I sat on the wall, the sky beginning to lighten in the distance. A figure appeared in the lining of the trees, and I squinted to see Daryl walking toward the wall, Dixie silently trailing behind him. He looked up at me as he walked closer, his eyes meeting mine. Dixon's face was a swirl of emotions, but mostly he just looked tired. I was sure we all did. Between the farm going down, and last night's events... It was all a hot mess, to put it lightly.
"We gotta git outta here, set up somewhere safer." Daryl said surely, and I hopped down from the wall, landing on my feet with a light THUD.
"I gotta ask Rick if he'll take Dixie in his vehicle." I reached down, running my hand over her head. "I'm sure Carl could use the company."
"Hn." Dixon grunted, chewing on his thumbnail. His signature 'I'm kinda uncomfortable right now' move.
"Damn, we're all lucky." I breathed, grabbing him tightly. He froze, every part of his body tensing up. I didn't care, I held onto him, my head against his chest. "You scared the shit outta me."
"Me? You." He growled, his arms going around my shoulders.
"We are so screwed." I whispered, and he snorted.
"Nah, we'll git through this jus' like everything else."
"You know what? I wish I could go back in time." I said quietly, closing my eyes against his chest. He was silent, but I could feel his heart thumping. "Prom night."
"Why? Yer prom night was terrible." Daryl scoffed, letting me go. I stepped back, tilting my head.
"No it wasn't." I lifted my hand, poking him in the center of his chest. "Thanks to you. It might'a started off terrible, but it was one of the best nights of my life, Dixon."
"First time I ever kissed ya." Daryl smirked, and I laughed quietly.
"An' ya even talked my parents into lettin' me stay the night." I grinned. "Wouldn't have been hard to convince Mama. She loved you an' I together."
"But not Tommy." Daryl snorted, and I nodded.
"Not Tommy." I mumbled, realizing I didn't remember a time when I had called him anything but 'Daddy'.
"We walked over to the cabin, ya cut yer foot. You had one helluva night." He teased.
"You know somethin', though? That night..I knew then." I looked down at the ground, a hint of a smile on my lips.
"Knew what?" Daryl asked, and I forced myself to look back up at him. Look him in the eye.
"That I was in love with you." I replied, and Daryl shifted his weight, his eyes locked on mine.
"Hey, guys?" Glenn's voice called to us, and I broke eye contact with Dixon, turning to look behind me. "Rick's getting everyone together, I guess he has a plan."
"Great." I chirped sarcastically, not bothering to look back at Daryl. Walking around the wall, I stepped up to the group, standing between Railey and Glenn. He gave me a questioning look, but I ignored it, glancing at Rick.
"I'm gonna send Daryl and Evelyn on a fuel run. We need gas, but I don't need half our group runnin' off to get it. They'll get it and get back quick. Once they're back here, we're headin' out. Everyone knows how it works. Somethin's up, beep your horn one time, and we'll all pull over. I know that nobody got much sleep last night, if any at all, but... We jus' have to keep goin', okay? We'll find somethin', somewhere.. We will." Rick stepped over to Daryl, and I followed his lead.
"Got us a place?" Dixon asked, scanning the map Rick was holding.
"Yeah, look here." The sheriff pointed to a little spot marked with the symbol for a gas station. "This should be really close by, and a straight shot."
"We'll be back in half an hour at the most." Daryl assured, and Rick nodded, starting to walk away.
"Hey, Rick! Wait.." I called after him, and he stopped, turning toward me.
"Everything okay?" He asked, and I offered a light smile.
"Yea, fine. I was jus' wonderin' if it's okay with you... Maybe Dixie can ride with Carl?" I asked, and Rick actually smiled.
"Of course." He replied.
"Thank you." I said, before turning away and jogging toward Daryl. He was on his motorcycle, glaring at me with impatience. Rolling my eyes, I climbed on behind him, thinking about how much he reminded me of his brother sometimes. A pain in the ass! I thought, holding on tight to him, as he started the engine on the bike.
Leaving the others behind, Daryl drove us down the desolate highway. It was still strange to me, even on country roads, how it could be so empty. Not a car, nor soul, in sight. In broad daylight, not one person to be seen. Unless they were dead, of course. And no one wanted to run into that. Especially not now, not after everything that had happened. Our people were vulnerable.
The cold air nipped at my skin, even with the sun beaming down on us. I held onto Daryl, taking advantage of having him so close in front of me. Resting my head between his shoulder blades, I relaxed, taking him in. Like I always did. He was my fresh breath of air in a polluted world. When I was drowning, and I needed to come up for air, it was like he always pulled me to the surface just in time. I wasn't sure how he knew when to save me, but he did.
I felt the bike slowing down, and I raised my head to see a gas station coming into view. Daryl eased off of the gas, and we rolled into the station's parking lot. Coming to a stop, Daryl cut the engine, pushing the kickstand down. I climbed off of the bike, skimming over the area around us. Everything was quiet, and I shivered when the breeze picked up again, rustling through my hair. Daryl was swinging his leg over the motorcycle, his eyes alert.
"See if we can find a gas can." He instructed, and I followed behind him in silence. We walked around the building, seeing a small utility shed in the back. The lock was still on, and Daryl raised an eyebrow.
"Here.." I looked around, grabbing a big rock. He stood back, watching me with curiosity as I walked over to the shed door. I tapped my knuckles against the wooden door, listening. No sound came from the other side, and I brought the rock up, smashing it against the lock. I hit the lock again and again, finally breaking through the rusty metal on the fifth try. Turning toward Daryl, I grinned. "Not bad, huh?"
"Hn." He grunted, as I pulled the busted lock off, opening the door. The utility shed was small, but I could see a few things I wanted to grab. Stepping inside, I looked around as Daryl stepped in behind me. Squatting down to take a look under the table beside me, I saw red.
"Hey, there's two gas cans under here." I mumbled, reaching under the table to grab them. Pulling them out, I grimaced. "Empty of course."
"I'll fill 'em up." Daryl took the containers, setting one down to extend his hand out to me. I took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. "Keep lookin' 'round, see what ya can find. I'll git the gas. Watch yer self, Ev."
"Got it." I said quietly, turning away from him. Before I could start searching the rest of the shed, I felt two hands on my arms, just above my elbows.
"I knew, too." Daryl said gruffly, his face close to my neck. I held my breath at his words, feeling his hands leave my arms. I couldn't turn around, even when his footsteps took him out of the shed. Sighing, I started shuffling through the items left behind.
You're so difficult! Daryl Dixon, the biggest pain in the ass I ever met.. Nah, that's Merle.. Daryl is jus'... Oh, who cares? You do, idiot! I battled my own thoughts, picking up any and everything I thought could be useful. My eyes kept darting to the door, making sure it was clear. Nothing seemed to be around, despite the noise we had made. Between the motorcycle and me smashing the rock against the lock, I was surprised we didn't attract every walker south of everywhere.
Realizing there was nothing left for me to take, I stepped out of the shed, not even bothering to shut the door behind me. Walking across the gravel lot, I met Daryl at the pumps, where he was siphoning gas. Glancing at the store, I wondered if there was anything inside left. It looked as if it had been raided, but it couldn't hurt to try. I started toward the store, when I heard a voice behind me.
"Where you goin'?" Daryl asked coldly.
"Inside." I responded icily, without looking back. I could see his reflection in the glass window of the gas station, watching me. I hesitated a moment, watching his image go back to siphoning the gas. Grabbing the door handle, I pulled it open, stepping inside. The place smelled like an old house, and it was pretty empty. Shifting my weight, I skimmed over the isles, trying to find what I was looking for.
Walking down the isles, I noticed that not everything had been taken. It gave me hope, and once I got to the candy section, my face broke into a smile. There was still a decent amount of candy lying around. Some of it was ruined, however, the packaging open. Sifting through the different candies, I settled for two packs of Skittles, and hoped for the best. Satisfied, I walked back out of the gas station, and back to Daryl. He had just finished, throwing the hose down. He looked up at me, his eyes on mine. I held up the candy, and he smirked.
"Skittles." Daryl muttered. "Figures."
"Not for me." I put them in the side pocket of my bag. "For the kids."
"See any Reese's?." He picked up the gas cans, handing me one.
"No, you'd know if I had." I took it, as we walked over to the bike. He jumped on, and I climbed on behind him, holding on tight to the container in my hands. Daryl started the engine, and holding onto his gas can, he drove out of the station's lot.
Only Daryl Dixon would drive a motorcycle with one hand, an' hold a gas can in the other.. I thought, one arm wrapped around his waist. The gas can was heavy, and by the time we finally reached the others, my knuckles were white. My hand felt like it might fall off, and when Daryl stopped the bike, I quickly let him go. Setting the gas can down beside me, I took a breath, shaking my hand.
"Everything quiet?" Rick asked, walking toward us.
"Yea, so far." Daryl replied, as we hopped off the motorcycle.
"How much you get?" The sheriff questioned, and Dixon grabbed up both cans.
"Should be 'nough to git us the hell outta here." He said in a low growl.
"Here, Rick." I opened my bag. "I found a few things, might be useful.." I pulled out the random things I had picked up, handing them over. A wrench, batteries, two flashlights, a box of matches, a small first aid kit, and a short hose.
"Where'd you find all this?" He asked, putting the things I was handing him in the trunk of his vehicle.
"Got lucky.." I admitted, before walking off. My eyes skimmed over everyone, as I searched for two people in particular. Walking toward the others, who were standing around with tired and terrified faces, I saw Carl standing beside his mother. He gave me a weary smile when he saw me coming, and I grinned at him.
"Hey, Carl, I got somethin' for ya." I stepped over to him, digging in the side pocket of my bag. Pulling out the pack of Skittles, I handed the candy to him.
"Wow! Really?" His blue eyes lit up, and I laughed lightly.
"Yepp, really!" I put my arm around his shoulder. "Went lookin' for those jus' for you."
"Thank you, Evelyn!" Carl hugged me tight, and I hugged him back.
"No problem, kid." I said quietly, my heart melting. I didn't want to let him go, but I did. Feeling a hand on my arm, I looked up to see Lori beside me.
"Thank you." She whispered, and I squeezed Carl's shoulder gently, before turning toward her.
"Yea, don't mention it." I gave her a quick smile, before heading over to Beth. She was standing between Maggie and Hershel, her face tired. Scared, worried.. "Hey, Beth.." I trailed off pulling the other pack of candy from my bag. I held it out to her, and tiny smile formed onto her lips as she took it.
"Thank you." She said quietly, her eyes on mine.
"I jus' figured.." I trailed off, unsure of what to say. Forcing a smile, I started to turn away.
"Evelyn." Hershel's voice stopped me, and I looked back, seeing the older man coming toward me. "That meant a lot to her. To me."
"It's nothin', really." I shrugged it off. "Thought they could use the sugar."
"I think it was more than that." Hershel said softly.
"Sure." I forced another smile, before walking away.
Hey guys, so sorry for the long update wait ! I was working full time, and now I'm down to part time so I can work on my book. Yes, I am writing my own book ! I'm so excited.
I've missed this story.. Evelyn and Daryl's relationship is only going to get more... Complicated. I love writing them, with their past so heavy on their hearts. It is a challenging, but fun, experience.
Don't forget to follow me on twitter, if you don't have an account, create one ! My handle is kailabrittFF or you can look up Kaila Murphy. It's the best way I can connect with you guys. I post updates and promo pics for all of my stories. You can even tweet me comments/questions. And I have started doing videos for shout outs to readers. I just want to show you all how much your support means to me ! The fact that you click on my story and choose to read it amazes the shit outta me.
Thank you all so much for the love towards this story ! Every REVIEW/READ/FAVORITE/FOLLOW is greatly appreciated. I seriously have the best readers EVER !
~Kaila