Trust Me | Daryl Dixon

Part 30

What Daryl told me made my heart ache-- more than it had in ages, and his numb tone made it hurt even worse.
He talked about his dad and his brother, Merle, and vaguely mentioned abuse and abandonment before quickly changing the subject back to his brother's drug use.

Throughout his story, we never made eye contact and I didn't utter a word, afraid that if I did, he'd pull away because it was clear to me.. he was more damaged than I was.

I swallowed harshly as he finished, the air between us a comfortable silence as my mind raced with what to say; not a response or judgement on his life, but something that would let him know that I listened without making him feel weak or vulnerable.

I took a chance, knowing what I would want in the situation he's in, and slowly reached for his hand, taking it in mine without a word being said.

He glanced over at me at the unexpected touch, before looking down at our hands, but not pulling away like he did when I hugged him just days earlier.

"Now you." He mumbled under his breath.

I nodded as I let out a deep breath, looking out into the forest and digging up the courage to talk about things I had so many tucked away emotions about.

"I uh, I was an only child and I think from the outside, everything probably looked pretty good for me.. and it wasn't." I shook my head, "When I was 10, my parents got a divorce and my dad got custody of me because he was friends with the judge and I guess the court system really doesn't care what's right and wrong-- and he was never, like, physically abusive, but mentally.. I think he kinda messed me up." I joked lightly, desperate to hide the emotion that was brought along with these memories.
"So, when I was 13, my dad caught me trying to sneak out with my friends and as punishment he took my childhood dog to the pound." I continued, choking back any emotion that was creeping up in my voice, "And then at 15 I tried again, because I thought I had nothing to lose, and when he found out, he took away any electronics I had and actually paid someone to put bars up on my bedroom window. A few years later, when I was 17, he saw a picture online of me kissing this guy I went to school with at a party and then called me a slut and kicked me out of the house... from then on I was couch surfing until I could finish high school and after that, a friend and I just started driving around the country until the world became what it is now."

He nodded lightly as the air between us went silent again, our hands still intertwined together.

"Ya know what happened to him?" Daryl asked lowly as he looked down at the forest floor.

"No," I shook my head, "And I hope I never find out."

"Why?" He asked, looking over at me.

I took another deep breath, biting at my bottom lip as tears began to brim my eyes, "Because even if we found each other alive, I know he wouldn't be happy to see me."

He studied my face before shaking his head, "He ain't alive-- bastard like that couldn't survive this shit."

I nodded, my mind feeling numb from past emotions as silence overtook the space around us again.

"We should probably get back." He murmured, unlatching our hands before swinging his crossbow over his shoulder and grabbing the gun that was now leaning against the downed tree we sat on.

I agreed, quickly wiping my eyes before following behind him.

***

We walked through Alexandria's gate as it was opened for us, immediately catching the attention of Maggie who was chatting with another of Alexandria's members.

"Liz, Daryl!" She waved us over before finishing her other conversation and meeting us halfway, "Where'd ya'll head out to?"

"Shootin'." Daryl said, holding up the rifle.

"Well good," she nodded, "Rick just told everyone that he wants us carrying our guns on us again; Deanna agreed."

"Are they that worried that something like that's going to happen again?" I asked.

She shrugged, "People are scared and they want to feel safe again; they think guns will do that."

I nodded, understanding the reasoning, "So, can we just go pick them up from Olivia?"

"Yeah, I think she should be over there now."

***

"Even though everyone's getting their guns back, Deanna still wants me to keep inventory, just in case I guess." Olivia shrugged, grabbing a clipboard as Daryl and I followed behind her, "But you can pretty much pick whatever you're comfortable with."

I sighed, looking at the drawer of handguns, none exactly like the one I came here with, as Daryl put back the rifle we used earlier.

"What do you think I should take?" I asked as Daryl came over to where I stood.

He looked through the drawer, furrowing his eyebrows, "Where's yours?"

"You mean the one that jammed and almost got both of us killed?" I joked as he grabbed one, holding it up to Olivia, before sliding it into his waistband, "Abraham told me it wasn't worth fixing, so it's been retired, I guess."

He nodded slowly before grabbing another gun out of the box and handing it to me, "Same as mine; it's a good one."

I took it, gripping it in my hand and beginning to get a feel for it, before nodding and sliding it into my waistband as well.

"So, two Glock29's, right?" Olivia asked, looking up from the clipboard she held.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah, thanks."

I began to follow him out before turning back to Olivia, "Do you need any help with any of this or anything else?"

"No, I don't think so." She shook her head, scanning through the inventory list, "I think I got it all under control for now, but I'll come find you if I need you."

"Sounds good," I smiled, "You know where to find me."

_____
Start Of Something New from High School Musical plays quietly in the background as Daryl and Liz chill in the woods shooting guns and holding hands

What do you think about Daryl and Liz's relationship so far?