my angel ➶ ➶ daryl dixon

t h i r t y t h r e e

Aspen's POV:
I was stunned. Did me and Daryl just kiss? And neither of us had one drink? Did that really just happen? It took a few moments to calm my nerves.

When I finally stopped shaking, I went over to the suitcase and unzipped it. I saw that someone had packed all of my things. I had all of my clothes and all of my belongings that I left in the truck before I went missing.

I didn't unpack any of my clothes, but I took out a picture of me and Rick when Carl was born. I thought it was funny that when the world went to hell, this was the only picture I grabbed. Not one of me, my dad, or my mom.

I smiled at the picture, looking at young me. How innocent I was back then holding baby Carl. We were all so happy, never in our wildest dreams thinking how our worlds would be turned upside down.

I was brought out of my thoughts when someone cleared their throat. I jumped away from the desk, bumping my head on the bed post. "Shit." I mumbled.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Thomas muttered.

"What are you doing in here?! Did I not make it clear I didn't want you anywhere near me?!" I yelled at Thomas. I couldn't believe his nerve! I didn't want to see him!

"Woah! Chill. Rick just wanted me to tell you that the group is meeting downstairs in ten and he wanted you to be there." He said.

"Fine! Just leave!" I shouted. Thomas had a weird look in his eyes, and I wanted him out as soon as possible. He looked like he was about to say something else, but then to my relief, he turned and walked out.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. Why am I getting a bad feeling around him? I just shrugged it off and dug around in my suitcase, looking for some clean clothes. I pulled on a pair of ripped, skinny black jeans with a tight navy tank top under a loose crop top that still showed some cleavage, and my converse. I figured I might as well give something for Daryl to look at if that kiss really was going to lead somewhere.

I took a deep breath to collect myself and pulled my curtain to the side so I could see out of my room.

We were in a prison block where everyone had their own cell to stay in. It looked like most of the group was already downstairs so I headed down. I managed to smile at a few people before someone smuggled me in a hug.

I struggled against their grasp until they finally let me go. "Glenn! Are you trying to kill me?" I said, laughing. I playfully punched him in the chest.

"No! You just came back from the dead! I wouldn't want to kill you again!" He said, laughing with me.

Just then, Maggie ran up to me and enveloped me in another hug. "Don't you ever do that to me again." She whispered in my ear. "I thought you were dead. I didn't know how to go on." I could feel her tears falling on my head.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm here! I'm right here, right now. I'm not dead, and you better not believe I'll ever leave you alone in this world!" I grabbed her face in my hands and made her look at me. "You understand?" She nodded her head and I wrapped her in a hug again.

This continued for a while, everyone coming to say their hello's. I didn't see Daryl or Thomas though. Not knowing where Thomas was kind of worried me, but I tried to put that in the back of my mind.

I continued to look for Daryl during the greetings, but I didn't see him once. I sighed when Rick walked in and told everyone to have a seat with still no sign of Daryl.

"Alright everyone, settle down. I know everyone is thrilled to have Aspen back, but let's keep this organized." Rick motioned for me to come forward. Once I reached him, he put his arm across my shoulders. "Aspen, I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that we're all elated to have you back with us." That received a few cheers from the group and I smiled.

"Thank ya'll so much. I honestly never thought my presence meant so much to you guys. I didn't think about it much while I was on my own, but I will never take anything in this life for granted again. So soon things can be ripped right out of your grasp and you don't have anyway to stop it. Now I see all the things I didn't even think about before that are actually quite special." I paused, tears threatening to spill. I could see many people in the crowd with wet eyes and I smiled.

"Right before I went missing, I learned I lost my father. I know many of you might not have particularly enjoyed his presence at the camp, but he still raised me. He used to be the best father a girl could ask for. He was always there to cheer me on at volleyball games and to help me with my homework. But then the evil in the world changed him and he couldn't come back from it after the apocalypse started." I looked over at Rick and saw tears in his eyes as well. I choked back the lump in my throat as I continued.

"I don't blame you. He was out of control. Something had to be done, and you made the hard decision that no one else could. You made the right call, I just wish it could have ended differently. I know you loved him as a brother, but that wasn't the Shane we knew. He changed and I wish he hadn't." I finally released a sob as Rick pulled me into his chest.

"I forgive you Rick, and I love you more than you could ever know." I whispered.

"I think I have a pretty good idea." He said, smiling as he answered.

When we finally pulled away, I turned to face the group again. "Some of you might not understand how I feel and that's okay, but I don't want you to think Shane was always evil." I sighed and wiped some tears away, looking around again and saw Daryl leaning against the back wall. I smiled slightly at him and his lips slowly turned up into a small smile. He glanced down at my chest, and I remembered what I was wearing. His face shifted into something... hungry and I felt a blush creep up my neck into my cheeks. I had to look away before I got too distracted.

"Now, many of you probably didn't come down here to hear about my dad. I understand that you all thought I was dead because Daryl found a walker that resembled me." I quickly glanced back up at Daryl and saw his smile was gone, his face as hard a stone now. I guess those were some memories he didn't like to think about.

"In fact, I was not a walker, I was just so upset from my father's death that I had run straight into a herd of walkers and had to run through the forest to evade them. When I finally stopped, I was completely lost in the woods and couldn't find my way back to the camp. I wandered for weeks in the woods, eating whatever I could catch and drinking whenever I could find fresh water. It was a hard time, but I learned to survive on my own." I stopped to see how everyone was taking it. They all had solemn faces, probably thinking about how they were struggling at this time.

"Finally I came across the prison. However, I didn't know what it was at the time. I just saw the back of a building and I was so tired from running that I wasn't thinking straight. I ended up walking straight into a herd of walkers and managed to pick my way through most of them, but my lack of sleep caught up to me. I probably would have died if Daryl hadn't showed up when he did." I looked back at Daryl and saw he was now standing straight up, staring right into my eyes.

The intensity of his gaze made me blush. I turned away and saw many people with tears in their eyes again. Maggie jumped out of her seat and started to applaud.

"Oh, no. Maggie-" But I stopped when Glenn followed suit. Then Rick, Carl, Hershel...

Soon everyone was giving me a standing ovation. I blushed even harder and looked up to try to see how Daryl was reacting, but he was gone. I started to frown, but caught myself before anyone saw. Instead, I plastered a smile on my face and tried to not worry.

In fact, it didn't matter right? I was with my family and I was safe.

I didn't know how wrong I was. Soon I wouldn't even feel safe in my own skin.