Daryl
Twenty-four years old
It probably would have been an alright day if I hadn't noticed the date. Normally I never even bothered to pay a second glance to the glossy calendar that hung on the shop wall. It wasn't anything special to look at, just your standard calendar with mediocre pictures of waterfalls and grassy fields. For whatever reason, though, it had been impossible to shrug off the feeling that I was forgetting something. One look at what day it was and I knew what it was. Today was Charlie's birthday. She was turning twenty-two and it was another year I was missing out on, which was my own damn fault anyways.
The cigarette dangled from between my lips as I hopped out the cab of the truck, slamming the door behind me. Flakes of rusted red paint drifted to the pavement. I took another puff from my cigarette, exhaling the hazy smoke into the fall air. I had pretty much been chain smoking since I realized what day it was. It was usually what I ended up doing whenever I thought about that girl more than what was good for me. I flicked the ash from the end of the cigarette. I wondered what the hell she was doing anyways. Probably out at some fancy downtown bar, taking shots with her girlfriends. Not a care in the world, not thinking 'bout the jackass redneck who had run her off two years earlier.
I took one last drag, inhaling my lungs full of nicotine before tossing the bud to the ground, watching it flicker and go out. I ran a hand over my head, rubbing the back of my neck as I internally fought with myself. I finally pulled the battered old cell phone out of my pocket though, flipping it open. I scrolled through the contact, stopping at her name. My finger hovered over the 'call' button for a long, drawn out minute. I shook my head. Fuck it, what was I thinking anyways? I sure as hell was the last person that girl wanted to hear from, birthday or not. I snapped the phone back shut and jammed it into my pocket.
Fuckin' pathetic, that's what I was. Two years later and I was still moping around, thinking about her much more than what I was willing to admit. I doubted I meant anything to her now, other than just that worthless next door hick. And even though I knew all that well and good, I still would have given almost anything just to talk to her and hear her voice. Like I said, fuckin' pathetic. I reached for the cigarette pack in my shirt pocket, but thought better of it, instead making my way across the parking lot and into the dingy old bar to grab a drink.
It took a second for me to adjust to the dim light and haze of cigarette smoke as I pulled up a stool at the bar. Aside from a few of the regular drunks, I was the only one there. Three o'clock might've been too early for some people to start drinking, but today I didn't give a damn.
"Need a beer, Daryl?" The regular bartender asked, a heavy set guy by the name of Mike. The place had been a favorite haunt for Merle and I for the last couple of years. Needless to say, the bartender had our drinking habits down pat.
I shook my head. "Might need somethin' stronger than that today. Got any Jameson back there?"
Mike didn't say a word, turning his back on me for half a second before sliding a glass in front of me, the amber liquid sloshing round inside. I nodded my head at him in thanks before pressing the glass to my lips and tipping it backwards. The whiskey burned all the way down my throat, heating me from the inside out.
"Ain't it a bit early to be getting' all liquored up?"
I looked up from my glass, eyeing the twiggy blonde thing that had suddenly appeared at my side. I recognized the fake orange glow and equally fake smile. "Ain't it a bit none o' yer' business?" I retorted. "Whadya want, Abby?"
She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, her pink tee-shirt riding up a little to show a sliver of her tummy. It was a move that usually had most guys tripping over their feet to get to her. Most of them, except for me. I wasn't into girls like her, the ones that wore too much make-up and tried too hard to get a man's attention. That was more Merle's territory. Plus, she had been Charlie's best girlfriend in high school, which had always thrown me for a loop. Charlie was the exact opposite of this girl. Abby had never really been a good friend to her, but there had been about a thousand times Charlie scolded me for trying to make her see that her so called 'friend' wasn't worth a damn.
"Why you always gotta be so darn mean, Dixon?" She said, clucking her tongue. "Ya know, if you've bothered to give me a chance, maybe you'd see I'm not as bad as you think. Lemme buy you a drink." She added in a silky tone, one that was apparently supposed to break me down. I felt her hand on my arm and shook her off.
"Move on, Abby. I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit today." I said gruffly before taking another swig from my glass. I glanced over at her to see a pouty look on her face, arms across over her chest.
"Jesus, fine then. You know, you've always been wound tighter than a two dollar watch." She said, shaking out her bleach blonde tresses. "Never knew why Charlie saw fit to hang around with you anyways." With that last sting, she turned her back on me and huffed off to the other side of the bar to rejoin her gaggle of pals.
I rolled my eyes, polishing off my drink before tossing a few bucks onto the counter.
"Sure you don't want another?" Mike asked, gathering up my money in his hand.
I shook my head. "Don't feel like much for hangin' around here while trailer trash Barbie and her posse give me them dirty looks."
The heavier set man stifled a chuckle, shaking his head. "Can't say I blame ya. Have a good night, man."
"Yeah, you too." I threw over my shoulder as I disappeared out the front door and into the warm fall air. The sun was beginning to set, dusk settling. Deep purple clouds were rolling in from the west and it smelled like rain.
I felt more irritated than I had to begin with, thanks to Abby. My one drink was already fading away, leaving me with nothing. Hadn't even been a real good buzz to begin with. I sighed and pulled the pack of cigarettes from my packet again and slid one in between my lips. I felt a few drops of rain suddenly fall from the sky, followed by the slow roll of thunder in the distance. I began fishing for my truck keys, wanting to take shelter in the cab before I got blasted by the storm. I caught something out of the corner of my eye and glanced up to see a familiar face walking by, hood of his jacket pulled over his dark hair. I hesitated a moment before deciding to get his attention.
"Gabe! Hey Gabe!" I hollered.
The kid looked around, confused, before he noticed me a few feet away and recognition dawned on his face. A grin stretched the corners of his lips and I slipped the cigarette back into the pack as Charlie's little brother jogged over to me.
"Hey Daryl! Long time no see!" He announced, coming to a stop in front of me. He had a bulky backpack strapped to him, a stack of comic books tucked under his arm.
"No kiddin'." I answered. It had been at least a year or two since I had last run into Gabe, when he stopped into the shop to pick up some truck parts for his dad. I was sure he knew about the falling out I had with his sister back then, but didn't say a word. Still looked at me like I was his favorite person on the planet for some god damn reason I would never understand.
"What the hell you doin' out here?" I asked him. "Looks like a nasty storm's about to hit."
He glanced up at the sky as rain began to fall a little more steadily to the ground. He shrugged. "I was at the comic book store. Figured I could walk home and beat the rain."
"Well, don't think you're gonna beat it now. Why don't I give ya a ride home, kid?"
He raised his eyebrows in a way that reminded me too much of Charlie. I felt a slight pang inside my chest before brushing it aside. "You sure?" He asked. "You're not drunk, are you? You are parked in front of a bar." He grinned cheekily at me.
"I wish." I rolled my eyes. "You wanna ride or not? Git' in."
I swung open the truck door and hopped in, reaching across the seat to tug on the lock so Gabe could climb inside. By the time he had settled his backpack at his feet and slammed the door shut, rain was pouring out of the sky by the bucket full.
"Bet you woulda had a hell of a time walkin' home in that." I smirked, backing the truck up before putting it in drive and pulling out onto the main road.
"Yeah, good thing I saw you." He answered, his comic books sliding on the space of seat in between us. He ran hand along the dusty dashboard, a light coat of dirt and grim on his fingertips as he pulled his hand away. "This the truck you taught my sister to drive in?" He asked curiously.
I was caught off guard by the question for a second. "You knew 'bout that?" I asked in surprise.
"Yeah, Charlie told me all about it. Said when I was old enough she'd teach me to drive a truck the same way you taught her."
I nodded and we were both quiet for a long second, the only sound being the rain splattering against the metal roof and the squeak of the windshield wipers moving back and forth against the glass.
"It's her birthday today." He suddenly said.
I nodded again, biting my lip. "Mhm. I remembered." I answered as casually as I could.
"You're not gonna call her, though, are ya?"
I gripped the steering will a little hard, biting my tongue. Normally, my first response to a question like that would be to keep out of my business. But this was Charlie's little brother…plus he was just a kid still. I'd been just as curious when I was his age.
"I'm the last person your big sister wants to hear from, Gabe, trust me." I finally answered.
"Bull." He shot back indignantly.
I tore my eyes away from the road for a hot second to shoot a surprised look at him. "What?"
"I said, bull. I know my sister wants to talk to you. She's always ask if I've seen you when she calls. She tries to act like it ain't a big deal, but I know she misses you…" He trailed off, eyeing my expression, no doubt seeing if he pushed too hard. In a second he went on, though. "I don't really know what happened besides that you got into a fight. But it seems stupid to not be friends anymore." He shrugged.
I was silent, not sure what to say as we pulled into the Asher's driveway and I put the truck into park. The engine hummed loudly over the rainfall and when the kid didn't get out right away, I knew he was waiting on me to say something. "Look…what happened between me and Charlie was my own damn fault. I'd fix it if I could, but I think your sister is better off without me ruinin' her life anymore."
"I don't think Charlie thinks you ruined her life. Why don't you just try to call her? I bet you'd make her birthday that much better." He suggested, finally gathering his things together. I watched him swing the door open, looking back at me. "Seriously, Daryl, I think Charlie is sad without you around. Anyways, thanks for the ride." He hopped out and slammed the car door shut, rattling the cab slightly.
"No problem." I mumbled, watching him hurry into the front door before shaking my head and heading on home. I had a hard time shaking off what Gabe had said, even though I knew he was just a kid. Still, he had always been pretty damn smart. And Charlie loved him something fierce. And god knew I missed that girl just about as fiercely. I struggled in a heated battle with myself the short drive next door before finally deciding it was worth a shot. I took Gabe's advice and scrolled down to Charlie's name. I hesitated for half a second before finally deciding 'screw it' and hitting the call button.
It started to ring and I fought the urge to hang up, my stomach turning. It rang again. And again. Five times before I finally decided it was a lost cause and she wasn't gonna answer. Then there was a click, though, followed by a voice shouting over what sounded like a crowd in the background.
"Hello?"
"Charlie?" I asked, unsure.
"Uh no, this is Tessa. Charlie's busy. Who is this?" The stranger asked.
"It's-" I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to let this person know who I was just in case Charlie had briefed them on me. "It's not important, I'll just call later." I said quickly before snapping the phone shut and ending the call. I let my head fall back against the headrest, feeling like an idiot. I aimed a half-hearted punch at the steering wheel. What was I doing? Clearly she was out having a good time on her birthday. She wasn't moping around like I was, waiting for a phone call. I needed to give it up. I needed to let her go. I breathed a deep sigh, exhaling as the rain continued to plummet down. Easier said than done.
Author's Note:
I'm back with the next update! Just want to take a second to say thank you to everyone for all the amazing reviews! I appreciate the hell out of all of you...seriously! You guys keep me motivated to keep on writing, which is all I've ever wanted to do. So thank you! Unfortunately, though, I think I'm only going to be posting one chapter instead of my usual two. It's just a lot for me to keep up with on top of all the college work I have to do. But I promise I will keep the updates as steady as possible! I hope you guys understand. Thank you all so much!
Oh and PS: The first couple of chapters of my Merle story have been posted. Could really use some feedback so check it out if you can! Thank you!