A Simple Coincidence // Daryl Dixon

29 | No Other Man

Continuing day 71 

"You don't understand! Just leave me alone, please"

"Elleanore, they gotta take a look at you. Come on"

"I'm fine, Daryl. Just leave please."

I could barely remember how I got myself into the bathroom, I could only remember being carried inside by Daryl and then somehow running to the bathroom and locking myself in.

The ground was as hard as Shane's heart against my body as I sat on the ground against the door of the Greene family's bathroom.

I squeezed my eyes shut forcing the tears out as those on the other side violently knocked on the door, shaking it so hard that my head kept hitting against it.

"Ella, just please let us in. You need help-." Glenn yelled from the other side of the door, before being stopped by someone.

Please just leave.

I only heard muffled noises before it went silent for a couple of minutes.

I took a breath of relief, finally allowing myself to feel the pain in my body.

the knife was no longer in my thigh, and the wound had already started to heal itself. I could feel the dried blood all over my body, feelings the smaller wounds turning into scars. 

How did I let it happen again? How the hell did I allow another man to do this to me again?

I had promised myself that I would never fall in the hands of another man again, to never fall weak in front of a man, to never look weak enough to let them hurt me.

It's all my fault. I should've been stronger.

I dropped my head in my hands as I sobbed freely, pouring out all my golden tears.

Then I felt it, I felt it before I knew it, I felt my lungs burning and my body shaking and I started gasping for air. I held my throat with both my hands desperately trying to get air into my lungs. The walls around me felt like they were falling onto me, leaving me in infinite darkness.

it's happening again. 

"Elleanore, it's me, Maggie. Sweetie, I can hear you strunglin'. Let me in." I heard her calm voice through the door.

She wouldn't hurt me. Right? 

I quickly unlocked the door and crawled away from it pushing my back against the far end of the small bathroom.

I looked up at her, pleading with my eyes, still unable to breathe properly. She slowly stepped towards me and kneeled down in front of me looking over my body. Almost amazed at the self-healing wounds, yet pitiful for my pain.

"Can I touch you?"

That's strange. And new. 

A chocked sob left my lips as I repeatedly nodded my head.

She was soft, her arms wrapped around me, pulling my head down against her chest as she tightly held me against her warm body.

I was dirty and bloody, but she didn't seem to care about any of it as she cradled me in her arms, rocking us back and forth.

Maggie is sweet. 

***

After some time, I had calmed down and was simply laying in Maggie's arms.

I started at the old floor tile as I slowly started humming my favourite nursery rhyme.

Closing my eyes, I imagined myself in the arms of my mother, her soothing voice singing over me, comforting me as she slowly whipped away my tears.

"I broke my promise. I let another man hit me." I whispered to Maggie, somewhat hoping she wouldn't hear my words.

"Let's get you cleaned up, okay? You can tell me all about it" she whispered back.

I slowly loosened my grip on her arms and pulled away to look at her face, noticing some tears under her eyes.

She was kind, loving and caring. All the things I needed in my life. I was thankful to have her there, thankful to be able to call her my friend.

My eyes caught a shadow behind her. I looked up to see the bathroom door open, and outside of it was a certain someone sitting on the ground of the corridor leaning his head back against the wall and staring at me.

***

"Why are you here?"

"To make sure that he doesn't get here." he pointed his finger at the door, meaning Shane. 

Yeah right

He didn't know that I was just as scared of him. I couldn't trust his words, no matter what he told me, he was too unpredictable.

I backed away towards the bed not looking away from him until the back of my legs hit the bed. I slowly lowered myself onto the bed and got in quickly before pulling the blanket over my entire body until it reached my shoulders.

"You're just gonna stay there?" I asked raising my head up from the comfortable pillow to take a better look at him.

He kept biting his thumb and simply nodded his head looking down at the ground.

He took a step towards me causing me to jump up from the bed and grab onto the tamp on the bedside table holding it up, ready to hit him in case he got any closer.

And he did, he got closer, but not to me, he simply sat down on the chair beside the bed. Looking at me and nodding his head slowly. He rested his elbows on the armrests and lifted both his arms up, "Elle, I ain't gonna touch you"

Elle. 

and he truly didn't, he kept his arms up until I lowered the lamp and got back into bed.

I kept watching him, and he kept watching me, not missing each other's movements.

His gaze laid heavy on me, I didn't like the fact that i was being watched, but there was no other man that I would have wished to replace him. 

At least I knew that if Shane were to come to the room, Daryl would be there and hopefully he would not let Shane get close to me. 

I laid on my side drowning in the bed my eyes unable to stay open for long as they looked at his tired ones, I covered my mouth with the blanket before whispering so low that even I barely heard it, "Thank you, Daryl."

His arms stayed up for as long as I could remember, and slowly my paranoid mind was forced into sleep by my body.

but before I was completely out, I heard a whisper as quiet as my previous one, 

"Any time"

Or maybe I imagined it.