Daryl's Girl

Chapter 20

My eyes widened, trying to process what I'd just heard. Neither of them knew I was here, let alone listening, but whether or not I was, this was big. This affected all of us and as much as I wanted to keep quiet, I couldn't help myself. 

Without thinking, I stood up making my way out of the tent to find both Dale and Glenn standing not too far away from me.

"Lily." Glenn gasped, I think hoping I hadn't heard. I had.

"Walkers. In the-"

"Please don't say anything." He begged, glancing back at Dale, referring to him as well as myself.

I shook my head. I didn't care so much about Lori's situation, so he didn't have to worry about anything there, but it was that first part. The barn. That was a problem. "What about the others? Don't you think they deserve to know?"

"No!" Glenn replied. "Not yet." The boy looked terrified, but not for the reasons we thought. "Let me talk to Maggie."

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"Yeah." He interrupted and I could see the sincerity written across his face. Guilt building behind his eyes.

The whole thing didn't sit right with me and I looked over at Dale, waiting for his response. He just glanced back at me and nodded. "Fine." It still didn't feel right, but if Dale of all people was willing to keep quiet about all of this then so could I. At the end of the day, I had a fair amount of respect for him. "But sooner or later they're gonna find out and we're going to have a real problem on out hands. They should hear it from you."

I knew by the look on his face, Glenn agreed and so did Dale as the three of us stood silently looking at one another. Deep down knowing that once it's out, like Dale said, all hell was gonna break loose. It was just a matter of when, not if, and with that, Glenn left, making his way over to the house to talk to Maggie, who I noticed was standing on the porch watching us. 

It wasn't long before Dale did the same, sharing one last glance with me before heading back into the RV. His rifle slung over his shoulder, leaving me stood next to the tent, staring out into the field and over to the barn.

I didn't know what to do with this information and I couldn't just sit in the tent hoping it would just go away. If I did, I'd probably end up going insane and blowing everything out of proportion. I needed to do something. Anything, just to keep myself busy so I wasn't thinking about what could happen. I didn't care what it was. 

In the end, I found myself limping over towards the stables, hoping to catch Daryl before he went out, if he hadn't already. Maybe convince him to let me come along after all, but as I turned the corner he wasn't there. Instead, standing next to one of the stalls was Hershal. 

Without even thinking, I immediately took a step back and pushed my back up against the outside of the stable. My breathing suddenly shaken and my heart beating at a faster pace. The last thing I wanted was to say something that I'd later regret. Especially after everything Glenn had just told me. I wanted to keep as much distance between us as I possibly could...for now.  

"Lily?" He called.

"Shit." I muttered under my breath. Busted. I'd really hoped he hadn't seen me.

I took a deep breath and limped back into the stables and over towards the old man. I didn't want to seem too suspicious, but that was way out of the window at this point. 

That's when I noticed what it was he was doing. 

"Is that-?" I said, looking at the horse that had almost killed Daryl and I. Nervous Nelly.