heaven is a heartbreak

carl grimes, the walking dead

i can't help but love you,
even though i try not to
i can't help but want you,
i know that i'd die without you
- war of hearts, ruelle

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riley endicott was only twelve years old when the apocalypse broke out. she was only twelve years old when an unfamiliar group of strangers showed up at her family's farm in desperation, begging for their help to nurse a wounded boy back to health. that same group being the one who had taught her how to survive in a world gone rogue, overrun by the dead who had woken from their sleep and were driven by the overpowering need to feed on those who were still living. riley spent many months among those creatures as she worked her way through survival, living on the roads after the farm was demolished by a herd of walkers, and even later at a georgia prison in which rick's group fought for on more occasions than one. after what they had been brought to believe was the defeat of the sinful governor, riley finally felt like she was allowed to settle back into a comfortable routine, just like she had when living at the farm. she was living in a safe and protected home, she had a community, she had a real bed to sleep in with a real pillow under her head at night. everything was finally okay- that being except for one thing, or person, rather. after the death of his mother, carl grimes turned cold to everyone and everything, and even after he began to warm up to the new ways of life at the prison, he still seemed to freeze over when it came to riley. a cold front and a mean glare was almost always what she came face to face with when in his company, and just when she was finally ready to come to accept that unfortunate fate, the governor had struck again. the prison was down, and nearly every person she'd ever met was separated from her, singling off in their own little groups when in the midst of trying to escape the hectic haze of the attack. by some magical sort of luck, riley was able to escape unharmed and very much alive. although, luck had its limits too, and thanks to it, she was stuck, stranded with carl and his father. with no way out of the situation, riley and carl both had to manage the task of surviving and tolerating each other until they were reunited with the rest of their group, and even if the mere idea had sounded like hell on earth to both of them, riley and carl somehow managed to endure the other's presence and possibly even enjoy it. it was almost as if a miracle had blossomed from the isolation in which both cold stoned teenagers sat in. when friendship started to grow, riley saw it as a light in the darkness, or maybe even more than that when the companionship turned into more than just comfort in a hard time.

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a/n - quick appreciation note to anyone reading this!! i've been planning this book for months now and i'm soo excited to start publishing! before moving on there are a couple things to know just in case :))

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this will be a slow burn book!! if u don't like that i'd suggest clicking out now

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i'll try and update as much as possible but i also have another book in progress rn + school so please keep that in mind!

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there are some mature themes and a few trigger warnings i'm also gonna mention so read at ur own risk
• violence
• sexual assault/themes
• ed's
• mental health description
disclaimer!! i am not romanticizing any of these topics in any way whatsoever, they're only apart of this book to address the struggles a person/character can and will go through upon certain scenarios.

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finally, i do not own the walking dead or any characters/storylines in it besides riley's and my other oc's, all credits go to original creators :)