TWD: Saving Merle First - Chapter 58: A Conversation with Lori (Patreon)

Wade decided to go talk to Lori himself.

There was no particular reason for it. He had simply remembered some of the ridiculous drama that had happened before.

Back when Shane had tried to let go, Lori had continued giving him just enough mixed signals to keep him hanging on.

And those false signals had been one of the main reasons Shane eventually went off the deep end.

She still has feelings for me. As long as Rick dies, she'll still be willing to be with me.

In the end, an increasingly obsessive Shane decided to get rid of Rick. But when the moment came, he still couldn't bring himself to go through with it. Rick ultimately killed him, and Carl finished him off afterward.

And as an added bonus, the whole thing sent Carl through a pretty dark period while he was growing up.

"Hey, Lori. Got a minute? I wanted to ask you for some advice about girls."

Lori paused while hanging up the laundry. Thinking of Wade and Beth, she smiled.

"Sure."

Wade walked over.

"You know I've been busy getting the farm's defenses in order lately. Because of that, I really haven't had much time to spend with Beth, so..."

Lori drifted off for a moment.

For an instant, Wade reminded her of someone else.

Rick.

The King County Deputy Sheriff who was always so rational, always so busy. He had poured so much of his time and energy into his work instead of her and Carl...

After a brief silence, Lori said, "I don't really know how to explain it, but... don't spend too little time with the people you care about. No matter how busy life or work gets, you have to make time to be there for your family."

"Oh, I see. So I should spend more time with my family, right?" Wade asked with a smile.

"Exactly..."

"What about people close to the family? Your husband's work partner, for example?"

The smile instantly froze on Lori's face.

Her complexion went pale as panic flashed across her expression.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about..."

"No. You do. That's exactly why I came to talk to you. I know I probably look like the bad guy to you right now, but I'm willing to be the bad guy."

"I don't want something happening between members of this camp that none of us wants to see. Like two men fighting over a woman, or even turning against each other because of her."

Wade was still smiling, but there was no warmth in his eyes. Instead, there was a faint chill behind them.

"I don't care what happened in the past or who it happened with. But I think what you just said was absolutely right. You should spend your time on your family, shouldn't you?"

"There's something else. Marcus told me you might be pregnant. I wasn't planning to tell you at first, but I think that as the child's mother, you have a right to know."

Lori's face grew even paler, and one hand instinctively moved to her stomach.

"No... No... You're joking, right? No... This can't be true..."

As she spoke, tears gradually welled in her eyes.

"So you came here to get rid of it, didn't you?"

Wade nodded without trying to hide it.

"Yes. That was what I originally planned to do. Take care of it quietly, make it look like an accident, and bury the truth completely."

"But... I'm not this child's parent. I can't make that decision."

"So I'm leaving the choice to you. Think it over carefully."

"Once you've decided, tell Marcus. Whether you want to keep the baby or terminate the pregnancy, I'll respect your decision."

With that, Wade turned and walked away without looking back.

He already knew what Lori's answer would most likely be, but even so, the choice still had to be hers.

Lori watched Wade disappear into the distance, wiped the tears from her eyes, then lowered her gaze to her stomach.

She looked like she wanted to cry and smile at the same time.

Her rational side told her she should quietly end the pregnancy. She couldn't let this child destroy the relationship between Shane and Rick.

But her heart told her that the child was innocent...

As for Shane, for Rick's sake and for the stability of the camp, she would have to keep her distance from him from now on.

Once Wade was far enough away, he slowly let out a breath, then kicked a pebble away in frustration.

Damn it.

Fucking Shane.

He got his few seconds of fun, and now Wade was the one stuck cleaning up the mess...

Was this really some kind of prerequisite for recruiting another top fighter?

Why couldn't Shane be more like Daryl and save him all this trouble?

"Wade? What's wrong? You look pretty unhappy."

Wade looked up.

It was Rick.

He quickly reined in his emotions.

"Nothing. Just thinking about what we should do next. Oh, right. Are you free tonight? I'm thinking of getting everyone together for dinner so we can talk about it."

As expected, Rick nodded.

"Of course. I've actually been wanting to talk about that too."

"Alright. Make sure you bring Shane. I'll go get Daryl."

"Sure, buddy. I'm already looking forward to it."

Looking at the smile on Rick's face, Wade sighed inwardly.

You're getting excited a little too soon, bro.

He kept it off his face, though. Wade simply nodded, said nothing else, and headed toward Daryl's tent.

After giving Daryl a few simple instructions, Wade began making preparations.