Last on Earth
Chapter 14
Morning came and there was still no sign of Layla. Daryl hadn't gotten any sleep. He just laid on the bed staring up at the ceiling. Daryl closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands. He laid there with them covering his face. Daryl ran his hands through his hair and sat up. Grabbing his crutches he got up and went to the kitchen, putting the coffee pot on the stove. He walked back over to the door and opened it up. It was freezing outside. Daryl noticed a few snowflakes starting to fall.
What if Layla was still alive? What if she had just run out of gas or broken down somewhere? Now she was stuck out there in the cold and it was starting to snow. He figured she must be freezing. Daryl went back in to take care of the fire. Afterwards he starting looking for something to do. The doing nothing was eating away at him. Daryl went to the closet and found a coat that must've been her uncle's. He put it on and headed back outside.
This was the first time Daryl had been out on the property. He wasn't even sure what all was there or what he was looking for but he had to do something. Daryl's arms were getting tired from the crutches but he did his best to ignore it. Daryl went into the shed and saw his motorcycle inside. Seeing it made him feel just that much worse. He didn't know she brought it back. She had gone to the trouble of it. He was quickly realizing how selfless she was. Here she was, someone who had suffered as much abuse in her life as he did if not worse but seemed to always be putting him first. Everything she had done since finding him was for him. She didn't know anything about him but went out of her way to take care of him.
The snow was slowly starting to stick to the ground. He walked around the back of the cabin and noticed another car back there. He noticed the marked grave of her uncle there as well. Daryl went to the car and opened the door thinking if he could get in, he could try looking for her. Daryl started to sit down but had no idea how he would actually get in with his leg splinted the way it was. The front seat was a bench seat so Daryl walked to the passenger side and opened the door. Daryl sat in the passenger seat with his right leg straight out and he started to scoot back towards the driver's side. His leg was throbbing and beginning to really ache. Daryl made his way over to the driver's seat and his right leg was extended all the way across the seat. He laid his crutches in the passenger floorboard.
Sitting behind the wheel Daryl opened the sun visor and the keys fell down into his lap. He didn't know how he was going to close the passenger door but figured he'd worry about that once he got the car started. Daryl turned the key in the ignition but the car didn't make a sound. He tried again but still nothing. Daryl hit the steering wheel as hard as he could over and over.
"God Damn it!" He yelled. "You stupid worthless piece of shit!" Daryl leaned forward crossing his arms across the steering wheel and rested his head down. He sat there like that for at least an hour. Tears started to well up in his eye but he fought them back. There wasn't a single thing he could do. Just like with Sophia. There was absolutely nothing he could do to help her.
Finally Daryl grabbed his crutches and scooted all the way out of the car. His leg felt as if it were on fire and his head was pounding. He made his way back up the porch and into the cabin. He grabbed his bottle of pain killers and took two of them. The fire was starting to die down so he went back over to fix it. As he was working on the fire, he heard a vehicle pull up outside the cabin.
Daryl rushed as fast as he could towards the door when he heard a car door slam. Opening the door Daryl could see Layla next to her truck. She was walking slowly towards the cabin, she looked exhausted. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were dirty. Daryl worked his way down the steps and headed towards her. She looked surprised to see Daryl out there and when she saw him she started to cry. She began to walk faster towards him. Daryl made his way over to her and when she was close he dropped one of his crutches and threw his arm around her pulling her in tight. He buried his face in her neck and held her tight as she cried. Neither one of them said a word. They just stood there with the snow falling all around them covering the ground like a white blanket.