The Journey Ahead | Daryl Dixon

The Journey Ahead (16)

Every floor of this godforsaken building was either looted or covered in debris. Nothing showing signs of anyone being here at all. I set the bag Daryl and I took with us and went through the contents. We decided to camp out in the building for the night, the room we were in was more of an office. Large windows took up one wall, facing the city.

Daryl sat on the windowsill, chipping away at his arrows and adjusting his crossbow. I took out cans and other items that were useful for us out of the bag. My hand hit something familiar and I yanked it out. I held the electric candle in my hand and smirked at the memories it held.

"Hey, remember this?" I said. I tossed it to Daryl just as he was looking up. He caught it and smirked, remembering as well. He placed it on the windowsill and set his crossbow down on the floor. He crawled over next to me and sat behind me. His arms wrapped around my middle as he pulled me onto his lap. We sat there and watched the last bit of power flicker from the candle.

"Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?" I asked.

"Your old life, what you were before all of, this happened."

"Well, if it never happened I would've never met you." I said.

"Stop." He said resting his head on the back of my shoulder. I reached back and played with the straggly hair on his head.

"I mean, of course I miss how it was. My family, friends, my home. Everything was simple. But, I realized. This nightmare ended up turning into a blessing for me."

Daryl lifted his head off of my shoulder and looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

"I was weak. More than you know. I wouldn't really talk to people, I would just sit in my room and daydream. That seemed to get me through the day. This hell hole of an earth changed me for the better. I know how to defend myself, and I'm not afraid to speak up."

He nodded and buried his face in the nape of my neck. I cringed at the feeling and tried to wiggle away from his grasp, but his arms tightened around my stomach as he kept leaving small kisses on my neck.

"Stop.. stop.. I'm ticklish!" I said in between breaths. He looked up and a mischievous grin grew on his face. He pinned me to the ground and attacked my sides, not giving me a chance to breathe.

"Give! Give! I give!" I yelled as I repeatedly tapped out. He silence my yelling by crashing his lips into mine. My lips moved in sync with his, I was on cloud nine. All of my senses were on end as we deepened the kiss. He then pulled away and we both were sitting there gasping for air. He rolled off to the side of me and looked over to see my reaction. I smiled and covered my face feeling embarrassed. He stretched his arms and propped his head up.

"Damn, never gonna get tired of that." He said. I leaned over and punched him in the side. A small chuckle then escaped his mouth. I scooted over and laid my head down on his chest. The rising and falling of his chest soothed me and eventually caused me to get sleepy.

"Do you miss it?"

"Hm?" He grunted

"Your old life. Do you miss it?"

"Hell no."

"Why not?"

"Everyday was spent either huntin or drinkin with..." He stopped and got silent. I placed my hand on his chest and looked up at him.

"It's okay. I know." I said, letting him know the the didn't have to talk about it if he didn't want to. Merle passed just before the prison went down. I wasn't there to see exactly what went down, but I heard that Merle turned and Daryl had to put him down. I never really brought it up until now. Daryl and I weren't exactly close at the time, so I wasn't there to comfort him. He remained distant with the group and just did what he normally did.