Ch. 5
"Fuck," Daryl hissed.
He'd just woken up and again was overcome with nausea. Not wanting to invoke his captor's wrath again, he tried to call out for help.
"Help….Please…" He got out, struggling to keep from being sick.
Nothing.
"...Please," he repeated.
Daryl would have felt embarrassed or even angry at how pathetic he sounded, had he not been feeling as terrible as he was.
Thankfully, right then, the door opened.
"What's going on?" The man asked.
"Gonna be sick," Daryl told him.
The Governor shook his head and walked out, then returned seconds later with a large bowl. He placed it near Daryl's mouth, and not a moment too soon. Daryl began to heave, throwing up the little in his stomach.
The whole time, the Governor looked on. He even placed a hand on Daryl's back, rubbing him gently. It was more disturbing than comforting, though. Daryl would have cringed had he not been so preoccupied.
When it was over, the Governor took the bowl away.
"Something's wrong," he said.
"I'm fine," Daryl replied, in between breaths.
His whole body hurt and despite sleeping through the night, he still felt tired. Medical attention wasn't worth any punishments that the Governor might dish out, no matter how concerned he sounded.
"Hm."
"I'm fine, I swear," Daryl reiterated.
"I'm not so sure."
With that, the Governor turned to leave.
00
David came later in the morning, as per usual. By that point Daryl had fallen back asleep. David woke him up gently, rubbing his back the same way that the Governor had. This time it didn't seem so bad though.
"Hey," Daryl greeted him.
"Hey. Heard you were sick again?"
"It's nothing."
"I hope you're right."
Daryl wanted to respond 'me too', but kept quiet.
"I brought you some bread."
Just the thought of eating anything made Daryl's stomach turn, but he knew that refusing would just make David worry more.
"Thanks."
David nodded and began to feed him, and Daryl couldn't help but feel disappointed that the kid hadn't untied him the way he had previously.
After a forcing down a few bites, Daryl spoke up again.
"So… Have you thought about it?"
David frowned.
"I have."
"You're not gonna tell?" Daryl braced himself for what he assumed would be disappointment.
"Tomorrow night. But you'd better not let on that you know!"
"I swear, I won't," Daryl promised, stunned that David had given him the information. "Thank you!"
"Yeah, sure. You'd better not be lying. I'm depending on it. Elena is depending on it!"
"I'm not. I really appreciate this, David. Really."
"Yeah. You need to look good for tomorrow, just so you know."
"I do?"
"Mhm. That said, we have a lot to do today."
"Great." Daryl was being sarcastic, but wasn't sure if the kid caught on.
Apparently, he didn't.
David began unlocking the handcuffs.
"First things first, you're getting a haircut."
00
Daryl hadn't realized how long his hair had gotten. It took David a good twenty minutes to cut it.
After that, he was treated to a bath. A hot bath. There was nice smelling soap, too.
Then, when he was dry, he was given a real meal. Some type of soup along with vegetables and bread. He managed to get a small bit of it down, with David watching him warily.
Finally, David led him out of the kitchen and towards the Governor's room.
"Why're we going here?" Daryl asked. He didn't really care - he felt relaxed enough not to worry. Plus, if the Governor wanted him to look decent for tomorrow, it wasn't like he was in any real danger. The guy wouldn't be giving him a black eye, for instance.
"He says you need to stay in here until tomorrow."
Daryl took one look at the Governor's bed and understood. There were restraints built into the mattress. He would be lying on his back instead of handcuffed on his stomach. Clearly, the Governor didn't want him to have wrist marks from the handcuffs.
Daryl allowed David to strap him in.
"Do you think you're gonna puke?" The kid asked.
"Don't think so."
David nodded, "Right. If it were up to me I'd believe you but it's not so… Open up."
Daryl looked at him like he had three heads.
"What? Why?"
David simply rolled his eyes and pinched Daryl's cheeks, forcing him to keep his mouth open. The kid placed two pills on his tongue.
"Swallow them."
Daryl shook his head, trying to protest, but the kid wasn't listening. He reached for a bottle of water and began pouring it into Daryl's mouth, forcing the pills down. Then he let go.
"What the fuck, man?!"
"It's just Ambien and Zofran. Anti-nausea medicine. You'll be getting tired soon. The Governor says you should try to sleep as much as you can."
Now, Daryl really understood it all. The Governor didn't want Merle to think that he was being too badly mistreated, otherwise he might get upset.
Well, Daryl thought to himself, a haircut and a day of relaxing wasn't going to undo a whole month of damage. He didn't feel worried at all.