When Daryl and Kayla reached the farm, Daryl remembered the Cherokee Roses in his pocket. He looked at Kayla as she walked and pulled one of the two out. "You know the story of Cherokee Roses?" he asked her. She turned her head towards him and saw the flower in his hands. "Yeah," she confirmed. "I read about it."
"You think it's true? That the flowers really grew where the mothers' tears fell?" Daryl questioned.
"Absolutely. It gave them hope and you can't fake hope no matter where it comes from."
Daryl handed her the flower which she gladly accepted. "Thank you." She said looking at the flower. "It's nice to know there are still beautiful things in this world."
"Do you plan on sticking around?" Daryl wondered with a bit of hope she would.
"Don't have a reason not to." She told him. "It's nice to be around people again."
The two arrived back at the camp and Daryl went into the RV while Kayla made her way to her truck only to be stopped by Lori. "I hope you don't mind, but I put your things in the tent we set up for you." The mother informed Kayla who was a taken back from the information.
"You didn't have to set up a tent for me." Kayla told Lori. I would have been fine in my car or could have set up the tent on my own."
"Oh sweetie it was the least I could do after what you did for my boy." Lori explained.
"You don't have to thank me for that. I am glad you get more time with your boy."
Lori just simply smiled and nodded before walking off.
Kayla went to where her tent which was a simple one-person grey tent. Pulling the flap open she found a small cot set up for her that had freshly cleaned clothes on top of it. She had a clean blanket and pillow on her bed and her bags off to the side. A smile stretched across her face when a female's voice caught her attention. "You can use the shower inside if you'd like." The voice offered. Turning around Kayla came face to face with Maggie.
"You sure I won't be intruding?" Kayla asked.
"Not at all." Maggie assured her.
With a smile Kayla grabbed the one pair of leggings and long sleeved shirt she slept in and walked to the farm house with Maggie. Maggie took her upstairs to the bathroom and then gave her her privacy. Once inside the bathroom Kayla let her long hair out of the ponytail and stripped out of her disgusting clothes. She tossed them to the side and then turned on the hot water in the shower, jumping in excitingly. She hasn't showered in weeks.
The hot water felt so amazing on her dirty skin and sore muscles. The water was steaming and so warm which made it all the better. She didn't want to take too long so she quickly massaged her long hair with the almond scented shampoo and conditioner before scrubbing her skin with the spa radiant body wash until it was raw. Then she shaved all the areas in need of shaving until she finally got out.
Getting out of the shower, Kayla came face to face with herself in the shower. She looked at the tattoos of birds flying up the side of her ribs in black ink. There was another on her collarbone that read out, "For once I made my own mark on my own skin". That was the first tattoo she ever got. She also had one on her lower back that was an elaborate tree with no leaves on it with the roots ending on the top of her butt.
She loved all her tattoos and never once regretted getting them. She wrapped a towel around herself and went over to the sink to wash her face. Once she did she brushed her teeth and combed her hair out. It was getting too long…especially after what happened today. Opening the medicine cabinet she found a pair of scissors and began snipping her hair strand by strand.
It took about fifteen minutes, but in the end the hair that once went past her shoulders now only reached the middle of her neck. But Kayla liked it. Change wasn't always a bad thing.
Kayla let her towel drop to the floor as she pulled on her now clean underwear when she looked at her back in the mirror. Then she looked under her left eye and her upper arms. A sigh escaped her lips as she pulled on the rest of her clothes and left the bathroom to go back to the camp.
Back at the camp Lori and Carol were preparing dinner for everyone as Daryl cleaned his arrows on the log he used as a bench. He looked up for a minute as Glenn walked across his line of vision when he saw Kayla coming out of the farm house. She was dressed in clothing that made her look relaxed and her long hair was now cut short. It looked nice in the natural waves it ended in, but Daryl thought her long hair was better on her.
She came over and asked Lori of she needed help with dinner which she replied no to since she was and expected Kayla to be tired after walking around the woods all day. Glenn came over with plates and handed them to Lori. "Is everyone getting haircuts around here?" he joked, referring to her and Shane's haircuts. Kayla smiled and walked over to the log Daryl was sitting on, taking a seat next to him.
"Need a hand?" she offered.
"Sure." He answered simply, handing her a few of his bloody arrows and a damp rag. Kayla wiped off the arrowheads carefully so she didn't cut herself. She worked in silence with Daryl as he cleaned his half of the arrows, but she stole the occasional glance at him in the corner of her eye. His eyes were so blue and his hair was that messy kind of perfect. She saw him look at her and quick went back to what she was doing.
When dinner was ready Kayla remained next to Daryl and the two ate their rabbit in silence. The whole camp was silent. Everyone was bummed about not finding Sophia despite the things Daryl found at the farm house in the woods.
Daryl could see Kayla in the corner of his eye occasionally looking at him and he could see the ink of a tattoo on her collarbone as well as a scar under her left eye he hadn't noticed before. He wondered how she got it and considered asking her about it, but chose not to.
When dinner ended Carol and Glenn took care of clean up, allowing everyone to go to bed. Daryl put his now clean arrows in his quiver and went to go to bed, but saw Kayla head in another direction towards another part of the farm. Pushing his eyebrows together he put his arrows in his tent and followed after her quietly.
Daryl followed her around the house where she walked off towards a walnut tree in the yard. She sat underneath it so she was facing the sunset and leaned her head against the tree with her legs stretched out in front of her. "What're you doing?" Daryl asked as he walked up behind her.
She turned her head and met Daryl's eyes. "Taking a minute." She answered as he came over and sat down next to her. "What's that mean?" he questioned.
"Ever since I finally understood the world ended I've tried to take a minute everyday around this time to watch the sunset and remind myself it wasn't always like this." Kayla explained.
Daryl scoffed. "What?" Kayla questioned. "That world is gone. Ain't coming back anytime soon." He told her.
"I know that, but it wasn't always a world where you fought against the living dead." Kayla reminded him. He smirked as he stood up. "Don't be out her too long, don't need anyone getting eaten tonight." Was all he said before walking off. "Good night." She called out to him. He stopped. "Night." He responded.
