Daryl and Rick AU

Chapter 21

(Daryl's POV)

How I acted after he had mentioned home was just instinctual.

I'm 23.

Old enough to live on my own, have my own place, work. Instead I'm living with an asshole of a father who takes a piss outta me every time something doesn't go his way or if he's just in the mood.

As I basically trembled like a leaf in Rick's arms, I felt weak. I knew he could see it and I hated that. I knew I was weak but other people noticing that about me was the worst part.

I fucking hated it.

Having him apologize for it didn't make anything better. Made me feel like an injured animal. It wasn't his fault, nothing was excect for my Dad and me for not leaving the home like Merle did.

It's my fault.

I would notice Rick giving subtle glances at me when I was looking straight ahead onto the road as we were headed to his place, which was a long and awkward car ride.

I knew he was worried about me but I could take care of myself.

Could I?

I can't answer that now and I don't know if I would ever get the chance to but I hope the answer will be yes.

The ride was silent.

Awkward of course. All I heard was the tires rolling on the road heading toward his neighbourhood again.

Even though I was drunk laying at the back of his car that night, I still remembered looking through the window and seeing the street lights illuminate the blurring dark sky. I was upside down as well so remembering that we passed by those exact lights was surprising to me.

"Do ya have anythin' to listen to?"

I mutter looking at his stash of CDs in the little cubby in the middle of the arm rest.

"Yeah-"

I hear him laugh lightly

"Getting too quiet?"

He finishes

I grunt and start to file through the various CDs that I saw.

"See anything you wanna put on?"

I scuff at him instead

"What?"

He laughed

"No rock?"

"Yeah I do actually. It's in there somewhere"

"Coldplay doesn't count"

I laugh at him.

It certainly wasn't

"They don't suck"

He laughs again

"I never said they did. It's just... Not my thing, ya know?"

I state

"Yeah I guess"

"It's fine though. I could deal with the silence"

I say and lean back onto the car seat and look ahead at the road again. I couldn't handle the silence, but I rather not listen to music that I wasn't into.

"We're almost there anyway. I just need to turn-"

Rick says whilst turning the steering wheel to the left.

I remembered the front of the apartment building, I was hazy the last time I had come here but I recognized the beige concrete walk way to the front of the building. The front was white with glass doors leading towards the lobby were we walked through and waited for the elevator to arrive. We walked in and he pressed his floor number.