the boarders. Deal with the Whisperers close up. Maybe even the alpha." I told them.

"Even more reason for us to go with you." Finn stated.

I bit my bottom lip. "You got ten. If you're not back here by then, you're not coming with."