No Good (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 3

~Daryl's POV~

She felt good in my arms.

It was obvious she was cold and I hated seeing her shaking. When I started to zip our bags together, I could practically feel her resistance.

It's not like I was going to let her freeze.

Having her this close to me was clouding my judgement and I needed to keep a clear head, especially in this world.

I went to push her away, but she only snuggled closer to me. I was confused because now that the sun had risen, it was rather hot.

I really did need to get up considering that I had to accompany the women to the lake today for clothes washing and water gathering for the next few days.

"Rebel." I gently shook her shoulder. "Rebel, wake up." She groaned and rolled off of me. A cold feeling rose in my chest and I wanted to pull her back near me.

"What?" She asked groggily.

"Now that ye're part of the group, ye' gotta help 'round. Ye're on laundry." 

I pulled my boots on and unzipped the tent climbing out silently. I moved my way towards the truck, preparing it with the days necessities.

CD player, wash bins, water jugs, dirty clothes, washing soap, crossbow, shotgun and a little bit of food.

"Les' go ladies!" I yelled as the women migrated towards the truck bed. I helped all of them in, including a very blushing Rebel.

I started the truck and drove swiftly down the steep hill, trying my best to be as quiet as possible.

The last thing we needed right now was a group of walkers surrounding the camp. We had lost enough people, that was definite.

I pulled straight up to oversized pond and cut the ignition, helping Carol and Lori unload the washing materials and the worn clothes.

I handed Rebel the CD player, hoping she could figure it out.

"Are you kidding?" She asked me.

"Sorry?" I didn't know what I did wrong. I don't remember being rude to her.

"This player has to cost a couple hundred bucks! I looked everywhere for one of these things! The special thing is, is you can select any song ever played on any radio, and replay it. It is truly a piece of history." Rebel explained to me.

I just nodded and went to sit on top of the truck to keep an eye out for any danger. 

It had been nearly an hour and Rebel was still fiddling with that damn piece of metal.

She had gotten no work done, and the grinding noises of the radio was getting on my nerves. As if she heard my thoughts, the horrendous noise stopped and the music started.

Not only was the music playing, but there was the voice of an angel coming from somewhere other than the radio.

I surveyed the area and made sure there was no threat coming towards us before looking towards the women.

What I saw was truly shocking. Rebel was sitting on a crate singing her little heart out.

The way she enunciated the words made my heart break. The melody was a sad one, it had to be a heart shattering song to move me this much.

The way she sang made it obvious that she didn't sing often.  She stumbled over a few verses, but her voice was still flawless.

Her eyes were shut and her hands folded. She looked like a small child singing for her family in the living room, making her parents so proud even if she wasn't very good.

But Rebel was.

She was amazing. Her voice was like raw silk and the way it poured over the ravine made her seem like an angel lost at sea.

I stared at her wide-eyed, trying to keep my mouth shut. It was extremely hard not to burst out crying when she belted out a high note.

At the last verse, her voice became softer as the melody faded away. She opened her captivating eyes and blushed when she saw all of us staring at her. 

She looked so innocent, so sweet. By the way she could shoot, I knew it was a facade.

If it wasn't, she never would've survived this long.

Sweet and innocent people died in this world, nothing more to it.

You had to have a hard heart to survive this. The outbreak turned everyone against each other.

Families were destroyed, lovers were lost.

People moved on. Lori and Carl did, then Rick came back. If he hadn't come back then Carl would've started calling Shane "Daddy".

Being a lover was something I was not intrested in.

Being tied down, having someone else to protect, having someone else's back to watch. I already had my plate full with the group, the last thing I needed was a relationship.

Rebel picked up a metal washbin and started to wash a pair of jeans. She started to scrub them slowly and then picked up the pace ever so slightly.

"Daryl," she asked softly, "can you pass the soap?"

 I cleared my throat and tossed her the bottle of detergent. She caught it nimbly and poured a small amount onto her sponge.

"So, Rebel. Tell us about yourself." Lori smiled and turned to face her.

Rebel looked uncomfortable. She scratched the back of her neck and her knee started bobbing up and down, she tilted her head downwards and scrubbed harder than before.

"Um...not much to tell. What would you like to know?" 

"What were your hobbies before the outbreak?" Lori seemed genuinely curious about Rebel, like she wanted to befriend her, or some feminine shit.

"I was an Olympian in training. I was involved in Gymnastics mainly, I also did Archery as a side thing." Rebel stated quietly.

"Oh!" Amy cried, "I remember you! You were part of the Fantastic Four weren't you?!"

I looked at Rebel completley bewildered. Weren't they superheroes?

Amy apparently caught my expression and started explaining, "She is part of a set of quadruplets. They're all famous athletes. I can't remember what sports but there are two guys and two girls. Rebel and Piper are the females and Gunner and Porter are the guys. Right, Rebel?"

I swiveled back towards Rebel.

There were tears in her eyes, threatning to spill over any minute.

"Yeah." she croaked before abandoning the pond and walking back up the trail. 

"Good going, Amy." Andrea muttered, returning to her washing.

"Stay safe." I said to Lori and tossed her my revolver before jogging up the dusty road towards Rebel.

 After a while, I caught up with her. I gripped her shoulder, forcing her to stop walking. 

"Hey, hey. Stop it." I cooed while wiping her never-ending tears. "Hey. Let it out."

I pulled her to my chest while her body shook with sobs. Hearing her crying made my heart break. I didn't want her to cry.

"You wanna talk 'bout it?" I asked her softly.

She shook her head violently and I pulled her back against my chest, trying my best to comfort her. I rubbed soothing circles into her back while occasionally placing a kiss on the top of her head. 

"It's okay. Let it out, thas a girl."

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Song on the side is what Rebel sang.

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