Dear Diary | Daryl Dixon

𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚕'𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎 - 𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚓𝚊𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎

𝙳𝙰𝚁𝚈𝙻'𝚂 𝚁𝙴𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙻𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 - 𝙰𝙻𝙰𝙳𝙳𝙸𝙽 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙹𝙰𝚂𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙴

Daryl had been noticing Anita acting strangely for the past couple of days and every time he asked her about it, she simply told him that she was tired. Daryl was beginning to believe that was no longer the case and Anita was hiding something from him. Why would Anita hide stuff from him though? And what was she hiding?

Daryl had taken over Anita's watch shift like he promised whilst she slept, hopefully gaining enough energy so she wouldn't be as tired as before. Whilst he was on watch, Rick had called him over and Daryl was met by both him and Hershel. Rick told Daryl that the Governor really wanted Michonne and although Daryl was not really on board with that idea, he had no choice but to agree. Handing Michonne over to the Governor could end this war that was quickly approaching. No-one would have to die and they could continue living peacefully in the prison. Rick also told Daryl they would need Merle's help so Daryl said he would talk to him.

Daryl went searching for Merle in the tombs after seeing he wasn't in the cell blocks and he found him in the generator room, looking around. "What are you doin' down here?" Daryl asked his brother.

"Just lookin' for a little...uh...crystal meth." Merle said, making Daryl roll his eyes. "Yeah, I know. I shouldn't mess my life up when everything's goin' so sweet, right? Especially for you. Ya' got your whole future written out for ya'."

Daryl looked at Merle in confusion, not knowing what he was talking about. Merle realised what he had blurted out and cursed himself. He was suffering from serious withdrawal and was finding it hard to keep himself together.

"What are ya' talking about?" Daryl asked. "And have ya' spoken to Anita recently? She's been acting weird the past couple of days and she won't tell me what's goin' on."

Of course Merle knew why Anita was acting weird. It was because she was pregnant and hadn't told Daryl, fearing his reaction. Merle may be a jackass but he wouldn't go around and start telling people such big news like that. He knew well enough that Daryl needed to hear it from Anita, not him.

"Why you askin' me? She's your girl, not mine." Merle said.

"I know, but, she likes ya', right? She talks to you about stuff." Daryl said.

"Ain't nothing worth mentioning." Merle shrugged. "We get on but we don't share our deepest, darkest, secrets."

In Daryl's mind, he was beginning to think Anita was doubting their whole relationship and she just didn't know how to break things off with him without hurting his feelings and making it awkward. That had to be the only logical explanation. In some way, their relationship really was like Aladdin and Princess Jasmine. Anita was Jasmine, the princess who was meant to marry a rich and handsome prince and live happily ever after. Daryl was Aladdin, a poor street thief, stealing whatever he could to survive with no bright future ahead of him. In a way, their relationship was kinda like what you would see in a fairytale but the thing was...fairytales aren't real. This was real life. They lived in a world where dead people ate the living. Was Daryl trying to force something that just wasn't meant to be? Since he had first laid eyes on Anita, he had never doubted their relationship but now...Daryl wasn't too sure.

Merle noticed that look Daryl had and knew he was getting second thoughts. "Hey, don't give me that look, boy." Merle said, making Daryl look up at him. Daryl did look a little disheartened. "That girl loves ya'. Don't forget that. And as much as it pains me to say, you love her, too. So, don't start thinkin' of things ya' don't need to think."

Daryl sighed and nodded. Maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe everything was fine. Maybe. After telling Merle that Rick wanted him to help deliver Michonne to the Governor, he left the generator room, not knowing that the next time he would see his brother, he would be eating the flesh off a dead corpse.

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When Daryl went back up to the cell block, he saw Anita helping Carol prepare dinner. It wasn't until she quickly got up and ran to the bathroom before throwing up that Daryl started to worry. Was Anita sick? Daryl ran after her and saw her hunched over the toilet, spewing her guts out. He held her hair up and rubbed her back as she continued throwing up before finally stopping and lifting her head, her face now gone pale.

"Thanks." Anita said weakly.

"What the hell happened to ya'? Are you sick?" Daryl asked her as he felt her forehead but she didn't seem to be burning up or anything.

"I'm fine. I just....had an upset stomach." She said as she stood up. Anita washed her mouth before turning to look at Daryl who was seriously concerned. "Daryl, I'm fine. Trust me."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and left a kiss on his nose. "Okay, but if ya' throw up like that again-"

"Don't worry. I won't." Anita said and Daryl nodded.

"I need to find Rick. I'll be back soon." Daryl told her. Anita nodded and they both shared a kiss before going their separate ways. But Daryl still couldn't get that strange feeling he had away. Something was up.

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When Daryl returned to the prison later that day, he was completely broken down. He didn't talk to anyone and just went straight to his cell where Anita had followed him, seeing him looking devastated.

"Daryl, what's wrong?" Anita asked and Daryl looked at her with tears in his eyes.

"Merle's dead." He said and Anita's eyes widened in shock. "He was a walker."

"Oh my God. Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Anita said, hugging him tight as he hid his head in her chest. Daryl didn't want Anita to see his tears. He didn't want to seem weak but Daryl felt like he really had reached his low point. His only family he had left was gone.

"He was going to take Michonne to the Governor. But he didn't. He let her go. Merle never did anything like that his whole life." Daryl said when he pulled away.

"He wasn't evil. He did care, especially for you." Anita said as she squeezed his hand. "He told me that when he died, that he wanted me to take care of you. He wanted me to make sure you wouldn't be hurt anymore. And although he didn't say it, he wanted you to know that he loved you. He always did."

Daryl felt his heart break even more and rested his head on Anita's shoulder, allowing his tears to fall.