Future Ghosts • TWD

2 . Wrong in the Head.

David went back to Daryl and Merle's camp about half an hour later, Rosie right behind him.

Merle glanced at David's knuckles, checking for any sign of blood or bruising, and felt relieved when he came up empty. It didn't mean that David definitely didn't do anything to the girl, but it still eased Merle's suspicions. He didn't think David would be an asshole like his own dad, but that didn't stop him from wondering.

He didn't think Daryl would be paying any attention to anything either. As far as Merle knew, Daryl hadn't had the exact same experiences as he did. Merle didn't know much, though.

Daryl, knowing very well what a father could do with his belt, paid close attention to Rosie as she walked behind her father. She had tear stains on her cheeks, but no bruising or blood. When David sat down on his crate and began cooking pieces of rabbit, Rosie kept walking.

"Where you goin', lil' darlin'? Ain't gonna tell us why you punched that boy?" Merle asked with a smirk. Rosie didn't get what he found so amusing about it all.

"Walk," was all Rosie said, her voice scratchy and quiet.

What she meant to say was I'm going on a walk, but she didn't feel like talking, so she settled with a one word answer. She was afraid that if she spoke, she'd just burst into tears and break down right then and there.

Daryl paid close attention to the way that Rosie walked, noticing right away that it was off. It was stiff, as if she was trying hard not to move too much or too quickly. Her head was down, her blonde hair falling over her face, and she kept tugging at the back of her shirt, pulling it away from herself.

He eyed David to see if he paid any attention to the strange way Rosie was acting, but he didn't seem to care at all, completely focused on cooking the meat. Something in Daryl's stomach made him want to get up and go with her.

"Shouldn't be goin' out there on your own with the dead ones walkin' 'round," Daryl decided on saying. Rosie just shrugged and kept walking.

"She's fine," David said, rolling his eyes at what Daryl said.

"How old is she, like, seven? Ain't safe for a-"

"Nine. Don't matter either way. She knows how ta take care of herself. I didn' raise no pussy. Kid can survive a walk in the woods," David grunted out.

Daryl glanced over at Rosie once more. She was already disappearing into the trees. He looked at Merle, and Merle just shook his head. So they went on, cooking the meat.

Rosie walked and walked and walked, and with each step she took, she felt like she was cracking. She kept thinking about her dad and how much she hated him. She thought about how much she hated him and how much she loved him and how much she hated that she loved him. It was all so confusing. She felt stupid and helpless and unsure of what to do.

It was like she was a glass of water, one crack away from breaking open and flooding the world with her tears. And when she was far enough away to be sure that her father wouldn't hear her, she let herself.

Tears poured from her eyes and cries erupted from her throat, even if she tried staying quiet. She began to feel weak and dropped down to her knees before holding her head in her hands, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes as if it would stop the tears.

The burning sensation on her back seemed to get worse as her body heated up with anger and frustration. She slammed her hands against her head, trying to get herself to calm down, but it wasn't working. She shrieked as her breathing was so quick and fast paced that she began to feel light headed.

Suddenly, all Rosie's sadness morphed back into anger and she stood back up. She turned to her right and the first thing she saw was a tree. She brought herself towards it and began punching it over and over and over again, savoring the satisfaction the hit gave her and the sting of her knuckles as they hit against the tree trunk, scraping onto the bark. The heat and anger released itself from her body as she expelled it onto the tree in front of her.