A/N: Hey everyone! As always, thanks for all of your reviews and support, keep it up! Please remember to go vote on the poll on my profile. I'll be closing it on Monday morning around seven, so please vote if you haven't. Anyways, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!
Light came too quickly. I never went back to sleep, too stung up to relax. I think I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, nothing in my past experiences led to me believe that I could be so lucky. But here I was. I got dressed in a black tank top and jeans, not sure what the weather would be today. I yanked on my boots, pulled my hair into a high pony, and stood up. After another moment of thought, I grabbed Daryl's jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. I breathed in the scent of it. It smelt like pine and smoke, like Daryl. Soon, I became too anxious to sit in my tent any longer and walked outside. The sun was just starting to peek out from over the horizon, it would be about another hour or so before we hit the road.
I saw a familiar figure sitting on the porch so I walked up to it.
"Hey," I said to Carl. "What are you doing out here by yourself so early?"
"Just wanted to be alone," he said and his eyes instantly trailed to my arm and then back to my eyes. I gave him a smile, a real one, and he looked at me in disbelief. "Really?" He asked and I nodded. He jumped up and hugged me and I briefly though about how many hugs I had received lately.
"Yep, didn't think a little walker could take me out did ya?" I asked, echoing my comment to Shane. I sat down beside him and looked at him. He'd changed since all of this started. There was something different in the way he walked and acted, I guess it was just him having to grow up too soon. He definitely wasn't the same kid he was a year ago.
"Do you think dad's going to be okay?" He asked suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Kiddo, your dad is one tough guy and if anyone is going to survive this, it's going to be him. He had a lot to fight for after all," I said and ruffled his hair. I definitely wasn't going to let my personal feelings of Rick's leadership interfere with this conversation.
"Why have you been so angry at him lately?" He asked and I started chewing on my bottom lip. Of course Carl would have noticed the way I'd been acting towards Rick, everyone had.
"Things have just been crazy lately, I guess it's easier to handle if you take it out on someone else," I chose my words very carefully, not wanting to lie to him but not wanting to make him angry either. He nodded so I knew he was satisfied with the answer.
The sun was shining brightly now, having completely risen. I was squinting against the harsh light and saw a silhouette heading towards us. I smiled when I could finally identify my brother. I stood up and ran to him. He caught me easily and laughed.
"I swear you act like a kid," he said but there was a playful tone in his voice. I laughed, a ringing, free laugh. It felt nice.
"Come on, we'll be leaving in a little bit," He said and wrapped his arms around my shoulder and we walked back up to the house together.
"Who all is going?" I asked him.
"You, Andrea, T-Dog, Daryl, and me," he said easily. I started calculating in my head.
"That doesn't leave a lot of muscle here. What if something happens?" I asked. That only left Lori, Carol, Carl, and Hershel's family here.
"I don't plan on being gone long. We find 'em and we get out. Jimmy's here, he can cover it for one day," Shane said but I saw the flicker of doubt in his eyes.
"Whatever you say," I resigned as we walked into the house.
"Morning," Patricia said from the kitchen. I smiled at her then glanced at Shane without realizing it. I dropped my eyes after that, not wanting to think about Otis and Shane.
"Morning," I said back and I saw Shane nod at her.
"I packed some things for your trip. There's a bag on the counter," she said and gestured to a messenger bag that was stuffed with food and bottled water.
"Thank you, that's very kind," I said sincerely and retrieved the bag. I slung it over my shoulder despite its weight. She smiled in answer and we walked out.
When we walked back outside I saw Daryl and T-Dog next to one of the cars with the trunk open. Andrea was over by the RV talking with Dale who seemed to be upset about something. I'd have to remember to talk with him later. We walked over to them and I sat the bag in the trunk.
"Here," Shane said and handed me my gun. I nodded to him and stuck it in my waistband. He walked to the front of the car to check on gas and everything, the last thing we needed was to break down in the middle of the trip.
"Hey. See you're still breathing," Daryl said with a smirk and I smiled back. I felt heat creeping into my cheeks, though, at the thought of last night.
"Adeline?" Andrea called from a few feet away, making her way over to us.
"Guess you were right," I told her with a smile. She smiled back and gave me a hug and I was again struck by how many of those I had received lately.
"Guys," she said and handed T-Dog a bag to put in the trunk. Then I heard something, it sounded like an engine. I turned towards the road and saw the truck Rick and Glenn had taken pulling up.
They drove right past us up to the front door. Rick jumped out first and I saw Carl running off of the porch into his arms. We were all heading over to them quickly, waiting to see if everyone was okay. Glenn and Hershel both got out simultaneously, shutting the car doors with a unified click. Maggie came running out but ran right past her dad and right into Glenn's arms. Glenn pushed her away gently and I was surprised by the action. I was close enough now to hear Rick asking Lori about her cuts.
"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog asked and pointed to the car where a strange boy was sitting. He had a rag tied around his eyes and he was moaning in pain making every alarm in my head go off.
"That's Randall," Glenn said. I looked to Shane and I saw him and Rick exchanging a look. We all started dispersing but Rick wanted to talk to us all in the dining room once Hershel finished tending to Randall, who apparently had been injured. We all agreed and then separated. Most everyone went on in the house, looking for a little relief from the sun. I was about to head that way with Shane when I saw Daryl and decided to hang back.
"Hey," I said and walked over to him.
"Hey. See you're still wearing the jacket," he said and for some reason that made me blush.
"Uh, yeah. You can have it back you know," I told him, reaching to take it off but he shook his head.
"Nah, it looks better on you anyways," he said and my blush deepened at the unexpected compliment.
"Thanks. So what do you think about this whole Randall issue?" I asked him, trying to change the subject into something more comfortable.
"Don't really care honestly. Just seems like something else for Rick and Shane to fight about," he said with a shrug. I bit my lip at the mention of my brother. I was aware that they didn't get along but I definitely wasn't comfortable with him insulting him. But that hadn't been an insult, so I kept talking.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm more worried about what we are going to do. I mean, Hershel still hasn't talked to us about the barn incident," I rambled. As I did, I hit the jacket with my arm and a piece of paper fluttered out of the pocket and landed next to Daryl's feet. My breath caught, it was the drawing of him.
He bent over nimbly to pick it up for me and I prayed he wouldn't open it. That prayer went unanswered when a light ruffle of wind blew the edge of the paper open and Daryl saw part of the sketch. He unfolded the paper and looked at it, all the while I was staring at the ground, not wanting to see his reaction.
"I didn't know you could draw," was all he said after a moment. I let out a breath when I looked up and saw a playful smirk on his face.
"I told you, Dixon, there' s a lot you don't know about me," I joked, back in familiar territory now.
"Apparently. It's pretty good. You have any other drawings?" He asked after inspecting the sketch for another second.
"Um, yeah. I have my sketchbook in my tent. Why?" I asked. There were times I simply couldn't follow Daryl's line of thought.
"Can I see them? Or are they embarrassing or something?" He asked and even though I knew he was joking, I still blushed a little. I'd been doing that a lot lately.
"Yes. I mean, no they aren't embarrassing, yeah you can see them if you want," I babbled and he smiled. "Just, come on," I said and grabbed his hand and pulled him towards my tent. I surprised myself by being so nonchalant about grabbing his hand but he surprised me more by not pulling away.
We both ducked into my tent and I rifled around in my bag for the book. It was very worn but it served its purpose. I handed him the book as he sat down on the floor. He opened it on his lap and I sat next to him. The first picture was of my parents. I smiled at the sight of them laughing and sitting on a blanket at dad's company picnic.
"Those are my parents," I told him when he looked at me.
"You've never talked about your parents," he noted and I nodded.
"They died when I was fourteen," I told him and he looked down. "I drew this a week before they died. I was going to give it to them for their anniversary," I found myself saying before I could stop. It was so easy to talk to Daryl.
"You look like your mom," he said and I couldn't help but smile. He was so random sometimes. He turned the page then and there was a random landscape in dark colors and crude lines.
"These are from the months after my parents' death. Drawing was how I coped," I explained with a shrug as he thumbed through the pages of depressing sketches. Then there was a picture of Jamie. He was sitting on the back of his truck, trying to fix some random gadget.
"Who's that?" Daryl asked when he noticed the look on my face.
"Jamie. Jamie Stevens. He was my best friend. After my parents died, I moved in with my grandparents and they enrolled me in some preppy school. I was all alone there until I met Jamie. His dad was some hot-shot lawyer who paid for him to go to school there so his mom didn't sue him for child support," I said with an eye-roll. I'd met his dad once, and that was more than enough.
"What happened?" He asked.
"He died," I said simply and I saw Daryl frown. Then he turned the page again and there was a lot more landscapes, but these weren't the depressing and gloomy ones from before. These were vibrant and alive. I smiled at the familiar drawings of my backyard, the woods behind my grandparents' house, the school, everything.
He turned the page again and I thought I would be sick. I had forgotten about that drawing, how had I forgotten. I jumped up, causing Daryl to jump too, and bolted from the tent faster than should have been possible. I kept running until my legs gave out in the middle of the field and I doubled over and puked. After emptying the entire contents of my stomach, I kept heaving for a while and I thought I might pass out.
"Addie?" Daryl's voice called softly and I tensed. I didn't want him to see this. I didn't want to have to explain. "Are you okay?" He knelt beside me, giving me some room.
"I'm fine," I said curtly. "Leave me alone."
"You want me to go get your brother?" He asked. I shook my head. No way was I going to tell Shane about this.
"What's wrong? You know you can tell me," I looked up and saw those beautiful blue eyes, so full of concern and sincerity. I refused to break this time though. No way. I pushed myself up and stood very straight. I put on my iciest glare and directed it at him.
"I said I'm fine," I said. He looked a bit shocked but I saw him retreating instantly at the harshness in his tone. His eyes went from being opened and concerned to being guarded. I hated watching that transformation but I couldn't break down another wall. Not this one. If this one fell, I would crumble. So instead of giving myself a chance to be persuaded, I walked away.
I walked quickly but didn't run, and I didn't, not once, look back.