Clementine thought she was alone when she finally let loose the sob she had been trying so hard to keep bottled up. It wasn't a loud sob, but it shook her nonetheless. She nuzzled deeper into the couch, allowing the cushions to absorb her silent tears and giver her momentary shelter from her troubles. Trouble really…

Sandra.

Just when Clementine began to believe that she was starting to move past the woman, there she was.

She had taken the young girl by surprise, sitting in one of the kitchen chairs with her head resting in her heads. Clementine hadn't even noticed she was there until the slight movement caught her eye.

She had become paralyzed, unable to call out or move. Her heart began racing and her mind spun with possibilities.

'Lee' she thought to herself, 'I have to find Lee'.

Slowly Clementine began to coax herself, albeit only a step at a time, to the kitchen door. She stopped breathing, stopped looking, and did everything she could to make it seem like she didn't exist.

But it was a trap.

Right as her foot was about to cross into the next room, Sandra's head shot up and locked eyes with her.

"And where do you think you're going?"

'To get Lee' Clem affirmed to herself, turning her head to face the woman but opting to say nothing aloud.

Still, Sandra grinned.

"He's using you." Her voice called out, "and you can't even see it!"

Clem turned her face back towards the doorway.

"You're not really there…" Clem whispered, shutting her eyes tight and balling up her fists. "and I'm going to get Lee."

The second she stepped through the doorway she turned her head and opened her eyes a crack to check if the woman was still there. Thankfully she wasn't.

Because she was right in front of her.

"He doesn't care about you!" she chided, her voice mocking. "He's using you to avoid the police. You're not his friend-you're his hostage."

Clementine did her best to block the older woman out, but her feet had gone back to their stiff, unyielding position and Sandra's voice only seemed to get louder.

'I have to find somebody' Clem thought frantically, eyes searching rapidly for a friendly face in the spacious living room.

She found none.

"The reporter wants her story, the man wants the reward money, and the murderer…wants his life. And all of them will use you to get what they want."

"y….you're w..wrong" Clem said, voice shaking. "lee's my friend."

"Don't be stupid!" Her voice only seemed to get louder. "He's keeping you close so that you can't escape. You're his get out of jail free card."

"he wouldn't…." Clem could hear the doubt start to form in her voice. She reached down and ran her fingers along her friendship bracelet.

"He has" she answered, "and now that he's in Savannah, he's ignored you. You're nothing more than a broken little girl, who can't even see when she's being used."

The tears began to wheel up in the young girl's eyes, but before she could blink them away, one long tear ran down her cheek.

"h…he's my friend" she said again, hoping that repetition would confirm the growing doubt in her mind.

"Take it from me" Sandra said, bending down to look the girl directly in the eye. "Men like that are only out for themselves. He's going to use you. Your life for his. And the worst part is…"

Clem locked eyes with the woman, and gasped. The woman's eyes were completely white, completely lifeless.

"He'll be worse than I am."

After the next blink

Sandra was gone.

Carley wasn't expecting anyone else to be in the living room with her. She could have sworn she checked it before she sunk into the armchair at the opposite side of the room. She had just needed a place to escape. A place where her mind wasn't constantly focused on the next room…his room. A place where she didn't look up every time a door opened because she wanted to catch a glimpse of him before he receded back to his cave.

A place where the rare sight of him didn't make her so angry.

Things had only gotten worse for her after the gas station wait. Before she could deny her feelings, push them to the far corners of her mind where they waited. But, once acknowledged, the thought was free to run wild throughout the carefully organized space that was her mind.

"I….like….Lee…" she whispered aloud, giving a slight voice to the thought in hopes that it would dim its intensity.

It didn't.

Then she heard the sob.

The inadvertent jump would have been enough to make anyone laugh under the right circumstances, but these were not the right circumstances.

Slowly, Carley pushed herself off the chair and kept low as she attempted to identify the sob's origin. It didn't take her long to find Clementine, alone and curled up on the couch. Although she couldn't hear the young girl cry, she could see it in the way her body heaved and shivered.

She seemed so alone…so scared.

And Carley didn't know what to do.

When it came to Clementine, Carley knew that she didn't have the relationship with her that Lee did. She lacked the unspoken bond that connected them together. Sure, she and Clem were friends, but as she watched the girl on the couch, Carley knew that Clementine didn't need a friend…

She needed Lee.

"Clem sweetheart" she whispered soothingly. The girl jumped slightly at the source of the sound, but otherwise remained quiet.

"I'm gonna go get Lee…" Carley told her, attempting to provide a sort of hope for the girl.

What she got instead was much different.

"no!" Clementine called out, turning quickly to the other side of the couch. She looked up at Carley with such panicked eyes that it actually caused the woman to freeze.

"Why not?"

"he….he's busy…."

For a brief second, Carley thought she saw fear in those eyes.

"He would want to help you." Carley said, keeping her voice in as motherly a tone as she could.

Something else, a glimmer, in her eyes now. Doubt?

"I'm ok" the girl responded after taking a deep breath, "really. It was just a bad dream. Promise you won't tell Lee?"

Carley was at a loss. She knew that this was something she should tell Lee about. He would want to know if something was wrong with Clem. But the panicked look in the young girl's eyes still worried her.

With a sigh, Carley nodded. "I promise."

As Clementine turned back around, Carley decided that she had had enough. While she had promised Clementine that she wouldn't tell him about the events that had just transpired, she hadn't promised she would avoid talking to him altogether.

Oh no…she definitely had words for him.

Authors Note: Still. Not. dead! Once again I apologize for the long wait time before the next chapter. I have been super busy with school, work, and personal problems. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out, but I can promise that I will continue with the story. I am way too fond of it to give up! Once again, I thank everyone for the reviews and continued support. It means a lot! Also, please remember to leave your thoughts about this chapter/story in the review box! Readers letting me know that they are still following this story is one of the main reasons I still continue to write it! This chapter was meant to be the end of the last chapter, but I wasn't sure if it would send out anything if I edited a chapter, so I just decided to make this another chapter. Next chapter should be pretty exciting! Stay tuned!