Daryl and I walked through the woods, not uttering a single word to each other. The angry look in his eyes when he showed up at the tree line told me that I struck a cord and it was gonna stick with him for a while.

"There should be an old house around here." I said after walking a few miles east. "A guy used to live there, but after his wife died and his kids moved away, he cleaned most of it out and used it for hunting."

"'Bout how far is it from here?" Daryl asked, briefly looking at me over his shoulder. His crossbow sat between his shoulder blades and slightly bumped against his back while he walked.

I shrugged, "Should be another mile or so."

"How far is 'or so'?"

"Depends."

"On what?" He growled out. How is he already getting pissy? I get that I may have pushed a few buttons and insulted his manhood or some shit like that, but come on.

"Depends on how far up your ass that stick is."

Daryl whirled around and was practically face to face with me. "I'm out here trying to find this little girl, not play games and deal with your damn attitude."

"The only one here with an attitude is you." I cut him off. "Use your common sense for a second, why don't ya? 'A mile or so' means in a mile - give or take another mile or two." Even though he was giving off the energy of an angry bear, I could see his worry for Sophia deeply imbedded in his strikingly azure eyes. With a sigh of defeat, I took a step back and readjusted the machete at my hip. "Come on. We're waistin' time goin' at each other's throats."

Daryl and I eventually came to the grassy clearing that the house sat on. It was covered by vines and hidden away behind some overgrown trees. He took off his crossbow, pulled an arrow from it and held it ready to shoot. I followed after him with my machete in one hand and hunting knife in the other.

He took the lead, kicking in the front door. We cleared each room on the lower floor before I signaled to him that I was going to check upstairs. I slowly climbed the steps after getting a nod in confirmation. Each room behind the four doors were just as empty as the rooms below. Disappointment weighed heavily on me as I walked back down the stairs. There was no sign of Sophia, let alone any other human or walker.

"Sophia!" I followed Daryl's voice out the backdoor. He was looking around the backyard, looking for a sign of the little girl. "Sophia!" I watched as he moved towards a couple of bushes, picking one of the flowers that grew next to them.

Daryl breezed by me as he walked back through the house. A part of me wanted to apologize to him for being snarky, but I had a feeling it wasn't the time nor place. It was a weird feeling, one I've only ever felt for select members of my family. Maybe it's because I've been off my game all day.

Our walk back to the farm was silent. It wasn't tense or awkward. Just silent. The only sounds was the wildlife and the crunching of the Earth beneath our feet. Daryl's crossbow was back between his shoulder blades, the butt of it lightly bouncing against his lower back, and my machete was back in its sheath at my hip.

"Knock, knock." I stood at Maggie's bedroom door, waiting for her response. I would've knocked, but since both of my hands are wrapped from the knuckles on up, my options are limited. The door handle rattled and the door popped open. "Hey, Mags- Oh, I know that look." I sat down on her bed, patting the spot next to me. "Who'd you sleep with? Glenn?"

"How did you even get it in your head that I had sex with Glenn?" Maggie crossed her arms over her stomach.

"I've known you for twenty-one years, Maggie. You have that same look on your face that says 'I had sex, I'm guilty!'" I mocked her in a high pitched voice. "But in all seriousness, did you?"

She took the spot next to me and laid down. Her arm slung over her face which made her words come out jumbled.

"What? I can't hear you." I placed my face next to hers, poking her in her side until she fesses up.

"Fine! I did! Are you happy?" Maggie finally relented.

I hummed in thought for a few seconds. "I guess it depends, Mags. Are you?"

"What do you mean?" She turned her body towards me so we were facing each other. "Like, am I happy I slept with Glenn?"

"Well, yeah. You know what, let me rephrase the question. If given the chance, would you sleep with him again?"

"I told him it was a one time thing, Ves."

I chuckled, "So? Remember Michael?"

"Your ex that thought he could save you from 'the streets' when he found out about you street fighting? Or do you mean book nerd Michael?"

"Joke's on you, they're the same guy."

Maggie's eyes were wide in shack as she gasped "No!"

"Yeah! That was supposed to be a one time thing, too. So... I'll ask again, if given the chance, would you?"

Her brows furrowed as she thought about it. After a minute of thinking, she finally settled on an answer. "If the opportunity shows itself, I might."

I giggled at her answer. Of course Maggie would! I my cousin almost as well as I know myself - Beth on the other hand is a bit different. The eight year difference I had with Beth sometime shows, unlike with Maggie who was only two and half years younger than me.

We spent the rest of the night talking about high school, college, and the jobs we had before The Fall. Besides street fighting and being a farm hand, my main source of income was from medical billing and coding. Aunt Annette was the one that talked me into doing it, she said it was easy once I got to know all the terminology - and it was. I could spend five hours doing work then the rest of my day was free for whatever there was to do. I sure do miss the easy days.