Last on Earth

Chapter 10

Almost a week had passed and Layla had stayed close to the cabin the whole time. Initially she was really worried that Daryl had further injured himself but as the week went on he seemed to slowly improve. Layla hadn't said very much to him although she was dying to. She just felt so indebted to him that if he didn't make much of an effort to talk to her she felt bad trying to talk to him. Layla had brewed coffee on the stove and took a cup of coffee over to Daryl. She noticed he was squirming around as if uncomfortable.

"What's the matter?" She asked him

"Nothing….just a little uncomfortable is all…..can I try those?" Daryl motioned to the crutches Layla had leaning against the wall.

"If you're sure you feel up to it…" Layla walked over and retrieved the crutches bringing them back over to Daryl.

"Thanks" Daryl struggled trying to figure out a way to get up but couldn't quite figure out where to begin.

Layla could see him struggling so she walked over behind him, squatted down and slid her hands underneath his arms. She grabbed a hold of him around his chest.

"What are you doing?" Daryl turned his head to look over his shoulder at her. He was uncomfortable with her being so close, let alone with her arms around him. He couldn't help but smell her freshly washed hair. He closed his eyes a moment and breathed in.

"I'm helping you up, I'll lift on three, you use the crutches to push yourself up….ok?"

Daryl nodded his head and with just a slight bit of struggle he managed to get up putting all his weight on his left leg. He felt a little dizzy but didn't have to worry about falling with Layla's arms around him.

Layla could feel Daryl heart beating faster through his chest. She held on to him not only to make sure he wouldn't fall but it felt good being so close to him. She closed her eyes for a moment trying to burn the feeling into her brain. Going for so long without human contact, she take whatever little she could. She opened her eyes and noticed his crutches were too short.

"Hang on, I can adjust them…you got it?" Layla asked

"Yeah I think I'm ok" Daryl told her

Layla squatted down and adjusted each crutch to suit his height better.

"Try not to put you weight into your under arms. Put it into your hands, it will keep your underarms from getting sore." She told him.

Daryl nodded and slowly started to work his way towards the bathroom.

"Don't be embarrassed if you need help, no one would expect you not to, you know? I broke my leg as a teen, I know how difficult everything can be." Layla told him. Daryl always seemed so defensive when she tried to help him with anything but she knew how much he was struggling. She knew it was embarrassing but she didn't want him to feel that way about it.

Daryl just looked back at her and nodded. After he made it into the bathroom, Layla opened up the futon and picked the pillows and blankets off the floor. She grabbed some fresh blankets and pillow cases for the futon. She was changing the pillow cases when Daryl came back out.

"What are you doing?" Daryl asked.

"Trying to make you more comfortable" she told him.

"You don't need to go to any trouble." he told her. He felt bad she was doing so much for him. He felt like he had been nothing but cold to her and he could see on her face that she longed for his attention. If she really knew him she'd know better than to want anything from him but even still, the more things she did for him the worse he felt about it.

"It's no trouble…I want you to get better and be comfortable in the meantime." she told him.

Daryl worked his way back over to the futon and managed to lay back down on the left side. He laid down on his back and although it didn't seem like much even making the trip to the bathroom was exhausting.

"You know I didn't think about it before but we really need to elevate that leg of yours. It will probably help with the pain and reduce the swelling." Layla grabbed some extra pillows. Daryl sat back up and helped her prop his leg up. It hurt to move but once his leg was up there it did start to feel a little better. Daryl laid back down but bent his left leg up.

"Thanks…..this is more comfortable." Daryl told her. He figured it was the least he could say to let her know he appreciated all she was doing.

Layla looked surprised that Daryl had made the effort to say something else to her. Maybe he would warm up to her at some point. All she could do was hope.

Daryl had slept most of the day. The excursion to the bathroom had been the day's big accomplishment. Daryl woke up to the smell of beef stew. He could feel the warmth from the fire in the fireplace. He lay there with his eyes open for a moment before letting Layla know he was awake. He was surprised at how relaxed he felt. He was beginning to feel more comfortable there. Suddenly a wave of guilt washed over him. Sophia…..Carol….he hadn't given them much thought over the past week. Everything that happened with the walker, the pain he was in and Layla had become a distraction to him. He slept most of the time anyways and the pain medication had made him sleep so hard he couldn't remember dreaming anything.

Layla brought him a bowl of stew and helped him to sit up. She placed extra pillows behind him to help support him. Daryl just picked at the bowl, his mind on Sophia and Carol. As much as he had wanted to not give them a second thought before, now that they weren't on the forefront of his mind he felt even worse. He was beginning to realize he needed to be thinking of them. He needed to feel bad about it. It's what he deserved for not finding her in time. He didn't deserve to move on.

"Is something wrong? Do you not like it?" Layla asked.

"No….I mean no it's fine. I guess I"m just not hungry... sorry." Daryl told her as he set the bowl down.

Layla got up and put the bowl and the rest of the stew away. She came back over and sat in a chair across from him. She covered herself with a blanket.

"What are you doing?" Daryl asked her.

"What do you mean?" she responded.

Daryl looked around and realized he was laying on the only bed in the cabin. He hadn't given it any thought until she sat in the chair across from him. She was doing too much for him. She shouldn't be stuck sleeping in the chair. The thought of asking her to sleep next to him made him nervous but he didn't see any way around it. He couldn't allow her to sleep in the chair. Not after all she had done.

"You can't sleep there" Daryl told her. "I can't let you do that"

"It's fine…it's not a big deal, you need to be comfortable." she told him.

"I can't be comfortable knowing you have no place to sleep." Daryl had to pause to work up the nerve to say anything else. "There's enough room here for both of us."