What's Next

Chapter Twenty One 🦋

Val's POV:

Michonne and crew finally got back. Just as I thought, Aaron had been telling the truth. My gut instincts are usually quite trustworthy. I mean I knew Eugene was lying before everybody else. I've learnt my lesson with Shane, I can see bullshit from a mile away. Nowadays I have to trust my instincts and only my instincts. With the exception of Daryl of course. I took note of my brother's actions, investigating each of the cans of food. "This, This is ours now." Rick stated, holding a can in his hand.

"There's more than enough." Aaron sighed with defeat. He knew he wasn't going to get through to my brother. None of us could at this point. "It's ours whether or not we go to your camp."

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we go?" Carl questioned, confused at what he was hearing. "Yeah Rick why wouldn't we go?" I repeated, with annoyance in my voice, as I sat in front of Daryl fiddling with his hands like he usually would be doing. "If he were lying or if he wanted to hurt us... but he isn't and he doesn't." Michonne added, saying exactly what I was thinking.

"We need this. So we're going, all of us."

"Somebody say something if they feel differently."

"I don't know man. This barn smells like horse shit." Daryl huffed, making me giggle a little bit. We all knew Rick was the only uncertain. "Yeah. We're going." Rick says, finally agreeing with the plan.

"So where are we going? Where's you camp?" Rick questioned Aaron.

"Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back." Aaron explained.

"I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet."

"You're not driving. So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how." Michonne stated, bluntly. Aaron thought for a split second before turning to Rick, "Go north on Route 16."

"And then?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"We'll take 23 north. You'll give us directions from there." Rick stated.

"That's... I don't know how else to say it... That's a bad idea." Aaron argued.

"We've cleared 16. It'll be faster."

"We'll take 23." Rick repeated.

"We'll leave at sundown." He continued to instruct. "Where doing this at night?" Sasha asked.

"Look I know it's dangerous. But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."

"No one is going to hurt you."

"You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger."

"Tell me where the camp is, and we'll leave right now."

"It's going to be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can."

**

I stayed, tracing over Daryl's hands, deep in my thoughts. I couldn't help it. Thinking about this baby. Was it really a good idea. I didn't even know if I could even be a good mother. An aunt is one thing, but this was going to be completely different. Maybe I wasn't ever going to be a good mother, or I was never going to be a good one in the first place. I instinctively brought one of my hands to my side rubbing it as if the pain from long ago was still there. "What's wrong?" Daryl muttered in my ear, clearly noticing I was deep in thought.

"Nothing..." I murmured.

"It's somethin' not nothin'" He whispered, repeating what I had said to him last night. "I'm just thinking Dare."

"About?" He continued to press.

"About my past. I don't really want to talk about okay?"

"Okay sunshine, but if this is about the baby-"

"You wouldn't understand Dare."

"Try me sunshine." He huffed with a smug look. "Okay, at first I was worried about being a mom... but then it turned into thinking about something Rick doesn't even know about." He nodded his head as a sign to continue on. I let out a long sigh, hating myself for even thinking about it. "You remember how Shane was back in Atlanta, before I knew Rick was alive?"

"Yeah the piece of shit, what about it?"

"He was like that before that. I have scars that remind me whenever I look in the mirror which thankfully I haven't had the chance to for a long time now. But it still plays on my mind. It started after I miscarried. We were fine up until then. I was 8 weeks pregnant. I had just found out I was pregnant, told Shane the same day..."

"By the following week, I found myself in hospital because I woke up in the middle of the night bleeding, there was blood throughout the bed."

"By the next day..." I began, feeling tears start to form.

"By the next day, Shane and I had gotten into a massive argument. One of our worse ones yet. Little did I know it was going to be the first of many..."

"Shane had beaten me so badly, I struggled to move. I thought it was over, that was until he pulled a knife out."

"I still don't understand what triggered him to be like that, let alone slice me so deep across my ribs that I had to go into surgery." I sighed sadly, brushing against the area once again. I could feel Daryl tense up. I slightly began to panic. I didn't know how he was going to react. He stayed quiet for a while. Not saying a single thing.

**