Bleeding Souls (Daryl Dixon)

23. Guilt Mistaken for Love?

          "June." I hear someone calling my name. My eyes open suddenly and I see Rick standing above me. I rub my eyes and sit up. I look back up at him and sigh. "What's up?" I ask him. He bends down so that he is level with me. I look around and see Daryl is not around. Daryl and I don't cuddle up with other people are around, but he always keeps a safe distance. When I look back up at Rick, he notices my worry. "He had to go use the bathroom. He'll be back." Rick tells me. I quickly nod my head. "You mind coming outside with me for a moment? Don't wanna wake anyone just yet." Rick asks me. I nod my head at him and I slowly get up from the spot I was just laying from.

          My whole body made noises when I stood up and stretched. I let out a painful grunt when I stretched too far and hurt my back a little. I let the muscle calm down before walking outside with Rick.

          Once we both stepped outside, the cool morning air hit me. Spring was just arriving and the afternoons got warmer, so I wanted to take in all the cool air before it disappeared. I slowly shut the door behind me and Rick and I leaned against the railing. "What's going on?" I ask him. He looks over at me and sighs. "I overheard you and Daryl yesterday. Talking about kids. You wanting kids and him not." Rick said to me. It is way too early in the morning to be having this conversation. I looked out in front of me and I guess that gave Rick the clue that I didn't want to talk about this with him. But Rick is my brother and doesn't care.

           "Listen... it's your business... but I need to make sure that you and him are being careful." Rick said to me. I rolled my eyes and looked at Rick. "June... the group... it can't handle if you got pregnant. With Lori pregnant... it's already enough trouble. Just with her being pregnant has caused this group a lot of stress. It isn't her fault or anything... it's just the truth." I looked at Rick dumbfounded. He really had the nerve. I turned my body towards him. "Well, Rick... I'm not pregnant. And to be honest, I doubt I'll ever have kids because Daryl doesn't want kids. So don't fucking worry. I won't be a burden to you or this group." I said to him with venom on my tongue. He was about to say something, but I speak before he is able to. "And if I was to get pregnant... I can promise you I won't ask you, Daryl or this group for a damn thing. Happy?" With that, I walk away from him and back into the house.

          It had been a few hours since the conversation between Rick and I and I'm still pissed. I'm so pissed that I haven't even spoke a word to Daryl. I know he didn't do anything, but I was just too pissed at the moment. "Alright everyone! We move out in 3 minutes" Rick told the group. I packed my stuff up and was in the car with a minute to spare. Once we were back on the road, I didn't want to ride with Rick and after not talking to Daryl this morning, I don't want to ask him if I can ride with him, so Carol and I switched places and she went with Rick while I went with Glenn, Maggie, Beth and Hershel.

          We drove for a while. We had to stop after a few hours so that we could all stretch our legs and use the bathroom if need be. I stepped out of the car and felt my leg muscles thanking me. I reached down and rubbed my calf. I watched as Daryl and Rick went into the wood together, leaving me with Lori, Beth, Carl and Hershel. I walked over to Lori and smiled at her. "How are you and the baby doing?" I ask her. She looks at me and gives me an obvious fake smile. "We're doing alright." she says to me. I look down to the ground and can't stop myself from feeling bad for her. "Well... if you need me for anything... I'm around." I tell her. She looks up at me and gives me a real smile this time. "Thank you." I nod my head at her and walk away.

          Rick and Daryl finally came back after about 30 minutes and told us they found a place. When we pulled up, I saw the fences, the walls. A prison, but a place that could be a sanctuary. We parked the cars in the entrance, but there was no way we could get through with our cars, because there is a bus that is blocking the entrance, so Rick had another plan. Park the cars and cut open a part of the fence.