Chapter 4
"Are ya sure ya want to go this party tonight, Anna?" Daryl asks one night. Anna rolls her eyes, straightening out her shirt.
"It's a 'Jack Nick party', and I was invited. It'll probably be the only one I am ever invited to. So let me have a night. I'm 15 now, not 10."
"Yeah, but that's the point, Anna," he says, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. "Jack Nick doesn't just invite 15 years old to his parties. There's usually some sort of bad catch that has to happen. And he's not really a good guy to be around, let alone go to a party of his."
"And people say the same thing about you, but I'm still friends with you." She turns to him. "I'll be fine, Daryl. Plus, I'll be with Lily and everyone else. If you're not near me, they are. They're always around me. They're like my bodyguards half the time." He looks down. She could tell he was nervous. "Daryl," she says sternly. "What are you so afraid of?"
"That something bad is going to happen to ya," he finally says. "This kid is INSANE when it comes to parties! He throws them at barns so more than 100 people can come! And this happens every weekend! People have gotten drunk and killed people because of him and all his drunks. I don't want anything like that to happen to yq." He comes closer to her. "I don't want ya killed because of some stupid hick who doesn't know how to handle his drinks." She sighs.
"I didn't know you felt like that," she mumbles. He chuckles.
"Why wouldn't I? You're always gettin' into trouble, Anna." She scoffs.
"That's cause half the time you're the one always getting me into it!" she yells, throwing her arms up. He smiles at her reaction. "You're lucky my parents even know I'm friends with you."
"Yeah, but it's not like when I get ya into trouble I mean to."
"Yet again, half the time you do-"
"Anna, you're missing the whole point of this conversation!" She snickers, putting on her sneakers. When she's done tying, she walks over to him and grabs his hand, surprising him.
"I know you care about me. You've made that known since you beat up that guy in sixth grade for calling me fat and a slut." He frowns at the memory, making her smile. "But I can't promise that I'll always be out of trouble. Life's about making mistakes. So if this is one, for some strange reason, I'll learn from it. So let me be. You're my best friend, and best friends want good things to happen to their other best friends," she says, mumbling that last part.
"This party isn't a good thing."
"It's still a thing. Please, Daryl?" she says, sticking out her bottom lip. He shakes his head, sighing.
"I can't believe I'm saying this…fine, I'll let you go," She smiles, hugging him, surprising him yet again.
"Thank you!" He's hesitant for a second before returning the hug, placing his arms around her waist, holding her close. 'I have such a bad feeling about this,' he thinks.
When he pulls back, she walks over to the mirror, placing her denim jacket over her white tank top, examining her reflection in the glass. She turns back to him. "How do I look?" she asks. He smirks, about to reply, but a honk from downstairs stops him is his tracks to reply.
"Let's go, Bella!" she hears Joey scream from the car. She laughs and runs out of her room, down the stairs to the front door, Daryl right behind her. She grabs her bag and see Joeys car, parking in the drive way, with Lily anf the others. Joey see's Daryl. "Why aren't you comin', Dixon?"
"Not really a party person," he replies, a little too snarky back at Joey. He turns to Anna, who raises an eyebrow. "That guy is trouble, too." She chuckles.
"You're so kind," she says sarcastically. "I'm heading out. My parents aren't going to be home this weekend so if you want to stay-"
"Nah, I'll be headin' home." She looks at him with worried eyes. "I'll be fine, Anna. Ya go have fun," he smiles at her. She sighs.
"Just be safe."
"I should be saying that to ya." She rolls her eyes and steps out the door on her way to the car when his voice stops her. "Hey!" She turns around.
"What, Daryl?" He's silent for a second before replying.
"Ya look great." She could tell he was slightly embarrassed to say that. She smiles at him.
"Thanks, Daryl. That means a lot. I'll call you later, k? Bye!" Before he could reply, she was in the car, on her way to the party.
"Are you and him, like, together?" Lily asks. Anna smiles.
"No, we're not, he's just a close friend." Lily raises an eyebrow but lets the topic go. Right now was a time to party.
The party was in full rage, and Anna and Lily were dancing like there was no tomorrow. The rest of the group was scattered throughout the barn. Anna had caught Joey making out with a random girl behind the barn and let him be, knowing full well not to get involved when he's with a girl.
"Hey, I'm heading to the bar. Want another beer?" Lily asks through the music. Anna shrugs.
"Sure. I've only had one." Lily nods and disappears through the chaos of party goers, leaving Anna alone. She steps out for a moment to take a breath, but stops when a hand on her shoulder stops her. She spins around and gasps. Jack Nick was right behind her, a grin on his face, a beer in his hand.
"Hey, freshie," he says. "Want a beer?" he says. She's hesitant.
"My friends getting me one so-"
"Aw, come on. Have a sip." She stares at it, biting her lip, before taking the beer and sipping it slightly. He smiles wider. "There you go…wanna dance?" She can hear the drunk in his tone, but nods, letting him take her away.
They danced against each other and smiled and talked. And they don't know whether it was her or Jack but soon their lips collided, and it was a battle for dominance. It was probably the fact that Jack was drunk out of his mind and saw a girl with a nice butt in shorts.
Her legs wrap around him and he takes her out of the barn, to the back. He places her up against the red wall, starting to kiss her neck. She felt like she was in heaven. To think, she might actually go into high school having a boyfriend.
But then his hands moved towards her shorts and under them starting to try and take them off. She places his hands back up near her waist, but he simply places them back down.
"Stop," she whines through his sloppy kisses.
"Shut up," he growls. Ok, now she was scared. She starts to push him away, but he was just too strong for her, and keeps her hands pinned against the barn.
"Jack-" SLAP. Her cheek turned red and she saw stars as he started to rip open her shirt.
"I said SHUT UP. You're not ruining this for me." His grimy hands travel all over her body, making her squirm in displeasure.
"Get off me!" she yells, trying to get someone's attention. He replies by banging her whole body, head first against the side of that barn. The last thing she remembered was him taking off her shorts before she passed out into the darkness.
Anna's eyes opened to her on the cold, hard, ground, the grass swaying in the wind. She could still hear the party going on in the barn, the music blasting from the boombox that Lily had brought. Laughing and talking were heard from all points of the area.
She leans up against the barn, and thinks that maybe the worst didn't happen, but that's when she felt it. The pain between her legs.
She brings her knees up to her face and cries. Starts to sob. No one can hear her. No one helped her. No one hear her screaming.
She had been raped.
Knocked out, and raped.
By Jack Nick.
She sobs harder. She couldn't believe she had lost is. She couldn't believe this had happened. She should have never come. She should have listened to Daryl.
She should have listened to Daryl.
What if she's pregnant?
Her knees slump against the grass, her head on the back of the barn. She looks down and see's that her shirt is ripped, her jacket was off, and her shorts were all the way down her legs. Painfully, she stands up and pulls them back around her waist, noticing the bruises all over them. Her jacket was thrown to the side.
She places it around her shoulders, trying to hid the ripped part of her shirt. She looks around for the bag she brought and found it thrown to side, just as her jacket had been. She reaches for it and starts to walk towards the front of the barn, glancing back at the dancers. She saw Lily dancing with all her friends. She breathes in and out, and walks forward, near the highway where she had come.
All of a sudden, she hears that slimy voice and turns around. She see's Jack with ANOTHER girl, taking her behind the barn. She was giggling, just as she had been. Maybe she wanted to be touched.
She had a knife in her bag. She could grab it and throw it into his head, run away, and end his life right there and then. She could just simply do it. She was sneaky. Daryl taught her that.
'No,' she thought. That simple word no. She walks along the highway, ignoring the looks she was getting from the others.
The wind blows against her face, sending her dark brown curls behind her, flying. Cars pass her by as if she was just a hobo walking along the road to find a place to sleep for the night. None of them knew what had happened.
She limps slowly around the block. Slowly and surly. She didn't even know how long she was on the road for, but when she saw her two story house that still had her bedroom light on, she walked just a little bit faster, some tears running down her face.
Once she reaches the porch, she places her hand on the doorknob and takes a deep, shaky breath. Opening it, she throws her bag on the dining room table and limps towards the kitchen, getting a cold glass of water. When she drinks it, she looks down and notices the bruises on her legs and arms.
She places the glass of water down and takes of her jacket. Then, placing it on her mouth, she screams. Screams until her voice is hoarse. Her screams echoed the house, and if a window was open, the neighbors would probably have come over to see if she was being murdered.
Then again, rape was just as bad.
When she's done, she glances at the phone. She drops the jacket, running over to the machine on the wall. She takes it off the holder and hesitates calling him. He would freak. He would kill Jack…
She dials the phone. It rings for a moment, and then she hears it pick up. She takes a deep breath. "Daryl," she starts. "I need you to come over. Now." He hears the shakyness in her voice.
"What happened?" She takes a shaky breath, and talks again.
"I was raped."
Present
Annabelle placed her bag on the prison cot, examining the cell that Daryl had put her in. Sitting down, she takes out her knives and lays them down, taking out the wipe she had gotten a few days prior. She starts to clean them up when a shadow in her doorway stops her. She looks up and see's Rick with Glenn, the young Asian man, and a younger looking girl, who had short brown hair.
"We just wanted to say that we're sorry for being a bit hostile before," Rick says. Glenn nods in agreement.
"The gun was uncalled for if you came back with Daryl-" Anna holds up a hand.
"I understand. You people have been through a lot. I know how it feels when you don't feel like you can trust them. I'm just happy you accepted me into the prison." Rick smiles at her.
"Thank you, Annabelle." She rolls her eyes.
"Call me Anna." He nods.
"Well, Anna," the brunette says. "Might as well introduce myself. I'm Maggie," she says, extended her hand. Anna smiles, taking it.
"Anna," she laughs. She notices the ring on her finger. "Oh, who's the lucky man?" Glenn raises his hand sheepishly. Anna laughs. "Congratulations."
"Thanks," they say, his arms going around her waist.
"So have you and Daryl really been friends for twenty years?" Rick asks. She nods, a grin on her face,
"Since 4th grade. He's been with me through a lot. And it's true. He has caught me in plenty of lies so many time that it's become a hobby." All of them chuckle slightly.
"Well, the rest of the group would like to meet you. They're all downstairs in the cellblock," Rick says. Anna nods, heading back over to her bed.
"I'll be down in a minute, just got to finish unpacking all this stuff. Thanks again, guys," she says.
"No problem," Rick says, walking back out to the rest of the group. Glenn sticks his head in quickly.
"Just out of curiosity, do you hunt just like Daryl?" Anna grins again.
"Taught me how." Maggie groans.
"Damn it!" she yells, walking out of the cell. Glenn laughs.
"You just helped me win a bet. Thanks, Anna!" he says, chasing after her. She stares after them, amusement coming across her face.
"You're welcome?" she laughs. She walks back over to her bed and places her journal that she's had since freshman year on the small desk. She sighs. That has been with her through hell and back. She could never throw it out if she tried.
Her knives shone on the bed and she picked all of them, placing them on the desk next to the journal. Her eyes travel around the small room, then the cell door. She never thought she would be in a prison, even after how she got into a lot of trouble as a kid. But here she was.
Grant it, it was a different circumstance. She never thought the dead would rise and try to eat her, but here they were. Never say never.
"What's chinaman laughin' at?" Daryl asks from the doorway. She turns to him and smiles again.
"Apparently I helped him win a bet with Maggie, so I guess that's why." He walks over to her, placing his hands on the edge of the desk. He see's the journal and scoffs, picking it up.
"Ya still have this old piece of crap?" he says. She gasps, trying to get the journal from his hands.
"Give it back, Daryl!" she yells, reaching for it. He only raises his arm higher, laughing as she tries to reach it.
"Let's see what ya wrote in here," he says, opening the book slightly.
"No!" she squeaks, jumping now to get it. "Why is he so god damn tall?!' she thinks angrily. He keep laughing.
"Oh, let's turn back to high school, shall we?" he says. Her eyes widen and she thought of something quick. Leaning up, she pecks his cheek, causing his eyes to widen slightly and drop the book. She quickly grabs it and sticks her tongue out.
"Ha!" she yells, hiding it behind her back. "I'm hiding this where you can't ever find this!" He raises an eyebrow.
"I know every nook and crany of this whole entire damn place. Ya can't hide anything from me." She scoffs, then smirks a little.
"You'd be surprised at how well I can hide things, even if people know the area. I'm a sneaky bitch." He snorts, shaking his head.
"Ya are, are ya?" he asks, coming closer to her.
"Yeah, and I learned from a sneaky bastard, who was always hiding my textbook when I needed it for History class," she says, poking him in the chest.
"Who, me?" he asks in mock surprise. She snorts.
"Yeah, you. And I've outsmarted you many times. What makes you think I can't do it again, Dixon?" He smirks down at her 5'7 frame, only a few inches shorter than him, but couldn't admit she was right. She had outsmarted him. She was brilliant like that.
She stares right back, not cowering. This was something they always did. When the first person looked away, they lost and the winner had the right to call them whatever they wanted for the rest of the day. Both had won, but it was always intense.
But during this match, a sudden change in demeanor swept the room, and it didn't feel like a game anymore. It just felt like two people staring into each other's eyes. The smirk on his face had turned into a small smile, and she couldn't help but think how he had an amazing smile. 'He should show it so much more often around these people.'
Her heart felt like it was racing a hundred miles per second, like it was about to jump out of her chest. But she still wouldn't look away. All of a sudden, his hand comes up and tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear, one she hadn't even noticed. She smiles at the gesture, but still wouldn't look away.
"Anna," he huskily whispers. She felt like she couldn't breath.
"Yeah?" she whispers back.
"I-" A sudden bang on the cell door made the two break apart from their intense trance and look towards the door, only to see the gray haired woman from before. 'Who the hell is this chick?' Anna thinks angrily.
"I…um… Daryl, Rick needs to talk to you about a supply run right now." Daryl's silent, and Anna could tell he was slightly pissed that she ruined the moment, but he gives a curt nod and walks out of the cell, his hand brushing Anna's on the way out. He pushes past Carol, who stares at him in slight shock.
She looks back to Anna, who's hands are now crossed over her chest, glaring at the floor. "I'm sorry if I interrupted something," she says, but Anna could so tell she wasn't.
'Bitch,' she thinks. "It's fine," she says, playing it like it was nothing.
"I'm Carol, by the way." Anna nods.
"Annabelle," she replies, making sure that her name was dragged out. "Oh, wait. You're the one who tried to kick me out before." She glares at Anna.
"I was thinking about the rest of the group-"
"No, you were thinking about Daryl." She stops talking, but the glare is still set on her face. "I can see it in your eyes that you like him. What makes you think, that a girl, he has known, for TWENTY, YEARS, would be a threat to him?"
"Listen-"
"No, you listen," she says, stepping closer. "I don't know who you are yet. I've only just met you. But considering what you did back outside, your introduction is not up to a good start. I suggest, if you really want to make friends, to stop thinking about just one person and think for the whole group." Anna walks out of her cell and hears her daughter's laughing down below with the other kids. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go join my family and meet the rest of the group. Have a nice day."
She walks down the stairs and smirks the whole way down, feeling Carol's piercing glare on her back. 'Serves her right.'
So happy I got that done. I was writing this while watching the Golden Globes and couldn't help but think that if Breaking Bad is winning all these awards then Walking Dead better at least one day. The mid season finale by itself deserves plenty of awards. So I decided to include a little moment (or a big moment) between Anna and Daryl between this chapter, cause in my mind they are so adorable together, only for it to be ruined by everyones favorite stalker, Carol. XD Oh, this bitch.
But in any way, shape, or form, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try to update within the next few days. But midterms are coming up so I'm gonna be studying sooner or later. But don't worry. I wont keep you waiting for long. I already have story ideas going around my head. See ya next chapter!