Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
DARYL DIXON two and a half weeks ago
"you gotta stop thinking with your dick, man."
my blade slides against the rock in a particularly harsh ring at bob's words. i tilt my head, looking over at where he sits on the log opposite mine, "i'm not."
"you left your people, your family—"
"they ain't my family."
"you left your community," he continues. "all because of a girl? you're thinking with your dick. admit it."
"you seem to forget i'm the one with the knives around here." i snap, bracing my forearms on my thighs—rock in one hand, knife in the other.
bob just smiles at me—smiles like a friend would.
"you fuck up or something? did she leave him for you?" he asks.
"no." i scoff under my breath. "and i don't want her to. she's better off with him."
"why? you think she sees you the way you see yourself?"
i clench the base of my knife tighter, "this is why i don't tell people shit."
"why'd you leave?"
"i'm sorry, i didn't realize you were a fuckin' shrink. ya should've started off with that, i would'a kept walkin'."
he ignores my comment, so i continue, "because," i toss the rock into the dirt surrounding the fire we started in the middle of sticks and twigs. "rick calls me his brother, acts like i'm just as good as him, as smart as him. i'm not. every plan i come up with gets somebody killed. everything i do to try to save someone, someone else dies. i left because i'm better out here on my own."
"so you think."
"you don't know shit." i shake my head, eyes narrowing. "'cause i'm no better than the last man rick called his brother, and he doesn't know that. so i left."
"okay, so maybe you're not." bob shrugs, unscrewing the lid of his canteen. i forget if there's water or alcohol in it, but my blood boils either way, no matter if he's using some shrink-tactic of reverse psychology on me or if he's drunk.
the fire crackles, and i dig my nails into the curve of my knee, "it was around the same time i realized rick was more of a real brother than my own that i found her."
"grey. that's her name, right?"
"yeah. like it was some fuckin' sick joke. how was i supposed to know they'd end up bein' somethin' together?"
