dislclaimer: I do not own any part of the walking dead
AN: Sorry that it took me over a week to update again; chem has been taking up a lot of my time! Here is chapter 10!
"Fuck!"
Lyla winced as Daryl cursed for the tenth time since she had started removing the stitches in his back.
"Hold still," she ordered as she pulled the black string from his skin, "This is the last one."
Daryl groaned but didn't move a muscle. He was sitting on the edge of the tub in his and Lyla's bathroom with his back to her. It had been almost two weeks since the group had first arrived at the house. The canned food was all but gone and Lyla had been shooting squirrels on the edge of the property with Daryl's crossbow to keep the group going. Daryl still couldn't go hunting for bigger game because his hand brace made it impossible for him to pull back the cord on the bow. Everyone was getting pretty antsy after being in the same place for so long, especially after Rick had to dispatch a walker along the fence the day before. The group was in agreement that it was time to move on and head toward Fort Bennet like they had originally planned to do after the CDC.
"There we go," muttered Lyla as she cut the last stitch and used the tweezers to pull it out.
Daryl blew out a breath and rolled his shoulders. He moaned in gratification at finally being able to move without the thread in his back pulling painfully. Lyla smirked as her boyfriend stretched like a cat. She ran her hand across his upper back and then turned to put away the medical supplies. As she put the saline solution back in the bag, her hand brushed against paper and her stomach dropped. It was the photograph that Rick had found in the beginning of their stay. She thought about showing the picture to Daryl every morning, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Daryl had been in such a good mood lately and she didn't want to be the one to ruin it. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair in distress; she didn't know what to do about the situation but something needed to be done before Daryl found the picture in her things. He wouldn't take it well if he knew she was holding onto it without his knowledge.
Lyla shrieked and lost her train of thought as two muscular arms wrapped themselves around her midsection and hoisted her into the air. She felt Daryl's laughter before she heard it due to her back being pressed tightly against his broad chest.
"Feels fuckin' good to finally be able to pick ya up without tearin' the skin on ma back," he said as he nuzzled her hair from behind and started to walk towards the hallway with Lyla still lifted off the floor. She giggled and gripped his arms with her hands.
"Where are we going?" she asked as he started to descend the stairs. He huffed and his breath tickled the back of her neck that was exposed by her messy ponytail.
"We're gunna shove out in the mornin' and Ah wanna enjoy bein' on ma property today. Probably gunna be the last time we ever see this place ya know?"
Lyla nodded as they reached the bottom of the stairs and paused; everyone else was sitting around the living room staring at the couple. Daryl promptly dropped Lyla and grumbled something under his breath. She rolled her eyes at his back as he retreated into the kitchen.
"Ah'll be outside!" he tossed over his shoulder and the sound of the back door swinging open and closed reverberated throughout the small house.
"Two weeks together in the same house and he's still hasn't relaxed around us?" asked Dale with a hint of a smirk.
"The word relaxed isn't in his dictionary," scoffed Lyla as she readjusted her shirt and sat on the edge of one of the footstools near Rick, "The man sleeps with a knife under his pillow."
"Does he really?" asked Shane with a laugh.
"You bet," answered Lyla exasperatedly, "I can't tell you how many times I woke up to that monster of a hunting knife shoved in my face when we first got together."
"And you stayed with him?" inquired Andrea in an incredulous voice.
"What can I say? It happened so often it became endearing."
T-dog guffawed loudly at her sarcastic tone. Lyla quirked a smile in his direction before clapping her hands and standing up.
"Well, we're going to lounge around in the yard all day and save our energy for tomorrow. Everyone's welcome to join us."
She waved and exited the house. The others were silent for a moment then Glenn spoke hesitantly.
"Do-do you guys think they'll be, uh, "busy" if we go outside?"
"Oh that's ridiculous," protested Lori with her hands thrown up in the air, "Admittedly they've been very "busy" while we've been here, but honestly they're out in the open! They won't do anything!"
The adults laughed at the innuendo for sex that they had to use in front of Carl and Sophia, both of whom were looking confused like usual when the conversation turned to Daryl and Lyla's relationship.
"Come on people," chuckled Rick, "We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow and we could use a nice relaxing day before that. It's too nice outside to stay in the house on our last day here."
Daryl was sitting cross-legged in the long grass with Lyla splayed on her stomach next to him. She was propped up on her elbows and leafing through one of her photo albums as he lightly drew patterns on her grey tank top clad back. Her wavy hair was tossed over one shoulder and the strong sunlight turned it a gleaming gold. Her long, tan legs were kicking absently in their cut-off shorts as she continued flipping through the pages, giggling every now and then. Daryl removed his hand from the small of her back and dragged it through his hair. He still wasn't used to the shorter length but he was happy that Lyla had finally cut it because the heat was sweltering. His plaid sleeve-less shirt was sticking to his sweaty back and his legs felt like they were cooking in his jeans.
The others were spread out all around the large plot of land in similar positions. Everyone was taking one last chance to spend time with each other and have fun before they headed into the unknown once more.
Lyla burst into laughter and rolled off of her stomach as she shook uncontrollably. Daryl raised an eyebrow at her as she clutched her middle and she nodded to the open book on the ground in response. He reached forward to pick it up and looked at the picture that had made her explode like that. He didn't have nearly the same reaction that his girlfriend did, but when he saw the picture he chuckled and flopped onto his back next to her. It was one taken about two years ago on St. Patrick's Day, which was Lyla's favorite holiday besides Oktoberfest, and it usually wound up being one of their craziest nights of the year. The photo showed an obviously inebriated Daryl and a very messy Lyla in their favorite bar. Daryl was holding Lyla up on his side with one arm under her butt and her legs wrapped around his waist. She was wearing a short green dress that was hiked up around the tops of her thighs and a grin was visible on her lips, which were pressed against his cheek. Daryl's shirt was unbuttoned and pushed to his sides. He was flipping off the camera with his free hand and grinning wildly. Both of them looked completely drunk and disheveled.
"That was a good one that year wasn't it," he said with a snort as he took the picture out of the book and held it over their heads so Lyla could see as well. She tucked her head into his shoulder while hiccupping slightly from her earlier laughter.
"Remember-remember," she gasped through bouts if giggles, "They banned us from the bar for a week because of our, what was it they said exactly, oh right, because of our indecent behavior."
Daryl snickered as he slid the photo back into the album. He tugged on a piece of her hair gently.
"We did almost fuck in one of the booths didn't we?"
"Hell if I know," replied Lyla with a sharp exhale, "Look at picture! Does that look like someone who remembers her night?"
"Well Ah remember what we did later that night," Daryl said in a low, suggestive voice. Lyla grinned and lifted her head to look at him.
"Oh yeah?" she challenged with a look of mock confusion on her face, "You might have to remind me what happened because I seem to be blanking."
Daryl grinned and suddenly rolled on top of her. He pulled her in for a long searing kiss. He heard Shane whistling from nearby so he raised a hand to flip him off and then rolled again so Lyla was lying on his chest. She snuggled her face into his neck and sighed.
"I miss our old life," she murmured sadly as his arms squeezed her, "I miss going to bar when you got home, I miss you coming to the hospital for lunch, I miss our weekends off when we didn't even have to leave our house or deal with other people."
Daryl hugged her tighter.
"Ah know darlin', me too."
"I miss my parents."
Her voice was so quiet that Daryl wouldn't have known that she had spoken if he hadn't felt her breath against his neck. He tried to pull her even closer to him and kissed the top of her head.
"If Ah had to bet on anyone other than Merle to survive this thing it'd be yer daddy. Man's fuckin' scary as shit. He's probably got yer mom and those big dogs of his holed up in their attic or something."
Lyla laughed weakly and drew circles on his chest.
"I guess you're right," she said hopefully, "He always had that iron-will."
"Damn straight," asserted Daryl with a nod. Lyla folded her hands and rested her chin on her clasped fingers. She opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it when she saw Carl and Sophia standing a few feet away looking at them nervously. She scrambled off of Daryl quickly and nudged his side. He turned his head and sat up when he saw the kids. Lyla smiled at both of them.
"What's up guys?"
The two exchanged a look and Sophia poked Carl in his ribs. He yelped and glared at her before staring at the grass near Lyla's legs.
"Our moms are making us do geometry homework but we don't get it. You-you said Mr. Dixon was good at math and me and Sophia were wondering if he could help us?"
Daryl squinted at the young boy and leaned back on his hands.
"Don't call me Mr. Dixon," he grunted. Carl nodded quickly with a slightly scared expression on his face. Daryl's eyes widened slightly.
"Calm down kid, Ah ain't gunna bite, and sure Ah'll help ya. Come over here and show me what ya got."
Sophia immediately sat down right next to him and put her notebook on the ground in front of her. Lyla stood up so Carl could sit on her boyfriend's other side. He handed Daryl his notebook and a pencil. Daryl looked at it for a few seconds then gave it back.
"Alright," he said, "Looks like yer doing transformations. That means ya gotta think about how that shapes gunna look if ya flip it over the axis see. Then ya gotta…"
Lyla smiled and walked over to Lori and Rick who were sitting next to each other on a log. She sat down next to Rick and the three of them stared at the redneck and the two children. Daryl was sitting cross-legged between the two and his head was hanging down as he scribbled something on one of the notebooks and showed it to the kids. His hand accidentally brushed against Sophia's and both of them shied away from the contact. Lyla frowned.
"How well did you guys know Carol's husband?" she asked the other two bluntly. Lori gave her a shrewd look and Rick squeezed his wife's shoulder comfortingly.
"Not well," he admitted as he scratched the back of his head, "But enough to know that he smacked her around once in a while."
Lyla nodded as if that was the answer she'd been expecting. Something had been nagging her about Sophia, and she was finally starting to put the pieces together as she watched the young girl interact with Daryl. Their behavior was the same; it was like watching mirror images. They both constantly looked like they were trying to withdraw into themselves, and the way they both jumped at physical contact was a clear indicator of some type of trauma.
"Do you know if he ever hit Sophia too?" she asked and Lori drew in a sharp breath. The older woman looked at her and swallowed audibly.
"We've never known for sure, but a lot of us have had suspicions. Of course we never wanted to ask Carol about it," she said in a low voice, "Why do you ask?"
Lyla didn't say anything and gestured towards Daryl and the kids. Lori looked confused but Rick nodded in understanding.
"I've been noticing that too lately," he mumbled with his eyes focused on the trio. Daryl had just said something to Carl that made the boy burst into laughter. Lori still looked bewildered.
"What are you two talking about?"
Rick answered her without tearing his eyes away from his laughing son.
"Abused children can almost always be distinguished by certain markers that they teach cops to recognize. I imagine that you also know about them given that you worked in a hospital Lyla?"
Lyla nodded her head as Lori realized what they were implying with a sickened look.
"So," she began unsteadily, "Daryl and Sophia both display these-these markers then?"
"Daryl's practically right out of a psychology textbook," Lyla replied with her voice nearly shaking with anger, "His inability to trust or form relationships with others, his lack of self-worth and feeling of inadequacy, he has trouble controlling his emotions, and he can't stand to be touched, even by me sometimes. Not to mention the panic attack he had two weeks ago in Atlanta. And the physical evidence is visible enough for anyone to see all over his body."
Her hands had formed fists and her nails were digging painfully into her palms. Lori was biting her lip with watery eyes.
"That's just…that's just all so awful," she said breathlessly.
Lyla shook her head in anger and wiped at her eyes.
"I noticed it within five minutes of meeting him," she muttered, "Sophia is more subtle, but I'd expect that since she wasn't submitted to abuse for as long as Daryl was, and I'm sure it wasn't as intense. Carol was there for her too, Daryl was alone with that fucking bastard for nearly ten years."
Rick wrapped an arm around her shoulder and Lori reached across her husband to pat her knee. Some of Lyla's sudden anger melted away at their touch and she was left feeling exhausted.
"Sorry for getting so heated," she apologized, "It's just that the topic hadn't come up for a few years before this zombie clusterfuck happened, and lately it seems like it's invading our life from every direction."
"You have nothing to apologize for sweetheart," argued Lori intensely, "Just hearing about Daryl's past from you makes me want to hug him senseless. Of course I'd probably get a knife in the back if I ever tried."
Her attempt to lighten the mood worked and Lyla gave her a watery chuckle.
"Probably," she admitted as she squinted into the harsh sunlight.
The three chatted about lighter things for a few minutes before Carl ran over to them clutching his notebook to his small chest. Daryl was following him warily and Sophia was trailing slightly behind him.
"Mom! Dad!" Carl yelled excitedly, "Can I go swimming? Daryl says there's a river in the woods and he would take Sophia and me if it was ok with you. Please? It's so hot today."
Lyla and Rick laughed at Carl's rushed words, all spoken without taking a breath. Lori smiled at her son.
"Did you finish your homework?"
"What? Oh yeah, it's done. I understand it now," he said with a wave of his hand. Lori raised her eyebrows.
"Really?"
"Yeah, Daryl's really smart and he showed us a really easy way of doing it."
Daryl muttered something under his breath at that statement and Lyla saw that his ears were slightly red. She smirked at his embarrassment and got up to stand at his side. She grabbed his hand, seeking some physical comfort after her emotional conversation, and intertwined their fingers together. Daryl's head dropped to stare at their hands but then snapped it back up as Lori addressed him.
"How far away is the stream Daryl?" she asked kindly.
"'Bout a quarter of a mile east of here," he said as he pushed his brown hair off of his forehead. His sweat made it stick straight out and Lyla laughed internally at the sight of it as he continued speaking with Lori, "Should be fine. I've got ma knife just in case, and Ah'll take Lyla with us so she can use the Horton if we run inta anything."
Lyla nodded and excused herself so she could grab the crossbow and put a bathing suit on. She quickly threw on a black bikini under her clothes, swung the bow over her back, and then made her way back outside. It looked like the kids had won over both Lori and Carol to the idea, as they were both holding large towels and standing near Daryl who was biting his thumbnail nervously. He clearly wasn't comfortable making small talk with just the kids. Sophia and Carl didn't look like they cared though; Lyla was really surprised to see that the girl was gripping the side of her boyfriend's shirt with one small hand. Lori, Carol, and Rick also seemed to notice and they were speaking in hushed voices a little ways away while throwing smiles in the direction of the redneck. Lyla chuckled and continued to make her way over to Daryl.
He looked almost comically relieved when she reached him and gave her a pointed look before furtively gesturing to Sophia's fist. Lyla smirked lightly.
"Sophia and Carl, go hug your parents goodbye before we leave," she suggested. They both nodded and left to do what she said. Daryl let out a long breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and then he slung his arm over Lyla's shoulder and drew her closer to him.
"Didn't think the girl was ever goin' to let go of me," he said lowly as she wrapped both of her arms around his waist.
"She trusts you," countered Lyla. Daryl looked slightly bewildered.
"Don' see why."
"Really?" asked Lyla incredulously as she pulled back to look at his face, "It makes sense that she does. You really don't notice the way she and you-"
Her speech was cut off as the two kids came scampering back towards them.
"We're ready!" Carl practically shouted in excited.
Lyla forced herself to smile and ruffled his hair. They would have to continue that conversation later.
"Well then come on kid, let's go!"
The cool water felt amazing as Lyla submerged herself completely under it. For the past half of an hour, her, Carl, and Sophia had been splashing around in the water playing various aquatic games. She loved being immature and playing with the other two, even if they were about fifteen years younger than her. Daryl chose not to partake in the activities and instead was leaning back on his arms on top of a large, flat rock. He was still fully clothed and his blue eyes were scanning the woods carefully for any threat. They hadn't seen a walker all day and Lyla thought it was time for Daryl to enjoy himself too. She stood up in the river and squeezed the water from her long hair before making her way over to her boyfriend.
His eyes followed the sway of her hips as she sauntered across the rock and dropped down next to him. Her chest was heaving in the small black bikini from all the swimming she'd done and Daryl licked his lips as he watched the swell of her breasts rise and fall steadily. Lyla quirked one eyebrow and smirked at him.
"Interested in joining me Dixon?" she asked in a voice full of mirth. She ran one of her bare feet slowly up his leg. Daryl half-glared at her and swallowed heavily.
"Cut that out yank," he huffed, "We got kids ten feet away."
"Cut what out?"
Lyla put on her best innocent face but Daryl saw right through it and he continued to glare at her. Lyla gave up the act and laughed loudly.
"I'll stop if you come in the water," she said playfully in a singsong voice. Daryl just rolled his eyes and continued to scan the woods.
"Don' wanna get wet," he muttered without looking at her. He received no response for a few seconds so he turned to look at her again. She was grinning wickedly at him and he immediately knew what she was going to do.
"No! Lyla, don' fuckin'-"
Daryl's attempts to stop her were futile and in the next instant her soaking wet body was on top of his. He could feel the water running off of her fit body and onto his clothing and skin. Lyla was pushing his body against the rock as she wrapped herself tightly around his body.
"Dammit Lyla," he groaned from underneath her. She just giggled and lifted her head slightly to kiss him deeply.
Daryl sighed as her tongue pushed into his mouth and her wet hair pooled on either side of his head. He lifted a hand to tangle in the damp waves when Carl suddenly screamed.
"DARYL! LYLA!"
Both of them shot up almost instantaneously and swiveled their heads towards the area where Carl's shout had come from. He was still in the water but Sophia was standing frozen on the riverbank. A walker was stumbling slowly towards from a spot about twenty yards away. Lyla quickly picked up the crossbow from where she had put in on the rock and scrambled to pull the cord back. To her horror, she found that her arms were too tired from swimming to apply the necessary strength. She cursed and then Daryl's hands were grabbing the weapon from her.
"You can't!" she protested vehemently while keeping an eye on the walker's progress. It was now about fifteen yards away from the scared little girl, "Your hand is still healing."
Daryl ignored her and quickly stripped the brace from his hand.
"Ain't got no choice. Won't be able to get there in time to take it out with a knife."
He sharply yanked back the cord with his hands and swore harshly as agonizing pain shot through his broken knuckles. He ignored it and brought the Horton up to aim. Not even five seconds later the walker was on the ground with a bolt in its head. Lyla let out a sigh of relief and started to make her way over to Sophia, who was still frozen. Lyla placed a hand on her shoulder when she reached her but the little girl didn't respond. She tried calling her name but there was still no response. Daryl stalked up beside her with Carl, both were dripping water, and looked at her with a questioning gaze. Lyla shook her head and gestured towards Sophia.
Daryl bit his lip and moved to squat in front of the young girl. He reached a hand out but then let it fall back to his side. He rubbed a hand over his face tiredly then spoke.
"Yer ok girl. Ah wouldn't let no walker hurt ya. See? The geek didn't even get within ten yards of ya."
He leaned to the side and gestured at the dead walker behind him. As he did so, Lyla took notice of the angry red color that his previously broken knuckles had turned and she groaned internally. At this rate he would never heal properly.
"Come on Sophia," Daryl said lowly. It was the first time Lyla had ever heard him use the girl's name, "Let's get ya back to yer momma."
The little girl's bottom lip started trembling violently and then she burst into noisy sobs. Daryl stood up quickly, looking slightly startled, before Sophia threw her arms around his waist and cried into his wet shirt. He raised his hands above his shoulders and widened his eyes. His impression of a deer in headlights was one of the best that Lyla thought she'd ever seen. He looked like he wanted to bolt so she took matters into her own hands.
"Daryl," she chided softly as she shouldered the crossbow.
He seemed to understand her meaning and he hesitantly lowered his hands to pat the crying girls back. Lyla bit her lip to keep a laugh from escaping and dropped her free arm onto Carl's shoulders.
"What about you kid? Are you ok?" she asked.
Carl nodded his head quickly.
"I wasn't worried," he said with total confidence, "I knew you or Daryl would kill it."
"Damn straight," Lyla smirked as she started to make her way back towards the house. Despite Carl's proclaimed lack of fear, she kept her arm wrapped around his shoulder and received no protest from him.
"Lyla!" Daryl whispered harshly from behind her. She turned and saw that Sophia hadn't relinquished her hold on him and was still crying. Lyla rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and mimicked picking something big up in her arms. Daryl seemed apprehensive, but after a moment of hesitation he lifted the skinny girl to his waist. Sophia, in response, put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his strong shoulder. The sight of him holding a child in his arms stirred up an emotion in the pit of Lyla's stomach, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the feeling. She shook her head to clear it as Daryl strode past her and into the woods.
The quartet walked through the chain-link fence barely two minutes later to the stunned and confused gazes of the rest of the group. Carl, Sophia, and Lyla were still in only their bathing suits and Daryl was soaking wet in his clothing. The others ran to meet them somewhere in the middle of the yard. Carol looked nervously at her daughter, who still had Daryl in a vice like grip.
"What happened?" she asked anxiously, "Is everything ok?"
"Everythin's fine," Daryl assured her quickly, "Just had to put down a lone walker and yer girl got freaked."
Carol reached for Sophia but the young girl just hugged her arms tighter around Daryl's neck and he coughed a little as his air supply was cut off. Lyla could see how uncomfortable and panicked he was becoming with the situation so she quickly moved over to him to help. She placed one arm on Daryl's arm and the other on Sophia's back.
"Sophia, sweetheart, can you let go of Daryl now?" she said softly, "He hurt his hand again when he killed that walker and I need to fix it up alright?"
After a tense moment Sophia nodded into Daryl's neck and allowed Carol to pull her into her arms. Daryl backed away quickly and sidled up to Lyla. She smiled and took his larger hand in her own with a squeeze. They watched as Carol carried her daughter back into the house, and only then did Lyla feel Daryl completely relax next to her. He rubbed a hand over his face then looked up at the group surrounding him. Glenn, T-dog, and Shane were staring openly at various parts of Lyla's exposed body and when Daryl saw them a dark scowl came over his face. He pulled Lyla halfway behind him and glared at the three men harshly.
"Quit eye-fuckin' her ya assholes," he all but snarled before turning his back on them and addressing his smiling girlfriend, "Put yer damn clothes back on yank."
Lyla raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms with a slight smirk as the guilty party shuffled around awkwardly.
"First of all, I'm wearing a bathing suit so that does count as clothing," she quipped happily to the annoyance of Daryl. Then a slightly sheepish look came over her face, "And second, I left them at the river."
Daryl huffed and quickly made work of the buttons on his shirt before slipping it over her narrow shoulders. He then started gently shoving her towards the backdoor with another glare at the other men, all the while making sure that Lyla's ass was completely hidden by his own body. They were almost to the porch when Daryl felt a hand clap down on his shoulder briefly. He looked around to see Rick staring at him with an indecipherable expression on his face.
"Good job with that walker, man," he said evenly. Daryl stared at him for a moment before nodding briefly and entering the house.
Lyla gasped as she fell back against the pillows and Daryl collapsed on top of her panting heavily. He stayed there for about a minute before pulling out of her folds and rolling to the side. Lyla scooted closer to him and turned onto her stomach while they both caught their breaths.
"That was uh-," panted Lyla as she struggled to form coherent thoughts.
"Fuckin' awesome," supplied Daryl with a tired grin stretched across his face, "Ah thought so too."
Lyla snorted in a very unfeminine manner and turned her head to the side so she could see him. He rolled on his side so their faces were only inches apart.
"Damn straight," asserted Lyla as Daryl brought his hand up to play with some of her loose hair, "As it fucking should be after nearly two weeks of sex with a partner who has issues with motility."
Daryl huffed and yanked at her hair playfully.
"Fuckin' smartass," he mumbled, "Sorry Ah couldn't move around too much, mah back was all torn up, or did ya ferget already yank? Aren't ya supposed to be a damn genius or somethin'?"
Lyla rolled her eyes and wiggled closer to his chest. She started to run her fingers over one of the larger scars that adorned his stomach and she felt his arm drape itself over her waist. He pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair. After cleaning himself up in the beginning of their stay for Lyla's sake, he had neglected the razorblade and his light beard scratched against her skin.
"You were really good with Sophia today," she murmured seriously and immediately Daryl's body stiffened around her. Lyla ran her hand down his side until his muscles relaxed again and he sighed.
"Don' know why the girl likes me all of a sudden," he muttered as his skin slightly shivered under her touch, "S'not like Ah've spent much time with her."
Lyla pulled back slightly and found his gaze in the dark. She bit her lip; she was unsure if voicing her thoughts about the matter was the best thing to do, but she spoke up anyway.
"You haven't noticed it yet?" she asked softly. Daryl just furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Noticed what?"
"You both act the same," her voice was cautious as her fingers drifted to the large scar on his stomach again.
"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" he asked with bewilderment coloring his voice.
Lyla sighed and sat up in the bed. Daryl copied her action so they were facing each other, but she refused to meet his eyes as she whispered.
"You know how that asshole Ed was, always hitting Carol. I can tell he hit Sophia too."
Daryl's eyes were dark and hard to read when she finally looked up at him.
"How can ya know that yank?" he asked in a flat voice.
Lyla reached forward to pull one of his large hands onto her lap and traced the lines on his palm in a soothing manner.
"Because," she whispered, "Like I said before, she acts like you Daryl."
He still looked confused, but as Lyla's fingers strayed to an old burn mark from a cigarette on the inside of his wrist realization suddenly dawned on his face. He exhaled sharply and dropped his head into one of his hands. Lyla grasped his hand with both of hers as the atmosphere in the room turned somber.
"I think that's why Sophia seems to trust you," she continued delicately, "Children are known to be very perceptive, and she must have somehow sensed that you've gone through the same experiences as her."
Suddenly he ripped his hand away from her and gripped the hair on either side of his head tightly. Lyla reached out an arm but then thought twice about the motion and dropped it back to her side. Daryl was breathing harshly through his nose.
"Ah can promise ya she didn't," he bit out between shuddering breaths.
"She didn't what?" asked Lyla lamely. She was at a complete loss as to what to do. She wanted to comfort him but she didn't know how.
"Go through the same shit Ah did."
His voice was starting to rise in volume.
"That bastard mighta knocked her around a bit, and he should rot in hell for it, but there's no fuckin' way she had to deal with what Ah did. She'd be a whole fuckin' lot more messed up."
Lyla's stomach dropped and her chest felt heavy with sorrow at Daryl's words. She couldn't stand the short distance between them, so she climbed into his lap. He flinched but Lyla ignored it and gripped his broad shoulders gently; she didn't want to lose physical contact before he started shutting himself off to her. He lowered his hands to the space in between their bodies but didn't raise his head. Lyla decided that she needed to know everything right then; she couldn't ignore it anymore and pretend that he was ok. She wanted to share his burden, and to do that they needed to finally talk about what happened to him as a child.
"What did he do to you Daryl?" she asked in a pained voice as she lifted a hand to card through the hair on the back of his neck, "Let me help you with this."
He groaned and shook his head like he was trying to get rid of a bothersome fly. He pushed her back under the bed and stood up in apparent distress. Lyla was reminded of a child who had lost their parents in a crowded area; Daryl looked like he couldn't figure out what to do in the current situation. He pulled on a pair of black boxers from the floor then began looking around feverishly for the rest of his clothing. It was at this point that Lyla sprung back into action. She quickly walked over to him completely naked and gripped both of his forearms with her hands. Daryl stalled his movement but he still wouldn't meet her gaze. His head was lowered so his messy hair obscured his own eyes. He tried to pull his arms away but Lyla held on tightly.
"No," she said gently but firmly, "Neither of us like dealing with emotional shit Daryl, but we need to talk about this."
He shook his head again in that frenzied manner and mumbled something unintelligible. Lyla could feel the beginnings of tremors shoot through the muscles in his arms and she had to force down the lump that had appeared in her throat. Daryl tried to pull away again but she still managed to maintain her grip on him.
"Daryl," she said beseechingly, "We've been together for more than half of a decade and we've never actually talked about this for more than a few sentences. I would never normally push you to tell me painful things like this, but you've never told anyone about what happened during your childhood. It's not healthy and you can't keep it bottled up forever. It'll only hurt you more in the end."
He didn't react at all but he also didn't attempt to pull away from her again. Lyla remembered the photograph and thought that now was as good a time to bring it up as any.
"I saw what he did to you."
Her voice was barely more than a whisper as she spoke.
"I saw the damage that he did right before Merle came back."
His head finally snapped up and Lyla had to stifle a sob when she saw the look of fear and confusion that was dominating his bright blue eyes.
"What are ya talkin' about?" he rasped.
Lyla swallowed and moved her hands up and down his arms comfortingly.
"Rick found an old picture in the basement the second day here when he was looking for a flashlight. It was of you and Merle in the hospital. You couldn't have been more than fifteen. And you-you were in the bed and-"
She was cut off as her voice failed to work. Daryl's large hands quickly gripped her shoulders and shook her roughly.
"Who saw it?" he demanded with sheer panic dominating his features, "Dammit Lyla who fuckin' saw it?"
Her eyes went wide with surprise at his sudden transformation and she was too flustered to form coherent thoughts for a few seconds. Daryl shook her again and repeated his question.
"No-no one," she stammered, "No one apart from me and Rick, I promise."
That seemed to mollify him marginally, but he still tore away from her and began pacing with his hands in his hair.
"Look at what this is doing to you Daryl!" Lyla exclaimed as a few tears finally managed to escape and slide down her freckled nose, "You need to talk about it!"
Daryl whipped around and stood right in front of her. She instinctively shrunk back from his intimidating posture. He would never hurt her, she knew that, but it didn't stop her brain from going into defense mode.
"What do ya want me to fuckin' say Lyla!" he yelled in a broken voice, "Ya really want me to tell ya about the time he belted me so hard that ma back was bloody fer a week? Or how about when he held a hot iron to ma arm because Ah knocked over one of his fuckin' beers. If ya really wanna hear about shit like that then there must be somethin' fuckin' wrong with ya."
Lyla felt like she had taken a physical blow. She sat down hard on the bed and stared at her enraged boyfriend with tear-filled eyes. She refused to let any more fall.
"I'm just trying to help you," she whispered chokingly.
Daryl sighed and shook his head. His anger seemed to dissipate, leaving only a defeated aura about him.
"Then just stop Lyla," he pleaded in an exhausted voice, "Ah don't want yer help."
He picked up a t-shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head quickly.
"Ah'm gunna sleep in the basement. Remember that we're headin' out early tomorrow."
He exited the room before Lyla had a chance to reply, and she stayed sitting on the bed feeling completely stunned. How had this relaxing day turned into such a nightmare so quickly?
Thanks for reading! Review if you want, it really helps me. The last few chapters have been pretty serious, but all that stuff's going to be pretty much over with the next chapter, and then I have a whole lot of humorous scenes planned out! Thanks again!
P.S. The story will be heading into the second season next chapter, so the characters will be on the highway!