my tears ricochet

Chapter Twelve

"Let's have a chat, you and I. I think you've been here long enough."

Ivy looked up from her seat, nearly dropping the book she was holding. "Talk to Daryl about that," she said, keeping her voice flat. She'd always been good at that sort of thing, making her father unravel into a rage within seconds just by the tone of her voice. "I'm not interested in speaking to you."

She had watched Daryl look down his nose at Shane despite being physically shorter than the man. She tried to channel some of that nonchalance, sitting unbothered even when it felt like her skin was crawling.

"Daryl doesn't get to make decisions for the group."

"Well, that's fucking stupid," she sneered at him. "Seeing as how he's the one keeping y'all fed on fresh meat. You'd think you might value that sort of thing a bit more at the end of the world."

That triggered a bit of redness swelling across Shane's face and Ivy took a savage amusement in it. Daryl had been clear to her that she was to walk away and find him Shane started in on her but she didn't want to yield that back porch to him. That was space she shared with Beth and Maggie, and to abandon because of Shane felt wrong. Ivy had spent a lifetime giving up ground to her father, losing bits and pieces of herself to feed a vile temper.

Maggie stuck her head out the back door, drawn by the sounds of their voices together. She had a knife in her hand like she had just been working in the kitchen but Ivy couldn't tell if she had brought it with her to make a point. "What's going on out here? Pretty sure my daddy told you to steer clear of this house. And I'm positive her daddy told you to beat it from her."

It was almost pathetic how much she loved being someone's something. As much as she had protested Daryl's first round of parenting, she had come to accept it. It was strange having someone watching out for her, bullying her into giving him the flashlight at night so she wasn't spending hours reading.

The Green's had accepted Ivy so quickly, it made no difference that she was suddenly someone's daughter. She had a place at their table and she soaked up that kindness like a sponge. If Daryl walked away someday she wanted to be able to remember what it felt like, trusting in a hand for a moment.

Shane snorted, giving Maggie a look. He crossed his arms and refused to budge from the porch. "I'm having a little conversation with Ivy here. None of your business at all, truth to be told. Why don't you run off and keep playing house?"

"Get the hell out of here." Ivy realized in that moment that the knife in her hand was meant to serve a purpose. Maggie's grief still lingered, angry and raw, and Shane had been the one to open those doors up in the first place.

Glenn was sliding around Maggie to get onto the porch. "Go get Daryl," he ordered in a quiet voice, softness an undertone to his words. She took off like a shot and he focused on Shane. "You know he doesn't want you near her."

"Seems odd, that a man can't have a little chat with someone. I haven't laid a hand on her. Dixon's just being territorial."

"Yeah, and he doesn't want you near her." Glenn said.

"Don't you think that's a problem? You ever see Dixon give a damn about someone who wasn't a little girl?" Shane fired off and Ivy recoiled a bit in response, turning just in time to see Daryl storming around the corner of the house with Maggie hot on his heels.

"Can't you shut up?" He asked Shane.

Ivy had been working at blending with Daryl's group a bit more. She preferred the Green's but she was managing, keeping to either Daryl or Lori's side. T-Dog's moods went up and down a little to sharply for her comfort but Rick wasn't bad, keeping an eye on her from afar and tossing her the odd peach in greeting. Glenn was her favourite with how soft he could be with Maggie. There was an awkwardness to him that loosened up when the woman was nearby and Ivy could see the truth to his actions and intentions.