𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Daryl Dixon

19 | CROSSING THE LINE

"Nowhere. I was nowhere," Tori shrugged, refusing to make eye contact as Dale questioned her.

"You must have been somewhere," the man replied, taking a bite of the peach he held in his hand. "I went by your tent to tell you Lori and Shane were back, and you weren't there."

"Yeah, so?" Tori mumbled.

"So, where were you?" Dale pressed.

Looking away from her friend, Tori rolled her eyes with a loud sigh, "Fine. I went for a walk, just to clear my head," she explained casually. "I wasn't gonna say anything because I went into the woods, and it was the middle of the night, so I knew you'd say-"

"By yourself?!" Dale interrupted. "In the dark? You know how dangerous that is?"

"-That." Tori pointed at him. "I knew you'd say that."

Rolling his eyes, Dale said, "Fine, sorry." His expression softening, he asked, "Are you okay though? Really?"

Taking a breath, Tori nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay. Yesterday was just a little overwhelming. The gunshots and... the rest."

"Yeah, it was a lot," Dale uttered sadly. He straightened his back, patting Tori's arm. "We keep going on though, right?"

"Mhmm," Tori hummed with a small nod. "That, we do."

The sun had risen early; it was barely 8AM as the pair of them stood by the open trunk of a car, packing up some supplies. Rick, Glenn, and Hershel had still not returned, so a group were preparing to head out and go searching. Dale went off to go and speak to Andrea, the two of them seeming to be at odds over the blonde's sudden friendship with Shane.

Tori turned away from watching the two of them talk, and reached for a sealed water bottle which was stood in a crate. She had barely touched it when an arm reached around her and grabbed the bottle, and Tori heavily sighed as she turned to see Daryl standing there, undoing the cap, and taking a drink.

"Seriously?" she frowned.

"What?" Daryl shrugged a shoulder, "Ain't like it's the only water bottle in the world."

"You saw me about to grab it," Tori deadpanned, her face blank.

"Tough shit," Daryl mumbled.

As they both glared silently at one another, Andrea and Dale returned to the car, and the blonde rolled her eyes. "Seriously, we're back to staring contests between you two?" she asked. "I thought you were cool now."

"Well, apparently, some people find their ego just a little too tough to let go of," Tori bit with a sarcastic smile.

Daryl scoffed, "Bit rich, comin' from you, but alright." He walked away after that, taking another sip from the water, making Tori roll her eyes.

Andrea went back to filling her bag with supplies for when they drove out. Dale glanced at Tori with a look she couldn't read, though he was definitely reading her. His eyebrows were pinched together, his features etched with concern. There was no way he could have known where she really was the night before, but the look he was giving her made her feel like he somehow did.

Tori just brushed it off, forcing a tight smile as she walked away from the car. She headed over to her own truck, which Shane had brought back, thankfully, without a scratch. As she reached for the new bow, which was left on the bed of the truck, a bottle of water had been left there.

She looked to her left, her long, loose hair flinging over her shoulder as she spotted Daryl across the camp. He glanced in her direction, winking with a very subtle smirk before looking away. Tori bit the inside of her cheek, fighting back a smile as she went back to what she was doing.