This has to be one of my favorite chapters I wrote for this story. I hope everyone else enjoys it too!
Emma sped down the street, glad that her companion had fallen asleep hours ago. She hated when he brought up his little brother. It had taken her days to realize that he wasn't coming back for her. Most of that time she'd spent curled up on the floor of his house, passing the time with the little bit of drugs she knew Merle had stashed and the alcohol that was always present in the house.
The sun had long since gone down, and she knew that if Merle was awake he would've made her stop for the night, but all she wanted was to keep going. The feel of the open road in front of her was freeing. Knowing there was still a full can of gas in the trunk made all the small detours worth it.
When the sun was finally breaking the horizon again, she managed to find a decent spot to pull over. Making sure the car was hidden from the road, she moved into the trees. It would only take her a few minutes, but she knew her knife in her hand. She relieved herself before heading further into the woods thankful to find a small creek.
"Hey, are you alone?" A voice called out to her, causing her to freeze for a moment as she felt the chilling water run down her face. It had been a long time since she met other survivors.
Emma turned around slowly, making sure she tucked her knife back into her belt before turning to face the voice. She was surprised to see a tall, young brunette standing on the other bank of the water. Behind her were two men, one an Asian man and another larger black man. They didn't seem threatening, but these days it was hard to tell who your enemies were.
"My brother's in the car just up the road. We've been heading out of town, just stopped to refresh a little." Emma tried to seem as innocent as possible. The way the men were watching her made her assume that they'd had their own misfortunes with the living.
"If just the two of you?" The Asian man asked taking a step closer to the brunette.
"Yeah, we're all we got left." She smiled. "I should head back, he's not all that patient."
"You know we could…" The woman started again, but was cut off abruptly by the man beside her.
"Thanks, but we're just fine on our own. Wouldn't want to impose on you folks." Emma slowly began to back away. "I'd stay east of here though. We came across a few unfriendly types back that way. There are a lot of biters around here too. My advice is to find someplace to up north."
"Too many walkers," the man said as he moved closer to the water. "They pushed up this way."
"Sorry to hear that. Good luck."
"Hey wait, what's your name?"
"Sugar, my mama had a bit of a sweet tooth and no originality." She smiled sweetly at them, just like she'd practiced all her life.
"I'm Glenn, this is Maggie and T-Dog back there." They all gave her nod as introduction.
"Is it just you three?" Emma wondered as she glanced around them quickly.
"We have more waiting back on the road." Maggie sounded a bit hopeful.
"That's too bad, smaller groups are the best for traveling. You get more than five or six and you need a place to call your own. Too many bodies to have on the road."
"Sound like you got some experience in that." T-Dog finally spoke up, eyeing her carefully trying to break down her lie.
"I was with a group, there were about ten of us. We got overrun. It's easy when there's nowhere to run to. Now it's just me and my brother. Toughest son of a bitch I know, and the only one I can rely on."
"You know any good places? Secure buildings around here?" Maggie asked as she gripped Glenn's arm.
"As far as I know, everything around here belongs to the dead. Sorry, hope you guys find something soon." With that she turned and started back the way she came.
"Sugar, hold up." She was surprised to see Glenn crossing the water and heading in her direction. Instinctively she reached for her knife. "We have a kids, a pregnant woman. I can tell you got somewhere to stay. You don't look like you've been on the road. Not like we have."
"I'm sorry, but there's nowhere. It's not safe around here. Please if you're group is that vulnerable, head out of town. That's the best I can do."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Glenn asked as he took hold of Emma's arm.
She jerked out of his hold, eyeing the other two still on the other side of the creek. "There's a prison, not far. The last I checked it was overrun, and you'll probably lose people taking it over, but if you can at least get through the gates, you can stay a few nights. I'm not promising anything, but it might be something to look into."
"You can come with us, the more people the better right?"
"No, my brother doesn't play well with others. That's why we're on our own." She glanced behind her to make sure Merle wasn't on his way to find her.
"We've met those types before, we've managed just fine."
"You're a persistent son of a bitch." Emma laughed, running her hands through her hair. "If we don't find someplace soon, maybe we'll turn back see if you're still in the area."
With that she moved away quickly, pushing branches out of her way until she was in sight of the car, thankful to see Merle still passed out in the passenger seat. As quickly as she could, she got the car back on the road. It wasn't long before she was speeding passed the prison she was told Glenn about. She could still remember the arguments she'd had with the men back at Woodbury about it. It was probably the most secure structure around, but it wasn't a home. She'd take safe over comfortable any day.
"It's a damn same." Merle sighed, his voice hoarse of the alcohol and probable hangover he was nursing. She turned to catch him eyeing the fenced in building as well surrounded by the dead.
"Please don't start that argument up again. We've already circled back to it dozens of times, Woodbury's home."
Again he slipped into silence. Emma was thankful, she didn't want to say anything about the people she'd met or the fact that she told they a viable way to survive in the area. Merle would be angry, but if Philip ever found out, they'd probably be dead. A group that size, able to survive with children and a pregnancy, meant they were well equipped and capable of making life difficult for the town if they weren't at least half as friendly as the three she'd met.
"We were gonna come after you two." Martinez said as he opened the gate to let the car in. Emma rolled her eyes at the thought.
"It was a night, nothing we can't handle. Now all I want is a hot shower and some food." She could see some hesitation in his eyes, but she left the men anyway. A part of her wanted to head for her old apartment, spend some time on her own, but she knew that he'd come find her the minute he knew she was back anyway.
She moved into the building, stopping just outside the door. The knob turned, but for the first time, she wasn't able to push it open. The only time she knew him to lock the door was when they were in the room together. For a moment her throat got tight, he was supposed to be taking care of Penny while she was away.
"Philip," she yelled banging on the door. "Open up, Philip."
The door swung open with her fist poised in the air. "You're back."
"I'm sorry," she breathed. "We lost track of time, and the roads back were blocked."
"You must be starving." He said as he pushed her into the hallway and down the hall.
"I'll live, I wanted to shower first." She gave him a little smile as she maneuvered around him and back into the apartment. He was following behind her, and nearly ran into her as she came to a dead stop inside the room.
"I'm glad you're back, Emma." Ashley said with a smile as she was picking up her jacket. "We were all worried, planning a group to go look for you two."
Emma couldn't say anything. Her eyes were glued to the bedroom as she heard the other woman move out of the apartment. He closed the door behind her, locking it before returning to where Emma was standing.
"Sugar," he started with his hand reaching around her waist.
"Don't call me that." She said pushing away from him. "How long? How long have you been fucking her?"
"Emma it wasn't like that." He said, having the audacity to even laugh at the thought.
"You're lying. And why not, you're good at it. I've seen you do it a million times before, but never to me. You asshole." She said pushing passed him and heading out the building.
"Emma wait," he called after her and catching her arm as she headed into the street.
"No, I'm not that girl anymore. When you found me, I was a miserable piece of shit, but you helped me get back on my feet. That doesn't give you the right to treat me like this. You wanna sleep with Ashley, go ahead, but don't expect to have me too."
She continued down the street ignoring the few stares she received and headed back to the car. She slid back into the driver's seat before staring at the men in front of the gate. "Open it, or I'll take you out with it." She threated as she turned the engine over.
"Let her go." She heard the Governor call out to the men. When she was through the gates and back on the road, she was able to let the tears fall down her face.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
"I got us a pizza." Daryl announced as he moved into her apartment. The second he stepped inside he was assaulted by the smell of chemicals. "Emma."
"I'll be out in…three more minutes." Her voice muffled by the bathroom door she was behind.
He tried not to let his curiosity get the better of him, and headed into the kitchen. She was taking longer than the three minutes, and he decided that he wasn't going to wait on her. Taking a few slices for himself and grabbing a beer from the fridge he sat down in front of the television. At the sound of the shower kicking on, he couldn't help but call out to her again.
"Almost done." She yelled over the spray of water. Five minutes later she walked down the hall with a towel rubbing through her hair. "What do you think?"
Glancing at her for a second, he was sure what she was talking about. That was until he looked up at her smiling face and almost lost his breath when he saw her emerald eyes gleaming back at him, framed by dark dripping locks of hair. "You changed your hair."
"Thought it was time for a new start, plus it's easier to take care of. I don't have to hide my roots anymore." She laughed as she went to the kitchen to pick up a slice of pizza.
Sitting together on the couch, she couldn't help but think back to the day he'd kissed her. It had been almost five days, her wounds were almost completely healed now only slightly bruised, but he hadn't touched her since.
"I'm gonna move to Atlanta." She blurted out, staring ahead at the images on the screen instead of his reaction. She wasn't all that shocked when it went black and she shifted closer to her.
"You're leaving?" He sounded a little hurt, but didn't show it on his face.
"In a week, I already found an apartment. It ain't the best, but a place to stay. There are some restaurants, bars around that I can get a job at." He nodded, looking down at the floor. "I want you to come with me."
He didn't say anything, but finally looked up at her. Emma waited to hear a reaction, something that told her what he was thinking. Her heart was pounding against her chest. He moved closer, reaching out and running his fingers through her now dark hair.
"Promise me, you won't go back to stripping." He said looking into her eyes with a seriousness that sent a chill down her spine.
"Never again. I'm done with that and the drugs, I'm done with that life." She told him, reaching out and pressing her forehead against his. "Please, come with me Daryl. We can both get a fresh start."
He nodded against her, pulling her closer by tugged on the back of her head until his lips were moving over hers. Emma moaned at the contact before she was sliding closer to him, straddling his lap. Her fingers slipped into his hair as she felt him smile against her lips.
