PROLOGUE , BEFORE THE FALL

a/n : I moved my rewrite to the original TWD book
*this chapter contains physical abuse*

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Deafening silence fills the halls of the high school. The brunette keeps her clouded emerald eyes on her black Chuck Taylors. Her right leg was bouncing and her adrenaline was still high from 30 minutes earlier. She keeps the icepack pressed against her throbbing eye. A sniffle is heard from the teen's side, she moves her head to the side and sets her fiery eyes on the boy sitting a few seats down from her. He was covering his nose with a tissue that was already soaked in crimson red liquid. The boy pulls his brows together and turns his head, meeting the girl's eyes. His blood immediately runs cold. For a second, he thought she would look away, but the brunette just kept glowering at him. Like she hadn't done enough damage to him. Even with one good eye, her glare was terrifying.

The boy wanted her in more trouble than she already was. Why not egg her on? So, he leans toward the girl and squints his eyes. "You just started something you won't be able to finish, bitch."

Then that familiar ringing started in the girl's ears once again. The brunette's breathing heavies and she curls her empty hand into a fist. She drops the icepack and it hits the ground with a splat. The brunette rises to her feet and stalks over to the boy, her Chuck Taylor's squeak against the white tiles. The boy's eyes widen and his entire body tenses up.

"Logan Michelle Grimes!"

The brunette stops in her tracks, her mother's voice managing to break through Logan's rage. Logan uncurls her fists and lets her shoulders sag. She turns her head and sees her parents standing with the principal. Each adult had a certain look of disappointment across their face. Logan spots the brunette boy standing behind them. She totally forgot that Elliott was there. That was one thing about the boy. He was quiet when he wanted to be.

Lori turns to the Principal. "I am so sorry about her," she whispers, trying her best to make sure her daughter didn't hear. She failed.

Lori walks down the hall and pasts Logan without a glance. Logan watches her mom crouch in front of the boy with a broken nose, and his eyes widen with fear. Almost like Logan was the bully. A soft smile spreads across Lori's lips. "I hope you feel better, sweetheart." Lori touches his arm in a comforting manner.

A scoff leaves Logan's lips, "Such bullshit..."

"Logan." Lori snaps.

Logan slams her jaw shut and a frustrated breath leaves her nose. She curls her fingers into fists and digs her nails into her palms, hoping she would be able to stop herself from acting out. She didn't want to make herself into the bad guy anymore. It became exhausting, having to defend herself. The girl was slowly not caring about what people thought about her.

Logan feels a comforting hand on her shoulder and Logan was snapped back into reality. A calmer one. It's like the color red was gone from her vision. She turns her head to the side and looks at her father. The only parents that made her feel normal. He was quiet, but his eyes were saying, "you're okay."

The ends of Logan's mouth curls into a smirk and she nods her head. The sound of Lori's heels clicking against the floor signals Rick and Logan to follow. Elliott watches the Grimes family walk down the hall. Rick slightly turns his head, seeing the boy still standing there. He walks back over to the teenage boy, "Come on, Eli."

Elliott raises his brows, "Oh! Sorry." he walks beside him.

Lori and Logan were already outside. And the mother was already getting started on her reprimanding as soon as Elliott and Rick got outside.

"I cannot believe you!"

Logan's upper lip curls, but she rolls her lips into her mouth and inhales a breath through her nose. "Sorry."

"Your father had to leave work for this!" Lori snaps. "His job is to save people--not you!"

"Lori, it wasn't a problem--"

"And what about Shane?" Lori cuts off her husband.

Logan tilts her head to the sky and sighs. "What about Shane?" she scoffs.

"You punched Elliott, Logan! Do you not realize that you hurt him?!" Lori grips Logan's arm and forcefully turns her toward the quiet boy. Logan's eyes focus on the bruise on the boy's jaw and the brunette's face drops. Logan remembers Elliott trying to pull her away from the fight. The brunette then ended up punching Elliott in the face. She didn't mean to, Elliott was her friend. And Elliott was such a kind person, it made Logan feel like shit knowing she hurt him.

Elliott starts to grow uncomfortable from the eyes of sympathy on him. "I'm fine, Mrs. Grimes. Seriously. It was just an accident."

"You don't have to defend my daughter, Eli." Lori huffs. She looks back at Logan, who's eyes were trained on the black top. Elliott was one of the few people her age that never judged her for the way that she was. Logan was embarrassed that she didn't realize that she hurt her friend. She was embarrassed that this fight even ensued. A lump forms in Logan's throat. "What do you have to say to her, Logan?"

"I want to go home," Logan murmurs.

Haley's eyes soften, hearing the shakiness in Logan's voice. Lori lets out a soft scoff and shoves Logan's arm out of her grip. "I am done doing this with you!" she seethes. "One day it won't be suspension...your reckless and it's gonna catch up to you."

"I didn't ask for this," Logan says, connecting her teary eyes with Lori's. "I didn't ask to be born." she shrugs. "It's not too late, mom...you could leave me on the side of the road and forget about me. You, dad, and Carl. That's your dream, right?"

Logan leans toward her mom and her upper lip curls. "Then go live it." she bumps Lori's shoulder and walks away from the car. Elliott's gut twists and his eyes follow Logan's fuming body, walking away.

Lori stands there, her breathing heavy. She contemplated it, leaving her daughter. It would've been easy. Her life would've been easier. Then a pit of guilt formed in her stomach and it made her feel sick. How could she think about leaving her own daughter?

"Can you go get her, please?" Lori whispers, massaging her brow bones.

Silence.

Lori inhales a frustrated breath. "Rick, please..." she stops talking, noticing only Elliott standing there. The boy waves a hand, "Uh, Mr. Grimes already went over to Logan." he points.

Lori looks over at Rick and softly sighs. Rick didn't have to be told to check on her. He didn't think about Logan's words either. He wasn't going to leave his daughter on the side of the road. Out of the fucking question.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Grimes?" Elliott asks.

Lori looks at the worried teen. She smiles softly, "I'm okay, Elliott. How's your jaw?"

Elliott raises his brows, "Oh. It's totally sturdy. Definitely not broken." he lightly taps his finger against his jaw and winces from the sudden pain. "But it still hurts."

Lori lightly touches Elliott's face and a comforting smile spreads across her lips. "We'll get you back to our house until your father gets off of work. And I'll get you some ice for that."

Elliott's chest tightens and he slowly nods his head. "Yeah--yes. Thank you, Mrs. Grimes."

Elliott only remembers one thing about his own mother. He remembers it was raining the day his mother led him to Shane's doorstep. She only looked at the 6-year-old Elliott once before she knocked on the door and quickly ran to her car and sped away. It has been Elliott and his dad ever since. It hurt seeing Logan fight with Lori. Elliott always wondered if that's how he and his mom would've fought like if his mom ended up keeping him. If it was, Elliott was glad her mom abandoned her.

Logan was sitting on the blacktop with her back against a light post. Her legs were pulled towards her chest, and her eyes were trained on the specks of blood on her shoes. She never noticed that. Whenever Logan was filled with anger (which was basically all the time) she would forget about everything else around her and focus on one thing only. But when she was calm, everything was so much clearer to her. She noticed the smallest amount of details. A small breath is heard next to her. Rick sits beside his daughter, silence between them. Logan chews on the inside of her cheek.

"She hates me, y'know?"

Rick shakes his head, "No, that's not true."

The brunette rolls her eyes, but she nods her head. "Okay."

Rick raises his brows out of shock. "Didn't think you would give in so easily."

"Yeah, well...I need at least one parent on my side, right?" Logan shrugs. "Mom's pissed at me and Shane...he's gonna give me that shitty angry glare because I hurt Elliott."

"Then Shane's gonna be disappointed in Elliott that he 'let me' hit him." Logan lets out an exhausted breath.

Rick follows Logan's eyes, noticing the blood on the shoes she was staring at. He could tell from the way she was avoiding eye contact, that her anger was slowly melting away, and she was left feeling guilty.

"I try, y'know?"

Rick looks back at his daughter's face, noticing the tear sliding down her cheeks. His heart breaks watching her silently crying. Logan sniffles, "I don't want to hurt people. But I just...I get so angry." she covers her eyes. "I keep it in, but then I just explode."

"Everyone gets angry, Logan."

"Every time there's a small inconvenience" Logan turns to her father.

Rick looks forward, not having an answer to that. Logan presses her lips together and lowers her head, proving her own point.

"The boy back there, Troy...what did he really do?" Rick inquires.

Logan lifts her head up, "What did he tell you guys?"

"You were checking out Chloe, his girlfriend--"

"That's a lie." Logan laughs softly.

Rick raises his brows, "I don't know...you answered kinda fast there."

Logan's face heats up with embarrassment, "Dad!--"

"I'm sorry--I'm sorry. Am I not allowed to joke like that?" Rick asks.

Logan frowns and bunches her shoulders. "I just...I don't know. Mom probably wouldn't want you to be so comfortable with talking about my sexuality."

"Logan, your mother wants what I want. And that's for you to be happy." Rick lightly nudges her.

Logan smiles softly, but she is quickly saddened. The brunette started to pick at the strings on her jeans. "Chloe is my friend." she nods her head. "Troy touched her butt and I...got mad."

Rick's back straightens. Logan scratches her brow, trying her best to distract herself from her anger. "Chloe...she wanted me to calm down. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but I did. And now she won't even look at me." her voice starts to shake and tears brim her eyes. "I made her cry."

"You didn't mean to," Rick says. "You were just being a good friend."

"A good friend also listens." Logan retorts. "I should've listened to her..." she sniffles. "Maybe just letting it go would've been easier for the both of us."

"If you and Chloe ignored Tony. Then he would've done the same thing--thinking there would be no consequences." Rick explains.

Logan looks at her dad.

"You stood up for your friend instead of staying quiet." Rick throws an arm over his daughter's shoulders and pulls her to his side. "Granted, you shouldn't have broken his nose, but that was just a plus."

Logan quietly laughs and she wipes her nose. "What if Chloe never forgives me?"

Rick inhales a deep breath. "How many fights have you and Elliott had?"

Logan shrugs a shoulder, "I dunno, probably like hundreds."

"And you guys have made up every single time," Rick emphasizes. "If you and Elliott can still be friends after hundreds of fights. You and Chloe can survive this."

"You guys are best friends. Nothing can tear you guys apart."

☆

"Sometimes I wonder if you even care about us at all!"

Lori storms out of the living room and into her room, she closes the door with a harsh slam that echoes throughout the house. Silence settles into the living room, but you can hear the silent cries of Lori through the thin walls. The brunette looks up from her guitar and her eyes land on her father, who was looking at the ground in defeat. Logan looks at her younger brother, who was timidly fiddling with his hands, his eyes glued to them. Her chest tightens with a familiar fit of rage. Who says that in front of their children?

It's not like the arguing between the wife and husband was a new thing. But it still wasn't something Logan got used to. There would be times, Logan would turn on the stereo in her and Carl's shared room, and the two would have a dance party; hoping to distract themselves from the shouting in the next room. The man lifts his head up and meets his daughter's green eyes filled with reassurance and hope. "You're okay" Logan's eyes read.

Rick's eyelids slightly lift and his body relaxes. The solemn expression across his face changes to a content one. He approaches his kids. "I've gotta get to work." he ruffles her hair. Logan lets out a chuckle, "Yeah, go be a hero." she says with a smirk.

"Hey..." he crouches in front of her as he does every day. Logan rolls her eyes playfully, but she listens to him. "I love you."

"I know you do." Logan presses her lips into a small smile. "I love you too."

Rick kisses her forehead. He walks over to Carl and does the same routine with him, before saying goodbye. Logan looks down at her guitar and puts it back in the case. The door opens but quickly closes. Logan inhales and looks at her little brother. "Come on, Carl." she gets up from the couch. "We've got to get to school."

Logan looks down the hall at the door her mom slammed shut. She walks down the hall with her Chuck Taylor's squeaking against the floor. She lifts her bruised knuckles (they were practically always bruised) and knocks on the door. "Mom?" she speaks softly. "We still have school--if you forgot." Logan knocks again.

The brunette leans against the wall and chews on her fingernails. The door finally opens after a few minutes. The brunette lifts her eyes from her eyes and she looks at her mom. Logan holds her arms out and a smug smirk forms on her lips. "Welcome back." the sarcasm was seeping from her voice. The teen notices her mother's red-rimmed eyes. Logan knew that Lori had been crying and honestly? Logan didn't care.

"Why do you talk to him like that?"

Lori lets out a breath and starts to walk down the hall. "Logan, I'm not discussing this with you--"

"Why not? I'm a part of this family!" Logan raises her voice, following after her mother.

"And there's no need to start yelling." Lori turns back to her daughter with an exhausted expression. "You're going to make my headache come early."

"Well, we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Logan bites. She rolls her lips into her mouth and inhales a deep breath through her nose. "You're not gonna talk to me about your marital issues, but you're gone tell your mom friends?"

Lori lets out a scoff, "No--"

"I see the way they look at me, mom!" Logan snaps. "They look at me like I'm going to punch them in the face." she squints her eyes at her mother. "What'd you tell them?"

"Oh, please! I didn't--"

"Stop lying to me!" Logan's eyes burn with tears, the familiar feeling of anger crawling into her chest.

"I told them that you were a loose canon, all right?!" Lori shouts back, finally having enough. "I told them that you beat that kid, Tony, up because you could. You're a bully, Logan."

Logan's eyes widen and she looks at her mom for a second before looking away. The brunette inhales a deep breath, trying to control her next actions. Lori slightly tilts her chin up. "Are you taking your meds?"

Logan doesn't look at her mom and Lori lets out a breath.

"Honestly, I'm not surprised." Lori rubs her forehead. "The way you've been acting lately, explains it."

"Tony was harassing my friend." Logan finally looks at her mom. "He just finally got what was coming to him."

"So, it was worth 3 weeks of suspension?" Lori inquires.

"Fuck yea--"

"Watch your goddamn mouth, Logan." Lori points at her.

"Or what?"

Lori raises her brows and she slightly opens her mouth.

"We're gonna be late."

Simultaneously, the mother and daughter turn to Carl. He was standing at the end of the hall with his backpack. Lori's back straightens and she tenses. "You didn't tell me he was in the room," she whispers harshly.

Logan wipes her nose, "Would that have changed the course of this lovely conversation?" she walks past her mom, making sure to bump her shoulder. "Dad deserves better."

Before Lori could say anything to that, Logan slips her earbuds on and walks out of the front door.

...

The brunette sits at the lunch table pushing her food around, not hungry. Elliot was sitting next to Logan, talking. But, Logan was zoned out. Everything around her was distorted and her ears were ringing. Suddenly, a full-hearted laugh echoes through the lunchroom. And it was like a ray of sunshine lit of the lunch area. Logan's heart rate quickens and she shifts her gaze to look around the room. Her eyes land on the girl with blue hair. Logan's gut twists when Chloe's eyes land on hers. Chloe's smile lessens.

Logan lets out a soft breath. Chloe was looking at her. That was all Logan wanted. But the brunette pulls her brows together when Chloe continues to stare at her. The blue-haired girl was looking at Logan with such distaste like Logan was someone she didn't recognize. Then, Chloe looks away from Logan. Like the Grimes girl was nothing. They were friends for years and Chloe just looked at Logan like she didn't matter.

Logan swipes her tongue across her lower lip and bites it until the pain becomes unbearable. Her eyes shift to her knuckles and she examines her bruised hand. She thinks about her fight with Tony, and the way the teachers pulled her away like she just attacked him for no reason. Chloe looked at Logan like she was a monster.

Logan then looks at the side of Elliott's face, seeing the dark purple bruise on his jawline. Tears form in Logan's eyes and she shoves the lunch tray away from her. Elliot stops talking and turns to the antsy brunette. Elliot watches as Logan bounces her leg and starts to breathe heavily. The boy's back straightens, already recognizing what was beginning to happen. Rage slowly crawls through Logan's body. Her chest tightens and her vision starts to blur.

"Logan?" Elliot softly speaks. "Hey, you--"

The brunette quickly shoots up from her seat, catching some people's attention. She runs out of the lunchroom and sprints down the hall, the air in her lungs gone.

"Shit!" Elliot quickly stumbles out of his seat. He starts to run out of the lunchroom, but he stops. Elliot runs back into the lunchroom and grabs the uneaten pizza off of Logan's lunch tray. The boy then runs after the brunette.

Logan kicks open the locker room door. The brunette stumbles into the locker room and presses a hand against the wall.

"Calm..." Logan forces it out of her mouth. "...down."

Elliot quickly enters the room, his sneakers skidding against the tiled floor. The boy watches as Logan tries her best to breathe. Logan uses her shaky hand to wipe at her hot forehead. Elliot raises his brows, an idea popping into his head. He runs over to the shower and turns it on. The brunette boy hurries back over to his friend. "Hey, Logan?"

Logan's lower lip starts to quiver. "I can't...breathe..."

"Okay, uh--let me help you, okay?" Elliot whispers softly. "I'm gonna lead you to the showers, all right? You're burning up, am I correct?"

Logan nods her head, her heartbeat echoing through her ears. Elliot slightly opens his mouth, "Okay, okay, okay..." he gently grabs Logan's hands and leads her to the showers. Logan stumbles over to the showers and stands under the ice-cold water. An audible gasp escapes her lips as her body tenses from the freezing water.

Logan's chest untightens, but she lets out a rack of sobs. Elliot watches from a few feet away with tears in his eyes. The Walsh boy always had a knack for feeling other people's emotions. It was why he was able to read and help others so well.

"What...what the hell is wrong with me?"

Elliot stuffs his hands into his pants pockets, bunches his shoulders, and bites the inside of her cheek. "It's your IED," she states. "I mean, it's normal."

Logan closes her eyes and shakes her head. "I can't even look at her for five seconds."

"You loved her, Logan. I don't think that's going to go away after a few weeks." Elliot states. "It hurts at first, but over time, it'll heal and it will heal. It just might take a while."

A crease forms between Logan's brows, thinking about Elliot's words. "Kind of like a wound?" Her voice was timid.

Elliot presses his lips into a small smile and he nods his head. There were some rare occasions when Logan's tough exterior would fade and all that was left was who she was a couple years ago. Elliot remembers the exact day when Logan 'changed'. It was the same day she had loss her hearing.

"Yeah, kind of like a wound."

"Uh...what are you two doing in here?"

Logan and Elliot turn around and look at the gym teacher. "Uh...I get hot flashes."

The gym teacher pulls his brows together. "Oh...okay."

The gym teacher backs out of the locker room in an awkward way. Logan lets out a breath, she lays her head against the wall and slides to the shower floor with her hands in her hair. The door opens again and Elliot turns back to the gym teacher.

"So, are you gonna be done soon?"

Logan lifts her head and looks at the teacher.

"Seriously, Coach Turner?" Elliot whispers softly.

Turner shrugs his shoulders, "It's just...I've got a class."

Logan wipes at her face and sniffles. "I'll go now." she stands up and turns the shower off. Logan's shoes squish against the white tiles and water drips on the floor from her clothes. She shivers and her body starts to shake.

"Here." The teacher tosses the towel over her head.

Logan wraps the towel around her. "Thank you..." she presses her lips into a weak smile. Elliot and Logan start to walk away, but Logan stops and turns to Turner.

"And...sorry about the floor."

The coach waves a dismissive hand, reassuring her it's okay. Logan and Elliot walk out of the locker room. They both walk down the hall in silence, then Elliot holds the slice of pizza out to the brunette. Logan looks at the pizza and softly smiles. She gently grabs the pizza from Elliot, "Thanks, Eli."

Elliot throws an arm around Logan's shoulders and pulls her into his sight. "Anytime, Logan."

...

Logan keeps her eyes on the pink lilies that were placed on the nightstand. Her arms were folded across her chest, she was slumped in the chair that was at her father's bedside. The only things that Logan could hear in the room were the EKG monitor, the faint sound of her heartbeat beating through her ears, and the sound of her sniffling. Logan was roughly biting her lower lip, trying her best to distract herself from the many questions she had about her father.

When Logan first heard that her father was shot, she didn't think it was real. For some reason, she thought it was a sick joke her mom was playing on her. She wished it was.

The door slowly opens, and the creaks grow louder as it widens. Logan doesn't acknowledge the people that walked in. But she quickly wipes the tears from her eyes. She didn't care who entered the room, but she didn't want anyone to see her crying. The man grabs another chair and sits next to Logan, while the brunette boy leans against the wall with his hands behind his back.

"I should've done more."

Logan doesn't reply, she digs her teeth deeper into her lip. Shane and Elliott look at each other before looking back at the quiet brunette.

"You ignoring me or--"

"I know why you're here." Logan cuts him off.

"Really?" Shane leans back in her seat.

Logan keeps her eyes on her father. "My mom was ready to come in here guns-a-blazing, but you two stopped her," she explains. "You said something like... 'your daughter's in pain right now, Lori. She just needs a calm approach. Let me try talking to her.' And she listened to you." Logan scoffs.

Elliott raises her brows and lets out a chuckle of disbelief. Shane frowns and slowly nods his head. "Okay, that might've been how it went."

Logan lets out a chuckle with bitterness coating it.

"Logan, Mrs. Grimes is just worried about you." Elliott states. "Leaving in the middle of the night--"

"She said I could visit him whenever I wanted to. This is whenever." Logan snaps.

"You have to inform her where you're going," Shane advises.

"You're not my dad." Logan bites, snapping her eyes over to Shane. Haley's back straightens. Logan was always known for her anger issues. But she never snapped at Shane.

Shane raises his brows and his eyes soften. "I'm not your dad, but if he were awake; he would tell you the same thing."

Logan's angered expression quickly drops and tears fill her eyes again. Her mind starts to clear once again and she remembers why she was sitting in this room in the first place. "Is he even gonna wake up?" her voice starts to shake.

A lump forms in Elliott's throat, and he quickly realizes how much pain Logan was in. He pushes himself off the wall and makes his way over to his friend. Elliott crouches beside Logan and grabs her hand.

"Of course, he is," Elliott whispers.

Logan shakes her head and looks at Elliott. "How do you know, though?"

A small smile spreads across Elliott's lips. "I just have faith."

Logan closes her eyes and a soft breath escapes her lips. Elliott looks at his father and the boy's smile fades when he sees the mix of disappointment and frustration across Shane's face. The Walsh boy decides to ignore it.

"Logan, your father will wake up," Elliott says, lightly squeezing her hand. "I promise you that."

Logan sniffles. She always appreciated Elliott's hopefulness, because she was the one who never saw the hope in things. Logan was all morbid while Elliott kept her afloat. Elliott gnaws on his lower lip, "Your mom's outside with Carl."

Logan lets out a scoff and closes her eyes. "Of course, she is." she shakes her head. "Because, this seemed like too calm of a situation to be in."

Elliott softly chuckles. He stands up and holds his hand out to his friend. A small smile twitches onto Logan's lips and she grabs his hand and stands up. "You two ready?" Shane asks.

Logan and Elliott look at Shane. They look at each other and Logan inhales a breath. "Let's just get this over with..."

Logan looks at her father once more and exhales through her nose. She approaches the bed and touches his hand. "I'll see you later, dad..."

Logan follows the Walsh's out of the hospital room. They get to the exit of the hospital. Logan looks through the glass doors, leading to the parking lot of the hospital. The brunette raises her brows and chuckles seeing her mom standing outside with Carl. "You know, when you said 'outside' I thought you meant she was in the waiting room."

Logan turns to Elliott and Shane. "You actually made her wait outside of the hospital?"

Shane shrugs a shoulder, "You know your mom, she might raise her voice."

Logan bites the inside of her cheek and nods. "Might?" she huffs. She walks out of the hospital with the Walsh's following her. As Logan got closer to her mother, she could see the look of disappointment across her face.

"Logan--"

"I'm sorry." Logan rolls her eyes. Her voice was monotoned. She just wanted this conversation to be over with and it barely started.

Logan and Lori have always butt heads. The girl didn't know if it was because of her disorder or because of how different they were.

Lori opens her mouth, ready to snap at her daughter. But her eyes shift behind Logan and she sees both, Elliott and Shane having the same expression across their faces. They were telling Lori to give Logan a break. The woman clenches her jaw and exhales through her nose. "I know...just..." she cups her daughter's cheeks and Logan pulls her brows together.

"...tell me when you come to visit him. Understand?"

Logan searches her mom's green eyes and slowly nods her head, confused as to why her mom wasn't ripping her to shreds with her words.

"Yes ma'am..."

Lori nods her head and kisses Logan on the forehead. "Let's go home," she whispers.

As Lori and Carl walk away, Logan stands there. She then turns to Shane and Elliott, noticing their smiles. Logan lets out a chuckle of disbelief, "What the hell?" she smiles. It was her first genuine smile since Rick got shot.

"How did you guys manage to contain that?" Logan asks. "That should've blown up into a 20-minute argument."

"A magician never reveals his secrets." Elliott wiggles his fingers.

Logan rolls her eyes and chuckles. "Oh, whatever."

"You should go and catch up with her mom, kiddo." Shane ruffles Logan's hair and she groans. She lightly swats his hand away from her. "Yeah, yeah...see ya." Logan jogs after Lori and Carl.

Shane and Elliott walk towards their car. Elliott gets in the passenger seat of the truck and sighs. "That's the first time she's smiled in weeks--"

"Why did you tell her that Rick was going to wake up?"

Elliott looks at his father, he downward smiles and shrugs. "Because that made her feel better."

"Yeah, but you promised her, Eli." Shane looks at his son. "You can't promise things you don't know about for sure."

Elliott's smile becomes small and he looks away from his father. "So, what, you don't think that Mr. Grimes is going to wake up?--"

"I never said that." Shane sighs.

"Logan is drowning in grief," Elliott informs his dad. "Even before Rick got shot, she was drowning. So, if I have to keep giving her promises to keep her hope alive, then I'll do just that."

Shane presses his lips together. He knew that Elliott wasn't confrontational. But when he needed to speak his mind, he would. Shane loves how optimistic his son is, but there was a time and place for it. And Shane felt like the hospital was not the time or place for his son's optimism.

☆

Everything was chaotic the last few weeks. Absolute terror spread across the news like wildfire. There was a sickness that was spreading around the world and they only had information that the news was telling them. So, it wasn't a lot. Then all of a sudden, Logan was being shaken awake by her mother, telling her to pack her bags. Logan was confused, but hearing the trepidation dripping in her mom's voice made her pack without question.

"Okay, we got to go--We got to go!" Lori's voice echoes throughout the house.

Logan grabs her bag and slips it onto her shoulders. She closes her eyes quickly, trying to control her breathing. Her room door swings open.

"Logan!"

Logan flinches and she turns to her mom with wide eyes. "We have to get moving, Shane and Elliott are here."

"Do they have dad?" Logan asks. Lori doesn't answer, she walks outside with Carl's hand in hers.

Logan grabs her guitar and follows after her mom and brother. "Mom, where's dad?!" she stops in her tracks as she sees Shame talking to Lori. But the look on her mother's face, Logan could tell it was bad news. A part of her knew it was bad news about her father. But she was praying it wasn't. Logan walks over to Shane and Lori.

"Where is he?" Logan asks with a lump forming in her throat.

Shane and Lori look at each other. "Logan, sweetie..." Lori cups Logan's face.

Logan's jaw goes slack. The tears in Lori's eyes were more apparent than before. Her heart stops and she exhales sharply. "Oh, God..." she whispers. Logan pulls her face from her mom's hands and knits her brows together.

"I don't...what happened---"

"I can tell you in the car--"

"What? Why?--What's going on?" Logan asks. She sees Elliott get out of the car with tears in his eyes.

"Logan, we don't have time for this." Lori shakes her head.

Logan scoffs, "I just found out dad's dead and you're telling me, I don't have to hear how?" she shakes her head. "You put Carl in the car so he wouldn't hear about dad being dead. So, why not just explain it to me now?!"

Lori looks at the ground. Logan scoffs and looks at Shane, "What happened to my dad, Shane?" she asks. "You're a straight shooter, right? So, tell me!"

"Logan, I tried everything--"

"You've said that before..." Logan whispers. "You said that when he got shot. And you're saying it now." she covers her eyes. "You know what? I'm starting to think that you aren't really trying everything!"

"Logan, that's not fair." Lori sighs.

"Logan..." Elliott walks closer to them.

Logan snaps her eyes over to her friend and raises her brows. "Did your father try everything or is he just saying that?"

"He tried everything." Elliott nods his head. "But, there were these men and they were killing people. If we took your dad off the ventilator, he would've died and--"

"So, you just left him there to be gunned down?" Logan lets out the question as if she ran out of breath. She looks at Shane and his eyes her filled with tears. Logan grits her teeth and shoves Shane, "You son of a bitch!"

"Logan, stop!" Lori pulls her daughter away from Shane.

"You left him there to die! How could you?!" Logan thrashes in her mom's arms, but her body was quickly falling weak from the amount of tears she was holding in. Lori grabs her daughter's arms and turns her to her.

"Logan, look at me." Lori's voice was stern but gentle and that helps Logan become silent.

"Shane was with Elliott, his son. He had to think about his son's safety." Lori cups Logan's face. Logan's lower lip quivers and tears burn in her eyes. She places her head in the crook of her mom's neck and sobs. Lori was taken aback. She doesn't remember the last time she and Logan shared a hug. A lump forms in Lori's throat and she touches the back of Logan's head. She looks at Elliott and Shane, and sees guilt written across their faces.

Elliott wipes his nose and makes his way back into the SUV.

...

"You stupid bitch!"

The girl's back slams into the wall and she groans. A hand bunches the collar of her shirt while a fist collides with her jaw. Her head snaps to the side, but she quickly lifts it, only to be greeted with another punch. The man yanks the girl forward and she falls to the hardwood floor.

The teenage girl wheezes, trying to breathe.

"Get the fuck out of here--"

"Nuh-uh..." She spits out a glob of blood and mucus. "No fucking way."

The man's upper lip curls from her relentlessness. "Dammit, Reese--you just never listen..."

This was always a daily thing the father and daughter went through. They would always battle out whatever issues they had (and they had a lot of issues). Reese never got the upper hand on her father. I mean, he was larger than her. He could snap her arm with a single bend. But there was one thing Reese had that her father didn't. She had intelligence. The girl knew how to survive, even if it was on her own. She had practically been living on her own ever since her mom died. Whenever her father would kick her out of the house, Reese knew how to get what she wanted on the streets. Reese Evans was a survivor.

Reese slightly lifts her head and her dark brown eyes meet her father's. "Yeah, well...I guess we have that in common, huh? Or did I get that from my mother's side?" she arches a brow.

At the mention of his late wife, the man's eyes widen. He stalks over to his daughter and a cunning smirk forms on Reese's lips. Got him.

He raises his leg, attempting to kick Reese in the face. But she pulls her face back, just in time for him to miss. She grabs his ankle and sweeps his other leg, his back hitting the floor hard. The man gasps for air and Reese quickly lets go of his ankle and stands up. She lifts her sneaker and slams it against the man's face, his head bounces against the floor and his body goes limp. Reese wipes at her bloody nose and looks at the dark crimson-red liquid on the back of her hand. "I win..." she spits on her father and limps down the hall. She touches the wall to stable herself and continues to her room. Reese lightly kicks open the door and quickly approaches her dresser. She rummages through each drawer and her panic rises when she doesn't see what she was looking for.

"Oh, fuck--no..." Reese lets out a choked cry. She inhales a shaky breath and shakes her head. "No, no, no." she slams the drawers shut and kicks the dresser. "Where is it?!" Reese starts to throw things around the room as she continues to loot through the area.

"You fucking bastard!" Reese cries. "You take my shit?!"

Tears sting her eyes and she wipes them. Reese paces back and forth, her breathing heavy. She digs into her pocket and pulls out her switchblade. The teen walks back into the living room and looks at her unconscious father. "You asshole..." she crouches beside him and searches his pockets. "Hey--hey!" she slaps him across the face.

No movement.

Reese scoffs, suddenly she freezes when she feels something in his pocket. She grabs the wallet and opens it. Reese raises her brows looking at the wad of cash. She looks back at her father and arches a brow, "Probably to repay your drug mule pals, huh?" Reese presses her lips together. "Welp--looks like you're gonna have to repay them some other way, daddio." she grabs her tattered brown bag and slips the wallet into it. The teen slips the backpack onto her shoulders, ready to leave. But she stops. Reese looks at her father again. Her eyes stay on him for a moment. There were so many things she wanted to tell her father. There were things she also wanted to ask him, but she never got a chance to. Because her father never gave her a chance. Not after the light of both of their lives was snuffed out. Reese gnaws on her lower lip to keep herself from crying. The girl never let a tear slip out of her eye.

Reese pulls her brows together, seeing something on the ground. The girl tilts her head as the red liquid spills onto the ground. Her eyes widen and she snaps her eyes over to her dad's paling face. Reese thought that her dad was just unconscious. Obviously, the teen was wrong.

She quickly approaches her father and crouches beside him. "Dad...?" Reese shakes his body. "G-Get up." Her voice starts to shake. "Dad—please! I didn't mean to..."

A light hits her eye and she squeezes her eyes shut. She rubs her eyes and softly groans. Reese opens her eyes and spots the chain around her father's neck. The girl slightly opens her mouth and raises her brows, instantly knowing that was what she was looking for.

She pulls the chain out from underneath his shirt, revealing the locket. Reese lets out a soft breath and a lump forms in her throat. She opens the locket on one side of the heart, there was her mother. On the other side was her when she was younger. Reese has had this locket ever since she was born and she always kept it close to her person. That was until her father abruptly kicked her out of the house and she wasn't able to grab everything she needed. The locket was that everything.

Reese looks back at her father's face and her stomach turns. Everything told the girl that she had to call 911. But Reese's instinct, which was focused on her survival told her to run. Like always. And she always listened to her instincts. Reese loops her hands around her dad's neck and unlatches the necklace. She goes to stand up with the necklace in her hand.

Then, a wheeze comes from her father. Reese's body freezes and an ice-cold thread shoots down her spine. "D-Dad..." she cautiously leans closer to her father's body.

Out of all of the times for Reese to not listen to her instincts...

Reese hovers a hand over his nose. A weak wave of heat hits the back of her hand. A breath of relief escapes her lips and she hangs her head low. "Holy shit..." she covers her eyes. "Oh, thank god!"

Reese softly chuckles. "Son of a bitch—you think you can die on me and make me feel bad about hurting you?"

The man didn't even speak. Reese's father wheezes and his eyes flutter open. The girl grabs his phone from his pocket. "You can call the cops after I leave, ass—"

Her father lunges toward her and Reese pulls her face back and she falls on her back. "What the fuck?!"

A growl leaves the man's mouth and he crawls toward her. Reese's eyes widen and a cry leaves her lips. "What the fuck?!" She starts to scurry away from her father. He grabs onto her shoe and she groans. Her heart begins to ram against her rib cage, as he bites at her shoe.

"Get the fuck off!!!" Reese kicks her shoe away from her father. She scrambles onto her feet, her mind starting to feel scrambled. Reese stumbles back and trips over her feet, her back hitting the wall. Her father groggily gets onto his feet and sways back and forth.

"Dad—what the fuck?!" She inhales a deep breath.

His feet drag against the floor and her mouth hangs open, seeing that the white colored part of his eyes was now yellow. What the hell is going on?

Reese shifts her eyes to the kitchen. She rams her shoulder against her father's chest and he stumbles back. Reese runs into the kitchen and grabs the kitchen knife. She turns back to the kitchen entrance, but she doesn't hear anything. Reese inhales a shaky breath and exhales a sharp one. She wipes her nose with the back of her arm. Her father stumbles in front of the entrance and her body runs cold.

There was only one way out of the house and the person stopping her was her bulky 6-foot father. Anytime Reese got into an altercation with her father, she would get lucky with the hits she gave him. Now he was trying to eat her. She wasn't getting out of here without a fight.

Reese's breathing was out of control and she felt like she wanted to vomit. "Get the fuck out of my way!"

He walks toward her.

"Fuck!" Reese looks down at the knife in her hand. She spots the bruises that were now forming across her body. Reese was already exhausted from her fight earlier. Now she had to have another fight with an impossible force.

"Survive, Reese. That's all..."

Reese pushes herself off from one foot and runs forward. Her father raises his arms and Reese grabs one of his arms. She rams the knife into his arm and shoved him back with a loud scream. Her father didn't even make a sound of agony. Reese stumbles back with the amount of force she used. But her father barely budges. Reese approaches him again, he reaches for her, and the girl ducks. She grabs the knife from his arm and stabs him in the abdomen.

He grabs at Reese's hair and she cries. Reese pulls the knife from his abdomen, her eyes snap over to her father and his mouth opens. The girl's eyes blow wide seeing he's about to bite her. She raises the knife and rams it under his chin. She pulls the knife out of his chin and stabs him again and again and again.

A small breath leaves her father's lip and blood spills onto her face. She pulls the knife out of his chin and his body falls forward, Reese going down with him. Both bodies fall to the ground Reese inhales a shaky breath. She feels blood soak her clothes and Reese inhales a breath before she lets out a heart-wrenching scream. Reese presses her hands against her father's shoulders and slightly lifts him up. The blood staining her hands makes his body slip and he falls back on top of her. Reese starts to feel lightheaded from her quick breathing. She presses her arm against her father's neck.

Reese grits her teeth and lets out a loud scream as she shoves her father's body off of her. The lifeless body falls to the side and Reese crawls away from him. Reese quickly stands up with her eyes still on her father's body. She didn't understand what the hell just happened. But, the girl didn't have a lot of time to figure it out. She stumbles away from her father's body while softly whispering "I'm sorry". She goes back into the living and grabs her backpack. Reese slips her bag into her shoulders and picks her locket up from the ground. Reese slips the locket into her pocket and exhales a sharp breath.

Suddenly, sirens are heard blaring down the street. It causes Reese to flinch. Her heart jumps into her throat. She runs over to the front window and peaks through it. Reese watches as the police cars speed down the street, past her eyes. The teen feels relief run through her, but that quickly dies when she sees SUVs and tanks following the cop cars.

"What the hell...?"

Screams are heard outside and the her house shakes. Reese pulls away from the window when she sees fire rise in the distance. The teenager takes a step away from the window and she tangles her hands into her hair. And just like that, Reese's instincts spoke to her. She had to get the hell out of dodge.

And this time, she was going to fucking listen.

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author's note.

Let the rewrite begin!

Words : 7961