Heart of Dixon

Chapter 20: The Truth Part 2

Hey guys, sorry it took me awhile to put this up. I rewrote it many times because I didn't think it had enough emotion or I thought people reacted wrong. Wrote it once because I thought Robin was bitchy, but it's still very dramatic. I added some time in there, hope you guys don't mind.

Daryl's POV

I didn't know how to react. I wanted to fight, to yell, and to go kill the son of bitches that hurt my Bitty but instead I only just there in front of Maggie with my hands clenching so bad my knuckles were white and my jaw tense. My blood went from hot with rage to cold. I wanted to kill something but I also wanted to go up there to Bitty and try to make everything better, but she would probably push me away. Someone who sounded like me hurt her and she couldn't stand me because of it.

My body began to shake as I decided what I was going to do. I shoved Maggie to the side and stormed inside the farmhouse. I ran up the stairs then threw my body against the door, it gave away easily. On the bed, Bitty was asleep but she was tossing and turning, no doubt dreaming about what those sick bastards did to her.

I reached over grabbing her and started to shake her so she'd wake up. The moment my hands were on her she started to wail like she was being tortured, "Don't hurt me!"

"Wake up, girl." I growled and shook her harder.

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" She screamed. A second later her fist connected my cheek. I fall over, mostly in shock at her. My Bitty had hit me.

Her brown eyes opened not a moment later and stared back at me in horror. Maybe she what happened, because she held her arm closer and a tear ran down her face, "Daryl?" She stared at me with a mixture of shock and fear. I hated that look so much but I couldn't get over the fact was Bitty just hit me. It brought back all kinds of memories I tried to forget. Memories of my dad beating the shit out of me while he laughed, while my near beaten-to-death mother watched. I didn't want to think about Bitty hitting me, but then again it could only be proof that something did happen to her.

Robin's POV

Daryl's commotion brought everyone on the farm up into the house, some pushed their way into the room while others waited in the hallway. Everyone was asking so many questions as loud as they could, Rick was trying to make the piece along with asking his own questions, Maggie was crying, and Daryl was yelling and snarling. It was so loud, I couldn't hear my own thoughts. I was barely holding on, it was just like that dream from last night. It was just like the voices from the night before, they staidly got louder with each passing second.

"Shut up." I moaned holding my head, squeezing it as if it could get rid of the pressure. It didn't help.

In front of me, Daryl got back up. I couldn't hear what he was saying since everyone was talking. Their words were hard to understand. I closed my eyes to concentrate but I couldn't. It was still so loud.

"Shut up." I sobbed a little louder, but they couldn't hear me. They were too busy being loud.

I heard some words amongst the chaos, "Bitty, you better tell me who they are, damn it."

Someone yelled something back to him, my guess it was Shane by the way Daryl replied harshly, "Yea, I'm going to kill them, Bitty's my responsibility."

Something about that irked me to no end. I didn't like it, and I don't know why. Maybe it was a pride thing or maybe I was just too easy to set off, maybe I was looking for a fight. I don't know, but it only started to get worse when Rick put his input in about being my protector. I was shaking now, angry about all this and the sound of the voice melting together to make my headache worse. They were louder to the point of shouting and that's when I blew up.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Everyone, thankfully, stopped talking. Each's gaze shot over to me and gave me a look like I grew a second head.

I was shaking because of anger I couldn't control. The nerve of them to say that I was their responsibility. If I was, then they certainly fucking sucked. I was trying to contain what I wanted to say. Pissed of Robin, wasn't good to be around. She tended to say and do terrible things to hurt people. I didn't want to go through hurting people but they were making me so angry. Right now, I just needed to be alone, to calm down and think. I need to process everything without someone trying to force me to speak the truth.

"Robin, you ok, honey." Carol asked meekly.

I didn't say anything but sit in the middle of the bed shaking up a storm. If it wasn't for the damn drip in my arm then I would have left instead of laying here listening to their mindless shatter.

"Robin, please answer me, are you alright." Carol pressed. Shut up Carol, I'm having a hard time holding in the pent in anger, but she pressed again and again. Some of the others like Lori, Andrea, Maggie, and Patricia joined in asking me. Dale and Glenn asked if I was alright too, but I refused to speak. I shook while staring at my hands that were beginning to curl into fists.

Someone touched my shoulder. That's wasn't a smart move. My gaze jerked up to see Daryl with his hand resting on my shoulder. It didn't matter if it was Daryl or Rick or Maggie. I was volatile at this moment and I needed to be alone.

"Are you alright, Bitty?" He asked, his voice was soft but it didn't do anything to calm me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I couldn't stop my mouth from opening, I tried so hard to keep in any biting remarks, but I failed, "Does it look like I'm alright?" I snarled. I reached over grabbing his hand and threw it off my shoulder. Hurt registered in Daryl's eyes, but I didn't care.

"I tried to stay to myself and process what happened. I need the time, but you couldn't stand it couldn't you. You had to bloody know." I snapped.

"Bitty, I was trying…" Daryl started.

"What trying to help?" I raised my eyebrows, "Well, you didn't. But if you want to know so bad I'll tell you."

"Robin, maybe its best you calm down and take about this when you're ready." Rick said, his voice calm like always.

"No, Rick, y'all want to know and it seems everyone's here so I might as well share." I snapped, "I didn't leave the highway because of walkers. I was sleeping in a truck when I was kidnapped by five people. They were pretty chatty about what they were going to do with me, of course not before tying me up then throwing me into a trunk. Thankfully, they couldn't touch me until their leader got back, so they tied me to a share while the waited."

"Robin, you don't have…" Rick said, but I kept talking.

"One of them was insane, said I told him I loved him by glances. He planned on sneaking me away so he could have me all to his self. He wasn't the only one, another wanted me to be his little pet after their leader had fun. I knew I had to get out of there, I managed to get the chair to know over, and that's how I dislocated my arm, really. I pushed past the pain and got myself untied, it wasn't easy I'm telling you." I laughed without the humor.

"One of them came up while I was escaping, I used a piece of the broken chair and drove it through his neck." I spat coldly, I heard someone gasp, probably Carol but I continued on, "After that, I went down stairs, one was sleeping on the couch. I couldn't risk him going after me if he woke up. I find a knife on the other guy's body, I drove the knife through his temple." Another gasp, in fact multiple.

"I walked out onto the porch thinking I could get away clean, but another man saw me. I ran back inside and hide by the doorway, when he walked inside I stabbed him in the chest. After killing him, I found a car but it had no keys and I didn't know how to hot wire a car. When I was distracted by the car the insane one who thought I loved him grabbed me by my hair. I thought he was going to kill me, so I played along to get me off of me and to trust me. I find a gun on the first body too, I shot the guy in the leg. Walkers were around so they finished him off for me. I heard his screams but I walked away. I kept walking without rest for who knows how long when I literally stumbled on Daryl."

"What happened to the fifth guy?" Shane asked.

"He didn't come around, so he lived." I shrugged.

I looked up at them all, all mouths open in shock and they stared at me with wide eyes except for Daryl who couldn't look at me. His eyes were on my feet looking depressed, but it didn't do anything to make me feel better or calm me down.

"You people say I'm your responsibility, well good fucking job!" I yelled making Daryl flinch.

Now I couldn't stand seeing their pitying looks. I ripped the drip out of my arm and hopped out of the bed. Pain wrecked my body but I ignored it. I pushed my way out of the room and ran out of the farmhouse to the edge of the yard where an old burned out fireplace sat. I leaned against it then sank to the ground sobbing. I ran my fingers through my hair as my body shook. I screamed out while sobbing loudly not caring if any living or dead heard me.

I stayed there for so long until the sun began to sink lowly from the sky. I didn't think anyone would come over to talk to me. I was, after all, a murderer. They wouldn't want me to be part of their little group any more. What did Rick say? 'We don't kill the living.' Well, I just killed the living, but it was self-defense so that shouldn't matter right?

Finally I heard footsteps coming up behind me. It didn't sound like a walker, the footsteps sounded too even and normal not like the uneven, stumbling of the undead. I looked up to see Hershel smiling down kindly at me. Behind him was Dale.

"You shouldn't be out here all alone." Hershel reprimanded but he still had he nice smile on his face, "You need to build up your strength after the ordeal you went through."

"You'd want me in your house even though I killed people?" I asked softly.

"You defended yourself. I know if you could have gotten away without hurting them then you would have." Dale defended.

"That's right. And you don't want to hear this, you are my responsibility and I want to make you strong and better again." He said. He held out his hand to me. I took it and followed along. We passed through the camp, around me I could hear them whisper but I didn't turn to look at any of them.

"Some of them don't want you to stay, but you're on my land and I said you're staying. Once the boy is better and that little girl is found then they're gone, but you can stay if you want. My people understand what you went through and know you did what you the only thing you could. It was you or them." Hershel explained.

Hershel led me back up to the bedroom and had me lay down. Maggie brought me some food and some more pajamas. She apologized profusely about what happened. I nodded absently to her and sat my food without tasting. Hershel came in with another drip and put it in my arm. I rolled over and laid there without speaking. No one from the group came up, but Hershel wouldn't allow anyone. I didn't speak to Hershel's people either, but they didn't mind. They told me repeatedly that they hoped I would be fine and left me alone to my thoughts. The only person I spoke to was Carl on the walkie talkie.

I still had nightmares at night, I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and screaming. Patricia and Maggie would come in and hold me close as I sobbed, never complaining. Patricia started to come a motherly figure to me and Maggie would became more of a sister-like figure.

Three days later, Hershel said I could leave the bedroom, but he didn't want me dealing with the other group. I was no longer part of Rick's group anymore, to them I was theirs, to look after and take care of. I didn't say anything to them, only nodded. I stayed on the front porch and watched the other group. Glenn, T-Dog, Dale, and Rick would wave at me, but the others stared at me like I was some monster.

Daryl never was around, he was always in the woods or staying in his tent. I was starting to miss him on the third day. I wanted his strong presence and his gravelly voice. It wasn't anything like the breaded creeper, it was rough but also soothing and I liked it and missed it. But I couldn't make myself go out and talk to him.

I was sitting on the front porch swing looking for him. If I spotted him today, I would talk to him and apologize about how I reacted and said hurtful things to everyone. I could have held it better, I should have just told them to shut up and left it at that. I never should have pushed Daryl away, he was trying to help. I was getting worried when I didn't see him anywhere. Maggie said he stole one of Hershel's horses and went off a while ago in search of Sophia. The worrying part was that the horse returned without him. He went out this morning, and the sun was close to setting. Where was Daryl? I felt worry stirring in my stomach.

My thoughts were stolen away when someone shouted walker. On the railing of the porch was a pair of binoculars, I grabbed them quickly and looked through. Shane, Rick, Glenn and T-Dog was running after the unmoving walker. A walker who looked just like…Daryl.

My blood turned cold in my veins. I collapsed on the porch, I let out a sob. The one person I cared for most in this world was gone. I knew then how much Daryl mattered to me. It mattered everything. It was just the same as when my brother died, I felt numb and couldn't breathe. My blood felt cold and a million thoughts and emotions ran through me all at once. I wanted to scream, to cry, to yell with everything I had, but I didn't make a noise. I allowed me in past my wall and then pushed me right out just when I needed him the most. Now the last conversation we ever had was me yelling at him until he couldn't even look at me.

Something back in my mind told me to look up at him. I could barely see through the tears falling down my eyes, but I stopped when I saw the boys just standing there in front of the walker Daryl. No one was moving. A walker couldn't just stay still while four living people were right there and there's no way Rick would just stand there and stare at a walker, he'd put it down.

I brought the binoculars back up in time to see Daryl's mouth move, not growling, his mouth shaped to form words. In a second, I dropped the binoculars and jumped off the porch. I ran nearly laughing towards them. Daryl's face jerked up to see me running while smiling at him. He smiled softly at me making tears fall down my eyes.

I had it perfectly in my mind, I would launch to him. Daryl would catch me and hold me tight to him. Then I would look up into his beautiful blue eyes and he would look down into my brown ones. Time would slow down as his lips came closer to mine. We'd kissed passionately not caring that anyone was watching. The kiss would be like fireworks and angel's singing because it was perfect. Of course all of this was total BS and Daryl would just push me away, no way would he kiss me, let alone in front of the guys. But hey, a girl can dream right?

I was so close to him when the loud gunfire filled the air. Daryl went down. Rick screamed something and chaos was going around me, I stopped and screamed with every emotion and strength in my body, "DARYL!"

Another cliffhanger but well you guys watched the show so you know how it goes. It's more of a cliffhanger for Robin.

'Til next time. Love your faces. ^_^