Just a quick side note: This memory in this chapter is a continuation of the one from chapter 4. If you haven't read that memory you should read it. On with the story!
Chapter 5
He lived twenty minutes away. Away from her. When she was done talking to him, she placed the phone back in the holster, taking another shaky breath, and slowly climbs hers stairs to the bathroom.
At first, he sounded shocked, but then she could practically feel the anger vibrating off his body through the phone. He was mad.
She had jokingly told him not to get into a car crash. He often did stupid things when he was angry. Her pillow had been a victim of one of this anger fits once, but she had easily fixed it with her mother's help and her trusty glue gun.
Since she had a bit of time before he came, she takes off her clothes, turns on the faucet, and steps under, letting the warm water cascade down her body, stinging the cuts and washing away all the dirt and grass stains from her arms, legs, and face.
She felt like she was going to throw up. How would she tell her family? How would she tell her mother?! She wasn't even supposed to be out that night. What about her friends? What about SCHOOL?
School. Jack was a senior.
No way.
No way in hell was she going to the same school Jack was.
Even if Daryl would be there, she did not want to be in the same building as him ever again. He was a monster and a total dick.
What if she's pregnant?
That thought made tears run down her face, even though they blended it with the water. What if there was an actual child growing slowly inside of her right now.
She was only 15.
She just turned 15!
How would she take care of a kid? There was no way in hell she was giving rid of it if she is. She doesn't just kill something, not even an unborn fetus. But what would she do?
The thought that the kid was also partially Jacks made her stomach churn. It disgusted her. 'No,' she thinks angrily. 'He'll never be a part of it's life. The snivey, conniving, pig!' She punches the wall in frustration, a resounding 'boom' echoing the bathroom. When she pulls back, she is surprised to see a hole, the size of her fist, in the granite wall. "Aw, shit," she mumbles.
Turning off the water, she steps out and places a towel around her waist, her bruised hips making her flinch back as the towel touched them. She examines the hole and cringes when she sees her hand. Bloody and cut. "I can't get a break, can I?"
She walks over to her bedroom and quickly changes into some PJ pants and a big t-shirt. She looks down at her bloody fingers and sighs, going down the stairs.
She turns on the box and finds SNL blasting on the TV, but not even these people could make her laugh right now. Not even smile. Not even crack a tooth.
Looking over at her fridge, she remembers exactly what her parents had bought the day prior. She was always trying to watch her weight, trying to look her best. But right now, that didn't apply. "Fuck it." She rips open the freezer and takes out a huge carton of chocolate chunk ice cream. Taking a spoon, she flops down on the couch and washed SNL while eating away her troubles.
She loved chocolate chip cookies.
She smiles at the sincere thought of her mother picking up the ice cream just for her. She really needed it right now.
Sooner or later, her dog comes up to her side, her tail wagging fast. Anna pets the dog on her head, but shakes hers. "No playtime right now, Lani"
The dog continues to wag her tail.
"Really, Lani?" Anna sighs. The dog props her soft paws on her legs and licks her face. Anna smiles, pushing the dog down. "Ok, Ok. Calm down, Lani."
The dog picks up her bone and runs towards Anna, who takes it from her and throws it in the opposite direction of the room. The pup runs after, barking wildly, as Anna snickers slightly, going back to her ice cream.
Once she finishes the ice cream, she gets up to turn off the TV, but finally hears a knock at the front door. Dropping her carton, she runs to the door, Lani right behind her. But when she opens it, it's not Daryl. It's Jack. With two of his 'buddies' behind him. She steps back slightly. At seeing her owner scared, the dog growls at the three men, but they just ignore it.
"Why'd you leave early, freshie?" He hisses. Her eyes widen.
"How did you-nevermind. Get out." He laughs evilly.
"Ha, no." He comes closer. "You see, the rest of us want a little more fun with you. Let's see what you can do….and this time be cooperative so I don't need to knock your ass out again," he growls, stepping closer.
Anna steps back, afraid to even say anything, but when her dog runs forward and bites Jack's leg, hard, causing him to yelp in pain, she grabs her moment and makes her escape to the kitchen, but the men were right on her.
She runs to the kitchen and grabs her knife, but just as she does that, Jack and his buddies grab her from behind, bringing her back to where they were. She squirms, a new determination in her eyes.
"NOT AGAIN!" she yells, slicing her knife on Jacks hands, sending him back in pain. She kicks one of the men in the crotch, causing him to fall to the floor in pain, and she kicks him in the head, all while ducking the other two men who tried to catch her, who collided heads. She waves her leg and the other man falls to the ground, her fist making contact with his face, a resounding 'crack' sound coming from his nose. She turns around, knife in hand, and pins Jack against the wall knife held to his throat.
Where this sudden burst of strength came from she had no clue. All she knew was that holding that knife to his skin, and seeing the look of terror on his face, satisfied her, and she wanted to sink the cold metal deeper into his skin, but held back the urge, her eyes narrow and terrifying. If this was a cartoon, they would be blood red.
"Anna?" she hears from behind her. She turns to look and see's Daryl coming to her, meanwhile kicking the bodies in pain to the side to get to her.
"Daryl," she breaths, dropping Jack to the ground, him groaning in pain as he hit the hard wood. She glares at the pathetic excuse for a man on the ground, spitting on him. He flinches in response. "Get out!" She kicks him. "Get the fuck out!"
The three men painfully get up and scurry out, one resounding kick to Jacks ass as she leaves the house. She breathes deeply, looking down.
"Did ya really take on all those guys?" Daryl asks. She nods.
"Yeah," she chokes out. "That was-"
"I know who it was," he said, interrupting her. "And trust me, I would have beaten ya to the job if I saw them first." She leans against the wall, and he comes closer to her, taking her cut hand in his, examining it. He looks up at her. "Did they really-"
"Yes," she cried, finally breaking down, staring down at the ground. He takes her in his arms and she wraps hers around him, crying into his shoulder. "I should have listened to you," she cries. "I'm so stupid!"
"I could have told ya that from the moment ya left the house," he murmurs into her hair. She chuckles slightly, but her grip only tightens more on his body.
"So stupid…" she repeated. He pulls back and wipes the tears from her face.
"Hey, a girl like ya shouldn't be cryin'," he says, to which she smiles sadly.
"Why not? I have every reason to cry and scream and ki-" He takes her shoulders and makes her look up at him.
"Look here, ya said earlier everyone makes mistakes. Ya don't go through life just being perfect. This was a mistake, and boy was it a fucking doozy, but ya know that ya won't do it again. And those assholes know to never mess with ya again after what ya just did. Are ya a freaken assassin or some shit like that?" She lets out a ghost of a laugh.
"Just practicing what you've told me." She pulls away and looks down. "But it's not ok!" Looking back up, he sees how red her eyes were and all the cuts and bruises on her body. "How do I tell me parents? How do I go to school knowing that that asshole is still going to be there for another year? Even if I did almost threaten his life he's still going to pin after me."
"Then don't go to school." She looks at him surprised.
"Really? You're actually letting me stay out?" He chuckles.
"Only for a year. Once that asshole's gone, I'll drag yer ass back into the hell hole to suffer with trust me, even though I'm 'younger'" he says, placing air quotes around 'younger.' "I'm bigger then that dick, so I'll make sure he feels a lot of pain for what he did." She smiles slightly, but the frown comes back in place. He sighs, walking over to her. "What's the frown now?"
"What if I'm pregnant? As far as I know, he didn't use any protection. Then again, who does in rape?" she laughs bitterly. He thinks for a second. That thought hadn't crossed his mind. What if she was pregnant?
"Well," he starts, taking her hands again. "Ya definitely won't go to school until all this blows over, but you'll be safe here, and away from that asshole. And ya won't be alone." She smiles sadly yet again.
"What? You'll be there throughout the whole entire nine months?" He looks at her with a confused look.
"Why wouldn't I? Anna, I care about ya. If I didn't, I wouldn't have come all the way over here to clean ya up and comfort ya." A half smile crosses her face.
"Yeah? And then you'll get sick of me after nine months and leave," she jokes.
"Ya couldn't push me away if ya tried, even though ya can be annoying at times." Her half smile turns into a smile, and he sincerely smiles back. He takes her bloody hand and looks at it again. "Now, how the hell did this happen?"
"Funny story," she snickers. "I kinda got frustrated and punched a wall. There's actually a hole in there right now, so…I kinda hurt my hand real bad and now it really hurts because you're touching it ow Daryl!" she says, pulling back and cradling it in her other hand. He chuckles.
"I can't fix it if you're flinching around. Give it here." She gingerly places her hand in his and he runs it under warn water, causing her to curse out.
"Fuck!" she yells. He chuckles at her reaction.
"Didn't know ya had that sort of language in ya," he says, starting to wrap her hand up in one of the many bandages that her mother always kept around. She snorts.
"Oh, you've known for a long time," she snickers. Once he's done wrapping her hand, he wets a cloth and starts to wipe some of the cuts on her face. Lani waddles up to him, her paws going on his leg. He looks down and pets her head.
"Hey there, Lani," he chuckles. She barks in reply and Anna smiles.
"She loves you, by the way."
"I think all you're animals do." She raises an eyebrow.
"You're not cocky at all, are you?" she teases. He shakes his head, wiping some extra dirt off her face. She's silent for a minute, just staring at him work. 'He is so amazing,' she thinks. She looks down quickly and smiles slightly. "Hey, can we-"
"Friendly's?" he finishes for her. Her eyes light up, making him laugh. "Let's get going then," he chuckles, taking her un-damaged hand and pulling her outside. She smiles. He would always be there for her, and she didn't mind at all.
Present
The next morning, Anna woke up to a small voice and something pulling on her hand from right next to her. "Mama! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" the person whispers in her ear. Anna smiles at Scarlett and kiss her head.
"I'm up, I'm up. Where's your sister?" She points downstairs where she can clearly hear people talking, one of them being her daughter. Anna smiles. "Ok, now get out so I can change, ok?" Scarlett nods and runs out of the cell, leaving her mother to herself.
Anna takes off her crusty t-shirt and puts in a white tank top, but keeps on her pajama pants, throwing on her socks and heading down the stairs where the others were having breakfast.
There were a lot of people in the prison. Daryl had told her that a lot of them were from the town the Governor, Woodbury. She walks up to the two Greene's she met the other day, Hershel and Beth. The old man smiled warmly at her as did the younger daughter, who was cradling a young baby in her arms.
"Morning, Anna," he says, handing her a plate. She smiles at him. "How did you sleep last night?" She sighs in pleasure, making the two laugh.
"Better than I have in ages! It felt so good to not have the constant threat around me, you know? And the fact that I knew my kids would be safe definitely contributed to that."
"Are both those girls yours?" Beth asks. Anna nods, smiling at the two sisters who were sitting closer to each other.
"Yup. Born and raised." The younger girl smiles at her.
"They look so much like you," she coons. "Especially the little six year old." Anna laughs.
"I can tell you have a soft spot for kids. Who's is it?" she asks. She nods her head over towards Rick and her brow furrows. "Where's the-nevermind, I think I know." The old man smiles sadly at her.
"That was a hard time for all of us, but we've come some ways since then. All that matters is that we're still alive and breathing." Anna scoffs.
"Amen to that," she mumbles. "Thanks for the breakfast," she says, walking over to the rest of the group. What she didn't hear was Beth and her daddy's side conversation.
"Do you think Daryl likes her?" she whispers to her father. He chuckles.
"Plain as day."
Anna looks around and notices all the people around her. Maggie and Glenn were sitting together, and the sibling's, Tyreese and Sasha were sitting together as well. Michonne, the woman she had met the other day as well, or as she called her in her head 'the woman with the katana,' was talking to Rick in hushed tones, and Anna could tell they were planning something.
All the kids stood together in a spot. Rick's son, Carl, was near them, but he was actually not really talking to the other kids. He was talking her own daughter, Aria. And both seemed to be getting along just fine. Anna smiles.
Even though she didn't know the kid, she knew he had gone through a lot, and she could see that he was slightly hesitant to let anyone into his life. But when Aria talks to someone, she doesn't stop until she gets to the bottom of them. She was that pushy, but also that caring. She never let people push her away.
That's one of the many things she and her mother had in common. That and the fact they can also sing pretty well.
She saw Carol sitting down near Rick and could also feel her glare on her back as she turned away. She was not in the mood to deal with Ms. Bitchy-Pants.
The only people she didn't see were Scarlett and…Daryl.
When Scarlett was little, Daryl was around a lot. The only reason why Scarlett hadn't remembered who he was when he stepped out was because he was covered in dirt from head to toe. The two were close, and she knew Daryl, just like Beth, had a huge soft spot for kids.
Yet again one of the many things she loved about him.
She places her plate down and looks through the hallways, making sure not to attract the attention of anyone. She looks into the cells and sighs. Were they really playing the hide and seek game with her? She almost decides to head back when she hears a girly giggle.
Scarlett.
She follows the sound of the laughter and comes across the prison yard, where the sight she saw made her heart stop. There was Scarlett, running away from Daryl, who was chasing her around. She makes sure to stay behind so they don't see her, but she couldn't help but have the hugest smile on her face.
She sees him pick her up from behind, spinning her around, making her laugh. Anna had to try to contain hers so she wouldn't be seen.
She sees him start to tickle her as she laughs, and Anna sighs dreamily. 'So good with kids,' she groans inwardly. When he stops Scarlett is still in his arms.
"Daryl?" she asks. He adjusts her in his arms and smiles at her.
"What, princess?" he asks. She giggles slightly at the nickname, and Anna raises her eyebrow from behind. Of course a six year old would like that name. A girl, no less.
"Do you like mommy?" Anna's silent, listening very closely. He's silent for a second before replying.
"Yeah, I do. She's amazing." But the little girl presses on…just like her mom does.
"Yeah, I know that. But do you like-like her? Like…" She makes a kissy face and noises, which make the man laugh. Anna smiles.
"Are we back in school?" he asks her. Scarlett pouts.
"Answer the question!" she says. He chuckles again.
"Ok, ok." He's silent for a second. "But don't tell your mama, ok? Our little secret." Scarlett crosses her heart.
"Cross my heart and hope to die!" He raises an eyebrow.
"Don't hope to die, kid."
"Daryl!"
"Ok, ok! You're mama and I have been through a lot together. And when I mean a lot, I mean a lot. She's been with me since 4th grade, and that's a very long time between me and her. She's definitely a huge part of my life, and always will be. And I wish life could be a bit…easier. So, yeah, ya could say I like-like her." Scarlett smiles at him, while Anna has her hands covering her huge grin.
"Mama won't tell me who my daddy was," she suddenly says.
"She never wants to talk about that," Daryl mumbles. Anna holds in her groan. She had always wanted to talk to Scarlett, but something was always in the way. Plus, she was WAY too young for her to know how she was conceived. It was just too painful memories for her. The only good time during that was Daryl and Aria.
Well, and the fact she would have another daughter.
"But, I don't care anymore!" she says. Anna raises an eyebrow.
"And why is that?" he chuckles.
"Because he's not here taking care of me, mommy, and Ari. Family stays together, and if he's not here, he's not family." Daryl smiles at the small girl. She was right…for a six year old. "Plus, I like you more," she says. "You're more fun than Ari." He laughs loudly at that.
"And what about mommy?" She tilts her head.
"You're just as good as her." He shakes his head, placing her back down on the ground.
"Come on, kid. Let's eat some breakfast." She takes his hand and he snickers, bringing her back into the prison, while Anna hides while they pass.
When she see's that there gone, she laughs into her arm. She couldn't believe what she just heard. She walks back the way she came and makes sure Daryl isn't looking her way when she comes around the same corner her came from.
She makes herself present by grabbing the plate she put down and walking over to Daryl, who immediately saw her PJ pants, knowing it was her. Scarlett smiles at her mom but goes back to eating her breakfast, talking with some of the other little kids there.
"Mornin'" He says, placing an arm around her shoulders. Anna smiles at him and raises an eyebrow. "What're ya smilin' at?" he chuckles. Her sight catches Carol's jealous glance in her direction. She only smiles more.
"Oh, nothing."
I GOT ANOTHER CHAPTER UP! YEAH! I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED! So I decided to include a little interaction between Anna and the group this chapter, because what I mostly wrote today and focused on was the memory. Literally, I spent the whole day at school sneaking in time to write in my notebook. I'll update soon enough! Midterms are in two weeks, by the way, so hopefully I wont be really occupied until mid next week. Hope you enjoyed! Review!