Your Guardian Angel (A Daryl Dixon Story)

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter 13

Brielle and Daryl sat in the bedroom in silence. Brielle sat on the bed watching Daryl as he sat on the floor avoiding her eye contact. They had just got done burying Beth and Jackson. There was an unspoken tension between the two of them. Brielle didn't know what Daryl was thinking. After Beth, he completely shut down not saying more than five words to her. There has been little discussion about their plan and Brielle was certain Daryl was not going to go to Minnesota with her now.

“Do you blame me?” Brielle asked breaking the silence.

Daryl slightly looked up at her. He saw Brielle looking at him waiting for an answer.

“Do you blame me for Beth getting shot? Because I was running towards Jackson?” she asked trying to hide the fact that she was fighting off the urge to cry.

Daryl still didn't answer her, but he looked up at her more directly now.

“Because I blame me. I should have stayed where I was standing. I shouldn't have reacted. I can’t help but think if I had just kept my mouth shut, she’d still be alive and you wouldn't be hating me right now,” Brielle said as she cried. By the end of her rant, she was full out bawling.

It killed Daryl to see Brielle in that state.

“I don’t blame you,” Daryl said quietly. “And I don’t hate you.”

Brielle subsided her tears and wiped them off her cheek.

“The truth is, Beth wanted to make sure that I got out of there and back to you. She was already willing to sacrifice herself for my freedom before you guys even came into the picture,” Daryl said quietly.

“Why would she do that?” Brielle asked confused. She had never met Beth and didn't understand why that girl would sacrifice her life so Daryl could be with her.

Daryl just shook his head and swallowed hard. It was then that Brielle realized Daryl was blaming himself. She got down off the bed and crawled over to Daryl. She sat on her knees in front of him and grabbed his hands. He looked up into Brielle’s eyes and she saw all the pain and guilt in them.

“You did not do this,” Brielle said with as much conviction as possible.

“If I had only kept looking for her,” Daryl said shaking his head.

“Then you never would have found me,” Brielle said lightly putting her hand on Daryl’s face. His eyes changed at that moment and he knew Brielle was right. He couldn't imagine his life without Brielle.

“I just can’t believe she’s gone,” Daryl said and started crying again. Brielle wrapped him in a tight hug and allowed her own tears to fall. She mourned for Beth, a girl she never met, and she mourned for Jackson, a man who put his life in harm’s way for her.

They pulled apart when they heard a quiet knock on the door. Daryl quickly wiped his eyes as Brielle got up to open the door. She opened it more widely when she saw Carol standing on the other side. She looked in the room and saw Daryl sitting on the floor.

“I thought I’d check out your stitches and put on clean bandages,” she said to Daryl who kept his head down.

Brielle looked over at Daryl and back at Carol.

“I’m going to check on Sam,” she said allowing them some privacy.

“Carl is outside with him,” Carol smiled and Brielle nodded leaving the room.

Carol shut the door and walked over towards Daryl. She stood in front of him and he stared at her boots. She silently held her hand out causing Daryl to finally look up at her. Her heart broke when she saw the sadness in them.