SWEET MARIA ✸ TWD
written by mills

If you feel far from God,
who moved?

/ Afghan Proverb, pinterest

     Maria Gardner was a light that casted over the darkness that was the Gardner Household though her life wasn't as sunshine's and rainbows. Her mother was a nurse in the City and her father was a doctor (that's how they met).

     Their careers were everything to them therefore having kids wasn't in the picture until Maria was accidentally brought into the cruel world, her little sister following behind ten years later.

(One day she won't be here)

     Joy wasn't a constant in the house that was Cynthiana, Kentucky. There were only short smiles and pleasantries, the Gardner siblings and mother making sure that they didn't speak too loud or laugh too hard that it could pass as insulting and most of all, making sure they didn't look at Lionel Gardner the wrong way.

     Maria grew up to not know the Grimes family, the sheriff being their very own neighbour meant that the abuse that went on in the Gardner home was quieter and more discreet, Maria always putting herself as the object of her fathers anger so her little sister and mother could get out of the house, coming back when he had calmed down and the oldest Gardner girl managed to pull herself to the bathroom to clean away the blood and tears that covered her like a coat except it didn't keep her warm, it only made her colder.

No blanket could be warm enough.

     Carl Grimes hadn't taken long to befriend the youngest Garcia which meant that family gatherings across both houses came into play which ultimately led to further cover ups as Lori kindly suggested that Maria should tutor Carl, to which she accepted.

     Then the apocalypse struck, Maria could only remember grabbing her sister and taking off but didn't get so far when Shane Walsh grabbed the pair as Lori called for them. Neighbors ran around and getting in their own cars so they could head for the City. The five ended up just outside the City on a quarry, no place to go as humans died and came back only to have this crave of hunger for what they once were.

Skin. Guts.

     Maria didn't know if her parents were still alive, she had someone to protect and couldn't dwell too hard but when she did she felt guilty. All because she wished that her father was dead and her mother was looking for them. But that wishful thinking quickly slips when Isabel Gardner goes missing with Sophia Pelletier leading to a farmers son consoling a woman he has never met before.

STARRING . . . ⁃★

ALYCIA D—C / . . . MARIA GARDNER

✹

GIRL OF GOD. RELIGIOUS GUILT.
ABUSED.

LEWIS PULLMAN / . . . RONAN GREENE

✹

FARMERS SON. MAN OF RELIGION.
GOLDEN RETRIEVER.

ADDITIONAL CAST . . . ⁃★

Lionel Gardner, Charles Esten.
Catalin Gardner, Carla Gugino.
Young Maria, Alyla Browne.
Theodore Carter, Dylan Obrien.
Angel Jones, Madelyn Cline.
Ezra Thomas, Luke Grimes.
Rick Grimes,          Andrew Lincoln.
Daryl Dixon, Norman Reedus.
Maggie Greene,          Lauren Cohan.
Glenn Rhee, Steven Yeun.
& VARIOUS CHARACTERS
. . . as described

DISCLAIMER . . . ⁃★

IT IS TO BE NOTED THAT . . .
18+ mature language & content is ahead ( strong language, violence & gore, material that may be disturbing to many readers, sexual content, etc. )

PLEASE BE ADVISED!
this is purely a work of fiction.
layout credit is completely inspired by
tearsricochets — check out her work!!

DEDICATIONS

nellcrains Drwstarkey astrnomyswp obrienluvr floraswp loneliestluvr elqctra xanderherondale moonysfilms cqntralperk whoetoshaw evenfalls moonluhvs ohmonamour lovelylver whoetoshaw laheyslvr

MILLS SPEAKS!

refurbishing this fic has made me the happiest girlyyy everrr!!