Life I Left Behind (A Daryl Dixon Story)

Chapter Twelve

I was wondering how hard I had hit my head, because there was no chance in hell that Daryl Dixon was actually right here in front of me. What were the chances? I felt a dull ache forming in the back of my head, which convinced me that I was awake and this was real life. Daryl suddenly stood up, removing his weight from my chest. I struggled into a sitting position, trying to ignore the pain in my head. Our eyes met again as I looked up at him. He hung back a few paces, crossbow clutched in his arms though not as tightly. The look on his face told me he was feeling just as shocked by this as I felt.

“What the hell ya doin’ here, Charlie?” The silence was finally broken. My eyes raked over him, taking in every single familiar detail. He looked almost the same as I remembered. He had the same lean, lithe build. The same sandy colored hair, though it was longer than I had ever seen it, the ends curling over the collar of his battered looking shirt. Facial hair had sprouted over his chin and upper lip, though it was barely noticeable. He was dirty and rugged looking. More so than I remembered, but that was to be expected. I could only imagine what I looked like right now, wearing the same tattered clothing I had been for weeks and my hair a tangled knot on my head. It was a miracle he had even recognized me under all this hell.

“What am I doing?” I repeated incredulously. “What the hell does it look like I’m doing? Taking a leisurely stroll through the forest? Did those assholes send you after me? Jesus Christ, Daryl. What the hell are YOU doing? You tried to shoot me!” The words all left my mouth in a jumble, my voice shaking slightly. I felt like the shock of seeing Daryl here, after all this time, had suddenly rendered my brain numb. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, what I was supposed to say. How was this even happening?

“I didn’t know it was you. How could I know?” He said in a quiet, gruff tone. “Hell, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

I stared at him quietly, his words sinking in. Truth be told, I had thought the same. After what had happened the last time I had stood in front of Daryl Dixon, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see him again. Even the end of the world couldn’t erase what had been said that night. I swallowed hard. He was practically a stranger now. I didn’t know him anymore. I didn’t know if I could trust him, despite everything we had been through together as kids. Most of all, I didn’t know that looking at him again would hurt like this. He was like a living, breathing reminder of home, of the life that I used to have. A reminder that before all this shit, there had been a different world. I tried to push myself into a standing position and found myself once again facing down a crossbow. My eye traveled up over the tense muscles in his arms to the dangerous expression on Daryl’s face. It was one I had never seen before and one that seemed to prove that despite our past together, things were different now.
“I gotta take you back with me.”

I stared at him incredulously. “Excuse me? First of all, get that arrow out of my face.” I said, placing a hand on the crossbow and pushing it down. “Second of all, your buddies kidnapped me, threw me in a shack, and then decided it was necessary to punch me in the face!” I hissed, pointing at my busted lip. It was still tender from earlier and I knew it probably looked worse than it felt.

Daryl’s gaze slid to my bruised face and his expression was unreadable for a moment before the hard, stony look was back in his eyes. “I’m not ‘bout to let ya go runnin’ off to yer group and leadin ‘em here. We got ‘nough problems.”

I felt rage welling up inside of me. “I already told that other asshole that I wasn’t a part of any group. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” I said through gritted teeth. “You have to believe me. That other kid they locked up with me, I’d never seen him before yesterday. Please, Daryl.” I couldn’t keep the slight begging tone out of my voice. I was pretty much screwed if he didn’t believe me.
He chewed on his lower lip, his eyes boring into me. I shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze. “You really been alone all this time?” He asked finally, after what felt like a life time of silence.
I felt relief washing over me. He believed me. “Yes. Well, not the whole time.” I quickly corrected myself. I had been with Gabe for the first month. I shook the thoughts of my younger brother away quickly before the painful memories of what had happened could resurface completely. “But I’ve been alone for a few months now.”

Daryl rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn, woman. I’m surprised yer even alive right now.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What? You think I can’t survive on my own?”

He perked an eyebrow. “Bein’ a city girl and all now-“

I cut him off before he had the chance to finish. “Don’t even start that shit right now. Are you serious? With everything else that’s happened, with what’s happening right now, you’re gonna bring that old argument up?” I said harshly.

He glared at me and I could tell from his expression that he would have gladly kept arguing had this been a different time and a different place. He seemed to realize that I was right, though, that this was better left for later. I waited, but he didn’t say anything for a long minute. “I believe ya. You always were a shitty liar.” He finally said. I was slightly irritated, but my relief outweighed that by a ton. “I still gotta take you back with me…if I show up without you, they’ll just keep lookin’. They think you’re a danger, Charlie, and next time you might not get so lucky and it might not be me who finds ya first.” He said gruffly, his eyes moving towards my battered lip and I knew he was thinking about the asshole who had punched me. I opened my mouth to argue, but Daryl waved his hand to silence me. “And anyways, you wouldn’t last a week out here. You ain’t got any supplies, any weapons. If the walkers didn’t git ya first, then you’d starve to death. If I let you go, I’ll be wastin’ all my damn time worryin’ ‘bout yer ass.”

“You’d be fine. You spent the last ten years not worrying about me, didn’t you? Why stop now.” I said coldly before I could stop myself. Daryl’s face darkened and he moved closer, almost entirely closing the space between us. I fought the urge to step back.

“Like you said, this ain’t the time for that bullshit. We got company comin’.” He said in a harsh voice, nodding in the direction behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw two walkers coming towards us. When I looked back, Daryl met my gaze with a hard expression.

“You comin’, or do I gotta drag you behind me?”

I crossed my arms over my chest, pondering my other options. Unfortunately, there weren’t any. “If I come with you, you have to promise you won’t let them tie me up in that shack again. That I’ll be treated like a human being.”

Daryl’s strong, unwavering gaze met mine. “I promise.”

I took a deep breath and nodded once. “Let’s go then. Before I change my mind and run away.”

Daryl rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t make it five feet before I put an arrow in that skinny, little ass of yours.” He said. “Now git’ movin’, woman. I ain’t got all day.” I raised my eyebrows slightly, but didn’t say a thing. It was nice to know some things still hadn’t changed. Things like Daryl Dixon.