bullseye ➵ daryl dixon

s e v e n - life

CHAPTER SEVEN | l i f e
22/9/17

Adira didn't know what changed, but she knew that sleeping through the past night in the house meant she somehow avoided being cast out like she overheard the group planning to do. She wasn't going to question it, though. She knew laying low would be her best shot, so she didn't pipe up about it.

"You're joking."

"No, I'm not. I actually did that."

Beth laughed, throwing her head back. "I can't believe you stole a McDonalds sign in broad daylight and didn't think you would get caught."

"I was a pretty stupid teenager," Adira replied, and shrugged. "For the record, I did make it about thirty glorious seconds away from the restaurant with the sign in my backseat."

Beth giggled. It was nice to see such a bright, genuine smile on her face. Adira had been alone for so long that she thought she'd forgotten what happiness looked like. Those days, there never seemed to be a point to it. Just when things would start looking up, something would happen and ruin it. Life was always moving.

Beth and Adira had spent the better part of the day with one another, their conversations ranging from silly stories to their deepest secrets. It was quite fun, and they ended up playing twenty questions.

"Favorite color?" asked Beth.

That was an easy one. "Yellow, yours?"

Most people would probably say that because it's a happy color, which is true, but Adira's reasoning went a little further than that. Yellow was the color of friendship, two individuals devoting time and energy towards helping one another and improving each other's lives. It was the color of the sweet little wildflowers kids would pick from the grass, and put behind their ears, nestled in their hair. It was the color of the sun, rising every morning giving one a fresh chance and setting every evening to remind one that they'd made it through another day. It was joy, companionship, peace, and hope all in one. It was beautiful.

Beth smiled at her answer, nodding. "I'm not sure. I think they're all pretty nice to look at. I love the shade of blue when the sky's clear and the sun's shinin' bright, though," she said softly, reminiscing on the peaceful days of the past. "Let's see...the beach, or the mountains?"

"Um...probably the beach. The mountains have amazing sights but I don't really like having to hike to get them. At the beach, you can just relax and watch the waves without any effort," Adira responded. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

She suddenly felt kind of bad for the girl. Beth was so young, and was only a few years away from going into the world on her own, when all of this shit went down. Her future was taken away from her. Adira guessed it was a similar story to her own; after all, she had just finished medical school. She was going to go make a difference in the world, but instead this virus, or whatever it was, made it instead.

For the first few months, she held onto a tiny little bit of hope that it would all pass and things would go back to normal. But now, about eight months in? She didn't know. It seemed like everything was gone.

Instead of voicing her concerns and upsetting Beth, she decided to continue with the game. "Where's your favorite place?"

She tilted her head, thinking for a moment before answering. "Most likely my daddy's farm. I miss it. It was always so peaceful there, and I liked taking care of the animals. It was nice." Her eyes wandered over to the window as she thought about her old home.

"I'm sorry you lost it," she replied.

Beth shook her head. "It's all right. I'm thankful I'm still alive. Most people lost their lives, so losing my home ain't nearly as devastatin'. I'm sure most people didn't keep theirs for so long, anyways. What did you do before, well, you know?"

"I had just finished medical school, actually. I wanted to be a cardiologist. But then, well, this shit happened and now I guess my dream is over," Adira told her with a frown on her lips. "Anatomy was always so interesting to me. I took a class in high school and loved it. I majored in biology, went to med school, and that was that. I spent years and money training for something I'll never get to do."

Beth seemed to be lost in thought as she spoke, "Well, not necessarily. You know, the group doesn't really trust you," she paused, then realized the news wasn't news. "But I think that if you're medically trained that would be really useful. My dad was a vet, but animal-humans parallels only go so far."

Adira pondered over her words for a second. That did make a lot of sense. They couldn't refuse a doctor, could they? She wasn't really used to calling herself "doctor" yet, but she supposed she could now. "You're right. Anyways, enough about me. Did you ever have a little someone special in your life, maybe back at high school?"

As soon as she'd asked the question, she regret it. Beth's demeanor completely shifted from content and peaceful to downcast and sad. Whoever he was, he was important to her, and she lost him. "Never mind, you don't have to tell me," Adira added quickly, not wanting to upset her.

She cleared her throat. "No, it's alright. We've all lost someone, I suppose," she said, not realizing Adira's stiffened posture at her words. She didn't even want to think about the people she'd lost. "His name was Jimmy, he was my boyfriend. When everything started, he escaped to the farm and we were there for a few months. I was so grateful I hadn't lost him...but then when the walkers attacked the farm, he died. Rick and Carl saw it happen. I'm happy I didn't have to, I don't think I could've watched."

Tears sprung to Beth's eyes as she finished her little story, and Adira wrapped her arms around her. She didn't flinch or pull away, unexpectedly, but let the twenty-six-year-old hold her as she cried. They all had moments those days.

"You know, it's for the best. At least he doesn't have to be in this world anymore, fighting for survival every day," Adira tried to comfort her. Truth be told, she wasn't the best at comforting people. Those two sentences were all she could offer in the department of reassurance.

Beth's cries slowed down, eventually coming to a complete stop. "Maybe he could steal a McDonalds sign or two up there in heaven," Adira said.

Beth doubled over in laughter, and soon enough Adira was laughing, too. It was such an emotional moment that all they could do was giggle. The door was cracked open and she was sure the rest of the group could probably hear their uncontainable laughter.

Suddenly, someone slammed the door against the wall, causing a loud bang, and their laughter ceased. It was Daryl.

He looked heated with anger as he glared at the two girls sitting together on the bed, faces red with laughter.

"Can't y'all keep it down? You're attractin' walkers all over the damn place. You'd think two girls who somehow made it this far in could at least have a lil' common sense," he shouted.

Adira raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Says the one who just slammed the door open."

Daryl did nothing but grunt before slamming the door yet again behind him.

She was stunned. The night before, when he took the floor instead of the empty chair next to her, she'd thought perhaps he was just tired. After all, he had just spent the entire day hunting and had caught a lot.

But now there was no doubt in Adira's mind that something had turned Daryl away from her. She wasn't quite sure what, but she was curious to find out. However, her curiosity didn't override the stinging pain that shot through her heart. She'd thought he cared for her somewhat, after saving her life. It seemed so odd that he would do that and suddenly back away, isolating himself. She'd thought maybe she would have someone again. She guessed not.

Beth nudged her shoulder. Even she could see how much of an ass he was being. Not only that, but she was sure the rest of the group could as well, from the volume of his voice.

She laid back on the bed and the young, optimistic, innocent blonde slowly sang her to sleep.