[prologue]

TEARS HAD BECOME TILLY'S EPITOME. They had been written onto her face and stained into her eyes. She wished for a break, a moment of rest, peace. But yet, the Grimes girl would never get that—not since the day her father was shot, leading the entire Grimes family into a spiral of incessant chaos.

She remembered it, and would forever remember it until there was nothing left of her to remember. The empty feeling the seventeen-year-old felt when her mother picked her up from school in the police car. Tilly's smile was wide the second she noticed the woman, the brunette had gotten out of the habit of picking her daughter up once she entered high school—under Tilly's command, but it was still a weird change—this surprise was nice. Until it wasn't.

Tilly had left school crying her eyes out, hugging tightly to the Grimes woman as Lori tried her best to keep in her tears for both herself and her children. The car ride to the hospital was silent, Shane and Lori sat in the front as the kids sat in the back. Arm rested upon the window, staring solemnly into the trees and people that passed Tilly thought of her father, a brave hero taken down due to one stupid mistake. Carl sat beside her dolefully, desperately wanting to help his big sister but with no clue what to do. As the boy wrote a card for his dad, he drew a picture for his big sister.

A very bad photo of a lily with a large red heart around it was presented in front of the girl, happiness coming out her mouth in the form of a little giggle, politely taking the photo as the boy smiled woefully at the older girl. Usually, the two would spend car rides yelling at each other, but as they reached the parking lot of Harrison Memorial Hospital, Lori sighed out of relief from the quiet journey.

The sight of her father's body was a lot to handle for the young girl, immediately taking by his side, staring at him, begging any form of God to wake him up and reunite him with his family.

That became routine once every week when they were allowed to see him, Carl would come with a new drawing or card, Lori with more updates on what was happening around them, Shane with more words to say to his 'brother', and Tilly with more tears to bloom.

Though her wishes came true, she would always be remorseful that nobody was there when Rick Grimes woke up. Nobody was able to explain to him where his children had gone and where his wife had run off to. All he had was two strangers going by the names of Morgan and Duane Jones.

During that time, Tilly had been trying to cheer herself up, struggling to adapt to the life of no school, no make-up, no hot showers, no warm bed, and no father. (The no school wasn't exactly true, Carol and Lori still had their three children work on their maths and English in booklets they had kept—unfortunately, Tilly was sent back to 6th-grade maths). The Harrison sisters helped her with that, becoming two close friends she would cherish deeply.

Only a few days after the Grimes family had reunited and become one again did they leave. Not just the camp but their people, their home that had provided safety and comfort in the time of terror and fear. The happy dinner at the CDC before it was met with destruction. Time on the road, losing Sophia. Carl getting shot. That one took a hard hit on Tilly.

She had been there at the time, standing by her father's side as Carl went over to get a closer look at the fascinating deer they had stumbled across. A gunshot pierced through his chest, echoing through the teenage girl's ears as she froze, allowing Shane and Rick to run towards the young boy. On the farm, she had stayed by his side, not daring to move. Tilly didn't care about much at the moment, not the new people they met or how Shane and Otis had left to get supplies and only one had returned. Her baby brother was her biggest worry.

When Carl woke up and was safe, she decided to get to know the people who had been caring for him. Maggie Greene was the first person she connected with, the woman allowing her to ride a horse, shared some clothes, and some stories of being a young adult—Tilly was sure that was coming her way soon, winter was coming which meant her birthday was catching up. Her family and Beth were the only ones who knew, the Grimes girl was talking to the blonde as they exchanged birthdates, Beth growing excited as she said that she wanted to get something for Tilly, her first friend during all of the madness. But she would never get to.

The other girl couldn't deny she felt a little closer to Beth than any of the others, Maggie she saw as someone who could treat her like a sister—Tilly had always wanted one. Hershel was almost as if a grandfather, caring for both Grimes children when he had barely known them. But Beth was different, she was special.

Tilly was the second to find out Lori Grimes was pregnant, her anger consuming her quickly as she wondered what had gone through her mother's head. As Lori held back tears she tried to explain her situation—with Shane, with the 'loss' of Tilly and Carl's father, how she needed some comfort and the man had been there. See, Tilly had never had a boyfriend. She hadn't even seen boys like that until she was fifteen. The girl looked younger than her age, leaving her behind the other girls who discovered all the boy stuff when they were twelve. She had never experienced heartbreak before, but she was pretty sure she could compare it to what she felt at that moment.

Nevertheless, Tilly did everything she could to care for her mother, anger washing away as regret and excitement swirled into a pit in her stomach. A baby sibling, Carl would finally get to be a big brother—Tilly a second-time big sister.

The happiness washed down a few days later. She remembered the yelling, the cries for her brother as Lori tried to search for Carl in the chaos. Tilly couldn't leave him and their father behind, so she ran, ran to wherever the hell they could be. Settling her fate for the rest of time.

——

"MOM?" Tilly's voice resonated, desperately shouting for anybody. The seventeen-year-old had never felt truly alone before, she always had a parent to cuddle, a brother to comfort or friends to hang out with. She had never been alone. And now she was.

The trees swarmed around her, standing tall as the calm, autumn leaves fell to the ground—leaving a crunch on every step Tilly ran. They loomed over Tilly, reminding the brunette how she was lost without anybody, any help. Her feet led her to a road, the morning sun causing Tilly to collapse. She had managed to run all night, adrenaline kicking in as she was chased away from the farm by geeks. When she lost the creatures that were following her, Tilly had tried to find safety, anybody that could provide it, anyone to help. Her search had led her to nothing but dirt.

The girl lay on the ground, her oversized shirt softening the ground slightly as she situated under the sun, tears flowing from her eyes. Tiredly, she rested her head on her right forearm, struggling to keep her eyes open as she continuously sobbed.

"Please," the girl whispered before the feeling overtook her, sending Tilly into a void of sleep.

——

author notes —
Prologue!! I'm so excited for you all to read this—ever since I wrote my first twd fic I always wanted to write a fic with a grimes oc but then I couldn't think of something to make it different from others, until a few months ago I came up with this. There are also special plot changes within the book, allowing a whole different experience for TWD lovers :)

20TH MAY 2024 (sorry for the notification if u got one, changing the format slightly)

Hopefully, you will all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!!

So far, Tilly will be the only oc as I don't see a need for any other oc's. In the future, I might add a few—also some will be mentioned but only for a chapter or two and won't be extremely important

Anyways,
Byee </3