Sweet and Salty ~ Carl Grimes

Little Girl - 008

T-dog jumped into the back of the truck with Daryl who was pacing, waiting for Rick to hurry the hell up. He was worried about his brother and father, and let it out in spurts of anger. It's probably why he nearly kicked Glenn in the head to honk the horn with his foot. "Come on! Let's go!" He yelled over to Rick.

"Does your sister understand what's going on?" T-dog asked Daryl, a weak attempt to make conversation. He was feeling guilty about the part he played in Will Dixon being left behind. He had nothing to apologise for, though.

"Half sister." Daryl corrected. "And she's ten, she don't know shit about anythin'."

"Hey!" Brooks unintentionally said. "Oops." She murmured.

Glenn hadn't heard it, but Daryl and T-dog's heads snapped in the direction of the blanket they were only know realising was abnormally lumpy. "Brooks, if you're under that blanket I swear to god, girl, I'll kill ya myself." Daryl warned

Brooks pursed her lips together, before she spoke in the deepest voice she could muster. "This isn't Brooks. This is your consciousness. We don't speak a lot these days-" Brooks cut herself off when the blanket was ripped from her and Daryl was standing above her with slightly pursed lips and narrow eyes. She hesitated, seeing the angry look on his face. "Ho, ho, ho?"

"That's Santa." T-dog told her.

"Oh." Brooks let out. Daryl reached down and grabbed her arm, yanking her up.

"What the hell are you doin' here?" He shouted at her.

Brooks tried pulling out of his grip, but quickly found out that was a losing battle. "I need to help get Merle and dad back!"

"You need to stay in camp where it's safe!"

"No, everybody hates me here!" Brooks argued.

Daryl rolled his eyes. "So suddenly you ain't bein' voted prom queen and you're throwing a tantrum."

"Woah, you really knew nothin' about me before the fall, did you?" Brooks realised.

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows. "Hell you talkin' about?"

"I'm an annoying know-it-all smartass, who only showed up to school a couple times a week. I didn't have any friends." Brooks deadpanned.

Daryl rolled his eyes, dragging her to the end of the truck. "You're stayin' here."

"Daryl, please. I wanna help!" Brooks tried.

"I wouldn't give a fuck if you were the King of England, you still ain't comin'!" Daryl argued.

"England has a Queen, you-" Brooks cut herself off.

Daryl raised his eyebrows. "What? Go on, say it."

"I'm sorry." Brooks mumbled.

"I ain't mad at you, I want you to grow some goddamn fuckin' balls and stop bein' a fuckin' sissy about everythin'." Daryl complained. "Go on, now." Daryl pushed her to jump off the truck. 

Brooks huffed as her feet hit the hard ground. "Dad'd let me come."

"That's cause dad doesn't realise you're still just a little girl."

"I ain't no little girl!" Brooks yelled back.

Daryl smiled. "Well at least you're finally speaking up for yourself. Go on, now, get!"

Brooks crossed her arms over her chest before she turned on her heal and stormed off, passing Rick and Shane in the process. She went and sat on a log by herself as she watched them wrap up, and the truck drove away. Carl plonked himself on the ground next to her. "Hey, River, you alright?"