The ring on his finger and the vow he made years ago now seemed to slip his mind each and every time you crossed it— which was often.

At first, he rejected it— the thoughts that distracted him during the occasional dinner with the Greene family, late at night in his tent and especially the ones that occurred during the times he spent alone with you, whether that be to clean up dinner or to burn the bodies of the walkers. But then they just kept coming. It's like one moment he'd be thinking of the closest places to get more supplies for his group, and the next his mind would be on your giggle, and then your cute little outfits, and then on those plump, pink little lips that taunted his mind and turned it sinful.

Rick found himself wondering if he should be more religious. God seemed to be a foundation of the Greene family beliefs, and as soon as he set his eyes on you, he believed you were a gift from the man upstairs himself. A deliciously sinful, tempting gift at that.

Lord, forgive me for my thoughts.

And not only was he guilty for his moments of weakness when he thought of you, but he was guilty because you were an absolute sweetheart. The middle child of the Greenes, you were cute as can be, lugging around pails of water on the hottest of days, smiling dazzlingly at your 'new friends' as you called them, offering help to even the worst of the members. You were the nicest girl, and you looked up to him, which only made his heart hurt more.

It wasn't his fault for looking at you that way, he told himself. Lori had been distant— practically out of the picture— people were counting on him for everything, and the way he felt about you was...just a distraction. Wasn't it?