I'm sorry Daryl. I'm so fucking sorry but I had to go. We both know it. We both could tell by what I did, how I did it, I'm not okay. It scared me, but more importantly, I could see it scared you too. I will never stop loving you. I know I'm hurting you by leaving. By doing this. I'm tired of you having to deal with me. I won't be gone forever. I'll come home to you, just not right now. If you hate me when I get back, I'll understand, but at least I'll know you're safe. One day…one day when I'm better I'll see you again.
Daryl read those words every morning before he got up and every night as he laid down. It hadn't even been two weeks yet, but he was worried sick about her. He'd tried to track her, but he couldn't find any of Daisy's tracks, she'd stuck to paved roads. It didn't surprise him, she knew how to avoid being tracked, most of all by him at this point, but it killed him to know she really didn't want to be found, not even by him. He folded the already dingy piece of paper and put it back in his pocket. She'd never lied to him before, so he knew she'd be back.
Angel trotted along the road, her throat dry and the sun beating down on her.
"There's a creek coming up, you should get some water." Aiden told her.
"Might not be clean." She replied.
"Not like you haven't taken that chance before."
"You need to just go home." Evan sighed.
Aiden looked at him, "She is."
"No, home. Like to her husband." Evan rolled his eyes at her brother.
"You guys know I'm right here, right?" She looked between them.
"Yeah, but you shouldn't be." Evan looked over at her.
"She knows what's best for herself." Aiden defended her.
She muttered, "And I thought that was getting away from people until you two showed up."
"Why are you doing this?" Evan asked.
"I don't know." She answered him.
"Then why did you leave?" He looked over at her, "It's one thing to punish yourself. We watched you do it all the time. But this, this is straight torture Ang."
"I know." She let out a weak laugh, "But it's better than being there."
"Is it?" He asked her.
"Yeah, I haven't seen a kid in weeks." She told him, "I haven't thought about them except for when you or Fever bring them up."
"You know it's not us bringing them up." Aiden sighed.
"I know you're not real. I haven't gone that crazy yet." She smiled, reaching for her canteen. When she opened it, she took a smaller sip, feeling how empty it was. She should stop and get some water.
"No, no you haven't." Evan's voice was soft, "But that doesn't mean that this is okay."
"But it also doesn't mean it's not." She responded.
Daryl was knee deep in the river trying to catch some fish, it wasn't going well though with Sophia on the shore almost yelling at him, "You're not even looking for her anymore!" He tried to ignore the girl, "Daryl it's been like four months! It's going to be winter soon!"
"Sophia, she don't wanna be found!" He tried not to snap on her.
"What if she's lost again?" Sophia's voice was soft.
He didn't like thinking about it like that. He didn't like thinking of her in anyway other than safe in a cabin somewhere waiting to come get him. But every time he thought about that he wondered what it was she was waiting on. Daryl knew there were a lot of things that could be happening though, and none of them he liked other than the one where she was on her way home. Turning to look at the girl he sighed, "She said she'd be back, so she will."
"I know…but I miss her, and I'm worried about her. I know you are too." She looked at him with sad eyes, "I just wish I knew she was okay."
"Me too kid." He walked out of the river before patting her on the shoulder. "She'll come home. She always does."
Angel stretched in her empty bed. Opening her eyes, the sun was coming in and she let out a sigh. Today was the day. She'd been avoiding it but there was nothing else left to do in the house. She'd cleaned and dusted, greased doors and windows. Her grandparents home looked just a good as the day she'd last been there. She had been worried that when she arrived there would be people living there, or the house would be gone, but it was pretty much intact and still seemed somewhat taken care of despite the time that had passed. The only thing that had been ruined was the fence to keep the horses safe, or in this case just Daisy, but it didn't take her more than a week to fix so she would be safe. Making a small breakfast she grabbed her bag and walked out the door, a slice of apple for Daisy.
"Hey there girl, ready for a ride today?" Angel asked as the animal ate the food she was brought, "It's not far, but more than we've done in a while."
Daisy put her nose against Angels hand she nudged it back. Taking that as a sign the horse was ready to go, she opened the gate and led her out, closing it behind them again. Climbing up on Daisy, she took a deep breath before pushing her forward. She knew exactly where she was going, she just hoped the way there wasn't blocked by anything. It was strange, the town her grandparents had lived in was small, but seeing it deserted and the shop windows dusty was strange. It had always been bustling, but now it was a ghost town.
After another hour she arrived at her destination. Killing the walker that had been caught in a trap she walked into the graveyard before letting go of Daisy's reigns. Walking over to the two headstones she knelt down, the grass having grown over the tombstones. Pulling it away she spoke softly, "Hey mom…dad…Sorry it took so long for me to come."
Pulling her bag off her back she could feel her eyes starting to water as she pulled out her brother's dog tags, "Aiden…Aidens gone." She sniffled, holding back her emotions, "I'm so sorry guys. I tried to keep him safe, we both had each other's back like always. But it wasn't enough…not this time." Wiping her nose, she started digging in the ground, "I couldn't bring him home, but I have these at least to leave with you…" Once she had a deep enough hole, she dropped his tags inside and began covering it back up. "A lot has happened since last time…A lot…" She sat there and told her parents about what had happened to the world, unsure if her brother had or not. Eventually she told them, "I also met this guy-" She stopped, laughing at herself, "Met? You married him for god sake Angel." Looking back at her parent's tombstone she said, "He's a really great guy. You guys would really like him once you got to know him. He takes good care of me even when I make it impossible for him too…I've fucked up a lot and he's never given up on me…God, I've fucked up…"
She sat there, telling her parents everything and when she noticed the sun was no longer high in the sky, she decided it was time to head home. Climbing back on Daisy she only killed walkers that posed a threat on her way back. When she was back at her grandparents' home, she locked the horse inside the fence and headed for the porch, but noticed the door was open. Pulling out her knife she walked slowly into the house. Hearing the floor creak in the kitchen she moved to the wall next to the door. It had to be a person. There was no way a walker could have gotten inside with how the front door had been shut.
When the person came around the corner she went for their throat, but he hit her in the stomach with a pot. Angel let out a yell as she tried to fight back but the man caught her arm and they both froze as they recognized each other.
"Angel?"
"Uncle Will?" Her shock turned to a smile as she dropped the knife. Her uncle dropped the pot and wrapped his arms around her with a laugh.
"Holy shit. Never thought I'd see you again." He held her tight.
"I…I thought everyone was gone." She told him.
"They…They are. Mom and dad went naturally though..." He replied letting her go, heading back into the kitchen, waving her along. "What are you doing here? I got your brothers note. Did he ever find you?"
"Yeah." She felt her throat go tight. Aiden had left a note. He'd said they'd only found a few bodies and he'd been sure that some were still alive. He'd been right that their grandparents had survived, she was glad they went naturally as well.
"Is he here too?" Her Uncle asked as he went to the refrigerator.
"He…He's gone." She thought saying it would be easier after telling her parents, but her parents weren't looking at her with sad, shocked eyes like Will was.
He took a step towards her, "Angel, I'm so sorry. When…How…Are you okay?"
"It was a while ago." It still felt so recent to her though.
"But are you okay?" He asked again.
Opening her mouth, she closed it again. How the hell could she answer this? "I'm…No." She was finally honest. Her uncle was always good at helping her to talk, almost as good as her grandmother had been. "So much has happened. Not just Aiden. I don't know what I am."
"Well, why don't you start at the beginning." He went back to the fridge and pulled out a drink. "First sessions free."
A/N: I make no promises because I always break them when it comes to updating, but this one came out of nowhere, so here it is.
