#dixiechip

[His POV]

             The sun streamed in through the window. I rubbed my eyes and turned my head towards her side of the bed. It was empty. I quickly got dressed and headed down the stairs. She sat in the middle of the living room floor and stared at the blood stains on the white tile floor. “Mornin’, girl. Ya alright?”

             No reply. She didn’t even glance in my direction. I knelt in front of her and looked at her eyes. They were emotionless and dull. There was no life inside of them. There were no tears. I reached out and gently stroked her cheek. She jumped away from the touch and stood to her feet. She walked into the kitchen and I heard her digging through the cabinets.

             Sadness filled my thoughts as I waited for her to return to the living room. She walked straight up the stairs to our bedroom. I sighed and started making breakfast. Once it was made, I climbed up the stairs and headed to our room to take her a plate but stopped in my tracks at the top of the stairs. My clothes, vest, shoes, and crossbow were laid outside the door of our bedroom.

             Anger surged through my body and I threw the plate against the ground. She’s really gonna just shove me away? She’s gonna jus throw ma shit out and not speak to me? She ain’t playing fair. I didn’t do shit ta her and she wants ta treat me this way? I grabbed the shit and threw it into the room I used when I first arrived. I slammed the door as hard as I could behind me. Pictures shook and fell off the walls but I didn’t give a damn.

[Her POV]

             I laid there on the bed, the bed where Beau abused me, and stared at the ceiling. Pain was my only thought. Throbbing coursed through my lower half and my wrist ached from yesterday. My throat was slightly swollen and my lip was fat. The vision in my right eye was blurred and had a red tint to it. The tears never fell from my eyes. My emotions were shut off. I could not handle them. The meds I took this morning had kicked in and I could not hardly move. The pain was the only thing I felt, pain and betrayal. He loved me. He cared for me. He abandoned me.

             He loved me. He cared for me. He abandoned me.

             He loved me. He cared for me. He abandoned me.

             He loved me. He cared for me. He abandoned me.

             My thoughts were on a continuous loop. The day turned to night and I still hadn’t moved from my position. Daryl stirred in his bedroom occasionally over the course of the day but the bedroom door never opened.

[His POV]

             My anger faded over the next few days and turned into sadness. She left her room once a day to feed the mutt and go to the bathroom. She didn’t eat, drink, or sleep from what I could tell. I sat outside her bedroom door, trying to build up the courage to knock on the wooden door. With a shaky hand, I knocked gently but received no reply. I opened the door and found her laying on the bed with her eyes focused on the ceiling. I sat on the edge of the bed and watched her with sad eyes. She didn’t take notice of my presence.

             My voice shook as I spoke. “Please, don’t do this, girl. Don’t push me out. We might be the only thing each other has and I don’t want ya hatin me for the rest of yur life. I didn’t mean to disappear and I should’ve shot him the moment I saw him. I’m sorry I didn’t take care of ya.”

             Her face remained expressionless but her fingertips touched my hand lightly. I held her hand in mine and slid beside her on the bed. I studied her face. Her lips quivered, her eyes glossed over and tears fell down her cheeks. I pulled her into my arms tightly and kissed her hair. I rubbed her back soothingly as she gripped onto me and finally let all her emotions out. It would be a long process but I knew she would be okay.

[Her POV]

             I cried until I there were no more tears. Sleep overpowered me and I slept in his arms. Anger was no longer an emotion I felt towards him and all I wanted was comfort. I promised myself no one would hurt me that way again, that I would never be that weak. I promised myself I would fight harder and longer. I would never, ever be this weak again.

***

             It’s been one weak since the incident. Nothing has been said about it and nothing will. Daryl did not speak to me much after I kicked him out of my room. I think he is upset with me but I hope he understood my need for space. We never touched after that night. I did not want anything physical.  The area surrounding my farm was becoming more dangerous. Each morning, we found more and more walkers struggling against the fences of the property.

             I stood, leaning against the counter, with a glass of water in my hand. I watched as he sat at the dining table and ate his breakfast. The dog sat beside him and waited for any scraps he might not want. My glass clinked against the granite countertop as I set it down. His eyes raised to mine briefly.

             “We should start thinking about leaving this place. It’s not worth it to continue to build up the fences. We need walls, not barbed wire and wooden posts.” My voice was quiet but felt like screams piercing through the awkward silence.

             He grunted in response before speaking. “What do ya suggest we take? What are we packing up? We could always take yur eighteen-wheeler with the reefer trailer to pack our shit in.” I nodded and thought it over. It would be a good idea. The trailer would have plenty of space and it has the bed in it for the night. We could also maybe take a pickup truck for small supply runs once we get settled in a new, safer place.

             “Guess we’d better get packing then.” Tears pricked at my eyes but I blinked them away. This would be the last time I saw my home. I headed up the stairs with the dog on my heel. Once in the safety of my room, I yanked out a suitcase and began packing my clothes and other things I would need.

I walked down the hallway to my parents’ room. I unlocked the safe and cleared out the gun racks and ammo pockets. I did a quick inventory and grabbed a map. I circled the locations of a few gun shops outside of town in red ink. I threw the map, guns, and ammo in a large duffel. I tossed the cleaning kits in as well. I grabbed a few other things from my parents’ room before leaving. I set the bag of weapons by the stairs before entering my brother’s room. I searched through his closet before finding his old lock box. I opened it and found multiple knives in various sizes and colors. I closed the box and set it by the stairs too.

[His POV]

             I heard her rummaging through the rooms upstairs while I dug through shit downstairs. I packed up some kitchen supplies and threw it in a laundry basket. I snatched up the canned foods and other non-perishables and tossed them in the basket also. Next, I searched through the coat closet and found some good blankets and jackets. She’ll want these. I heard her voice calling me from upstairs. “Hey, Dare, could you come get these bags? They are already packed but I want them by the door.”

             I quickly ran up the stairs and grabbed two of the duffel bags. I walked towards her room and peeked in. “Where ya want em? By the back door?”

             “Yea. That’ll work. We’ll go through the backyard to the barn. I need to go pack up some things from there.” I nodded and headed back down the steps. She followed behind me, carrying a suit case. She dropped it by the backdoor and then headed out to the barn.

             About an hour passed before I joined her in the barn. The reefer trailer was wide open and she was up inside. She had packed some things and even managed to get six fifty-five-gallon barrels of fuel in the trailer. She secured them with chains so they would not roll or bust open. There were crates of non-perishable food stacked on top of one another. Her brother was one of them Doomsday preppers, always prepared for the worst. Ellie said he died before the outbreak.

             I stood there and watched her for a bit. She had on ripped skinny jeans that exposed her gorgeous thighs. Her tank top was low cut and I could see the lace trim of her bra. Her hair was yanked up in a high pony tail and she had a flannel t-shirt tied around her hips. I chewed on my lip as I watched her and couldn’t help but stare.

             “Ya gonna just stand there or ya gonna bring the bags and load em up?” Her voice pulled me from my thoughts and I nodded before heading to the house to grab our bags. This is gonna be a long day.

Tag List:

@jodiereedus22

@ocean-waves-that-misbehave

@coffeebooksandfandom

@taidye-perez

@somanyfandomstochoosefrom

@beltzboys2015-blog

@lillyrosegirl