THE very next day, Maggie had everyone up bright and early to help clean up the Hilltop in the aftermath of the battle. Walkers taunted us on the walls outside, wanting access inside, banging on them.

Meanwhile, Tara drove one of the cars up while I sat in the passenger seat. I could see that her shoulder was bothering her, but I decided not to comment on it.

I just shrugged and said, "Missed you."

She smirked but kept her attention on turning the car in the right place without hitting the other car already parked there. "Yeah? Well, I missed you, too," she confessed, dimming her eyes afterward. "I wanted to come after you. I was afraid that you... You were dead."

I shrugged and sighed, "I'll never leave you again, T."

With that said, she parked the car and jumped out, where Daryl was coming around the other car and called out to her, "Hey, you shouldn't be out here."

She shrugged and claimed, "Oh, it's just... It's just a scratch. I can help."

I come up beside her when Daryl countered, "What if it wasn't?"

Tara sat back on the car, glanced over her shoulder at me, before looking back at Daryl. "Then, it'd be my own damn fault. He's back with them because of me."

"That's not all on you, T," I claimed, putting my own spit into it, placing my hand on her shoulder. "We had to let him go."

"No, he's back with 'em 'cause that's who he is," Daryl growled, shutting down both myself and Tara in a heartbeat.

For whatever reason, Tara immediately countered, "W-We got lucky. Finding Maggie... Rick. It could've been different. It was, for me, when I was with the Governor."

"Yeah, but you weren't one of them," Daryl tried telling her, as I remember stories about someone that battled with in the past, who killed Maggie's father.

It took Tara a moment, but she finally breathed out, "But I was with them. Your brother, too."

"My brother?" Daryl growled, which made me forget that Daryl ever had one. "My brother ran the wrong way his whole life. If he were here, if I stuck with him when he left, we'd be with the Saviors, too, or some other group just like them. But I'd have figured out who they were just like you did."

I began to slowly back away, now believing that this is their argument now, until Tara suddenly said, "Maybe that's what happened to Dwight."

That little statement made me stop right in my tracks, as I felt new meaning to life and to my friendship with Tara, too. I slowly looked over my shoulder and heard Dwight ask, "Is that before or after he killed your girl? Or, is that all square now?"

I held my breath when she answered, "It is. Look, I might hate him forever, but he saved my life."

"No, he tried to kill you last night," Daryl kept thinking of every reason to fight back, to keep his hatred for Dwight going.

I spun around when Tara replied, "When we were in the woods, when we were coming here, I saw him try and help us win."

Daryl took a step forward and growled, "Yeah. I saw what I saw, too." With that said, Daryl walked away, believing that his hatred over Dwight was too great to let go of so soon.

After he was away, I placed my hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head to look at me. She shook her head and breathed out, "I did it, Tess. I forgave your little boyfriend."

I slowly nodded my head and said, "Thank you, but I do think that Dwight has a lot to explain to us, especially how and why he ended up with Negan in the first place, but he will make it up to us one day."

"Thank you, Tess," she gulped down, touching my shoulder as she left.

I finally decided to go back to helping in the clean-up until I felt somebody's eyes on me, like they were burning a hole in me. I kept walking until I heard a grunt call out my name, "Tess. Come here."

I took a deep breath and headed over to Daryl, who is now seemingly talking to me. We haven't exactly chatted since I came back, which is saying something. "Yeah?"

Before he could say anything else, he took me by the arm and started to drag me behind the building, back where Abraham and Glenn were buried. Expecting him to scream at me, he started off soft and slow. "Why did you leave?"

I didn't know how to answer him. Sometimes, it was like, no matter how I answered, it was the wrong answer. I just shrugged and squeaked out, "I had to get away from here for a while, but it only ended up being a day, so... That's what I did. Can you blame me?"

First off, he rubbed his chin and started off soft. "Tess, anything could've happened out there. Anything. You could've been bitten, killed, or taken. You never know what could have happened and do you know how..." He paused, and that is when the rage started. "How stupid that is?! To just leave like that?! I know you wanted to leave because you needed a break, but the people around you were scared shitless, Tess. Especially me. If you think about it, that little choice of yours was fucking selfish. It really was."

"Well, excuse me for wanting to leave for—"

"And, I'm not saying this to hurt you, trust me, but I'm just saying this because someone has to get through to you. You don't listen to anyone! Not a single person, Tess. You won't understand how I felt about you running away like that until you've gone through it. How would you feel if one day, I just packed my shit and you didn't see me for a while?! You'd feel like shit, wouldn't you? Huh?" Daryl sighed heavily after cutting me off before. "Dammit, Tess. You frustrate me so much. Why do you always have to be so damn stubborn? It never fails. But, you can't just run away like that and think it's okay! Because it's not!"

I wanted to say something, but I knew that I couldn't, unless I wanted more of an earful. He just put his hands down in defeat and looked me straight in the eye, having the type of glare in his eye that is telling me that he has something for me. Yet, before I can find out what it is, he just takes off in a huff, and I just stand there, feeling defeated once again.

—

I thought that I was dreaming of chaos happening all around me, like I was dreaming of what happened the night before with the Saviors attacking us. I heard screaming and panic, and even a baby crying, until I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes, frightened by the action, and saw Tara hovered over me. I had slept next to her for the nights that we stay here.

"Huh?" I gulped out the word. "What is it?"

"Walkers!" That I couldn't believe. "Downstairs! All in Hilltop! Let's go!"

Immediately, I hopped down from the bed and secured that my boots were definitely on, as I grabbed my machete and headed downstairs with Tara. We slashed our way down until I almost threw my machete right through my brother's head, who hopped back and took a deep breath.

"Tess!" Paul cried out, throwing his hand around my arm and dragging me down the remainder of the stairs.

We hurried people out of the Barrington House while they screamed in horror and questioned as to how and why the Walkers invaded us. I didn't understand it, but I kept slashing the Walkers to pieces and bits, making sure they wouldn't harm anyone in their rage.

Mayhem broke out as the Walkers kept coming, like hell was emptying right here into the Barrington House. Besides myself and my brother, there was Rick, Michonne, Ezekiel, and even Siddiq fighting back.

Finally, things started to get under control until I felt something grab me from behind, growling in my ear. I screamed, tried to spin around, and stabbed it through the head with my machete, but not before Morgan ran in and stabbed it through the head with his own sharp weapon. It fell, nearly taking me down with it because it was still holding onto my shoulders, but I managed to stay standing.

Morgan helped in killing the remaining Walkers, along with Rick, Daryl, and I, and this is when everything started to slow down a bit.

"The hell happened?!" Daryl exclaimed, clearly upset by the pile of bodies and confusion behind it.

"I don't know," Rick replied, clearly confused just like us. "Maybe Walkers got in."

"Maybe during the fight," Morgan suggested, staring at each of us.

"How?" I asked through my state of confusion. "How did we not know until now?"

Daryl stood back for a second and, losing his breath, announced, "These are our own people, though."

"What?" I breathed out, looking around at the bodies. He actually wasn't wrong, either. "Fucking how? What the hell?"

Suddenly, we heard signs of a struggle and slight yelling, so we all raced upstairs and immediately met up with Maggie, losing Morgan on the way up, but the struggle was coming from another room, where Carol had blood on her arms and a new dead Walker on the ground.

Daryl rushed in and immediately came to Carol's aid, asking if she was alright. Carol nodded and sighed out, "Yeah, just..." We walked inside and saw Tobin being that dead Walker on the floor. My heart dropped. "He wasn't bit, but he turned."

I slightly touched Carol's arm, making sure that she wasn't frantically shaking. She was okay for now, but I stayed between Daryl and Carol. I wanted to know what the actual fuck happened here!

"Negan's bat," Rick simply said, making a statement by itself. "When I was out there with him, it was cover in Walker blood. I just thought he'd crossed some. But, maybe..."

Before he could finish, Maggie added for him, "They have us working for them again. Killing our own."

My heart sank again, and I could think about it. It was one person... My best friend, Tara. Dwight shot her through the shoulder with an arrow, but he wouldn't. He couldn't have. Not to me, knowing just how much she means to me.

"It's the fever," someone suddenly said. I flinched, seeing Bruce laid out on the bed in the room. He looked bad, as in being on his way out. "That's what it is. It makes sense now." He was suffering, looking down at his wounded arm. "One of you... You're gonna have to do it. I can't." Maggie came to him, holding his unwounded hand. "You gotta do it for me. Please. Please..."

He was begging and crying out. I felt crushed. Then, reality slowly started to wash over me. No, not Tara. I will not lose her, too.

—

WE slowly entered the safe room, as to say, where Judith and Gracie were, along with Rosita, Enid, and Tara we're located. I immediately ran inside and wrapped my arms around Tara, crying on her shoulder.

"Good out there?" Rosita asked Rick, which he replied with, "House is clear."

I sat next to Tara and squeezed her hand when she asked, "What's wrong? How'd this happen?"

I could see the look on her face, confused and scared. Daryl closed the door behind us and sighed, almost hesitant to tell Tara the truth. I know that I couldn't do it.

"Um," Daryl stammered out, slowly turning to face her in the slight distance. "The Saviors did something to their weapons. Everyone they cut up... or got shot... They all got sick. Some of 'em turned."

In disbelief, Enid breathed out, "What? No."

With tears fresh in her eyes, Tara looked from Enid to the ground. "Okay," she said, seemingly already accepting her undecided fate. The little okay shattered me completely.

"When we were out there," Daryl began to say, "and you said you were done waiting, I coulda killed him. I shoulda."

For once, I didn't have the will to fight back. Maybe I was blind this whole time to Dwight, under his spell. He only cared about my will-being, not my friends and family. However, he didn't care about me at all if he did this to Tara. If I lose her, I will die.

"No, he wanted to be here with us," Tara argued, still taking Dwight's side. I couldn't believe it. "And, no matter what he did or how hard he tried, I wanted him dead. I just couldn't let it be anything else." Looking from me to Daryl, she added, "Karma's a bitch, right?

"Tara, no...," I cried out, squeezing her hand and our eyes met. "I won't leave you, I promise. I will stay with you through everything."

She shook her head and cried, "I don't deserve you, Tess." With that said, I looked up, and everyone started to get out, leaving just us in there to talk. They knew that we needed a moment to talk this out, finally leaving us be after a moment.

"Yes, you do," I sniffled, trying to get her to face me. "You're my best friend, Tara. I wouldn't be here without you. I stay alive for you, and I would easily die for you, too. So, what I'm gonna do is... If you go, I'll go with you."

"Tess, no—"

"I'm not losing anyone else," I quickly cut her off and came to my own defense. "I've already made up my mind. If you die, I die. We die together, Tara. We'll be together forever, in the sky, you and me."

She shook her head, still not accepting our fate together. Then, she turned her head back and breathed out, "If tonight is the last night that I'm alive, then I want to do something."

Titling my head to the side, I innocently asked, "What is it, T?"

Expecting her to speak, she didn't when she leaned forward and placed her right hand on my cheek to my face while her left hand touched mine that was pressed on the bed.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine, and I sucked in a silent breath out of surprise. She had her eyes closed when she did, enjoying the few seconds that she had with it, and, feeling a mixture of guilt and actual love towards her, I decided to just shut my eyes and accept it, kissing her back.

I did love Tara, but I'm not sure if it was out of actual attraction or just because she was my actual best friend, but I wanted to do this, rather it was for myself or for her. I couldn't decide.