Chapter 15: Stay
She sank into the hot water and her skin prickled and burned at the sudden temperature change. She rinsed the dried blood off her body and leant back so she could wet her hair.
She climbed out slowly and walked over to the mirror. Her eyes were still slightly pink from crying and she looked exhausted, one look at her was all it took for that little voice to creep back into her mind;
" You could have done more, if you had she'd be alive"
She sank down to the floor, clutching her sides and crying quietly.
She had completely failed Carrie and her baby, she had promised that poor, scared girl that she would look after her and she had failed.
Now Carrie and her baby were both gone and it was her fault.
Daryl sat in the chair waiting and took another swig of whiskey. He wouldn't leave her alone, not in the state she was in and it didn't seem to take much for people to opt out these days he thought to himself bitterly.
He thought he had heard the bath water splashing and sat up abruptly in the chair but when he didn't hear the water draining away he relaxed back down and resumed waiting.
She had been a long time though and at that moment he resented her for making him worry so much. He stood up and walked over to the door, he hadn't closed it completely when he'd left. It wasn't so he could perv over her he just wanted to be able to hear her and make sure she was still moving. He nudged the door and looked and the still water in the tub, it had a slight pinkish tone to it but Abby wasn't in there.
He stuck his head around the door and saw her curled up naked on the floor.
He hadn't seen her fall to pieces like this before and it shocked him.
He pushed the door a little more and slowly walked over to her shaking form.
Water droplets still clung to her skin and for the first time in years Daryl felt helpless.
He stared at her for a few seconds before putting the whiskey bottle on the floor and sliding down next to her. Gingerly he reached out and let his hand fall onto her back, he rubbed it gently for a moment before leaning forwards and looping his other arm around her so he could pull her up.
She allowed Daryl to half lift; half drag her until he was hugging her body to his. He rubbed her back slowly with one hand as the other reached up and grabbed the towel Laurie had put out for her. he shook it from its folds and draped it around her body and continued to rub her back as she buried her face against his shoulder.
He wasn't sure how long they sat there but it was long enough for her damp hair to almost dry. He had been resting his cheek on her head and when he moved she stayed still. He reached up again, he had to stretch a little more to reach the long sleeved top and shorts Laurie had grabbed from Abby's bag. He pulled them down and with one hand shook out the top and began to pull it over her head. She allowed him to do so and moved her arms to find the sleeves; Daryl pulled the top down and slid the towel down so she would still be covered and warm. As he slid it down his fingers gently brushed against the side of her breast and he felt her tense slightly before the moment passed and he body relaxed. He pulled her hair out from under the shirt and grabbed the shorts.
Abby had to lean against the sink to support her as she stood up. The top held the towel in place as Daryl held the shorts open and she stepped gingerly into them, he pulled the up, careful to avoid too much skin-to-skin contact.
He helped her into the bedroom and into the bed. She nestled under the covers, enveloping herself in the grey duvet. Daryl walked back into the bathroom and grabbed the whiskey bottle before turning the light off and closing the door.
He picked up a glass and poured her a good measure of whiskey; she took the glass from him and drained it in seconds. Daryl gave a small nod and headed towards the door,
' Don't leave me!' he stopped at the sound of her hoarse voice, so full of fear and panic. He didn't move he didn't want to see that fear in her eyes again,
' Daryl, please stay?' she whispered, he clenched his hand around the bottle and turned around.
He did plan to sit by the bed until she'd fallen asleep but as he got closer she shifted over and made space for him. he kicked his boots off and climbed in next to her, he could feel her shaking. He flicked the light off and put a hand behind his head, he had to admit sleeping in a bed again felt good. She was still trembling next to him, her movements made the mattress shake,
' You cold?' he said quietly
' Yes' she whispered, Daryl moved his hand from behind his head and rubbed his eyes before shimmying over to her and pulling her into a one armed hug so her body was pressed against his. He could tell she was still crying, he hated it when she cried,
' It weren't your fault Abby' he said quietly as he shut his eyes,
' It was…I should've kept her and the baby alive' her voice was quiet and shaky in the darkness,
' Things don't work that way…you did everything you could've for her everyone knows that'
' I failed her…I promised to keep her safe and snow she's…'
' Abby…it wasn't your fault, you didn't know that was gonna happen and you did everything you possibly could but she was just a kid Abby'
' Oh god Daryl she was only a kid…she didn't deserve that'
' No one deserves that…Jenner said at her age her body would have been under a lot more strain than it could handle, add in the stress of running from walkers and well…it's a lot for a kid to take'
' What did the others say?'
' Not a lot…lot of crying…that Simon asshole started shouting bout you helping her keeps the baby a secret so…'
' So…what?' he felt her head tilt and knew that if they weren't in the dark he'd see her looking up at him,
' So I hit him'
' Ooh…how hard?' he smiled
' Hard enough to knock the son 'o' bitch out cold' her hand rubbed his chest and she nestled her face against him again,
' I'm sorry' she said quietly
' For what?' he said opening his eyes to look into the darkness
' What I've put you through tonight…thanks for staying with me Daryl' he rubbed her arm slowly but didn't say a word.
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