Daryl watched Tessa as she walked away. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He had never told anyone about the scars before. It was his burden to bare and his alone, but she had told him about hers, and hearing her talk about them, made him want to do it too. It felt good to finally tell someone. He knew that he and Tessa were bound together now. Two broken souls finding each other. That was the way it always seemed to work. The broken found each other, and the broken took care of each other. Daryl grunted before he went into his tent. This was all so new for him. It had always been him and Merle, and no one else, but he wanted to be around Tessa. She was like him, she wanted to do good by others, but she was afraid to let anyone in. Daryl went to bed that night, with thoughts of the brown haired beauty running threw his mind.
Tessa braced herself for the hit. She was thirteen and the school had called her home because she skipped one of her classes. Her father was furious. Her left arm was bleeding from a knife he had throw, her other arm was going to have a bruise from how hard he was gripping it. She gasped a little bit as his fist connected with her face. Her hands went up to her all ready swollen eye.
"Ya tell anyone 'bout this, you'll be dead," her father threatened before flicking the cut on her arm and walking away. Her father slammed the front door and Tessa fell to her knees, crying.
When Tessa woke up, she was crying. She growled as she wiped the annoying tears away. She quickly got out of bed, she was eager to look for Sophia today. When she made it out of the house, the other group was just starting to wake up. It was earlier then Tessa and thought when she rolled out of bed. She saw Rick, Shane, and T-Dog all standing together. She made her way towards the group of men.
"Morning Tessa," Rick said in greeting. Tessa ignored the glare that Shane was sending her way. Apparently he had hard feelings about the other day.
"Morning," she said in return, "um…I was wondering if I could help look for Sophia today." The three men looked shocked. Tessa didn't socialize with them, so for her to ask to help them, it was a bit of a surprise.
"Yeah, that would be great." Tessa smiled before she turned to go find Daryl. She wanted to get into the woods. As she was walking away, she could hear Shane telling Rick that she shouldn't be allowed to help them. She rolled her eyes as she continued her way to Daryl's tent. The door was slightly unzipped, and Tessa could hear him rustling around inside.
"Daryl," she called out to him. He stepped out of the tent, shirtless, and Tessa could see the other scars on his body. They were much like her own.
"What do ya want?" he asked as he pulled his shirt over his head.
"I wanna start looking for her."
"Yer an eager little shit aren't ya," he said as he grabbed his cross bow. Tessa rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. Daryl snorted, but a small smile touched his lips which in turn made Tessa smile. He really was an attractive man. The two walked towards Rick and the others. Rick told everyone where they should look today, and Tessa knew exactly where to go. She fallowed closely behind Daryl as they approached the woods. Once there, she took the lead. The two walked in silence for a while, but it was Daryl this time that broke it.
"How'd ya end up on the farm?" Tessa stopped what she was doing and looked at Daryl quizzically. "Ya asked me last night how I ended up with the group, now I'm asking ya how ya ended up on the farm." Tessa turned away from him. She still couldn't stand to think about that night without crying.
"I guess it was the day the world went to shit;" she started "I walked into the house I grew up in. My brother had turned, and my father had shot him. When I walked in, he shot me twice. When he saw it was just me, he shot me again." Tessa could feel the tears building in her eyes and her voice was getting shaky.
Daryl stared wide eyed at Tessa's back. He had asked her how she had ended up on the farm, and the story she was telling was not what he had expected at all. He could tell she was starting to cry, but he didn't know what to do, and it made him feel awkward.
"He was a terrible aim," she continued, "but if I didn't do what I did, he would have killed me." It didn't take a genius to guess that she had killed her father. "I ran then, and I found the farm." Daryl just stared at her. She shoulders were shaking from silent tears. What was he supposed to do? He was the one who made her cry. Daryl took a tentative step towards the girl, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Ya did what ya had to," he said to the crying girl. Tessa snorted.
"I keep telling myself that," she whispered. "It was self defense, but I still can't get over it." Daryl just stared at her. What more could he do?
Tessa took comfort in the weight of Daryl's hand on her shoulder. It was a strange gesture, something she wasn't used to. It was odd, telling someone about her past, but it felt right talking to him. She quickly wiped away the tears.
"I'm sorry. Know you didn't want to hear any of that personal shit." Tessa was trying to lighten the mood now.
"I aint no good at this kinda shit," Daryl said honestly. Tessa smiled a bit at him.
"Neither am I, it's why we get along so well." Daryl smirked, but he knew that she was right. There was no body else that he could talk to, not even his big brother. They continued on their way as if nothing had happened.
"You know," Tessa said after a moment of silence, "since I'm being so honest with you, I've never told anybody that before. Not even Hershel, but it feels good to finally talk about it. I've never had anyone." Daryl put his hand on her shoulder again.
"Me either," he said honestly, surprising himself. Tessa stopped at looked at him.
"What about you're brother?" Daryl just shrugged.
"He's my brother. Pushed me around, and it's not like the Dixon's were the touchy feely kind of people anyway." Tessa nodded, accepting his answer. She took a look around her and realized that they were close to the ravine that she liked to go to when things were really bothering her. She tapped Daryl's arm to get his attention and led the way to the ravine. When they reached the top of the cliff they could see the far expanse of the forest. Daryl let out a low whistle.
"Wow," he said under his breath. Tessa just watched him. It was a great feeling being out here with someone who appreciated it just as much as she did. Tessa put a hand on his shoulder, pushed her self up on her toes, and kissed Daryl's cheek. An immediate blush spread across his cheeks as he looked at her in shock.
"Thank you," she said as she looked at her feet. "For listening to me and putting up with me." Daryl was silent, and when Tessa looked up at him, he was still blushing. It made Tessa smirk a little. He obviously wasn't used to affection.
"Come on," Tessa said to the blushing Daryl, "let's keep looking."
Tessa and Daryl were in the forest all day, and when they decided to head back, the sun was setting over the horizon. Tessa had enjoyed her time with Daryl. It was strange, letting this man into her life. She barley knew him, but a part of her felt connected to him in some way that she had never felt before. When they got back to the farm, nobody was outside. The two stopped where the fire was usually going. Daryl looked a round for second, and then turned to go towards his tent.
"You don't want to look for them?" Tessa asked the retreating man. Daryl turned to look at her.
"They can take care of 'em selves," he said before he continued on his way. Tessa just shrugged before she went into the house, and she found the other group. They had made dinner.
"Tessa," Carol said with a smile on her face, "please, join us." A small smile touched Tessa's face as she walked into the dinning room. She took a seat next to Beth. She noticed Maggie and Glenn passing flirtatious glances at each other. Tessa smirked as she looked down at her plate full of food. She knew that those two were going to end up together. When dinner was over, and everything was cleaned up and put away, Tessa prepared another plate. She snuck out of the back door and headed towards the tent far from everyone else. There was a small fire going and Tessa could see Daryl sitting by it.
"Hey," she said as she approached him. He turned and gave her a small nod in acknowledgment. "I brought you some food." Tessa shyly passed the plate to Daryl. It was so unlike her. Daryl looked at the plate of food for a moment before taking it.
"What is it?" he asked as he continued to look at it.
"Venison." Daryl started to eat.
"Can't tell ya how sick I am of squirrel." Tessa laughed a little as she stared at the flames. She couldn't remember the last time she felt completely comfortable being alone with a man. Even when she first arrived at the farm she couldn't be in the same room as Hershel without Beth or Maggie. It was so different with Daryl. Maybe it was because they were so similar.
"Ya gunna look for Sophia tomorrow?" Daryl asked when he finished his plate. Tessa nodded. "Why are ya lookin' for a girl ya don't even know?" Tessa shrugged and looked at Daryl out of the corner of her eye.
"She's like me, except she's got a mamma who loves her."
"Yer mom didn't love ya?" Daryl asked raising an eye brow.
"I'm sure she did, but I was so young when she died that I barely remember her. When I think about my childhood all I think about is everything that my father did to me."
"Sorry," Daryl said quietly. Tessa just shrugged. "My mom died when I was a kid too. Died in a fire." Tessa stared at him for a moment. He was such a broken man.
"Car accident," Tessa said. When Daryl looked at her in confusion Tessa added, "How my mom died. I was in the car. According to my dad it should have been me who died." Tessa could feel the weight of Daryl's eyes on her as she stared at the fire.
"I'm glad it wasn't ya," Daryl finally said quietly. Tessa snapped her head in his direction. He had revealed some of his past to her, but she never expected him to say anything like that to her…ever. The two held eye contact and again, there was that feeling like they were bound to each other.
"Thank you," she whispered, afraid to break the connection that was taking place. Daryl started to blush and quickly looked away from her, as if he realized what he had just done. Tessa sighed before she stood up.
"It's late, I'll see you tomorrow," she said before she kissed Daryl on the cheek. "Goodnight Daryl."
