THIRTY TWO. killer within

A week had passed since the death of Tomas. Nothing had changed, all except that there were now two prisoners living in the cell block next to them instead of five. The cut on her thigh from her machete had scabbed over, only every so often receiving a slight ache of pain. Hershel had become conscious, Adeline basically living in the same cell with him to constantly check in on his amputation. It was healing better than expected, the elder already wanting to get up and move around the prison.

In his words, he had memorized the number of steps it took for his "nurse" to walk from her cell to his in the middle of the night to make sure he took his medicine. Beth helped the most, seeing as she slept on the bunk above her father. Over the week, Adeline had spent most of her days talking to the teen and grew closer with her. She started to believe that Beth was similar to Daryl in the ways of not talking about the death of Shane. In return, she found herself being incredibly grateful.

Day 309 of the end of the world was the day when the cleanup of the courtyard began. Finish burning all of the dead bodies and move the vehicles in case there was a means for an escape. Their biggest problem was the flipped over prison bus, which they took care of by pushing it with T-Dogs beloved truck he had fixed up over the time on the road. The vehicles were scattered all over the yard, parked in numerous places which screamed that the place was full of people - and that happened to be the last thing they wanted other survivors to think.

Adeline stood with her hand over her eyes, looking around at the bodies littering the courtyard. "Where's Glenn and Mags? We could use their help." She questioned, breaking through the silence of bird chirping and frogs croaking loudly in the creek next to the prison.

"Up in the guard tower." Daryl was the first to respond, standing next to Carol who smartly wore a head scarf to protect her skin from the scolding sun.

Adeline wore Shanes police hat atop her head, her brown hair sticking through the back in a ponytail. Rick shifted on his feet, tearing his eyes away from the hat before looking up - "Guard tower?" He questioned with squinted eyes, "They were just up there last night."

Feeling a slight nudge to her arm, the Walsh girl turned around at the sight of T handing her a water bottle just as Daryl called out to the couple in the tower. Curling her fingers around the bottle, she smiled kindly at the man before unscrewing the lid. "Thanks, T." Adeline spoke after gulping down a portion of the liquid before handing it back to him.

Looking back to the tower, the metal door creaked open as a shirtless Glenn peeked out of the door. "Hey, what's up guys?" He laughed nervously, observant eyes taking notice of a messy haired Maggie behind him.

The group of five standing against the gravel chuckled at the sight, obviously knowing what the couple had done. Adeline hid her laughter with the palm of her hand, the expression being one she hadn't truly felt in a while. Her eyes trailed over to Daryl who shifted on his feet, "You coming?"

"What?" Glenn yelled with squinted eyes, sliding his belt through the loops of his pants and hastily buckling it. Shifting on her feet, Adeline craned her skin to the tower. "We could use some help," She called out, the boy nodding embarrassingly before walking back inside the tower to Maggie.

Turning on her feet, the group of five snickered at the moment before turning back around to their problem at hand. Adeline tightened her ponytail while eyeing the other fences around the actual building of the prison. Spotting a lingering Axel and Oscar, the smile on her face faded as she looked to her brother - "Rick." Her voice was sharp, causing him to turn around and follow her eyes.

The small smirk he wore faded away alongside the small surge of happiness they had received. Rick clenched his jaw, motioning for them to follow as he walked up the graveled path towards the fencing that the two prisoners stood behind with squinted eyes. Carol stayed back while Adeline, Daryl, and T-Dog followed the leader.

"That's close enough." Rick stopped the men in their steps, the two of them walking out of the fence and onto the gravel path. "We had an agreement." He reminded the pair.

Axel tightened his arms around himself, "Please, mister. We know that." He spoke, Glenn and Maggie stepping out of the guard tower from behind them. "But you gotta understand... we can't live in that place another minute. You follow me? All the bodies- people we knew. Blood, brains everywhere. There's ghosts." He continued.

"Why don't you move the bodies out?" Daryl questioned, standing next to Adeline as Carol neared the group tiredly. "You should be burning them." He advised.

"We tried." Axel assured, "We did."

"The fence is down on the far side of the prison. Every time we drag a body out, those things just line up. Dropping the body and just running back inside." Oscar informed, causing Adeline to cross her arms over her chest and look to her brother with an expecting face.

Before he could say anything, the blonde haired prisoner was quick to walk closer to the group. Adeline uncrossed her arms, her hand falling hurriedly to the handle of her machete. "Look, we had nothing to do with Tomas and Andrew. Nothing. You trying to prove a point? You proved it, bro." He continued, Oscar stepping closer alongside him.

"We'll do whatever it takes to be part of your group. Just, please, please... don't make us live in that place." Axel begged with a pleading face.

His words caused Rick to shake his head, "Our deal is not negotiable. You either live in your cell block, or you leave." He pressed, making his intentions clear.

Oscar sighed before looking to Axel. "I told you this was a waste of time. They ain't no different than the pricks who shot up our boys," He assured, giving the group a look with furrowed brows. Adeline clenched her jaw while shifting on her feet to eye the two prisoners.

"You know how many friends' corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw 'em out, like..." He paused, looking to the ground with troubled eyes. "These were good guys. Good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in the joint, like Tomas and Andrew. We've all made mistakes to get in here, chief. And I'm not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me... we've paid our due. Enough that we would rather hit that road than to go back into that shit hole." Oscar finished with sharp eyes.

Letting out a sigh, Adeline turned to look at her brother before glancing back to the two prisoners. After taking in the silent contemplation of letting them stay, she rolled her eyes and pursed her lips - "You're not staying." She finalized her words, ignoring the looks sent her way before walking towards the cell block.

Allowing herself a few minutes to think, she made her way into her cell that she had called home. Over the week, with what little time she had to herself, Adeline pulled the bunk bed frame out of her room (with the help of T) and stacked the two small mattress on the top of wooden pallets she had found outside. It gave her the comfort of a bigger bed, although she rarely gave herself the chance to sleep.

When she flopped down onto the mattresses, she brought her hands to her face and rubbed tiredly at her eyes. Adeline felt the rough fabric of her holsters digging into her skin, which caused her to unbuckle the throwing knives and toss them onto the cells floor. Sliding the pistol holster off, she left herself with her machete as she crossed her legs on the mattresses before laying back down.

The moment her head hit the uncomfortable pillows, a barreling wave of thoughts rammed into her mind. You miss him. You needed him. It's your fault that he's gone. You shouldn't have let him go. You could've saved him. Adeline inhaled sharply, tears springing to her eyes as she raised up and pressed her back to the concrete wall. Tucking her knees to her chest, she felt her breaths become uneven as she placed her head between her knees.

"Stop," Her voice trembled, tears leaving her eyes and trailing marks in her stained cheeks.

The nonstop train of thought caused her to realize the truth she locked away. The reason why she refused to let the prisoners stay in their home. It was because the last time she fought for a stranger to stay, the man she loved was murdered. Adeline realized she blamed herself more than she blamed her brother. Her trust with her own mind had crumbled into ashes of chaos and decay. The space in her skull had become filled with haunting memories that tainted her dreams.

Every second she allowed herself to think, was a second that grew closer to insanity. When the walls began caving in and the voice peeled through the papers. And when Adeline closed her eyes to rid of the tears and nightmares, that voice she longed to hear pulled through the chaos.

"Miss me, Little Bird?"

The voice whispered in her left ear, her head turning towards the cell door in an instant to see Beth standing with a soft smile. "Sorry if I'm intruding. I called for you once but I guess you didn't hear," The teen spoke, overlooking the tears that stained the widows face.

Adeline nodded hastily, standing up from the uncomfortable bed with tired eyes. Pushing away every thought of what just happened, her mind completely blanked which caused her to leave the throwing knives and gun laying against the floor. Walking out of the cell with the teen, she rubbed her hands against the material of her jeans and took in a deep breath. "What's going on?" Her voice croaked.

While walking down the concrete stairs, Beth spared a glance her way. "Daddy wanted to put some use to the crutches we found. But Lori said to get you before we did anything," She informed with a soft voice that never failed to bring the woman a sense of comfort.

"That man will never take no for an answer." The widow joked, a small laugh following her words but the emotion never reached her eyes which Beth took notice of.

Cutting the conversation short, they entered Hershels cell with curious eyes as he waited impatiently on the edge of his bed. He already had his one good leg slung over the mattress, boot pressed against the concrete ground. Lifting his head, he looked to the nurse with tired eyes. "I told them to let you rest," He informed.

"I thought I told you to do the same." Adeline responded, motioning for Lori to hand the elder the crutches as he smiled gratefully and steadied himself.

Taking them in his hands, the nurse stepped in to help him up to his feet. He waved her away, gripping the metal of the frame as he tried to pull himself up. "Daddy, don't push yourself. Let Addy help." Beth urged, motioning for the widow to step back in which she did.

Curling her hand around his arm and with the help of the teen, Hershel was on his foot and hurrying the crutches underneath his armpits. "I can't stand looking up at that bottom of that bunk anymore-" He spoke, his body swaying to the side suddenly but the fall was stopped by Adeline pulling him back to a straight position.

"Keep it steady." She pleaded, stepping out of the cell with careful eyes as Lori took her spot. Hershel tapped the crutches against the concrete, "I think I am." He joked, making his way out of the cell, the nurse leading them.

"That's a pretty good start." Lori informed, watching as he got the hang of the crutches quicker than expected. "Wanna take a rest?" She questioned, laying her hand against his shoulder to keep him from falling over.

Hershel looked at her bewilderedly, "Rest?" he chuckled before turning to Adeline. "Let's go for a little stroll."

Leading the small group of five outside, the nurse pulled open the heavy gate to the courtyard. With a little help, Hershel was down the steps in no time and taking in the concrete platform that was no longer littered with dead bodies. Adeline popped her knuckles, looking around the place and waving to T-Dog who stood by his truck.

"You cleared all those bodies out?" Hershel questioned, keeping his grip on the crutches steady. "It's starting to look like a place we could really live in." He continued, walking further down the concrete platform.

"Be careful, take your time." Adeline reminded the elder, leaning against a metal picnic table. Propping her foot against the bolted down bench, she watched carefully as Lori stayed by the man's side. "Last thing we need is for you to fall."

Finding her eyes on the three figures in the dog run, Adeline quickly made them out to be Daryl, Glenn, and her brother. She took notice of the wooden logs in their hands, which they tossed to the ground after seeing the elder walking around the courtyard. "Alright, Hershel!" Glenn's voice rang out, resulting in Daryl undoubtedly shushing him before he could attract more walkers.

"Ready to race, Hershel?" Carl questioned, causing his aunt to look over from the table she rested against.

Hershel took a step forward, "Give me another day. I'll take you on." He smiled, the boy giggling in response.

A soft smile laced Adelines lips at the sound, her eyes turning back to the ground tiredly. Pressing her hands against the sides of her head, she rubbed away at the tight tension in her skull. Migraines had been a thing she rarely dealt with before the world ended, but after the constant gunfire and the dead coming to life - they occurred frequently.

The silence that wavered over the group brought an eerie feeling towards Adeline, the sudden change of smell and an irregular brush of wind against her skin causing her to turn her head. Just as she did, a rotted hand tightly gripped her shoulder and pulled her back. A panicked yelp left her lips, her shirt tearing into pieces from the long nails on the walker.

The sound immediately sent the group into a frenzy, guns raised and guards up. Adeline turned her body, hands shoving the walker away from her and curling her fingers around the handle of her machete. Roaring it back, the sharp blade found itself imbedded into the stalkers skull. In one quick movement it fell dead as gunshots rang out around her and killed only a few of the many walkers that filled the courtyard they stood in.

A burning sensation was felt in her shoulder, which caused fear to slam into her stomach. Adeline kept her eyes away from the area, too scared to look and see if she had been scratched by the walker. Stumbling away from the stalkers, she pushed the thoughts into the back of her mind and glanced at the fabric of her long sleeved shirt on the ground that was splattered with blood. "No..."

Over the gunshots and screams, the only thing she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears. She felt the irregular beats in her throat, the grip on her machete loosening at the fear of dying. Her mind tricked her into thinking it was the infection running through her, head turning hurriedly at a sudden tug on her wrist.

Carl dragged her through the courtyard, pulling her alongside him into the cell block that Maggie and Lori had ran into for cover from the walkers. Adeline kept her hand around her weapon, the burning on her shoulder being the only thing on her mind. They ran further into the prison and into the unchecked corridors.

━━
Rick pulled the gate open hurriedly, firing rounds from his python into the walkers that littered the courtyard. Daryl and Glenn wasn't too far behind him, the redneck rushing over to the picnic he saw Adeline sitting at before the walker had grabbed her. His observant eyes caught sight of the blood stained fabric laying against the concrete, recognizing it to be apart of the woman's shirt.

"What the hell happened?" Rick cursed, looking to Beth and Hershel who had locked themselves into a cage to hide. He kept his python by his side, a small sense of fear and large feeling of anger surging through him.

"The gate was open!" The teen yelled fearfully, her fingers curled around the fence while tears stained her cheeks. Hershel stayed by her side, one of his crutches stuck between the gate of the small area they stood in.

"Where's Lori, Carl, Addy- everyone else?" The leader was quick to question, his eyes searching the courtyard.

"Maggie led the three of them into C block!" Hershel yelled out, his daughter watching as Daryl slowly bent down to pick up the blood stained fabric. "T was bit!" Beth added, her voice trembling. "Adeline was too."
━━

The sound of a loud alarm blaring throughout the corridor caused Adeline to flinch, her mind ringing with pain and fear. She kept her fingers curled around the handle of her machete, heart beating harshly in her chest. After a few rushed steps, she found herself in front of the group and leading them hurriedly down the corridors.

"Addy, you need to slow down." Maggie whispered, falling in the widows step with careful eyes. "Did you-?"

"I don't know." Adeline cut her off, their conversation ending abruptly at the sound of hands smacking against a wall. Turning around, the two of them found Lori bracing herself against a wall. "Something's not right."

The nurse pushed past Maggie, pulling the material of her shirt over her shoulder and rushing over to the pregnant woman. "Can you keep up?" She questioned, holding her hand against Loris back worriedly.

"Are you bit too?" Carl questioned while standing next to Maggie, his eyes glancing to his aunt and the torn fabric of her shirt.

"No, no, no, no." Lori mumbled. "I think the baby's coming." She informed the group, causing Adeline to nod slowly and turn her head at the sound of loud snarls. Finding several walkers heading their way, Maggie and the nurse quickly put their arms around Lori and allowed Carl to lead them through the one clear corridor.

It wasn't long before they found an open door, the kid leading them down the stairs and into what seemed like a mechanical room filled with pipes and wrenches. Lori braced herself against a metal grate while Adeline left the woman's side and searched the room for any usable supplies to deliver a baby with. "Come on, come on."

Slinging drawers open, the only things she could find was more wrenches, bit pieces, and a variety of useless weaponry. "Fucking shit." Adeline cursed underneath her breath, turning around to find Lori looking at her.

"What are those alarms?" She grunted, trying to take her mind off of the baby that was ready to leave her body.

Maggie rested her hand against the woman's back, "Don't worry about it." She assured while leading them farther into a room. Adeline trailed behind them with careful eyes, knowing Lori had to have a c-section with Carl and was likely to have the same situation with the baby.

"We can't risk getting caught out there. You're gonna need to give birth to this baby in here," Adeline informed as she neared the mother. Lori nodded and breathed heavily, bracing her body against a pipe.

"What is she doing? Can't she breathe?" Carl questioned worriedly, stepping closer to the women. Adeline watched as Maggie led him into the other part of the room in attempts to give the nurse and Lori privacy.

"Come here. We gotta get your pants off." The nurse informed, helping Lori unbuckle her belt and tug the tight jeans off of her legs. "Lay down," She instructed, the mother pressing her back against the cold concrete floor as Adeline crouched down and and finished pulling her pants to her ankles.

"Maggie, I'm gonna need your help." Adeline called out, the woman following through with her words by rushing into the room with careful eyes. Carl followed her, staying underneath the arch and watching worriedly.

Pressing her knees against the ground, the dark light that overcame the room took away the privilege of seeing what she needed to see. "I can't see anything. I can't tell if you're dilated enough to-"

"I gotta push. I gotta push." Lori panted, sitting up with the help of Maggie's hands. With a quick nod, the two women helped the mother up and watched as she curled her hands around a pipe attached to the wall to brace herself.

Adeline kept her knees pressed against the concrete, allowing Maggie to stand with Lori while she stayed on the ground. The mother pushed, strained words leaving her lips as the nurse rubbed her back assuringly, "You're doing great, Lor. Your body knows what to do." The words left her chapped lips, eyebrows threaded by strands of worry and fear.

With her hand wrapped around Lori's knee, a thick substance dripped onto her fingers and stained her skin. Furrowing her brows, the small amount of light pulling through the barred windows allowed her to see the crimson red blood covering her hand. "Stop! Lori, stop. Don't push. Something... something's wrong."

A loud and cracked scream left the mothers lips, Carl and Maggie's curious eyes taking notice of the blood coating the nurses hands. The alarm sound that had mixed with the busy thoughts in her mind faded away, leaving them in a panicked silence as the two women lowered the mother to the concrete. Adeline smeared the blood on her jeans while pressing her fingers against Loris wrist to check on her pulse.

"Mom? Mom, look at me. Look at me. Keep your eyes open." Carl started, getting on his knees and grabbing his mothers hand. "You're gonna be okay."

"I need Hershel. We have to get her back," The nurse spoke, glancing over to Maggie who nodded hastily at her words. "This happened when she had Carl, she needs to have a C-Section and there's no supplies for that here. Lor, you're not even fully dilated yet. No amount of pushing is gonna help." Adeline informed, tucking the brown strands of her own hair behind her ears and into her husbands police hat she wore.

Lori shook her head tiredly, "You know what this means, and I am not losing my baby. You won't let that happen, I know you won't. You've gotta cut me open." she breathed, her eyelids drooping.

A bandaged palm brushed under the skin that hid beneath Shane's shirt, Adeline padding her fingers against his side to ease his nerves. But, the girl couldn't help but notice the downcast of Lori's eyes - guilt filled while blankly staring into the cracking fire around the group. Her actions caused a spark of confusion to ignite in the pit of Adeline's empty stomach before the voice of Dale blew it out and tore through the silence.

It was his. It was his baby. Adeline shook her head, a breath of disbelief leaving her lips. "No, no. I can't." She rejected the idea, her hands curled around the woman's knees. "I can't... I need to have Hershel here."

"You don't have a choice." Lori was quick to remind the nurse, Carl and Maggie looking between the women with worried eyes. "If not for me, then for him." Her voice whispered, the words reaching the nurses ears hauntingly.

"I have no anesthetic, no equipment. Nothing to stop the bleeding, Lori. Nothing to save you. And I cannot let you die here, I won't... I won't do that to Rick. I can't." Addy pleaded, "Even if he did what he did, I can't... I know how it feels, I won't put him through that..." her voice was soft, wavering over the fine line of breaking down.

With a slow shake of her head, Lori allowed a shaky breath to leave her lips. "And you know what it feels like to lose a baby." She reminded Adeline, causing a taken aback breath to leave the woman's lips. "You cannot do that to me, Adeline. Me." Lori begged.

The remembrance of the baby she lost, the one her body failed to let her have - it flew through her mind at an inhumane speed that agonized her in its path. The tears that threatened to leave her eyes were held back, lips pursed to suppress the broken cries she wanted to let out. With a reluctant nod, her bloodstained hands pulled the police hat off of her head and laid it against the ground.

"Okay." Adeline breathed, wiping her sweaty palms against the material of her jeans. "Okay." She repeated, looking over to Carl who shook his head in denial.

Lori held a grateful expression towards the nurse before turning her head over to her son, "Baby, I don't want you to be scared - okay? This is what I want. This is right." She assured, squeezing his hand into her grasp. "Now you... you take care of your daddy for me, alright? And your little brother or sister, you take care -"

"You don't have to do this." Carl sobbed, tears staining his cheeks as Adeline looked down to the concrete and breathed deeply in hopes of calming her nerves. It was karma. Karma had made its way back around to her. She stepped out of the woods that night, she got her husband killed. And now she had to kill her brothers wife.

"You're gonna be fine. You are gonna beat this world. I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong... And you are so brave." Lori cried, her voice cracking while tears sprung to her eyes. "And I love you."

"I love you too." Carl choked out, keeping his hand in her palm with worried eyes filled with denial. His mother nodded slowly, "You gotta do what's right, baby. You promise me, you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So don't," Lori's voice cracked, the crevices filling with grief and fear. "So if it feels wrong, don't do it, alright? If it feels easy, don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you."

Frozen in a state of shock, hands trembled as she watched Shane attempt to pull the backpack off of the dying man only for Otis to curl his hand around her husbands ankle and send him to the ground with him. The sound of her heartbeat was all she could hear, the screams for her help that came from the heavyset man echoing muffled rings in her mind. Looking up; she noticed the herd of walkers pick up their pace and catch up to them. She had to make a choice, and quick.

Wiping away at the tears that stained her sons face, Lori smiled softly up at him. "You're my sweet boy. You're the best thing I ever did. And I love you." She sobbed, Carl bending down to cry into her neck. "I love you. I love you." Lori repeated, wrapping her arms around his back.

A hand wrapped around Adelines, her tear filled eyes finding it to be Maggie who held in her cries. The nurse nodded slowly, squeezing the girls hand in return while wiping away at the tears that trailed down her cheeks. Guilt flooded through her as Carl pulled away from his mother, Lori looking over to the teary eyed women.

"Addy, I am so sorry." The woman cried out, laying the back of her head against the concrete to look up into the pipe filled ceiling. "For everything, I'm so sorry."

"Shh," Adeline pleaded, shaking her head in denial as she reached out towards the mother and held her hand. "It's okay, okay? I... I promise you," She assured with a teary eyed smile in attempts to calm her own mind. "It's okay."

Lori nodded slowly, squeezing the nurses hand in return before breathing deeply. "Okay... When this, when this is over- you're gonna have to-"

"I know." Adeline was quick to assure, "I'll take care of the baby I promise." She whispered, pulling away from the mother and back to her spot in front of her bulging stomach.

Reluctantly, Carl handed his knife to his teary eyed aunt. With trembling hands, she curled her fingers around the handle and pressed her knees against the concrete. Adeline closed her eyes, opening them to be met with her husbands police hat laying on the surface next to her. She tore her eyes away from the material, placing them back onto a calm Lori who looked at the ceiling.

"Goodnight, love."

Tightening her grip on the knife, Adeline allowed a shaky breath to leave her chapped lips - "I'm sorry." Her voice came out as a whisper, the sharp blade of the knife tearing into the scarred over cut from the mothers previous C section. Crimson splattered against her hands as an ear piercing scream that came from Lori bounced off of the walls, the voice of Carl begging for his aunt to stop hurting his mother ringing in her ears.

Finishing the cut, Adeline felt the tears drip from her eyes as she threw the knife to the concrete and looked to an unconscious Lori. She wasn't waking up, she was never waking up from the nightmares she had put her in. In a split second - she wiped away the haunting thoughts and carefully dug her hands into the open wound on the woman's stomach. Blood coated her skin as Maggie aided in wiping away some of it so that she could see.

Grabbing the knife once again, she furrowed her brows and sliced a small incision into the amniotic sac before clattering the weapon back to the ground. Digging carefully into the sac, she brushed her hair back with a blood stained hand that undoubtedly smeared against her skin. When her fingers wrapped around what felt like a leg, she let a shaky breath leave her lips - "I got it." She whispered as she ripped the amniotic sac all of the way and carefully pulled the baby out of the open wound.

It was still. In her arms it failed to let out a cry, any kind of sign that it was alive it failed to translate. "No..." The word left as a whisper, flicking her blood stained fingers against the newborns foot. Carefully, she pat her hand onto its chest and silently begged for any kind of sign.

"Come on, please." Adeline begged, turning the baby over on its back and padding her blood stained hand against its skin. "Come on babygirl, come on..." She pleaded, tears leaving her lips alongside a choked sob. A sudden cry broke through its lips, relief roaring through her veins as she held it in her arms and finally glanced down to see the baby's face.

Meeting it's features, her mind twitched into a bottomless pit as she blinked away the tears and shook her head. "I can't... I can't." Adeline breathed, tearing her eyes away from the baby and carefully sitting it into Maggie's open arms. "I can't." She repeated, standing up from the ground and looking at the limp body of Lori. She was dead. Gone. Never coming back.

When she reached the top of the stairs with Maggie trailing behind her, the next thing she heard was a loud gunshot that bounced off of the walls of her mind. Carl had stayed back. He did what he had to do. Adeline ignored all of the sounds, pushing the door open and trailing through the corridor with her machete by her side. She felt the fabric of her shirt fall down her shoulder, caramel eyes finally meeting the burning sensation.

THERE WASN'T A SCRATCH.