TWD: Just Another Reason to Hold On (Daryl x Reader)

~2~

     "Yep, she's come back. Not fully recovered though."
     You hear Rick say from behind the closed door. 
    Fully recovered?
    You slowly get up and immediately tumble down. A loud crash followed. Rick and Hershel come running in.
     "Darling, it's best you stay in bed for now," Hershel says as Rick helps you up.
     "I mustn't be weak," you try getting up. "Only the stupid are weak"
     This time you were perfectly balanced. That's when the pain came flooding back. You sit back down on the bed trying hard to stop the pain.
     Stop. What a weak word.
     "I had a good look at your leg. It's sprained and swollen," Hershel says.
     "Exactly what were you doing there outside? By yourself?" Rick questions.
     You try to remember what happened. Blank. Just blank. 
     "I don't know..." you reply, looking away foolishly. You had to hide the embarrassment of forgetting what you did.
     "You're hidin' somethin'"
     That was the voice. Not Rick's. Not Hershel's. 
     Daryl. The only reason why you're alive.
     "No?" you respond as he walks over. 
     "I found you hidin' in some shitty cave. Not far from town," Daryl looks you in the eye. Ice cold blue eyes.
     "Emotionless," you start. "I wasn't emotionless"
     "Explain yourself," Rick commands.
     "The moonlight, the bed, the window. My dad is a walker," you speak fast and in fragments.
     "No. The whole thang," Daryl says.
 No. The whole thang.

...

You were running. Your heart pumping, your legs striving. Green. All you see is green. A forest. Trees of every kind. Pine, evergreen, oak. Red. The ground was red. Blood was painted as decor all along the path. Dead walkers. No, alive. They were alive. One grabs your legs and you trip, spraining it along the way. White.

...

     "I only remember the things that aren't important," you finally say.
     "Listen. Just tell us what you remember," Rick says.
     You tell them the memory. The flashback. Green, red, white. Daryl listens to you attentively. You get the feeling. The feeling hasn't happened in a while. Not after your mom died. The feeling was strange. It felt warm, fuzzy and deep like it meant something. You glance back at Daryl and the feeling comes back. He notices and quickly changes his interest to the floor.
     "All o' this happenin' an' you were wit' nobody?" Daryl asks.
     "Yes," you confirm. 
     Nobody at all.
     "A'right," he says and with that, he leaves. The feeling you once had disappeared.
     "Get some rest for now," Hershel says and you lie down on the bed. Everyone who was once in the room left. Suddenly, an image came flashing back in to your head.
It was the walker, your dad, feasting on someone you loved. Your mom.