Jinx || Daryl Dixon || The Walking Dead Fanfic

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JINX

She woke up to the sound of screaming, it wasn't until she opened her eyes that she realised the sound had been coming from her own mouth. She looked around and realised she was back in her cell; she didn't have time to think of anything else before her friends faces all appeared in the doorway wearing shared expressions of fear and concern.

She told them over and over she was fine and eventually they all disappeared back to their own cells, except for Carol who stayed behind, perching hesitatingly on the end of her bed, reaching out to pet the little cat that was curled up near her feet.

"Hey, you're not dead!" Jinx told her as that fact finally registered in her mind. Carol shook her head and explained that Daryl had found her. She tried to sit up and winced, pulling her shirt up she noted about ten stitches in her right ribs. She moved her hand round to her back and discovered a few more there too.

"You were pretty beat up." Carol told her; sympathy written all over her face. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine." It wasn't entirely a lie if you considered fine a synonym for not feeling anything at all.

"Okay, how about some food and a drink?" the other woman asked her, "You've been out for almost two days." Jinx nodded, if only to get her to go away.

Once she was alone, she slowly pulled herself out of bed and stripped down. Grabbing a small mirror off the shelf opposite to check out the damage. There was a scab on her lip where it had split, but apparently the swelling had gone down when she was sleeping. There was also a small cut on her cheek. She inhaled slowly before pushing her hair to one side and looking at the bruises on her neck. Then she moved the mirror down and removed the dressing Hershel had obviously put over the cut on her ribs. It didn't look to be infected which was a good sign. She stopped there. She didn't want to inventory the other bruises she could feel on her body, the nightmare she'd just woken up from had already done that for her.

She put the mirror down and held onto the necklace that still hung around her neck. In a fit of rage, she pulled it off and threw it across the room feeling a slight sting as the chain broke against her skin.

She pulled a set of clean clothes on and scratched at her arms, still not able to shake the feeling of his hands on her. She sat on the side of the bed staring at Daryl's few belongings on the other side of the cell, vaguely wondering where he was, there was a memory in the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Shadow walked over and gave her hand a gentle headbutt and she stroked the little cat's ears automatically, without really acknowledging its presence.

Carol returned shortly after with a bowl of beans and bottle of water and sat down beside her. 'Where is he?" she asked without looking at the other woman.

"We couldn't have Merle back here, not after what he did." Carol told her, answering the question, without saying the words.

"Mm" Jinxed hummed, "So he left with him then." It wasn't a question and Carol didn't answer, she just reached out to put a hand on Jinx's shoulder, but she flinched away before it made contact.

"What happened?" Carol asked her, "What did they do?"

Jinx shook her head, "I just don't feel clean." She told her and she saw the realisation dawn on Carol's face.

"Oscar and Axel got the generators working while you were gone, you can take a shower. If you like, I can help so you don't get your dressings wet?"

Jinx finished her food in silence and Carol just sat beside her, both staring ahead.

"Please." She told the woman when she finished, finally accepting her offer.

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DARYL