Stray // Daryl Dixon

No Good at Saying Sorry

Glenn, Abraham, Carol, and I all walked down the road together, approaching the house Deanna had put Rick in last night to cool down. It was one of the houses still under construction. Michonne stayed with him all night after Rosita patched up his face. Pete was also placed in a separate house away from Jessie and their kids. Deanna knew of the abuse Pete was putting his family through behind closed doors, but he was the town's only doctor and all she did was pray that things would get better. After finding that out I understood Rick's anger now, I understood why Rick told Pete if he lay a hand on them again he'd be dead.

Glenn pushed open the front door, all of us walking in behind him and Abraham shutting it behind us so we could talk to Rick in private. He lay on a makeshift cot just to the right of the doorway, what looked to eventually be the dining room. Michone sat on a chair in the corner of the room. He was awake and it looked as if they were just finishing up a conversation of their own.

"Where'd you get the gun?" Michonne asked him.

"You took it right? From the armoury?" Carol questioned. Rick narrowed his eyes at her questionable. "That was stupid. Why'd you do it?"

Rick sighed, his arm resting upon his knee as he pressed his back up against the wall, "Just in case." I looked over to Michonne, her arms crossed over her chest as she scowled at Rick like she was trying to read the real reason as to why he had the gun.

"Deanna's planning to have a meeting tonight," Glenn changed the subject, "For anyone who wants to."

"To kick Rick out?" I asked.

"To try," Carol answered for him.

"We don't know that," Glenn fought. "Maggie's with Deanna right now. She gonna find out what it is."

"At the meeting, you say you were worried about someone being abused and no one was doing anything about it," Carol began to coach him. "You say you took a gun just to be sure that Jessie was safe from a man who wound up attacking you. You say you'll do whatever you want them to. Just tell them a story that they want to hear." She then looked over to us. "That's what I've been doing since I got here."

"Why?" Michonne furrowed her brows at Carol.

Carol looked over at Michonne, her face more serious than ever, "Because these people are children and children like stories."

"What happens after all the nice words and they still try and kick him out?" Abraham questioned.

"They're guarding the armoury now," I nodded my head, supporting Abraham's claim. If they were guarding it now, it meant that they were scared of Rick, scared of us.

"We still have knives. That's all we'll need against them." I looked over at Carol, wondering when she became this person. So defensive, so untrusting. Ever since she had saved us from Terminus, she became hard and hollowed out. It wasn't a bad thing, but I didn't see even a piece of the person she was before, left.

"Well, tonight at the meeting, if it looks like it's going bad, I whistle. Carol grabs Deanna, I take Spencer, you grab Reg," Rick pointed over to Michonne, "Scar, Glenn, Abraham cover us and watch the crowd."

"Rick, we can talk to them," I cut him off.

"Yeah, we will. But, if we can't get through, we take the three of them and say we'll slit their throats."

"Like at Terminus?" I shook my head. My eyes met Ricks, clearly disappointed.

"No, we just tell 'em. They give us the armoury and it's over."

Glenn sighed, "Did you want this?" he asked Rick.

"No," Rick breathed out, staring Glenn down. "I hit my limit. I-- I screwed up," he pursed his lips together, "And here we are."