MORNINGS IN ALEXANDRIA were quite refreshing to Lilith. The early morning sun pouring through the windows was a welcome change from the dark cement walls of her bedroom back at the Sanctuary.

After getting ready for the day, she went downstairs towards the kitchen. She was staying in a spare room in Rick's house. She figured it was to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't kill anyone out of the blue, which frustrated her since the reason she was even there in the first place was to keep an eye on them. But either way, she still enjoyed her temporary living space. She was still obsessed with those white marble countertops.

Even before the world ended, she never had anything like this. What with her dad being a gym teacher and her mom working minimum wage, they took what they could. Nothing else. They were never greedy people, although, her father did have his moments.

Walking into the kitchen, she saw Carl sitting at the counter eating something like a biscuit. She saw his posture change once he noticed her, and she rolled her eyes with a chuckle.

"Good morning to you too."

The boy did not respond. Over the past 4 days, he's gotten increasingly less scared and more annoyed and/or frustrated at her presence. He's been more confident with his words, meaning he doesn't hesitate to speak his mind to her. And honestly, that's a trait Lilith admires.

"Day 4!" Lilith exclaims as she walks towards the fridge, grabbing an apple. "Wonder what we'll do today. I cant believe I'm leaving in a few days. This has felt like a vacation."

Carl glared at her. Lilith smirked.

"Ok. If you're not gonna talk to me, maybe I'll just go off and find someone else to hang out with. Maybe. . . Enid?"

The boy across from her inhaled sharply, "No."

"Oh, come on! Are you seriously still upset about what I said to her? That was 4 days ago. It's over with!" She replied with an annoyed groan.

"No it's not! She lost someone important to her and you mocked her!"

"Ok, yeah, whatever. I get that. But I'm so done with you constantly bringing it up."

"It was messed up."

"Then let me talk to her so I can apologize. Yeah?"

Carl shook his head, "Not a chance."

"Dude, I'm not a monster."

"First I've heard of it."

"Hey! Come on. . . is it so hard for you to realize that I am a human being that can feel remorse?"

"That second part is pretty hard to believe. In the few days I've known you, all you've done is make my people miserable."

It was Lilith's turn to glare, "I've hardly left this house out of respect for your people's feelings. Please tell me what else I can do to accommodate you." She said that last part with a bit of venom in her voice.

"You can leave Enid alone."

"Ok, number one, I haven't seen her since I first got here. Number two, I don't plan to hurt her. I'm not that sick. And, number three, she's not your property, you can't decide who she hangs out with!"

"You think she'd want to hang out with you?"

"I honestly think she'd like me if she gave me a chance," Lilith gloated with a ghost of a smile re-emerging on her face.

"You're insane."

Lilith winked, loudly biting into her apple, then walked out of the house. Down the porch steps, across the street, and through the uncut grass, the girl wandered aimlessly like she did the day she arrived. Only this time, alone.

People avoided her gaze and moved to get away from her. She felt as if she had a magnetic force coming from her, the kind that repels all the others and does not allow them to touch it. And honestly, It felt lonely.

Passing by a familiar porch, she felt something soft hit her head. Looking at the ground, she saw a crumbled piece of bread with jam on it. She felt her hair to check any had gotten in it. Annoyingly, some had. She angrily turned her head to find where it had came from, until her eyes landed on the brunette girl she'd just been talking about.

Enid sat on the railing of the porch. Her back leaning against one of the columns. One leg was stretched out while the other dangled off.

Lilith swallowed her pride as she decided not to ridicule the poor girl twice. "So you're still throwin' shit, I see?" she called out to her.

"Only for you," Enid replied with a sarcastic smile on her face. But it quickly disappeared and became a glare.

Lilith nodded, somewhat amused by the brunette's humor. "I'm honored," she told her. She took a few apprehensive steps towards the girl on the railing. "I was actually hoping to see you. . ." She watched Enid's face, trying to spot a reaction, but the glare was all she saw, "I think our first interaction wasn't great. It coulda gone smoother, I guess. And I said some things that were, uh, too soon so. . . sorry."

"Aren't you a saint for taking the time out of your day to apologize to me."

"Look, you don't have to forgive me. I just wanted you to understand that that's not who I am. . . usually. I want you to know my character." Lilith internally groaned at herself, knowing very well that was exactly who she was---a sarcastic, opinionated, loud-mouth.

"Like my opinion of you matters," Enid scoffed.

"It does actually. Obviously, you don't like me---probably never will."

"Look at that, you got one thing right."

"But," Lilith continued, "Your opinion leads to your actions. You threw that piece of toast at me because your hatred for me made you want to. If you ever do that again, I won't be so nice. You're lucky it's just me here." Lilith turned to walk away but stopped when Enid began to speak again.

"Guess I should start wishing on shooting stars and dandelions then, shouldn't I?"

The blonde took a deep breath, resisting the urge to snap. She tried to be nice, and this is what she got? Continuing on her way, she didn't say another word to Enid. The brunette made it difficult for Lilith to be witty. It infuriated her.

She walked away, her thoughts spiraling down a rabbit hole. Something about the way Enid spoke to her pissed her off so much that she literally felt her body heat up.

Turning into a random patch of grass between two houses, she sat down, leaning against the wall of a white paneled house. She ran her fingers through her thin blonde locks, thankful for the tall grass which hid her from the citizens of Alexandria. She couldn't let them see her brief moment of vulnerability. She couldn't risk ruining the reputation she's worked so hard to build.

So she tried to slow her breathing. She twisted the bracelet of twine on her wrist. She rubbed her hands over her face as she finally collected herself.

Standing up, Lilith physically shook her whole body, telling herself that what just happened never happened. She did not break down. Continuing to walk down the street, she pretended everything was fine. Because it was. It was.

The front gate then came into view, and she saw a car parked at the entrance along with some people arguing. Curious, she began to walk toward them, but was caught off guard by loud engines approaching. They all simultaneously cut off, and the sound of boots hit the road.

Slowing her pace, she waited to see what would happen. Then she heard it. That oh, so familiar whistle. While it wasn't the usual eerie tune her people sung, Lilith knew her father's voice when she heard it. He was whistling a more cheery tune than normal. Lilith could now make out his silhouette behind the inner gate. She saw him swinging Lucille around carelessly.

Stopping, he let out a dun dun dun dunnnn, as if he were in some action movie. He banged three times on the metal gate with his beloved bat, before calling out to the people inside.

"Little pig, little pig! Let me in!"

———

(1430 words)

see ya later ;)