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Stubborn Love- A Modern/AU Walking Dead Story	By : ImagineLayla131 Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 2907 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH TWD FRANCHISE NO MONEY/PROFIT IS BEING MADE!

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
- 24
Hi everybody! I PRE-ORDERED MY GARETH ACTION FIGURE, WOO HOO! SO STOKED, I PREDICTED THEY WOULD MAKE ONE, I JUST HOPE FUNKOPOP! DOES TOO! Lol please follow me on Instagram rocknrollprincess131! :D The group is finally in Alexandria! RICK FINALLY SHAVED HIS BEARD! YEE-HAW! Man, did he look delicious after the shower! ;) Hahaha not looking forward to this Jessie romance, the actress is more attractive as a redhead in my opinion. Rick looks better with a brunette. Nicholas and Enid that are mentioned in this chapter are from Alexandria as well.
I am trying to finish the latest chapter of Forever Rising Phoenix, my mom has been on bed rest so I've been taking care of her, but I think I'm close to being done. I know that I left the last chapters of BOTH my stories on cliffhangers, but as far as Stubborn Love goes, this was probably one of the most emotional and powerful chapters in the story to write. There's a lot of references to songs in her and such, but it all ties in with the chapter theme.
I am only 16 reviews away from being the highest reviewed Gareth story in all of FanFiction, which includes language, genre, and rating! Thank you to everybody that has reviewed so far, you made me so happy! :)
I wanna give a special shout out to my beta reader texasbelle91, as well as AthenaLentz20, BiggestWalkingDeadAddict, bluecrush611, Chloe Cannon 3, DarylDixon'sgirl1985, Headwalkerz, He-Who-Shall-Live, Hey01ig, Lego Kid At Heart, Prettyprincess45, and SilverSun09. Please check out their stories, because they are freaking awesome!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH HER DIAMONDS. ALL PROPERTIES OWNED BY ROB THOMAS, RESPECTIVELY. I ONLY OWN MY OWN ORIGINAL IDEAS AND CHARACTERS.
Chapter Twenty Three: Her Diamonds
MELODY
It was him! I knew all along he wasn't really dead! Now I could find out what he wanted to tell me and tell him my true feelings, we would finally be together.
Gareth caught on that I wasn't listening, giving me a confused stare before looking over at what had diverted my attention.
"Melody?"
"Aiden! Wait!"
Without even paying attention, I threw my headphones off, not noticing one of them had hit Gareth in the eye, and hopped off the treadmill so I could catch up to Aiden.
I ran out of the gym at lightning speed, my heartbeat was ringing through my ears and my adrenaline was at an all time high. An oncoming car screeched in the parking lot and almost hit me, blaring the horn and cursing from the driver's seat, but I kept on running.
"Aiden!"
"Melody, no! It's not him!"
I thought I heard Gareth behind me, but figured I was second guessing myself. The sound of my feet hitting the pavement with each step was almost deafening, and all I could think about was running faster than I ever had before. Aiden was almost to his car when I caught up to him.
"Stop! Aiden!"
He finally turned around and I ran straight into his arms, my eyes swelling with tears of joy, letting them fall as I hugged him tightly.
"Oh, my god! Aiden, you have no idea how ecstatic I am right now! I knew you weren't really dead, that it couldn't be true, and I was right! Now that you're alive, we can finally be together! Aiden Auerbach, I love you! I've always loved you and I always will love you! You're the love of my life! I-"
"Uh, excuse me? Who are you?"
He pushed me off of him, and when I looked up, I could literally feel my heart stop. The man I was hugging was not Aiden. In fact, he was a total stranger who looked almost identical. He took a step back, gazing down on me with a baffled expression.
"I'm sorry, miss. You've mistaken me for somebody else. I'm Shawn, not Aiden. Is there something I could help you with?"
Shawn's baffled look was now one of sympathy. I was sure all the color had drained from my face and my mouth was slightly hanging open, practically frozen in my stance. It was in that moment I realized I had been fooling myself, that I hadn't really gotten over Aiden and my feelings were still strong, that my grief was worse than I had let on. Humiliation, shock, and pain seared through me, the emotional agony so unbearable that I dropped to my knees in tears.
GARETH
Watching Melody hug who she assumed was Aiden and confess her undying love, I felt like the Grim Reaper had actually stuck his hand into my chest and ripped out my still beating heart. The girl I had fallen so madly in love with clearly did not reciprocate the same feelings. My heart sank further when she began to cry, indicating that something was wrong. While I was devastated, I couldn't walk away and leave her alone to pick up the mess.
"Melody?"
Aiden looked over at me as I walked up. "Hey there, is she with you?"
"Yes. Aiden?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm Shawn Arnold. I don't know what's going on with her. She thought I was this guy Aiden and now she's crying. Is she having a nervous breakdown, should I call an ambulance?"
"No, that's not necessary. I've got it under control. Sorry about all this."
"It's cool, I get it. I'm just glad she has somebody to help her out. Bye."
As Shawn walked off, I crouched down to Melody's level. Her face was buried in her hands to cover the fact that she was crying. I had only seen her really cry twice, our first date and the last time was after I had made love to her for the first time exactly a week ago.
These weren't normal tears, she was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably, almost wailing. I don't even think Autumn Montana has ever cried this hard before. People were actually stopping to watch, which I had no idea as to why. I started stroking Melody's back in circles in an attempt to soothe her.
"Melody, please don't cry. I'm going to take you home, alright? Everything is going to be ok." I hooked one arm under her thighs and the other around her shoulders as I hoisted her up. Melody buried her face in my chest, her tears soaking through my shirt as she cried hysterically.
THREE AND A HALF HOURS LATER
"We're here."
We had gotten stuck in traffic on the way back to Calabasas, it was one accident after the other. Melody didn't utter a single word the entire time, she had finally stopped crying about forty-five minutes after we left the gym. All she did was lean against the window, staring out and hugging her knees to her chest. I racked my brain on anything to say to her, but came up empty worded. Besides, what was there I could say? "Love me instead"?
She refused my hand when I helped her out of the car, something she had never done before. I boldly cupped her cheek, which made her flinch a little, but she soon leaned in to my touch. Melody looked up at, the eyes I had been so entranced by now shone with tears reflecting in the moonlight. "I'm sorry, Gareth."
I really wanted to hug her, but before I could take her in my arms or even reply, she ran off. The knots in my stomach twisted tighter as Melody shut the door, and just as I was about to get back in my car, I stopped myself. There was no way I could leave without getting to the bottom of this. If there was a time to reveal my true feelings, it was right now, because I couldn't contain my frustration. Picking up the pace, I made my way up the steps and to the front door. Luckily, she hadn't strayed too far and opened up immediately.
"Melody, we're not going to leave things like this. You haven't said a word to me in hours."
I gently grabbed her by the hand and pulled her outside. There must have been a thousand thoughts running through my head, but one thing made itself clear.
"I just want to know, did you ever like me or was I nothing more than a rebound? Were you using me?"
Her mouth went agape as her eyes widened in shock and sadness. "Gareth, how could you-"
I cut her off, my mind was a clusterfuck of thoughts and emotions, and right now one was anger. "Don't tell me how could I ask that, I need to know. I thought we had something, what happened? One minute we're happily together and the next minute you're chasing random guys in the street proclaiming your love to them, so excuse me for wanting to know if I was somebody you were taking advantage of."
I hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but this was tough love. It killed me to do that, but Melody is so stubborn sometimes it's what she needs.
"I never took advantage of you and I am appalled that you would think that of me. You have to understand, Gareth. For almost six years, I managed to convince myself that if I believed hard enough that things would eventually work out in my favor, but they didn't. Every single bad thing that I never wanted to endure happened to me. Gaining weight, bad skin and teeth, no friends or money, family that doesn't care. It's better now but it's still haunting. This whole time I thought I had such an elastic heart, I guess I was wrong, because it scares me not knowing if I will ever be able to care about or love somebody as much as I did with Aiden. I thought we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, and it was cruelly taken from me."
"All the things you wanted with Aiden, getting engaged and having a family, don't you think you could have that with me? I know you can and that's something I want to give you."
She wiped her tears away before folding her arms across her chest. "You do?"
I nodded. "I really do. Yes, it's somewhat early, but it's how I feel."
"You already had that with somebody else, why would you want it again?"
"Why? Because I still believe in the dream, that's why. I could ask you something similar. Why hold on to what you lost when there's somebody that wants the same things you do?"
"What are you saying, Gareth?"
"I think you and I could be something incredible, we already are, and that the future we want could be ours."
Melody shook her head defiantly. "I have too many problems and you have a daughter, those two don't go together well."
"It goes beyond that. What is it, Melody? If you keep it in, you're going to explode, I'm sure you've heard that countless times in therapy. You'll feel a lot better when-"
"I can't lose somebody else again!" She shouted, cutting me off.
Her words caught me off guard again, and I could kick myself for not realizing sooner. The reason why she never opened up entirely was doubt and paranoia that she'd lose somebody else close to her.
"What, do you think some lunatic is going to hack me to death with a red handled machete?"
"No."
"What is it then?"
MELODY
I heavily sighed, feeling my breath hitch in my throat. "You really want to know what it is? I'm a jinx! It's like anytime something good comes into my life, something twice as bad happens to ruin it." Fear had been my issue all along, and at this point, it was something I didn't know I could be excavated from.
"That's life, Melody. People die, shit happens. One day, so will we, and we'll lose everybody around us, but why waste time freaking out over it now when we can be out living and doing it together."
"Maybe all of this was a big mistake. Maybe we weren't supposed to last longer than one date." This conversation was one I wanted to run from, but I knew I had to hear him out despite my aching heart and soul.
"You and I both know that's not true. We have something real here, and because of that, I need to open your eyes to what you're refusing to see. I'm not going to sugar coat it for you, I'm going to tell it like it is. You're dying, Melody. You're dying because all that pain you're holding on to, it's just going to make it hurt longer. You have to let it go. Not let Aiden go, but let the pain go."
I groaned and stomped my foot, my hands clenched in fists at my sides. "Oh, God, not that again! Can't anybody come up with something original to tell me?!"
"Have you actually listened to the words? It's about being your true self, not to let anybody or anything, not even morality, define who you are. I have knocked down all the barriers, given you the keys to every door. Although it wasn't all up front instantaneously, I let you into my life one hundred percent, and you've barely met me halfway."
"That's not true, I've been trying my best to take the risk of starting over." I knew he was right, but I couldn't put Gareth through what so many people in my life have suffered with.
"You're not alone, you need to remember that. I've been through a lot of shit in my life. I had to pick up the slack of everything when my dad left, even more so as my family kept growing with the addition of three new sisters over the course of four years, and now having to raise Autumn Montana with a non-parent, but I didn't let my misery determine who I was.
I pushed through it, and I know you can, too. The problem is, I don't know if you want to, sometimes you're just so damn stubborn that you avoid things instead of facing them head on. It drives me nuts but it all makes you you, the same with all your other quirks, like how you cry watching any Disney movie or roll chewed up pretzels and crackers in a ball or you think Quagmire from Family Guy is sexy. Why won't you move forward and accept the happiness around you? What are you so scared of besides losing people, is it scrutiny? Is that why you haven't pursued anything further with your writing and makeup?"
I nodded. "A little. Not entirely, but a little bit." I know I really was a strong person, but this conversation had gotten me to crumble away, perhaps this was the breakthrough that Milton had been trying to get out of me for months.
"We all get it, but you've gotta put yourself out there instead of hiding it away under your bed."
My eyes widened at his words. "What? You went through my portfolio?! When? Why?! That was private!" I couldn't believe Gareth betrayed me like that, how dare he snoop through my things!
"It was an accident, but I was blown away by what I saw and I know that you could make something of yourself if you put your best foot forward and believed. That's beside the point though.
In regards to who you are, we see two very different people. You have these days where you think you look like some hideous monster. When I overheard your conversation with Lori before our first date, I'll admit I was a little skeptical but I shook it off. Except when I saw you walk down the stairs, I couldn't believe my eyes at how insanely gorgeous you were and still are, that opinion has never changed, not once.
You think that nobody cares about you, that you're just being pitied, but that is as far from the truth as it could get. There are so many people that care so much about you. Beth, Tara, Maggie, Glenn, Noah, Sasha, Stefon, your friends in the porn business, your mom, Carl and Rick and Lori. Yes, I know that you feel guilty over the kiss, but I have a feeling Lori will forgive you. She loves you so much and your friends will never leave you. I also know that you're in pain because your dad has neglected you, but you're better off than you think you are, because you defied his odds. Not everybody is like him and not everybody is going to play you, there are still genuine people in this selfish world."
Ever since we met, I couldn't get enough of you. I knew it wouldn't be the last time we saw each other, because there was something so alluring about you. Broken, yet alluring. What I'm trying to say is that you're so imperfect that you're perfect for me, and no, it's not a contradiction. You're the Lionheart to my King."
I felt my heart stop, and I was pretty sure what was coming next. "Are you-"
"I love you, Melody, and it's killing me to watch you like this. It's killing me because I am truly in love with you, and seeing you cry makes me cry on the inside. I would do anything to save your soul, give up anything just to see you smile, I'd die for your ambitions and self-agendas. I'm in this for the long haul, and I don't want you to think you're a damsel in distress, but maybe sometimes we all need a hero in our lives. People who loved once are more than likely to love again, and I know that you love me, too. I can see it in your eyes and feel it in your touch. I want you. I want you so badly, Melody, but I want all of you, not half, and I feel like I'm having to compete with Aiden for your heart."
This was it, he had just confirmed that he was in love with me in the truest words possible. If this were a movie, I'd be declaring my love for him in return and go running into his arms, the "Fantasy Theme" from Romeo and Juliet would be playing as we kissed, he'd pull back and tell me everything was going to be ok.
Unfortunately, that wasn't going to work here. It couldn't.
LORI
"Wow, I'm stuffed. That was amazing." I leaned back in the car seat, resting my head in my hand as Rick drove us home and Carl was preoccupied in the backseat with some action game on his phone. After Carl's baseball game, where his team won 12-2, we had done some shopping at the mall and had an early dinner at Maria's Italian Kitchen, one of my family's favorite spots to eat ever since before Melody was born.
Rick smiled as he drove through the front gates and up the street to our house. "See? I told you to take advantage of eating for two."
"You were right. Do you think we should go there next Saturday for when Mom finally introduces us to her mystery man?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of STK? Upscale but relaxing nonetheless."
"Ok, that sounds good. Melody and I are stumped trying to figure out who it is." I looked out the window to see a familiar Jaguar in front of our house. "Hey, Gareth is still here." It was then that I noticed he and Melody were on the front porch.
"Why are they outside?" Carl asked, removing his headphones and looking out the window when Rick pulled up into the driveway, opening the garage door. "And why are they yelling at each other?"
I looked closely at their body language and vaguely heard them yelling back and forth, which was when I began to worry.
"Oh, Jesus."

"How could you even make a statement like that?!"
"I'm here, he's not! I love you, I want to be with you!"
"You want to be with a crazy person?! You might as well shoot yourself in the foot, because all it will do is hold you back!"
Practically jumping out of the car, not even waiting for it to be fully parked, I walked up to them, Rick following behind me. "Hey, hey, hey! What the hell is going on out here?"
"Do you want the neighbors to complain again, Melody?"
"Rick, leave that out of this!" I happened to see Carl over my shoulder. With a semi-stern expression, I pointed towards the garage. "Carl, go inside."
"But, Mom-"
"No, Carl. This doesn't involve you. Please go inside the house now."
"Urgh, fine."
As he clomped off, I looked back over at Melody and Gareth, which was when I noticed her face was streaked in tears.
"Honey, have you been crying? What happened?"
With a shaky breath, Melody began to speak. "I thought I saw Aiden today, but it wasn't him."
"Who was it?" Rick asked.
"Some random guy." Rick and I looked over at Gareth as he spoke. "Don't you think if Aiden really wanted to be with you all these years that he would have dumped Kendall Donaghy or defended you more when their jackass clique endlessly tormented you and Tara? You've been out of high school for over two years and they're still getting in the way of things, you were barely invited to his memorial because they chose to ignore your friendship."
My mouth flew open, aghast at his statement. Unfortunately, this was true. While Tara had received a direct Facebook invite from Nicholas Traynor, one of Aiden's best friends as well as being one of the hosts for the memorial, Enid Nacon, a girl from Westlake Village that knew Aiden and was not one of the hosts, had invited Melody. Either way, I was shocked that Gareth said that.
"Gareth! Wh-" Rick put his hand on my shoulder, shaking his head.
"Let him talk." He mumbled under his breath, and I had no choice but to abide.
Gareth cleared his throat, appearing very strained over this dilemma. "Melody, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm giving you something Aiden never did, my heart. Looks, status, friends, it's all irrelevant. There's not a single thing I'd let stand in the way of my feelings, because that's what love is."
Melody glared at him with such coldness that I didn't even recognize her as she folded her arms across her chest. "Sometimes love isn't enough. John Lennon was wrong, it can't always be the answer, not when somebody's sanity isn't entirely there. I think you should do yourself a favor and forget you ever met me. Forget these past two months and all the time we've spent together, for your own good and Autumn Montana's. If anybody asks, the only thing you know about me is that I'm the founder's daughter and the boss' sister in law."
Her words were a major blow not only to Gareth, but to me as well, and I could feel my heart shattering that she was deliberately pushing him away when I knew she had the same feelings. She thought she was doing this for their own good, but she was so wrong. I desperately wanted to say something, to tell Melody to take back what she said, but I couldn't. All Gareth did was shake his head, a look of disgust on his face and tears in his eyes.
"You've had so many red flag relationships in your life that you've become jaded to the point where you don't trust anybody. Love is never easy, you're either in all the way or not at all, and I know I'm all the way for you, Melody. Drop it all and let yourself have what you want. You can't keep running the other way and living like this, being afraid to trust and love others, especially when all they want to do is love you back and love you for a thousand lifetimes."
With that, Gareth walked off. Call me a dreamer, but a man wouldn't cry over a woman unless he was sincerely in love with her.
Melody fled into the house on the verge of tears, and I knew I had to comfort her. I motioned my head to Rick at Gareth's car. "Go after him. He needs somebody, too."
RICK
"Hey, Gareth, hold up."
I followed after Gareth, but I didn't really know how to comfort him. The words that Melody had just said were indeed powerful, but shocking nonetheless, as was Gareth's reply.
"What is it, Rick? You heard her, it's best that I forget about this, but you and I both know I can't." Gareth got in his car, putting the keys in.
"She doesn't mean it, Gareth. I've known her since she was born, she has a lot of issues stemming from her dad abandoning her and being bullied in school, but Melody is one of the most loving people I've ever met. The Aiden look alike was probably a shock to her system, and it's all coming back to her. Deep down, I think she regrets her choice of words toward you. It would be best for Melody to just have some time to cool off and let her come to you."
He wiped his eyes and looked at me. "What if she doesn't, what if I'm wrong and she really does mean it? I'm in love with Melody, Rick, and the fact that she doesn't believe it is torturing me."
It was then that I realized what I had been feeling for Melody was nothing more than some kind of lustful infatuation. While I cared for her, I didn't love her like Gareth does. He could give her everything that I was able to give to Lori, and that's who Melody should truly be with.
I patted him on the shoulder in an act of comfort. "If there is one thing about Melody, it's that sometimes she's obstinate, but she always comes around. All you can do is have faith that she will."
Gareth's House, Encino, 9:00 pm
GARETH
When I arrived home a couple hours later, I was still in the same miserable state I had been in when I left Rick and Lori's. Rick was right, I had laid all my cards out on the table, all I could do was wait for Melody, but it didn't mean I was any less heartbroken.
I had cried tears of happiness when Autumn Montana was born, but it had literally been ages since I cried tears of distress. Not when I had grueling days of juggling school, work, and the household. Not when I was frustrated beyond belief on how I would graduate from school within the time frame I had allotted for myself. Not even when Theresa left me. There's only been two times in my life that I cried out of pure sadness: When my dad left and when Dale died, and now Melody was one of those times.
"Her Diamonds" by Rob Thomas happened to come on the radio on the drive home. As I listened to the lyrics, it seemed to fit me and Melody. Her tears are like diamonds on the floor and I don't know what to do or how to help her, which is making me cry. Melody is struggling, paralyzed by fear, and I don't really know how to help other than give her my love.
"Gareth?" My mom looked over from her spot on the couch with Carol as I walked into the family room.
"Hey."
"Where have you been? We've been trying to get ahold of you for hours." Carol said.
"I'm sorry, my phone broke." When Melody thought she saw Aiden, she wasn't paying attention when she threw her headphones off and ran after Shawn. It hit me in the eye before falling on the belt and slamming against the wall, which caused me to fall off the back of the treadmill, landing on my phone and crushing it. "What's wrong?"
"Theresa and Sam dropped Autumn Montana off at five."
I scrunched up my eyebrows in disbelief. "What? She's not supposed to be dropped off until tomorrow."
"I know, but she rang the bell, threw me Autumn's bag, said she had to go out of town and left. Honey, what's wrong? Did something happen?" My mom asked.
Mary Crosby Peletier always knew when something was wrong, it was part of her motherly instinct, same with Carol. Nothing got past either one of them, we're a very open family.
"Melody and I kind of broke up."
My heartache was further exasperated with the sad looks on their faces.
"What happened? Is everything ok?" Carol asked.
I shook my head, knowing that I was once again on the verge of tears. "No, it's not, and I don't know when it will be. The girl I love shut me out because she's afraid she'll lose me. I hope things get better, but hoping can only do so much."
Both my moms had distressed looks on their faces, and I knew that they shared my pain, but I couldn't be pitied any longer. All I wanted was to be alone.
"I'm going to go check on Autumn Montana and then I'm going to bed."
I started walking up the stairs when I heard footsteps behind me.
"Gareth, wait."
When I turned around, my mom pulled me in for a hug, her tears wetting the fabric of my shirt. I returned the embrace, holding her tightly as she silently cried. Mom and Carol always cried whenever the others or I were truly distraught. We're a very passionate family that fights, loves, laughs, and cries together.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. Whatever happened, her heart will find it's way back to yours." Mom pulled back, putting her hand on my cheek, wiping my fallen tears away.
"I hope so, Mom. She's the only girl I want to be with, I've never been surer of that. With Theresa, I guess I was forcing myself more than anything, but with Melody, we're just a perfect fit. I've poured my heart out, it's all I can do."
I gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked up the stairs, my body wracked with exhaustion and despair. It was hard to believe that this day had such a fantastic start. Melody naked in my arms, quivering and sighing as I made beautiful love to her on and off for hours, passionate kisses and sweet whispers between us. Who would think that it would end in utter chaos?
Autumn Montana was sound asleep when I walked into her room. Pipper and Elsa in her arms, Violet curled up at the foot of the bed, the revolving lamp projecting brightly colored fish around the room. Ever since Melody bought Elsa, Autumn Montana didn't go anywhere without her, joining her entourage of Pipper and Violet. As I was tucking her in, she stirred awake, her big green eyes fluttering open.
"Daddy?" Autumn Montana yawned.
"Hey, dolly. I just came to kiss you good night. Go back to sleep."
"I missed you."
"I missed you too. Do you know where Mommy went?"
She nodded. "Mmhmm. Mommy and Sam went to Wonderland to visit with the Caterpillar and White Rabbit and The Red Queen."
"Shit." I mumbled under my breath. Theresa and Sam had ditched Autumn Montana at my moms' so they could go to Wonderland, one of the most popular raves.
"Uh-oh, you said a bad word. You have to put a dollar in the swear jar."
"Sorry, Autumn. I didn't mean to, that was bad of me." The first thing I was going to do Monday morning was contact my lawyer to get the case back to court so I could gain full custody. Theresa was as careless as one could get, and I'm disgusted. No matter what, I would fight to get full custody.
"Daddy, have you been crying? Your eyes are red. What's wrong?" She reached her little hand out, pulling me down on her bed.
I have no idea how she was able to tell, it was probably from the revolving lamp. Even if it wasn't, Autumn Montana is very perceptive for her age and far beyond her years.
"Yeah, a little bit."
"Why?"
"It's nothing, just adult stuff."
"Like what? Why?"
Sighing heavily, I knew I had to think quickly on my feet. This was "Initiative vs. Guilt", the third stage of Erikson's 8 Stages of Child Development, more commonly known as the "Why" phase. Most parents in the single parents meetings I had been going to found it insufferable, but I didn't mind. She's a curious little kitten wanting to know everything there is to know, just like her dad.
"Ok, do you remember in Frozen when Anna tried to bring Elsa back to Arendelle to unfreeze it, but because of Elsa's ice powers she was still scared and she accidentally hurts Anna?"
Since Frozen was Autumn Montana's latest obsession, I figured it would get through to her the most. That and as I spoke, I realized Melody really was the epitome of Elsa, having love all around her but being too guarded to embrace it because of fear of hurting them.
She nodded. "Yeah."
Autumn Montana then crawled out of her bed and into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and hugged me as tight as she could.
"Well, sometimes adults get scared, too. They push away the people that love them so much because they're afraid they'll hurt or lose them somehow."
She glanced up at me, a hopeful look in her eyes. "But Daddy, Anna loved Elsa no matter what, it's why she stopped Hans from hurting her, and Olaf said that some people are worth melting for."
I smiled, remembering that part in the movie. Some people were worth melting for, and Melody was one of them.
"That's true, but just remember that it's important to show your love whenever you can."
"You're right. I love you, Daddy." Autumn Montana gave me a kiss on the cheek, which made me feel a bit better as I returned the affection.
"I love you, too, bun bun. Now, you should probably go back to sleep."
"Ok."
With a final yawn as I tucked her in, she fell asleep once more.
Autumn Montana really was my little angel. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful daughter, because right now, she was the only thing getting me to smile.
These next few days were going to be hell to endure, especially with the Mikimoto presentation on Thursday. All I hoped was that Rick was right and Melody would come around, because all I wanted was for her to believe in me like I believe in her, like I believe in us.
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Stubborn Love- A Modern/AU Walking Dead Story