Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

|14|

I could feel my muscles groaning at me before I even opened my eyes. Letting out a small groan, I turned onto my back and opened my eyes, immediately regretting waking up. Even though we were no longer in the truck, my body still ached from being in the tight spot I chose in the RV. A large part of me wanted to be lazy and rest all day, but I knew I had to get up. Why did Sophia have to run? Why couldn't she stay put and wait for Rick and me to come back? At least we'd be miles away from where we are now. I know that none of this is her fault, but it makes you wonder how things would've been if things had played out differently. I slowly sat up, rubbing my back as I did so, and looked around the RV.

Daryl was sitting in the passenger seat, his eyes glued to the carpeted floor underneath his feet, and his mind was a million miles away. I waved my hand, trying to get his attention but failed, the man too engrossed in whatever thoughts he was having. I stood up, groaning as I ached all over, and walked over to Daryl, snapping my fingers in front of his face.

"Stop." He muttered, smacking my hand away, "Why you gotta be so annoying as soon as you wake up?"

"I love you too, Daryl," I joked, ignoring his snide remark. That's typical Daryl, though! "What's up?" He shrugged his shoulders and stared at me, eyes scanning my face.

"You got some dry drool." He smirked, making me roll my eyes as I went to the sink and grabbed the water bottle on it. "You're the world's ugliest sleeper, y'know." I rolled my eyes again and cupped one of my hands, pouring water into it and scrubbing away at my chin and cheeks. Why does he gotta be so mean in the morning? I haven't even done anything yet!

"That's enough." I whined, "It's too early for you to bully me, Dixon."

"Is it bullying if it's the truth?" He chuckled, the foreign sound shocking me. Since I met him, I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard him laugh or chuckle! It's still so weird! I kept my comment to myself and turned to face him, wanting to know what was on the agenda today. He met my eyes and seemingly read my mind. "We're going out searching today."

"You're in charge then," I said. While I knew the woods, Daryl was clearly the expert between us. He's had more practice than I, "I'll only be there when you need help or something." But he won't need help.

"Sounds good." Daryl agreed. "Best we get going. We need all the daylight we can get." I nodded at him and walked over to the table, grabbing my pack and loading two water bottles and some ammo for my pistol. I ensured my knife was secure on my hip before walking out of the RV and into the brutal Georgia heat. I groaned again and shielded my eyes against the intense sun.

"June." I heard Rick call out for me. I felt my body freeze at the sound of his voice. Very slowly, I turned my head, watching him come my way. Anxiety peaked in my stomach, and my hands started to sweat from the nerves. I'm not stupid; I know what I did last night, and it was plain wrong. But leave it to good ol' June Gomez to fuck up. Sure, it wasn't my first time trying to tango naked in a time of emotional crisis, but it was the first time I made a move on a married man with whom I'm surviving the end of the world with. Oh God, Lori is going to kill me in my sleep if she ever finds out! I gave him a tight smile and adjusted my pack to a more comfortable position on my back, desperately wanting to crawl inside my own skin and disappear. What makes it worse... I can't even blame alcohol for making me act the way I did.

"Yeah, Rick?" I muttered, not wanting to make eye contact with him. He stood before me, his hands on his hips as he studied me. I could almost feel my flesh erupting in goosebumps when his eyes hit me. My stomach churned, and my throat dried, my nerves picking up.

"Daryl told you about all of us going out there today? I was wondering if you want to take your own group and go a different direction or—" Was this his way of putting distance between us? I mean, I don't blame him cause I did royally fuck up, but this wasn't a good idea.