Mellody sat on a wooden chair next to the bed where Archie lay. Maggie brought her over, and Hershel stitched Archie up after he had been shot in the side. Luckily, it didn't do much damage. He would be able to recover in no time, and as soon as he woke up, he would have to stay in bed.
Mellody was worried and hoped Daryl would be okay. She heard a knock on the door, and when she turned, she saw Maggie
"Hey, how's he doing?" Maggie asked as she leaned against the doorframe.
“He's better, I think,” Mellody replied, looking at Maggie with worry. “He just hasn't woken up yet.”
Maggie walked over and put a hand on Mellody's back, offering a reassuring touch. “He's going to be okay,” she said, rubbing her back gently.
“Daryl's alright. He's resting now, but he wants to talk to you,” Maggie said. Mellody narrowed her eyes, furrowing her eyebrows. When had Daryl ever wanted to talk to her? He had always liked Archie more and would take him hunting, probably because he was stronger and more like himself. She wasn't like that, and he hardly ever spoke to her even before all this had happened.
"Why?” Mellody asked, her voice low and calm. She could hear the worry in Maggie's voice.
“I'm not sure. He just said he wanted to talk to you,” Maggie replied, furrowing her eyebrows.
“Ok,” Mellody said, feeling a sense of obligation but not really wanting to talk to him. It was kind of Daryl's fault that Archie got shot, or at least she thought so. She was mad at Daryl and Andrea because of how much pain Archie was in, and she couldn't bring herself to forgive them just yet.
Taking a deep breath, Mellody got up from the chair and walked past Maggie, heading to the room where Daryl was. She saw the door was closed, and she wondered if she should knock. Ultimately, she decided just to open the door, and as she did, Daryl sat up in the bed, still covered in blood but not as much as Archie.
"What?" Mellody asked, her voice almost a whisper, as she looked at him.
"Wanted to ask how you was doin'?" Daryl asked, but he didn't seem to actually want Mellody there.
"Fine," Mellody said, crossing her arms and looking out the window.
"Don't sound fine," Daryl responded, raising an eyebrow. He was suspicious of Mellody and wondered why she was acting like this.
"It's your fault," Mellody suddenly blurted out, and she immediately regretted it.
Daryl's eyebrows furrowed as he yelled, "The hell? I wasn't the bitch who shot him!"
"Yeah, no shit," Mellody replied, rolling her eyes as she looked at her shoes. She was still angry with Daryl and didn't want to talk to him, but she didn't know how to end the conversation.
“Language,” Daryl scoffed, and Mellody glared at him. Daryl always cussed, and she didn't think it was fair that he told her off for it.
“Still your fault,” Mellody said, her voice growing louder.
“It ain't, but think what you want. You're wrong,” Daryl replied, huffing loudly.
“How's he doing?” Daryl asked, rolling over so he didn't have to look at Mellody anymore. He was annoyed with her and didn't want to continue the argument.
"He hasn't woken up yet," Mellody said, tapping her foot on the ground. She wanted to leave and go back to Archie to see if he had woken up yet.
Daryl sighed, not saying anything, but grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it up and over him. Mellody tapped her foot again, bit the inside of her upper lip and waited.
"Mel," Daryl said, lifting his head up slightly.
"What?" Mellody asked flatly.
“Tell me when he wakes up,” Daryl said, putting his head back down on the pillow. Mellody rolled her eyes and then turned her back without saying anything, leaving the room and walking back to Archie. He still hadn't woken up and lay motionless, except for his chest, which rose and fell with his quiet breathing.
Mellody was tired and felt like she had been waiting too long for Archie to wake up. Being there wasn't going to help, she thought, so she walked into another room and opened the front door. It was still really bright outside, and she saw Andrea sitting on the porch. Mellody didn't want to talk to her - she found Andrea annoying and almost killed Archie. Thinking that Andrea wouldn't notice her if she didn't look at her, Mellody walked down the steps without acknowledging her.
"Mellody," she heard Andrea say, and she turned around. Andrea stood up and walked towards her, and Mellody could see that she looked really sad.
"I'm so sorry I shot your brother and Daryl," Andrea said.
Mellody maintained her mean face and simply replied, "Ok." She didn't want to look sad, and she wasn't ready to forgive Andrea just yet.
Andrea looked down, unsure of what to say or do.
"Can I go now?" Mellody asked, annoyance clear in her voice. Andrea felt bad, but she didn't like how Mellody was treating her.
"Okay, I'm sorry," Andrea replied reluctantly. "I thought they were walkers, but you can't-" Andrea started to say, but Mellody interrupted her.
"I don't care," Mellody said, squinting her eyes to look meaner, just like Archie would do. "You shot my brother!”
Andrea opened her mouth to defend herself, but Mellody didn't care. She hated Andrea more and more and didn't want to listen to her. She simply turned her back and started to walk away.
Mellody reached Sofia, who was sitting on the dirt coloring. Carol was sitting next to her, with her arm around Sofia. Carol looked up and smiled at Mellody and moved over a little bit so Mellody could sit next to Sofia. Mellody scoots in and sits next to Sofia, looking at her drawing. Sofia was much better than Mellody at drawing - she was drawing a horse.
"I really like your horse," Mellody said, smiling. The horse was a light brown color, and Sofia was coloring in the barn with a pretty red color.
"Thank you," Sofia said softly, and Carol squeezed Sofia's shoulder, reassuring her. Then she kissed the top of Sofia's head.
"Hey, kiddo," T-Dog said, walking past Mellody. He was talking to her, but they didn't talk much - there wasn't really a need to. However, Mellody still liked him. Unlike Andrea and Daryl, T-Dog was much nicer. He still had a bandage around his arm from the car, but he was on the mend.
"Hi," Mellody said, her voice quieter than usual, but loud enough for T-Dog to hear and nod as he walked by. Carol pat her head softly, then got up and walked towards Lori, who was standing where Carol had been.
Sofia drew a lot of pictures, and as time passed, darkness fell. Everybody except Daryl was at the dining table eating dinner, but Mellody didn't want to. She was cuddled up in a chair, tears filling her eyes. She was just really sad and wasn't in the mood for anything.
Suddenly, Melody heard a knock on the door. Carol waited at the door, holding a tray of food. She walked in and stood next to Melody, looking down at Archie.
"I wanted to bring you some food," Carol said, her voice soft. It sounded like she was there for other reasons, but Melody didn't care. Her lip curled, and she smiled, her lip quivering a little bit. But she wasn't hungry.
"Thank you," Melody said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. As Carol placed the tray of food on the nightstand, she tried to find the strength to eat something, but it was difficult. The sadness inside her was too overwhelming.
"How is he?" Carol asked, placing her hand on the back of Melody's chair.
"I don't know," Melody said, her voice shaking. She was really scared for Archie and Carl.
After a second of silence, Carol finally spoke. "You know...Daryl did more for my little girl than her daddy ever did," she said. The words stung, only adding to Melody's sadness.
"What, are you going to become my aunt now?" Melody asked sarcastically, not meaning to be mean, but she was in a bad mood. Carol didn't say anything else; she was upset. A few moments passed in silence, and then Carol finally left the room.
