Daryl's Girl

Chapter 31

"Oh my god! Are you alright? What happened?" Andrea asked as everyone gathered around us.

"Car accident, but we're fine." Lori replied looking over her shoulder at me. I just nodded. There was nothing I wanted to say.

At that, one by one the rest of the group all began chiming in and asking questions with Lori very quickly becoming the center of attention, which suited me perfectly. It allowed me to make my way over to Daryl without any of them noticing where he surprisingly pulled me into a hug. My best guess being that he didn't care what everyone saw or thought about what was going on between us. 

"You shouldn't 've gone. Especially with that bitch. She almost got you killed." He mumbled, quiet enough so no one else could hear.

"Yeah, but she didn't and we're fine. I can take care of myself." I smiled. "You know that."

Although the look on his face didn't approve, I knew he agreed. That was when Lori said something that caught my attention. 

"Where's Rick?" She asked. I turned around, pulling away from Daryl and looked back at the group. No one moved. They all just stood there, staring back at her cluelessly.

"Well? Where are they?" I snapped, repeating her question, looking over each and every one of their guilty faces before my gaze settled on Shane. He'd lied. Again. "You son of a bitch."

"Look, I had to get you back." He replied. I should've known. Should've trusted my gut and never gotten into that car. "I had to get you both back."

I didn't care. All I could feel was the anger beginning to rise inside me as he spoke. Everything about Shane just made my skin crawl. Hershal was my family and I needed to bring him back, not only for me, but for Beth and Maggie, for Patricia and Jimmy. They needed him just as much as anyone else. 

The next thing I knew, it was like I couldn't control myself as I found myself making my way over to him, pushing my way past everyone. "You ass hole!" I yelled and after a sharp blow to the face, Shane grabbed my wrists and tried to force me away as I tried to take another swing. My anger and frustration finally bubbling over. 

That was when Daryl came from behind and pulled me back, his arms firmly around my waist leaving Shane free to go on after Lori, who I now noticed was walking back over to the car. Carol putting herself between Shane and I.

I had no intention of letting her go alone, so I freed myself from Daryl's grip and followed on after her, once again ignoring anything anyone had to say. "Lori, I'll go after them. I'll find them. But first things first. I got to look after Lily, look after you and make sure that baby's alright." Shane pleaded, putting himself between us and the car. Even my name coming from his mouth made me sick. Everyone else remaining quiet as they watched us, processing what he'd just said.

If he wanted to go gallivanting on after Lori then that was fine by me, but I didn't need him looking out for me. I didn't need a babysitter. Him of all people especially. It was like I told Daryl, I can look after myself and I wasn't stupid. Whether or not he went out there out of genuine concern for our safety, I wasn't blind. He went for Lori. Maybe even to get one over on me.

It's not a secret that both he and her have history. Whether she slept with him behind Rick's back or she's done something that Shane knows about and is holding over her head. Either way it's just another part of the puzzle. Why Shane is the way he is, and if an outsider like me can see it, surely the rest of the group could too, including Rick. 

That was when I caught a glimpse of Carl lurking behind everyone, making his way to the front. None of the others had seen him, but the look on his face said it all. He'd heard everything "You're having a baby?" He asked, shaking his head. Everyone turned to face him. "Why didn't you tell me." He continued. Lori didn't say anything. She just sighed looked back at him, watching as he stormed away.