"We don't meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason."
-Unknown.
I walked into the room and saw Daryl lying on his good side, his back was facing me, which was covered by only a blanket. He lifted his head to see who had walked in and then rested it against the pillow once again.
"You almost look as pretty as I remember you," he mumbled as he closed his eyes, I felt my cheeks burn.
"Almost?" I asked with a small chuckle, trying to not freak out about what he said, I never thought Daryl of all people would ever compliment me or call me pretty.
"Well, you are clean now but you still look like shit."
"I bet I look better than you," I told him, sitting next to him on the bed, his back still facing me. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm good," he said. "I've been worse, believe me."
I put my hand on his shoulder, I could feel him slightly tense but he relaxed soon after. I smiled down at him.
"I never got the chance to thank you," I told him. "I would still be out there if it wasn't for you."
"It's nothing," he muttered, looking away from me.
"No, it's not nothing," I told him. "It means everything to me, I don't know how long I would have kept it up without water or food and being in danger all the time. You saved my life, Daryl."
"We saved each other," he whispered.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing!" he exclaimed quickly.
"Come on, tell me!" I urged him, he sighed.
"I was about to give up, I was so close to fall unconscious again when I saw you, I fought for the two of us. I couldn't fail you."
"You didn't," I told him with a smile.
Then I leaned down, and carefully wrapped my arms around him, making sure I wouldn't hurt him, then I kissed his forehead, just under the bandage that was covering his cut from the bullet.
"I can't believe Andrea shot you," I exclaimed, feeling my blood boiling. "She could have killed you."
"I'm fine," he assured me, like if it wasn't a big deal.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?" he snap, he was pretending to be annoyed by me but somehow I knew he really wasn't.
"What was going on when I found you? You said I should vanish or disappear. I admit I was a bit scared when you told me to go away and leave you alone. What was all that about?"
"I guess I hit my head quite hard when I fell the second time," he said with a sigh.
"You fell two times?" I asked in surprise.
"I saw Merle, he talked to me. I knew it was just in my head," he told me. "And then I saw you and I could swear you were another hallucination but you were your real you... you are here now."
"Yeah, I'm here now." I nodded. "Thanks to you."
"I was just lucky to be the one to find you."
"Don't be modest," I told him. "Lori told me you went out everyday to look... for us. You spent all the day, every day in the woods and I can't say how grateful I am to you for doing that."
"I had to do it. I couldn't sit on my ass just waiting for you to come back, I had to," he muttered. "Besides, I had nothing else to do."
"Thank you for that," I said. "Does it still hurt a lot?"
"I'm better now," he told me. "You should rest, you need it."
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, I needed to," I told him.
"What happened out there?" Daryl asked me.
"I'll tell you later, okay? After we both rest." I started to feel a bit dizzy and very tired, I could feel my eyes closing and my head falling to the side.
"Ugh!" he exclaimed. "You can lie here but just this time, understand?"
"Yeah, got it."
I stood up and walked to the other side of the bed, lying down next to Daryl, his face was facing me now and I could feel his eyes on me, his gaze was so intense it made me a bit uncomfortable.
"Just close your eyes," he told me.
I closed my eyes and before I could enjoy the fact that I was not going to sleep on a tree but on a real bed and that I didn't have to sleep with an eye open just in case of a walker or because I might fall down the tree, I deeply fell asleep.
Daryl's POV
It has been a while since I woke up. Cecilia was still sleeping next to me. She looked so calmed and relaxed, her breathing was deep and steady. I could tell she hadn't slept like this in so long.
While she showered earlier I was told they didn't know what happened to Sophia, they told me what Cecilia had said and they thought it was very likely that she was dead but I refused to think like them.
I'm more than thrilled that I found Cecilia and that now she's safe but I have to go back out there, I need to find her sister, I need to find Sophia.
Then I heard the door being opened and saw it was Carol, she had a tray in her hands. She stood by the door, looking at me.
"How are you feeling?" she asked me.
"As good as I look."
"I brought you two some dinner," Carol told me. "Maggie told me she was in here."
"Please don't think wrong of this, she came here to..."
"I get it," she interrupted me. "You saved her life, she just wanted to make sure you are okay. You must be starving," she added, changing the subject.
"A bit," I admitted.
"You need to know something," she said, looking straight into my eyes with her own blue eyes that were identical to Cecilia's. "You did more for my little girl just today than her own daddy ever did in his whole life. You have done so much more for the two of them."
"I didn't do anything Rick or Shane wouldn't have done," I muttered, shrugging it off.
"I know," she told me. "You're every bit as good as them. Every bit."
Carol then left and I almost scoffed. Me, good?That's something I had never been called before, it was weird and I got a whole new feeling when she told me that but I pushed it aside quickly.
I turned to look at the blonde girl lying next to me. She looked so calm that I wasn't sure if I should wake her up so she could eat. She needed to eat but she also needed to rest.
I sighed and decided to wake her up, she would love to eat something warm. She probably hadn't even eaten since she went missing. No doubt she looked so bad.
"Hey," I muttered softly, I almost rolled my eyes at myself and how much of a pussy I sounded. "Your mother brought us some food."
She instantly opened her eyes and sat up, she looked around trying to see what the danger was. Her beautiful blue eyes were filled with fear.
"It's okay, everything is okay. I'm sorry," I told her as I rubbed her shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"What is it?" she asked, her sleeping voice was so sexy...wait, what?
"We got food," I told her. "Still warm, I figured you would like to eat it while it's still warm, right?" She nodded.
Something as easy and turning around and grabbing the tray made my injury hurt like hell. I tried not to whine about it because of Cecilia but the pain was really bad. I set the tray in between us and sat up, so I would be more comfortable.
"Thanks," she whispered, grabbing a fork and starting to eat.
I noticed she started to eat really slow, then she barely chewed the food and just swallow it. I guess it must be normal after not eating in days.
"Woah, woah! Calm down!" I exclaimed. "It can make your stomach upset."
"Yeah, I got carried away," she muttered, blushing a bit.
I looked at her and my eyes landed on her ears. She had one Cartman earring in her left ear but her right one was empty, I slightly smiled, I knew that earring was hers. I had it back in my tent, not wanting to put it in my pocket and risk losing it, I should give it back to her soon.
"Here," I said when I noticed she had finished her food a few minutes later.
"I'm good."
"I'm full," I lied, putting some of my food in her plate. She smiled at me and whispered a 'thank-you'.
When we were both done, I grabbed the tray and was about to put it on the table next to the bed when Cecilia stopped me. She took it from my hands, stood up and put it on the table before walking back to the other side of the bed and sitting down on the same spot.
"How is it that we always end up together?" I said with a chuckle to break the silence. "First we shared the tent, then the room back at the CDC and now the bed."
"I don't know," she told me with a small smile. "It's just the way it has happened."
I nodded. "So, you told me you were going to tell me what happened in the last few days after we rested. We rested and we ate so I'm waiting." She sighed.
"Rick found us, he told us to stay hidden but Sophia wanted to get back to the road, to mum, Rick told us how. We were walking back there when I noticed she wasn't there. I freaked out and looked for her and I found her but I wasn't sure how to get back from there. I couldn't remember," she told me. "We found a house and stayed the night there, Sophia ate some tuna we found in there. We found blankets and sweaters to wear. I fell asleep and when I woke up she wasn't there."
Cecilia's lip started to tremble and her eyes started to water, and only a few seconds later a tear fell down her cheek. I had never comforted someone so I was a bit scared to do it wrong. I was unsure on what to do but I found myself putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked at me and offered me a small smile before looking down again.
"I looked for her all day, every day. But it wasn't enough."
Cecilia told me most of what happened during the four days she was missing. She told me all she did to find her sister. She told me how she had to climb trees and sleep there so walkers wouldn't eat her in her sleep. She also told me how she had to kill five walkers with her knife; it was the first time she had done that and I could tell she was affected by that.
"Did you eat or drink anything?" I asked her.
"There was some water in the house, I was lucky to drink enough because I had no access to water the next days and I hadn't eaten since the day I went missing," she told me. "There was tuna in the house but I'm allergic to it, I could die from a severe allergic reaction."
"That's bad luck," I told her.
"Very," she agreed. Then she sighed. "I still don't understand why she left, she could have waken me up and we could have gone together to wherever she wanted to go."
"This isn't your fault," I told her. "Kids are like that. We'll find her, just like I found you.
She started crying again, she tried to stop but more tears fell from her eyes. I sighed and did something I had never done with someone else. I moved closer to Cecilia and sat right next to her, I wrapped my arms around her fragile frame and let her cry in my chest.
I held her until she fell asleep, her face still wet from her tears. I softly dried her face with a blanket and laid her head down on a pillow.
I lied down as well on my good side so I had no choice but to face her. I smiled knowing that all my effort and sacrifice weren't in vain. I rescued her, I found Cecilia and that made everything worth it.
The following day was pretty event-less for Cecilia and me, especially for me. I wasn't allowed to leave the room, hell, not even the bed. Cecilia was still really weak but she had some colour back in her cheeks, she was recovering.
Before mid-day her friends, Teresa and Oliver, took her around the farm. Gave her a tour of the house and our camp that was quite close to the house. Maggie and Beth also joined them, they were all around the same age so they all got along quite well.
After that she came back to the room and made me company, we even ate lunch together. After that she left, claiming she wanted to check on Carl. It was not until earlier today that she found out Carl had been shot days ago but he was fine now.
I could hear how excited Carl was to see Cecilia again. I was almost sure he hugged her and didn't let go of her.
During the afternoon Cecilia spent a few more hours with me. She found a deck of cards and we played. It helped me to distract my mind, to pass time in a quicker and fun way. Then she left again for dinner, while I was made to eat in the room again.
It was a bit late now, dinner was over and everybody had gone to their rooms and tents to sleep. I couldn't sleep and was getting bored, I realized I just needed some fresh air, so I stood up and decided to go out of the house, I wouldn't even go down the porch, I just wanted to get out of this damn room.
I was almost at the door when I saw a figure, sitting on the couch, in the living room. She had blonde hair so at first I thought it was Beth but it wasn't her, it was Cecilia. She was staring down at her hands and she looked extremely saddened by something.
"Hey," I whispered. Her head shot up in my direction, once she realized it was just me, I could see she relaxed and looked down at her hands again.
"What are you doing out of bed?" she asked me.
"I couldn't be there any longer," I exclaimed, sitting in a couch in front of her. "What's the matter?"
"It's silly, it's really stupid, I know," she said, not making any sense. "I don't want to feel like this but I can't help it."
"Feel what?"
"I talked to Lori and Andrea, they told me what everybody had been up since... since you know. They told me about Carl, about the man that died, about pretty much everything. I asked who had been looking for us so I could thank them, I asked them if my mum had been out there and they tried to lie but they couldn't," she said, looking from her hands to me and from me back to her hands. "They said she only went out one day, only one. I can't help but feel hurt, she didn't look for me."
"She cares about you, Ci..."
"Then why didn't she look for me?" she exclaimed, raising her voice a bit. "She just stayed here to cook, do laundry. It was like she expected you to do all the work, you almost died!"
"Your mum loves you, I'm sure of it," I said, not knowing what else to say to her. It was true. Carol had only gone into the woods once. I understand how Cecilia feels because I've felt it too but unfortunately I couldn't explain why her own mother didn't make an effort to find her, at least I knew my parents didn't give a shit about me.
"She should have at least gone to look for Sophia today," she whispered. "I wanted to go but..."
"You can't go, Cecilia!" I exclaimed a bit too quickly. "I just found you! What if you get lost again?"
She said nothing to me, she just look sadly at me and then turned to look out of the window. Tonight was the fifth night since Sophia went missing.
"If you go out there," I said, pointing out the window. "I'll go with you."
"You can't. You are injured."
"I don't care, besides, you are still recovering as well. You were dehydrated, you didn't eat. You are so weak you could faint or something and then you would be an easy target for the walkers."
"The first night Sophia said something funny," she said out of nowhere. "I had told her I could take care of myself and she said 'For how long?' And when she said that I thought she was underestimating me because she doesn't know the things I've done but I admit that if you hadn't found me I can't be sure how much longer I would have kept alive."
I hated to admit that she might be right, without something as essential as water, she wouldn't have lasted another day, not in this heat.
"But you are here now, that's all that matters," I told her. "We could try to look for her tomorrow, you and me, we won't go far but we will do something."
"I appreciate it but you are really injured. I wouldn't forgive myself if something happens to you."
"I just said we could try to go out, if Hershel and Rick don't catch us."
"Thank you," she told me sincerely. "But I would prefer if you stay here, I can go with Rick or Shane or..."
"Shane twisted his ankle and Rick donated a lot of blood," I interrupted her.
"Then I might ask Sean."
"You would be better off on your own," I spat. "That boy is alive just because of his uncle and don't even think about your friends, they can't even use a gun."
"I know," she muttered.
"Why don't you go to bed now? It's getting late."
"I can't sleep."
"Do you want me to walk you out there?" I said, referring to the tent where her mum was.
"I'm staying with Beth tonight," she informed me. "She said I'm still in a critical state or something like that and that I shouldn't sleep outside. I think she feels pity for me."
"I think she just wants to be nice, she wants to help you."
"Didn't you want fresh air?" she asked, changing the subject. I nodded at her.
She stood up and stuck her hand out in front of me, I looked at her face and she had a small smile on her lips. I took her hand and she pulled me up. She let go of my hand and put her arm around my waist, she ordered me to put an arm around her shoulder so she could help me.
"I can walk, you know?" I chuckled.
"Barely," she teased with a small grin.
She opened the door of the house and we walked out together, somehow the space was big enough for the two of us to pass through it at the same time.
We stood right next to each other on the porch, looking at the view in front of us, we couldn't see much because of the darkness, though.
We could see the RV, the tents around it, the grounds of the farm and the beginning of the woods. There was a full moon up in the dark sky, making everything here just a little less dark than usual. It was calming and relaxing, there was nothing in front of us to remind us of all the tragedies and disasters that had happened lately. It was just beautiful.
"Come on," she whispered to me.
For a moment I thought we were going back inside the house. I was going to protest when I saw she was just going to this bench close to us. I took a deep breath as we both sat at the same time. Every movement I did was painful, even breathing.
We rested our heads against the wall behind us and looked up at the sky. We could perfectly see the moon and several stars. We hadn't removed our hands from the other, but it felt nice to have her so close to me. It felt nice to just have someone with me and be able to share this with someone else, so I pretended I hadn't noticed my arm was still around her and allowed myself to enjoy the view and having her next to me.
It was almost romantic. I felt my heart skipped a bit when I thought that. I almost facepalmed myself for thinking that. It was just ridiculous. Nothing between me and this girl could ever happen, not more than a friendship, if even that. We had gotten closer lately because I saved her but that's it, it doesn't mean anything.
"I never saw so many stars," she said to me, looking at me briefly. "I always lived in the city and I was always too busy or too worried about life to take a moment to look at the sky, I can't believe what I've been missing, this is beautiful."
"Yeah," I agreed. I had lived close to the woods so I was kind of used to this but the view in front of us was really special. "Where did you live, in Atlanta?"
"At first, yeah." She nodded at me. "I was living in New York when all of this happened."
"How did you end up here?" I asked her, being really curious about it.
"My mum made me came here for my grandfather's birthday, I told her I was just going to go under one condition," she said. "That I could bring two friends with me. She eventually agreed."
"Oliver and Teresa?"
"Yeah, the three of us shared an apartment. There was no way I could have paid it alone so I asked Teresa to live with me, and somehow we all ended up together, Oliver paid about seventy percent of the rent, while we only paid about fifteen percent each. He was quite wealthy and he didn't have a problem with that. I saved some money thanks to him, I was planning to buy my own place someday."
"How you met her?"
"Teresa?" she muttered, she looked down at the ground but after some seconds she looked at me. "I met her at college."
"Why did you move to New York?" I asked as she looked at the sky again.
"I wanted to get away, really, really far away but I couldn't leave Sophia, I needed a place where I could be away enough but still be close to her, New York seemed perfect," she said to me. "It was a stupid choice because I barely had money but I made it work, somehow."
"Sounds like an adventure," I told her with a small smile on my lips.
"It was, a terrifying one at first but I wouldn't change anything." Her smile grew, making a small dimple on her left cheek slightly show, I had never noticed she had one. "Can we – can we stay for a bit longer?"
"As long as you want," I told her.
Somehow I tighten my hold on her, pulling her a bit closer to me. She rested her head on my shoulder, I was quite unsure about it but I eventually rested my head on hers. I took a deep breath and for once I enjoyed someone else's company.
What do you guys think of this chapter? Have you enjoyed Daryl's POV?
I would appreciate a lot if you could watch my Daryl/OC video
watch?v=OGAVIYmbjxo
And my TWD video,
watch?v=JtSDBpiLWYY
Do anyone of you know where I could watch Season 5 so I can keep writing this?
And thank you all for the reviews, follows/faourites. I never thought I would have as many so soon! :D