I awoke the next morning to sunlight flooding through my window, blinding me. Squinting, I threw back the covers and stretched with a yawn. I sat up, swung my legs over the bed, and stood up. I walked into my bathroom, and looked in the mirror. Shit. I had forgotten to take off my makeup last night. My eyeliner and mascara were still thick on my eyes, the eyeliner barely smudging under my eyes. Luckily, I didn't wear foundation. Just eye makeup. I sighed and walked out of the bathroom.
"Shay?" I called out. Nothing. Which meant she and Kevin probably went to get breakfast. Sounded good to me. I walked into the extra bedroom where Cheyenne was sleeping. I sat on the edge of her bed and pulled the covers off. "Wake up, sleepy head!"
"Spennnncer!" She whined, smiling slightly.
"Get up, girl!" I laughed. "I think Shay and Kevin done gone off to get us some breakfast! What'd you think of Kevin?"
"Hmmm." Cheyenne looked up at me, deep in thought. "Well, he was nice. But he needed a hair cut. And he looks kinda funny."
"Chy!" I gasped playfully. "You rude little thang!"
"Am not!" She shot back. "You asked for my 'pinion, so I tolded you!" I burst into laughter at her words. Suddenly, I heard the front door slam open, followed by yelling.
"SPENCER?" Shay's voice rang out. "GOT SOME BREAKFAST, BISHH!" I hung my head laughing.
"Don't repeat that, okay?" I smiled down at Cheyenne.
"Won't." Chy said, stretching her arms over her head.
"Let's eat." I grinned picking up the small child from her bed. Giggling, we ran to the small apartment kitchen. Upon seeing Shay and Kevin, I could smell the aroma of bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. I think I might have been drooling. My stomach growled and I felt as if I hadn't eaten in years.
"Here you go. One for you, one for you little bit." Shay handed over our biscuits. We sat on the couch and I flipped the t.v. to the morning cartoons. We ate breakfast, watching cartoons with Cheyenne. Kevin kept trying to attempt a Bugs Bunny impersonation, which made us all crack into hysterical laughter.
Despite the fun we were having, I felt bummed. Something was off, I felt like I was missing something. Maybe it was because I knew I'd be taking Cheyenne home after breakfast.. But still, I never felt this sad. It was like I had a hole in my heart. Like I had lost something. Trying to shake the feeling, I kept my eyes on the t.v.
Once I finished breakfast, I got Cheyenne dressed and her bag packed. Shay rode with me to drop her off at my aunt's house. Once we pulled into the driveway, I grabbed Cheyenne's bag and opened her door. The little girl climbed down from my truck and we walked toward the house. I saw the front door open, and Aunt Lisa appeared.
"Mama!" Chy grinned, running up the porch stairs.
"Hey, baby!" Aunt Lisa picked her up and gave me a smile. "Hey, girls."
"Hey, Aunt Lisa." Shay and I said at the same time.
"Y'all have fun?" She asked, smiling.
"Yes ma'am. Chy was an angel." I replied truthfully.
"Thank you for watchin' her." Aunt Lisa said, kissing Cheyenne on the cheek.
"Same time next weekend?" I asked. She nodded. "Bye, Punkin."
"Bye, Spencer!" Cheyenne waved as I walked over to my truck. I waved back to her before hopping inside and cranking the vehicle up.
"Now, tonight the real fun begins!" Shay grinned, looking over at me.
"I dunno, Shay." I backed out of the driveway and drove back toward our apartment. "I feel weird.. Just..bummed."
"Because of Cheyenne" Shay asked, her voice dropping it's excitement.
"You know, I thought that might be why. But it ain't, I don't think..." I trailed off shaking my head.
"Oh, come on! You promised we'd go out tonight. Maybe you'll find your prince charming." Shay waggled her eyebrows. "Please?"
"I dunno..." I looked over at her, and saw she was giving me the puppy dog face. "Really? Really? What are we? Five?"
"If that's what it takes to get you to go out." Shay replied, smiling again.
"Fine. Fine! I'll suck it up and go out." I mumbled.
"Yay! You'll have fun tonight, I promise." She said, looking out of her window.
"Sure hope so." I mumbled. I gotta get outta this funk. Pulling into our apartment complex, I parked my truck and we got out. We laughed as we walked up to our apartment and veered off into our rooms. I jumped into the shower and began mentally preparing myself for the upcoming night.
Nights with Shay were fun, I couldn't deny that. She was Miss Party Girl, and I always had a fun time with her. But I just wasn't in the party mood, and I honestly felt like staying in all night and watching sappy movies. Not going out to the bar with friends. I just wanted that feeling gone. The hole gone that seemed to have appeared in my chest.
Trying to shake the sadness from my heart, I showered and began getting ready. By the time Shay and I were both dressed and ready to go, it was around four thirty. We were meeting Kevin and Deena at the restaurant around five, then meeting the others at the bar. I was starving, ready for some good food and drinks.
We walked into the restaurant and looked around. It was a little crowded and I felt uneasy. Wondering why I was feeling the way I did, I followed behind Shay who had spotted Kevin and Deena. Usually I enjoyed our party nights, but tonight I felt like I just wanted to go home and sleep it all off.
"Hey, honey!" Deena grabbed me in a huge hug, squeezing me tight.
"Hey, D. Where ya been?" I asked, hugging her back.
"Could ask you the same thing! I ain't seen you in a good two, three, weeks." Deena said, pulling back to look at me. "Oh, no. What's wrong?"
"Wrong? Nothin's wrong." I shook my head.
"Well, thing is, we don't know what it is exactly that's wrong." Shay spoke up, as we sat down at the booth.
"Huh?" Deena looked at us with confusion etched all over her face.
"Spencer, here, is feeling a little bummed. But she doesn't know why." Shay replied, looking at me. "So I dragged her out tonight, because she promised me we'd go out. She needs a good lay, if you want my opinion."
"Whoaaa, whoa, whoa." I held up my hands, laughing. "Just out to have a little fun. Ain't gettin' personal with nobody."
"You need a good man." Deena said seriously. "Hell or a good woman, whatever you're into."
"Yea, that why you don't bring any guys home?" Shay teased. I laughed again.
"No... I just don't wanna mess up, ya know? I wanna find that perfect person... I feel like I did and-and he got taken away." Shaking my head I fiddled with my straw.
"Is it that bad?" Shay asked, studying my face.
"Yea, kinda feels like my heart's broke." I admitted sadly.
"Damn... I guess more than a couple of drinks are in order for tonight." Deena mumbled and I chuckled.
"Just don't call me the depressed drinker." Rolling my eyes, I smiled at their laughter. We continued on with small talk, ordered our food, and waited. Before long, our food arrived and we ate, all the while conversing about this and that. Dinner was better than I expected, and despite feeling empty, I was having an okay time.
We left the restaurant and headed for the bar. The rest of our friends would be there waiting or arriving around the time we were. I smiled, happy that Shay dragged me out of the house instead of letting me sit at home and mope over my unknown sadness. Suddenly, Shay leaned over toward me and gave me a funny look.
"Don't kill me, okay?" Shay said quietly, wincing.
"What? What'd you do?" I asked, dreading to hear the answer.
"Sort of..kind of...set you up on a date." Shay said, then she tried to recover. "Or not really a date, but a person to accompany you throughout the night."
"Imma kill you." I hissed, trying to be mad.
"He's really hot, I swear." Shay tried. "His name is Tyler."
"Hate it when you pull this kinda shit." I mumbled, trying to keep my glare.
"You'll thank me later." Shay kissed my cheek and giggled. Trying to ease my nerves, I turned up the radio and sang along. Within a couple of minutes Shay was pulling into the bar. Feeling my nerves on an all new high, I gave her one last glare before we got out of the truck. I could hear her giggling as we walked up to the bar.
We showed our I.D.'s and walked inside. I saw Deena, who had beat us there. She had a table saved in the corner of the bar, and I could see at least six of our friends surrounding the table. And someone I didn't recognize. Glancing at Shay, I saw the big grin on her face. So that must be him. As we walked up to the table, Shay grabbed my arm.
"Tyler! Hey, this is Spencer. Spencer, meet Tyler." Shay smiled as Tyler walked over. Blonde hair, green eyes. He wasn't bad looking at all. We shook hands, but I just wasn't feeling it. I sat down beside him and we ordered drinks.
I was quiet mostly, but every now and then I joined conversation. The night wasn't what I had hoped for and I began to regret my decision to come out. My bed sounded really nice, and I just wanted to go home. Feeling uncomfortable, I was about to get up from the table, when I felt something strange. Someone was watching me, I could feel eyes on me.
Looking around, I didn't see anyone I knew. My eyes scanned around the room, and when they hit the bar, my breath caught in my throat. He immediately looked down at his beer when our eyes met. Brown hair, rugged redneck type... Something inside of me lit up like a fire, and that hole was gone. Who was he? I needed to find out.
I scooted away from the table and began walking toward the bar. Shay's voice called out to me, but I ignored her, pushing past the people who crowded the floor area. Once I reached the bar, I ordered a beer, and looked over at the stranger. He looked back at me, and his blue eyes seemed to pierce mine. He gave me a smirk, and he felt so familiar, that it overwhelmed me.
"I know you?" I asked, taking a swallow of my beer.
"Naw." The stranger shook his head.
"Look so familiar." I admitted. "I'm Spencer." His face changed for a moment at my name.
"Daryl." His voice was gruff, but I liked it. I couldn't stop looking at him, I just wanted to be near him. "Wanna get outta here?"
"Hell yea." I nodded, grabbing my beer.
"What about ya boyfriend?" Daryl asked, looking back toward my friends at the table.
"Blind date, set up. More interested in you." I tilted my beer upward against my lips. Drinking it down, I chunked the bottle in the trash can as we pushed through the crowd and left the bar. Once outside, we walked around the side of the building, and before I knew what was happening, I was against the wall. The thud of my body against the bar wall was loud, and Daryl was pressed against me, his mouth on mine.
I kissed him back, my mind racing. My heart was pounding hard and fast in my chest as his tongue slipped over mine. I could feel his stubble prickling at my face, and I pulled him closer to me. Pressing against me harder, I felt his hand on the nape of my neck, and the other on my hip. He broke the kiss, and his lips were near my ear.
"Who are you?" He growled out in a whisper.
"Feel it, too. Don't you?" I whispered back, my hands at the back of his neck.
I awoke with a start. It was dark, and I jumped up into a sitting position. Where am I at? I looked around, my heart pounding. Feeling someone next to me, I looked over to see Daryl. The prison... We're in the prison.. Just dreamin'... I put a hand to my head, trying to process the fact that I was really here. In the apocalypse.
"Spence?" Daryl's sleepy voice hit my ears. Looking over my shoulder, I saw him sitting up. I said nothing, just wrapped my arms around myself. Feeling overwhelmed with emotion, staying quiet was my best decision. "You all right?"
"Yea." I barely got the word out. Taking deep breaths, I mentally calmed myself down, reminding myself that I had important things to focus on. Tomorrow was a big day, and I needed to be a good state of mind to carry out whatever tasks Rick instructed of us. Turning to Daryl, I tried to smile. "Just not used to this place yet."
"C'mere." He mumbled, pulling me to him. I laid back down on our blanket, snuggling close to him. How cruel... That dream was everything I want. Old life back, Daryl still in it. Never gettin' anything close to that again...
As much as I tried to be strong, Daryl's arms around me and the realization that my perfect world was only a dream, I felt a single tear slip down my cheek. Suck it up. I scolded myself. Forcing my brain to stop thinking, I only thought of the prison, our group, and the fact that we had found safety. Oh, and Dixon. I thought about Dixon, too.
Well, that was kind of sad. I wanted to do this chapter to show that it is hard to live in the apocalypse and be reminded of what once was. Spencer got to see a glimmer of what her life could have been like if the walkers would have never existed. She may have not met Daryl or she may have met him in the old life. It sucks to know that everything she had is gone, the people who stuck by her and were always around her are gone. Cheyenne is gone, Shay is gone. Yeah, she has her brother and mother, but her mother is a piece of shit. And of course she has Daryl, but dealing with Cheyenne's loss and having that dream... What will be the effects ?
Thanks to all my awesome fanfic readers who have stuck with me through this story ! I am working hard to really begin season 3, and I know my updates are sort of long waited. But unfortunately, I have been picking up some great shifts at work. Good for me financially, bad for me fanfictually haha ! But still, THANKS SO MUCH TO MY AMAZING READERS/REVIEWERS/FAVORITERS/FOLLOWERS !
~Kaila