Unexpected Love | Daryl Dixon Fanfic

Chapter 35 - And The War Begins

Daryl's POV

I'd made the decision to stay with my brother after not one of my group wanted him to come back with us. It wasn't so hard to leave behind the others, but it was absolutely excruciating to abandon Emma and see her so heartbroken.

We had only just found each other again, and now I had to choose between her or my brother. Eventually it boiled down to the fact that Merle was blood and he would be on his own if I didn't go. She at least would still have her family...

I had never once heard her beg for nothing before though, and she pleaded for me to stay. She looked so vulnerable and small in that moment, completely different to her usual strong and fierce self.

It pained me so much to walk away, to the point where tears pricked at my eyes. I could hear her shouting my name, but I couldn't turn around as I was scared that even looking at her again would change my mind in an instant.

The next words that came out of her mouth was the most painful though. She said "Don't bother coming back." through her sobs and it felt like somebody had ripped my heart from my chest.

If I hadn't ruined it before, I definitely had now. She never wanted to see me again and I didn't blame her. I couldn't see what she saw in me in the first place, but at least now she knew I was a complete dick and that she's worth so much more.

Merle and I walked through the trees in silence for about an hour after we'd left and it surprised me that he actually had it in him not to joke about this.

He must've gone straight into hunting mode as soon as we entered the woods, as that was the only time he stayed quiet for longer than ten seconds.

Whilst he stalked through and kept his head on a swivel, looking for game, I just wallowed as I walked. The further away we got, the more it became clear I didn't want to go, and I silently tried to get us to head back in the direction of the prison.

I took us around in a large circle and thankfully Merle didn't catch on to what I was doing. He tapped me on the shoulder and pointed me in the direction of what he thought was probably a squirrel, but turned out to be nothing.

"Ain't nothin' out here but mosquitoes and ants." I bristled as I set off walking again. "Patience, lil' brother. Sooner or later, a squirrel is bound to scurry across ya path."

"Even so, that ain't much food." I replied, to which he reached out and put a strong hand on my shoulder. "More than nothin'." He said with a smile on his face.

I couldn't tell if he was just happy to be out here like old times, or if he was actually glad to have me around again. I hoped it was the latter, but it wouldn't surprise me if he was just enjoying the hunt.

Since I was little, Merle always loved to be out in nature and I think I picked that up from him. Being out in the trees gave us both rest bite from home and in the end eventually brought us comfort, as we could easily get lost from our lives.

Out here we didn't feel worthless. We didn't have people that called us stupid or scum, and we had the skills that meant we could live peacefully, without the interruption of people.

I always thought this was my home and where I felt the most comfortable, but right now that was a lie. At some stage my views had changed and I saw those people back at the prison as my home.

Not one of them ever saw me as anything but equal, and it was the first time in my life that anyone relied on me. At first I didn't want it, but as soon as it was gone, I realised how good it felt to actually be needed.

"Why don't we find a stream, try to look for some fish?" I hinted, trying to cover the fact that if we went to that stream, it would take us directly back to my people. "I think you're just trying to lead me back to the road, man. Get me over to that prison."