It was funny how silence could hang in the air like a thousand pounds of deadweight; how under the right circumstances the pressure of it could even become suffocating. That was how Daryl's silent treatment felt to Rosita in that moment and as she walked quietly behind him, she wondered how it came to be that some people claimed that silence was a luxury.
Sure, it was true that silence was better than bullshit and that it should only be broken when it could be improved and yes, since she knew for sure that whatever possible conversation between her and Daryl was bound to end up in unnecessary drama it was better to keep their words and thoughts to themselves. All that was true, but at the same time there was nothing that she disliked more than being snubbed off and that was what he was doing to her.
He was blatantly ignoring her, after going through the trouble of venturing into the woods to look for her he was once again giving her the cold shoulder and that just rubbed her the wrong way. Not that she wanted them to chit chat as if nothing happened, but acknowledging her was not only common courtesy, but also the best act to make if he really wanted to clear the air between them.
But he wasn't even trying, since he motioned her to follow him he hasn't even glanced her way and let alone cross a word with her and she just didn't get why he bothered at all to go find her and then offer that poor excuse of an apology if she was apparently the last person on earth he wanted to interact with.
The logic of it eluded her… not that she was going to let him know how much that baffled her. No, as far as she was concerned two could play that game and if he was going to act as if she wasn't there, then she was going to ignore him too.
Decided, she pushed the inside of her cheek with the tip of her tongue and tilted her head towards him one last time, corroborating that just as he has been doing for the last couple of miles he was walking a few paces in front of her; backpack on, rifle hanging by his side and a knife safely in his fist. His back was to her so she couldn't read his expression but she would bet on anything that he was fully alert of his surroundings because that was how he was, focused.
Focused on everything but her, obviously.
With a roll of her eyes, she moved her face away so that she could look anywhere but him and started to scan her surroundings. They were still walking into the woods, but she was going to assume they were close to wherever Daryl has parked the vehicle because from where they were, the road was almost visible.
They kept walking alongside it, edging it but keeping their distance while taking on the few walkers that got in their way. There were not a lot of them standing, but there were quite a few down and that definitely picked her attention.
Slowing her pace, she tried to remember if that has been the same path she took earlier on. In her fury she hadn't been paying much attention so she kept looking around to check if there was something, anything that would indicate her if she has been the one taking on the walkers.
It was as she was scanning through the area that she noticed what appeared to be some graves. There were five of them, three covered up and the other two unfinished. They were just a couple of holes in the ground, but judging by the wooden coffins in them she was going to say that just as the other three, the intention of them has been a burial.
"Seems like whoever did this left in a hurry." Daryl's voice, almost low as a growl broke the silence that has being reigning over them and she actually had to look at him as if in surprise.
She didn't reply though, unsure if he was talking to himself or if he was actually finally addressing her presence. There was no way of knowing for sure because he still wasn't looking at her, what he was doing was using the tip of his boot to push the lid of one of the coffins open to take a peek inside.
"It's empty. Other's broken."
Taking a look herself, she saw that just as he said, one of them was broken, the lid was half smashed and the wood was sticking out as if in a grotesque sculpture, the other one was intact but empty; that right there made her wonder what happened in there. Maybe if the situation would be different she would even ask him what was his take on the scenario, after all he did have a good eye for detail.
But since the situation was what it was she stopped just long enough to take a glance and then she started walking after him once again. That only lasted for a couple of minutes because all of a sudden the sound of an approaching vehicle echoed all around and she immediately ducked down.
She did it out of instinct even though the car was still a distance away, but when her ear picked up that there were more than one, probably three of them she moved her eyes around to search for Daryl.
He wasn't far from her and as her eyes settled on him the first thing she noticed was that he was also down, he was crouching and even when his eyes were set on the road up ahead, he was motioning to her to be quiet and keep down, as if she had to be told.
With another roll of her eyes, she pouted her lips and waited for the cars to pass by, only that they didn't, they pulled over and judging by the sound of doors being slammed there were people getting off. Now, she was close enough to hear them talking but too far to make out their words, thing that she didn't like one bit.
She also didn't like the fact that Daryl was getting nearer to the road, probably so that he could listen and despite thinking that it wasn't a good idea for them to get too close, she approached him, moving quiet as a shadow while keeping down.
"… with the plan. Fat Joey's going to lead the crawlers away and once they're gone I want everyone searching the woods, every tree and creek and crevice, we swept this shit down and we don't leave until we find them. Now get your ass moving and get ready."
Blinking slowly as the words registered in her brain, Rosita lifted her face towards Daryl. He was squinting his eyes as he kept looking towards the voices and as one, maybe two of the cars started, he looked down at her as well.
"It ain't us they're looking for but that don't mean we'll sit and wait for them; they packing heavy. Let's keep moving, we gonna have to…"
Before he could finish the sentence, one of the cars turned on what appeared to be speakers and then loud music started to blast all through the place. It took Rosita only a second to realize what was going to happen.
"Fuck." Daryl mumbled and she knew that it hit him too.
They were basically trapped, the car with the speakers wasn't moving and that only meant that they were waiting for walkers to start coming their way. And they would very soon, with the music so loud they were sure as hell going to come. It was a tactic they had even used and having seen the implications she knew that in a matter of nothing the walking dead were going to head towards the car by the dozens, maybe even more and well, as they made their way towards the car they were going to encounter her and Daryl.
They could try to make a run for it, but the truth was than no matter where they went they were going to get swamped in. It was either that or take their chance with the men with the speakers and since they didn't look too amicable with their guns and bad intentions, she was going to discard that too.
"Daryl-" She began to say.
Meanwhile he was still crouching down, biting the inside of his thumb as if thinking what to do. But then he got to his feet and shook his head. "Let's go."
Not having to be told twice, she started following him, thinking that whatever they were going to do they better not use guns. It was bad to deal with the walkers on their own but shooting was going to draw too much attention. What they could do was fight their way out, it was risky but they could do it. She was going to tell him so, but when she saw that he stopped by the graves and started to take off his riffle and backpack to put them in the space between the empty coffin and the dug hole, she shook her head no.
"No." She said standing her ground.
"Got a better idea?"
Sucking her lips into her mouth, she took a look around. Their surroundings looked clear, but in the distance she could hear movement, lots of it and that only meant walkers. So no, running was now not an option, then there was the road and there was no way they could go there unseen, which meant that Daryl's idea was the only one and even that was an awful one.
Puffing out a breath and furrowing her brows, she took off her rifle and backpack as well, then she did the same thing as Daryl and put them safely out of the away. By then he had already slid the entire lid open and was getting in. "Keep the machete and the knife, we'll probably need it."
"I don't like this." She mumbled between clenched teeth, more to herself than to him but knowing that she needed to hurry she took off the things he said and gave them to him. He put them by his side and lay down on his back, making it obvious that she had to basically accommodate herself over him.
And that was exactly what she did, biting hard onto her lips she went down with him, her knees straddling one of his thighs and the full weight off her body against him. It was awkward as hell, especially after what happened between them the night before, but it was what it was and before she could find a way to be as comfortable as she could under the circumstances, he was dragging the lid close.
"Is this a bad time to tell you I don't like being in closed spaces?" She whispered, but when she noticed that they were not entirely in the darkness and that even though the lid was in place there was a little opening where not only air but also light could come through, she blew out a breath she didn't even know she has been holding.
And really, it wasn't like she was claustrophobic or anything, but she was in a damn grave, in a coffin and basically trapped with another being in there so yes, it wasn't like she has having a blast. It was just…
"You gonna freak out on me now?" He whispered back and lifting her head a little so she could look at him, she saw that he was trying to get a peek out through the small opening. As he did that, his lips were slightly parted, probably from the effort of straining his neck and she could see how the tip of his tongue kept pushing against his upper teeth. It looked like a habit of his and not wanting to get caught up she moved her eyes away and tried to get a look outside too.
Because of the angle it was easier for her to peer out, but still she couldn't see anything that indicated the upcoming approach of the walkers; she could hear them though, growing louder and louder with each passing second.
Feeling antsy and closed in, she swallowed on dry and tried to accommodate herself by slowly moving a bit higher, it was hard with the lack of space available and probably because of that, she clumsily pushed her knee right between his legs. It was an involuntarily miscalculation from her part and as soon as the contact was made he grabbed her thigh and put it over his other leg, meaning that she was now straddling his hips and not his leg as before.
He did that almost angrily so she cleared her throat and apologized. "Sorry." She said in a hushed voice, feeling more awkward than mortified because even though he probably did that as a way to keep her from contacting his crotch, in her mind the new position she was now in left much to be desired. And that move of grabbing her? That has been a little bold for him even if he didn't mean anything by it.
Taking his hand off of her and placing it along his other one against the lid, he hissed. "Just stop wriggling."
"I am not wriggling." And she really wasn't, but because the last thing she wanted was for him to start saying she was taking advantage of the situation, she tried to keep as still as she could. It was enough with his silent reproach about the kiss so she didn't need this on her back as well. Besides he was now taking extra precautions not to touch her more than what it was necessary and that screamed out loud that he was as uncomfortable with the situation as she was so the best she could do was let it go.
So, wanting to focus on something else but the man beneath her, she went back at looking through the small peeking opening. "They are here." She said, proud that her voice didn't tremble when she caught a glimpse of feet dragging towards the music. There were quiet a few and when the growls started to become louder than the music, she lowered her eyes to his face.
In that moment she caught him looking at her and when their eyes found each other in the confines of their hidden spot he moved them towards the crack that offered a view outside. In his position in was challenging to look though so with a twist of his lips he moved his eyes to hers again, the full intensity of those blue digging into hers because this time it was him the one who caught her staring at him. But unlike him, she didn't look away, she got caught up in the deepness of his stare and basically froze.
They were close, so close that she could feel his breathing caressing her face and somehow it all felt like a déjà vu. It was all too recent in her memories so yes, her mind automatically recalled that last time she has been so close to him she ended up kissing him; sure, a drunk light kiss but a kiss nonetheless.
Blinking slowly, she noticed how his eyes lowered to her lips and she actually had to swallow down because she was damn sure he was also remembering what happened the previous night. Surprisingly, realizing that he wasn't trying to bite her head off as he thought back to it sent a shiver down her spine as she wondered what would happen if she did it again…
Not that she would, his eyes on her lips lasted only a second and when they were back on her eyes she remembered his reaction so no, it wasn't going to happen.
Forcing her eyes to move from his and closing her hands into fists as they rested at either side of his head, she looked out again, but the thing was that he felt like a magnet and after a quick glance she went back at looking at him. He was still scanning her face with curious eyes and he wasn't hiding what he was doing.
Maybe he wanted to kiss her and if that was the case she could get something more than a simple very chaste peck. If that happened she would definitely put attention to the whole thing because she could barely remember the feeling of her lips pressing to his… it could be a real kiss now.
But before her mind could keep on messing with her, a walker stepped onto the coffin and she actually jumped in surprise. A small gasp was also torn from her and suddenly, she wasn't thinking about kissing him anymore.
It was probably ridiculous, but in that moment she started to think on all of the things that could go wrong. Like the lid could break and they could either be munched to death or be stampede on, or the walkers could trip over them and one after the other they could get stuck and pile up and how the hell were she and Daryl would push them off?
"I don't like this."
"Shh."
Another walker stepped over the coffin and the lid trembled, making her startle again. It also made her lower herself against him and closing her eyes, she hid her face into the crook of his neck while pressing her mouth to his shoulder.
She did that as a way to force herself not to say anything because by now there were countless of feet stomping and dragging against the wooden barrier that was keeping them safe, but even though she was as quiet as she could she could listen her heart beating so hard that she was afraid it could be heard all the way to Alexandria. It was hammering insanely fast against her ribcage and yes, against Daryl's too.
There was no way he couldn't feel that and she even wondered if her heart could explode from the intensity of the whole thing. It was as she wondered about that when his hands came down to touch her, one taking a moment to brush her hair out of his face before it came to rest against her, almost to her shoulder and the other one to her lower back.
Tensing over the whole thing but too preoccupied to wonder how they ended up in that position, she tried to occupy her mind in other things, like on the way his chest rose and fell as he breathed. It was soothing in certain way, but even with that little distraction, every time the wood creaked she jumped. If it wasn't because he was now holding her to him she would have probably already pushed against the lid to take her chances outside.
Fighting her way through walkers didn't feel as terrifying as being there, trapped underground. But at the same time she knew being there was the best way of pulling through so that's what she did, she remained immobile against Daryl as the herd went through.
For how long they remained there? She didn't know, all she knew was that after the longest wait of her life it was over and she wanted nothing more than get out and take a deep breath of fresh air. She was already pushing against the lid when she heard people talking and so she went back down.
Now, she did that hard, basically letting her weigh crash against Daryl and he puffed out a breath at the impact. He also placed both hands to her hips before sliding them to her back again.
"I don't get why we have to keep looking for D instead of going after the assholes who took down the outpost."
"You really think Negan is going to let that slide? That's coming, last I heard we were sending people searching for them too. Soon they'll be pretty much done, same as D and his two…"
The two men kept their conversation as they too walked over the coffin and after several minutes of nothing but silence, it was Daryl the one pushing the lid open.
Pushing off of him and quickly taking a look around to make sure the area was really clear, Rosita stepped out of the grave. "They were talking about our group." Which meant they needed to go back to Alexandria as soon as they could. "We have to tell them."
"Yeah I know." He replied, getting out of his pocket a cigarette and lighting it up. Once that was done he took his things and much as he has been doing before, he began to walk without saying a word.
Grabbing for her own things, she hurried after him, her mind racing a thousand miles per second. If those men were with the same group they had taken out at the outpost then they sure as hell were not happy with them and that only meant trouble.
That was why they needed to hurry, warn the others and think on what to do.
The only problem was that the two men that passed them by earlier on were not the only ones searching through the woods and in more than one occasion they had to alternate their routes to evade them. That took good part of the day and when dusk was creeping in they found themselves hiding into a small second story apartment. There was a group of about five a couple of miles ahead and they wanted them to move out first.
"How much ammo you got?" Daryl asked as he looked into his bag, then before she could even check he was pushing her way a good amount of ammunition. He also took out two bottle of water and some canned food, he gave all that to her.
Since they just ate the last MRE's she frowned, not really getting why he was giving that to her.
"I'm gonna head out and distract them so you can sneak out the back and make it to Alexandria."
"What? No-" She began to say as she realized what he wanted to do.
"Shouldn't be much walkers around so with a good pace you can make it by tomorrow noon, maybe less if you find yourself some wheels."
"Daryl, no. We stick together and we make it together. There's more that a dozen men out there and you know they are packing heavy so no, just… no."
Not minding what she just said, he took his rifle and made it to the door. She almost had to run to beat him to it to pull the door shut.
"I said we stick together; we either make it to Alexandria together or we go out there and take on the group, but neither of us we'll do anything alone."
As if her words pissed him off he took a step back and dragged the palm of his hand down his face. "Yeah because we are making great progress together. I ain't hiding no more, Rosita, but that don't mean you can't go and warn Rick."
"You're going to get yourself killed."
"I can throw them off track."
"No." She said decided as he took a step towards the door. She even put herself between the exit and him.
"Move." He said once he was right in front of her, his face a stoic mask that gave nothing away. If it wasn't because the intensity of his eyes lit his whole face in annoyance, she would even think the whole thing was boring to him.
"I'm not going to move, you're not even lis-"
Not letting her finish, he grabbed her face with both his hands and pulled it to his. He did it roughly, making her stumble against him so that she had to raise her hands to his chest to steady herself; it was as that happened that his mouth pressed to hers and he kissed her.
Caught in the sudden surprise, she barely had time to close her eyes before realization hit her. He was kissing her! Well, at least he was pressing hard against her mouth with his own mouth, but when she parted her lips he didn't hesitate in going in, swirling his tongue around hers and then moving one of his hands to the back of her head as if to hold her in place.
Unsure of what was going on but wanting to savor the moment to its fullest, Rosita tilted her head to the right as his tongue did a quick exploration of her mouth. He wasn't too tender about it and with the force of the kiss her head would sometimes lean back a little. When that happened Daryl would hold her even closer even though he was the one pushing her back, the fingers of his right hand tangling in her hair as the kiss became deeper and more intense.
But then, as suddenly as it began, the kiss ended abruptly when he pulled away from her.
"Make sure you make it back there and tell them." Once that was said he walked around her and without saying another word he walked out.
It took her several seconds to realize he was leaving and when she finally managed to react, she went to open the door that he just closed. It didn't give away completely and giving it a jerk she came to understand that it was stuck. Somehow he managed to leave her behind so he could do what he wanted to do.
He distracted her with a kiss and she fell for it.
"Stupid son of…" Groaning, she used her full body weight to push at the door and it opened a little more, but as she knew, by the time she would be able to get out of there it was going to be too late.