Hold Me Tight
Chapter 4
Suzanne had been brought to a wooden shed, and she saw Brandon enter the room as Boone and another man joked about her. One of them was making sexual jokes about her as they got ready to leave.
"I wouldn't mind touching those tits of hers, you know? Shit, Carver you never said that your three younger sisters were this hot," one of them said, impressed as he promptly squeezed her left breast harshly, causing her to cringe in pain.
"Get the fuck away from her, Austin! Or I'll snap your neck" Brandon snapped angrily, disgusted. The man quickly let Suzanne go. He glared at Brandon as they left the room. Brandon was about to leave as well when he suddenly noticed the lighter fluid on the wooden flooring.
Then the whole shed was set on fire.
"What the fuck?!" Brandon yells out, trying to break down the door, but there was no point. It was locked shut. Suzanne instantly brings her hand to her mouth, trying to cover it from the smoke. She looks around frantically, trying to see if there was a way out, some way to escape from this hell.
And soon enough, she finds it. A little slit in the boarded-up windows. She quickly goes towards it, pulling it off the best she could. The fire burnt her fingers but there was nothing she could do. However, her arms were still not strong enough to ply it off herself.
"Here!" Brandon yells, throwing her a crowbar from the corner, somehow still not catching heat yet. Thankfully they were quick enough. Suzanne nods and uses it, prying the wood off the window as fast as she could. One board, two boards, three, until there was a large hole large enough for her and Brandon to call through.
She heads to the other side first, coughing up smoke. Brandon comes out after, pushing her far away from the burning cabin.
Brandon helps her stand, dusting the ash off her. In the corner of her eye, she could see Daryl standing with the other, Leah at his side, watching her quietly.
To be honest, they all knew this would happen.
They had said that the best way to get out would be to get Pope's trust through this weird test that he always did, and then that would make her life a hell of a lot easier. Brandon would help her through it. Daryl had been extremely defensive of not letting her go through the fire, since he had done it and he hated it, but Leah said there was no other way to prove her trust.
So, she had agreed.
Pope had then gone and said some stupid shit about God, something that made her want to roll her eyes, but she keeps her head on straight and nods at Pope, happy to see that he, at the very least, was not shoving her back into a cell.
He had taken her aside after that, all by herself. She had spared a glance back at her brother and Daryl before they had disappeared beyond the complex, and he took her to where his office was. There, he gave her the whole story that Brandon had already told her, about his supposed miracle of not burning and everything else involved with that.
She personally thought the guy was a bit of a sociopath, but considering he was their only way out, she'd put up with it for now.
"Your brother says you were a nurse," Pope states, his brow raised. "That must have been tough, what you did."
Suzanne bites her lip but nods. "It was, yeah...around constant death."
"He said you worked in the NICU?"
"I did. I was trained to work in that. But new-borns died a lot more often than you would think...and seeing a mother's heart break, holding her dead baby...it does something to you. Toughens you up."
Pope was silent for a moment. "Brandon told me you experienced that." She nods sullenly. She didn't like to think about that time. "Tell me, Suzie...do you believe in God?"
Suzanne looks at him long and hard for a moment, pondering the question. Did she or did she not? That was a hard one to answer in this world, where the dead literally walk the earth. What kind of God would allow that?
But in the end, she had her answer.
"I did...for a time." She leans back in her chair. "Prior to losing my daughter...I believed in someone above us. Someone who protected us. Someone who, despite all odds, would be our salvation at the end of the world. But then I lost my daughter...and I kept asking why. Every day, over and over and over again, to the point where I almost sounded insane whispering to myself in the middle of the night. What God allows innocent children to die? Just like that? When their life has barely begun? Now, I believe in people having the right to their bodies but...I always knew I wanted kids. I always wanted to have a family. And now, God gives me the chance and then he just takes it away? Just like that? I know God in the bible is cruel but...I didn't think he'd do it to me." She glances away. "Then the world up and fell to shit, and I know we're all in hell now...doomed to damnation. So, for a time, I believed in God, yeah...but now? I'm not so sure anymore."
Pope was silent for a moment after that as well, his hands intertwined together. "Fair," he states quietly, standing. "After a tragedy like that, I can see why someone would stop." Wow, maybe he was a sound mind sometimes. He was still fucking crazy most of the time now. "Either way...you deserve something to eat after that. Come with me."
Suzanne nods softly, standing up and following after him. He was right. She was starving.
Later on, that night, Suzanne had stayed out by the fire, nibbling on the last of the meat they had given her, talking to Daryl. Both Leah and Brandon had turned in for the night, as did most of the others, so now it was just the two of them. And she had forgotten how easy it was to talk to him. It had been so long since what happened between them, she didn't even think she'd remember how to converse.
But talking to Daryl was easy. Just like riding a bike, you could never forget once you learned how to.
"So," she states softly, looking up at him. "Tell me."
His brow furrows. "Tell ya what?"
"Tell me everything from the beginning," she states, sitting up to see him in the light of the fire. It was strange. The long hair actually looked nice on him. She had never pictured him with it, but it worked. "How did you first survive the outbreak? What was your group like? Or were you and Merle solo? Where...where is Merle, by the way?"
Daryl felt a lump in his throat when she mentioned Merle. He swallowed thickly. He regretted not saying goodbye to his brother or stopping him from going after the Governor.
Finding him as a walker haunted his nightmares, and would often end with him stabbing Merle, or letting him bite him.
"I was with Merle when all of this started, Suzy. We were tryin' to get to a supposed safe zone in Atlanta when the army napalmed the city. We met up with a group and settled in a quarry. Me and Merle did the huntin' and kept to ourselves. But the assholes left Merle on a roof, and when I went to get him, he'd cut off his left hand to get away from the walkers," he explained quietly. Suzanne was horrified.
How could they do that to him? Yes, Merle was an asshole, but he didn't deserve to be left on a rooftop with no food or water or a weapon while handcuffed.
"What a bunch of selfish, damn assholes," she said disgustedly, her southern accent coming out as she spoke. Daryl could hear the Georgian twang in her voice.
He'd missed her voice. Hell, he'd missed for all those years. It was all because he was terrified of hurting her like his old man had hurt his and Merle's momma.
"We lost a lot of people, and eventually ended up on a farm. We met a man called Hershel Greene, and his two daughters, Maggie, and Beth. They're still with us, but Hershel…. he was killed," Daryl said quietly. Suzanne squeezed his hand gently.
She could see how upset he was when he mentioned the Greene family. They must be really close.
"Merle...he got killed trying to stop the Governor from killing us, but died, and the bastard let him turn into a walker. I had to put him down, and I buried him at the prison. No one aside from a couple of close ones in my group wanted him buried there," he admitted quietly, and she felt her heart ache.
"He's your brother, Daryl. You loved him very much, and that's all that matters. You're a good man. I can see that you've grown. Out of everyone, you were always meant for this world," she assured him softly, and paused as she looked at him.
She wanted to confess her secret so badly to him, but she was terrified that he would never forgive her. At the end of the day though, it had to come out.
'God does not forgive those who harm people,' Father Thomas O'Flaherty had told her, when she confessed to him about Gavin hitting her. It hadn't surprised her that the priest disliked her husband. She sighed sadly.
"You've lost a lot of people, haven't you?" she asked quietly. Daryl nodded silently. She gently stroked his right hand, her fingertips gently tracing the skull tattoo on his hand. He was quiet as he watched her, noticing how the campfire illuminated her features in the darkness.
She had a scar over her right eyebrow, and bruises all over her face from Boone's beating earlier. She was a tough little lady, that was for sure.
"I have...they're like my family." He glances away. "I'm sorry about yer friends, Suzie. I didn't wanna hurt any of them," he admitted quietly. She gave him a soft, sad smile in understanding, and he spoke up again. "How's yer gran?" he asked curiously, genuinely wanting to know how the matriarch of the Giroux family was doing. He'd heard from Brandon that Josette had survived, but had been separated from her grandson when a herd had torn through their camp.
"She's alright, still working as a midwife even at the age of seventy-three years old. Gran's not the biggest fan of the Commonwealth and their rules, Daryl. But she likes the people in your group though," she explained. Daryl looked stunned at her words.
"Ya met them? Are they ok?" he asked worriedly. Suzanne smiled at the genuine concern Daryl had for his friends. Despite his gruff nature, he cared deeply about the ones he loved.
"They're fine, but Eugene got into trouble for punching the leader's son, Sebastian. Ezekiel is getting treatment for throat cancer, but he won't be getting it for long," she explained softly, and Daryl nodded as they both stood up and started heading back into the building.
"Thank ya for tellin' me this...was drivin' me crazy...I'm glad yer gran's alright. Ah...how's yer youngest sister, Melinda?" he asked cautiously. He knew Suzanne and Melinda didn't have the best relationship.
If he and Merle had a turbulent relationship, then Suzanne and Melinda's relationship was more aggressive and emotionally abusive.
He remembered the first time he had met Suzanne. She had been a couple years younger than him, and they both lived in the same neighborhood. And it had all been because Melinda sent her friends on Suzanne.
Flashback, Northern Georgia, Hartwell
Ten-year-old Daryl had been keeping to himself when he saw three older boys, the same age as him, bullying the new girl, who was reading a book on the wooden bench.
She had long, dark wavy blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She reminded him of the fragile, china dolls that his grandma had in her glass cabinets, and he was only allowed to see them under close supervision.
"Look, it's goofy tin-face Suzanne! You're already looking like a retarded spastic, just like Melinda told us!" River taunted cruelly. The girl, apparently named Suzanne, tried to move away from them.
"Please, I don't want any trouble. I'm just trying to finish my English homework," she said quietly, trying to avoid looking at them. She was starting to get anxious. One of the girls, Phoebe, grabbed her by the hair.
"You're a freak, Suzanne. Melinda told me that the reason your dad left was because he couldn't handle the fact that you're a retarded spastic who doesn't know how to add two plus two," she said spitefully. Ashley, Emily, and Jessica laughed at her cruelly.
Before he could stop them, Ashley shoved Suzanne over on the ground, cutting her right knee. Her books fell on the muddy, wet grass and the three girls picked them up.
Daryl had enough. He stalked towards them and loomed over the group dangerously. Alvin paled at seeing him, and started backing away fearfully, as did many of the others.
"Give her books back right now or yer gonna be wishin' it was Merle and his friends standin' here rather than me," he said menacingly, seeing all of them pale.
"You don't scare me, Dixon!" Alvin said bravely, but failing miserably in front of everyone. A few of the other kids were watching, Dylan Noakes, Teddy Nimmo and their girlfriends were watching them with curiosity.
"Give the books back to Suzanne, now, ya dumb idiot. Otherwise, yer gonna have a broken nose," he threatened dangerously. Alvin sneered and tried to punch him.
He failed miserably. His aim was off balance. Daryl took that opportunity and punched him hard on the nose. The young boy cried out in pain, as he grabbed the books from him and the girls, before turning to Suzanne.
She was standing up, staring at him in shock. He quietly gave her the books, which she took gratefully. He noticed that she had Wind in the Willows among the books, and her face was tear stained.
"C'mon, I'll take ya home," he said quietly. She nodded mutely and they both walked back, as Alvin and the others called them names.
"My brothers will kick your ass, Dixon!" Alvin shouted angrily, humiliation on his face. They both ignored him.
After that day, a friendship had blossomed between the two of them, and they became best friends. Both of them had shitty childhoods with only their grandparents, siblings and on the odd occasions, their mothers, giving a damn.
"Melinda's fine. She loves it in the Commonwealth. She was a plastic surgeon before all of this, so she gets a lot of privileges. Me, on the other hand, I'm just a nurse to them. They have so many doctors and others here that a nurse really doesn't hold that much weight anymore...even in this world. I'm not someone who's really important. I'm a nobody," Suzanne answered quietly. Daryl looked at her then silently and swallowed.
How could he tell her that she wasn't a damn nobody? He'd seen the way she was with kids and babies. She loved them more than anything. The amount of times he'd seen her in the trailer park babysitting the kids and working at the hospital proved that.
He knew something terrible had happened to her. Brandon had told him that her husband was a piece of shit, and he didn't treat Suzanne well.
"Ya ain't a nobody, Suzanne. Ya ain't, I always knew yer were gonna do good things. Just like yer brother, Jaime told me." He said firmly, his mind drifting towards the second eldest son of the Giroux family.
Jaime hadn't liked him, thought he wasn't good enough for his little sister and made his opinions clear. Brandon and Matilda had liked him, but Melinda had constantly tried to flirt with him.
He had always turned her away, out of the sake that A) he cared far more for Suzanne than he ever could for that skank and B) Melinda was never the type of person he would even go for. It was also awkward when it happened, but later Suzanne and him would make fun of it.
God...all those memories felt so long ago.
Suzanne smiles softly and looks up at him, nudging at his side. "Leave it to you to make me feel a little better," she responds quietly before biting her lip. "I wished you were there, you know." Daryl looks down at her as they stop at the door to the complex. "During my studies...I wished every day you were there. You could have come...so easily."
Daryl lets out a long, slow sigh, leaning against the wall. He knew this would come up at some point. "Ya know why I did it," he mutters, glancing away.
"I know...I'll never agree with it." He looks back over at her as she crosses her arms against her chest. "But whatever the case, we're here now...and it's better to just move on." As she does to head inside, however, she pauses when she realizes there was banging against the walls around the area. "Wait...do you hear that?"
Daryl follows where she's pointing and the two head over to one of the towers, moving up together. They get about halfway until Daryl sees what she was referring to.
There were walkers, already attacking the fences.
"We have to tell the others," she says quickly to Daryl, who nods and follows after her towards the inside.
"Nope." Lydia had come over to Beth's house later that night to have some dinner, and afterwards, the two of them had gone for a nice long walk. "I just don't like them. I don't like them one bit. Maybe Lindsey and Carlos are okay but those two? Jesus. I already hate them."
Beth rolls her eyes a bit. "I don't blame you. They don't seem like nice people." The two of them move towards an alley. "But it's what we need to do for our people. They have supplies and we are in desperate need of it. They can help."
"Did you hear what she called little RJ?" she whispers fiercely to Beth. "I wanted to slap her into next week."
"I know," Beth sighs. "But it's what we need to deal with. We-" She stops dead in her tracks. Lydia looks at her, confused.
"What's going-"
Beth slaps a hand onto the girl's mouth, bringing a finger to her own, and then points in the corner. Lydia peaks around and brings another hand to her mouth at what they were witnessing.
Gavin, who was apparently Suzanne's husband, the woman who was stuck with the Reapers, was making out with her little sister. Melinda.
They were both making out and it was like something out of a porn film. It was disgusting. Beth shook her head, grossed out, as they heard thunder clapping in the distance. A storm was going to hit Alexandria.
Maggie and Gabriel had gone to an underground tunnel that she had built before the Reapers took over. As they walked, they could hear the Reapers above them talking about the herd that was closing around Meridian, and making it difficult for them to leave.
Sure enough, they heard Daryl talking to someone about getting more arrows when he instead killed the man by slitting his throat and stabbing him in the head. He then saw them both and helped them up from the trapdoor.
"Are you ok?" Maggie asked quietly. Daryl nodded. He made sure that no one was listening before he decided to tell them about Suzanne, and Brandon. "When ya do the signal, I'm gonna be bringing four people with me and Dog. Three of them are Reapers but they ain't like the others. One of them had a sister and she was raped by Pope and got pregnant. She died givin' birth, and the one is bisexual. If Pope finds out then he's dead," Daryl explained gruffly. Maggie and Gabriel looked at him carefully.
"Who's the other one that wants to join us?" Gabriel asked cautiously. Daryl moved aside to show a young man with black wavy hair, that just reached his neck. He had Native-American ancestry and the darkest eyes that Maggie had ever seen.
This had to be the Reaper that Emil had said was the brother of one of his friends that the Reapers had kidnapped. She hoped for the young woman's sake that she was alive.
"This is Brandon Giroux Carver. I knew from before the world went to shit, him and his family. His sister's a nurse. She's with the Commonwealth supply team," he explained honestly. Both Maggie and Gabriel accepted his explanation.
"Fair enough. You two and the others need to be ready when the truck crashes into the gate. Make sure your friend gets all the medical supplies," Maggie advised. Daryl nodded and showed her the way while Brandon gave Gabriel some flares for help with his aim.
"Be careful out there. Pope put a landmine out there and he's got RPGs. I've tampered with some of them, so be careful," Brandon advised, as he walked back to the ladder that led to the roof. Daryl busted the door where the food storage was before going back to join Leah and Pope.
Maggie prayed to whoever was up there to watch over everyone and not let them get killed. She didn't want anyone she cared about to die.
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