Unexpected Love | Daryl Dixon Fanfic

Chapter 25 - Curse or Cure

I went through the motions in the shower. The pain from my other injuries was completely forgotten, as the only wound I could feel was that bite on my shoulder.

It was etched into my skin like a burn. As much as I tried not to dwell on it, the dull throbbing just seemed to get worse and worse.

It got to the point where it was all I could think about, and I hadn't noticed that the once scorching hot water had now turned freezing cold.

I had, at some point, sat down in the bath with my arms encircling my legs. My teeth were chattering so wildly, I was surprised I didn't break a tooth.

The only thing that brought me out of my trance was when Maggie whipped open the shower curtain and looked down at me in shock. Thankfully, my blanket of thick, wet hair stuck to my back and covered the wound I so badly wanted to hide.

All she could see was my right side, and with that being completely covered in one continuous, black bruise, I wasn't surprised she was awestricken by my current state.

She switched off the running water, before grabbing the towel and throwing it around me. She helped me clamber out of the tub and sat me down on the toilet as a light knock came from the other side of the door.

"Come in." Maggie said as Carol entered the small room. They both stood staring at me, and if I'm honest, I had never felt so vulnerable in my life.

Maggie turned to Carol and spoke to her as if I wasn't in the room, telling her she was going to fetch me some clean clothes.

As soon as she left, I heard her talking to someone outside, but didn't get a chance to find out who it was as Carol knelt down and started talking to me.

"Emma, are you alright?" she asked, as she took in the scene of my uncovered legs. She picked up a spare towel and started drying me off, being overly sensitive to the bruising.

"I'm fine. I don't need to be treated like glass, I just zoned out for a minute." I uttered as I started drying off my arms, trying my best to keep the rest of me covered.

"Nearly 40 minutes..." she said as she looked up to me, but I was completely lost for words. It felt like I was in that shower for seconds, not creeping up to an hour.

Maggie came back into the room with a pile of clothes and I could see Daryl standing in the doorway. He took one look at me, before storming off down the stairs.

I heard every single heavy step he took. The door slammed in his wake and it shook the whole foundations of the house.

"He's worried about you." was all Carol could muster. He wasn't worried, he felt guilty. Seeing the state that I was in wasn't going to make him feel any better.

They both started trying to help me dress, but I snatched the clothes out of their hands. "Please let me keep at least a small modicum of my dignity..."

They both looked at me, then to each other, then back to me like I was going to do something stupid if they let me out of their sight. I gave them my best puppy dog eyes which seemed to work a treat.

"Okay." Maggie said, as she lead Carol out the room. Once I heard the door click shut, I uncovered myself from the towel and stared again in the now misty mirror.

The blood on my shoulder had washed away, and the outline of the bite was even more pronounced now. If I was ever in doubt, the fact was now solidified that my clock was ticking.

Thankfully, the steady stream of blood had stopped, so it would be easy to cover for now. It will get to point that I couldn't hide it, but I was going to get away with it for as long as possible.