"I've done things," Charlie said, looking up into his eyes full of disappointment. "Things that I am not proud of. But everything I've done, I've done to survive...And I did. I survived."
"And are you happy?" Daryl asked, using all his power to stop...
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But it was a goodbye...
Right after she hugged Glenn and Maggie, she started watching past her friends."Where is Daryl?"
Rick, as if seeing her anxiety, approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder. Her heart dropped long before hearing those words she was so afraid of hearing, yet still hoping that the bad feeling was just in her head. "I'm sorry Charlie but he's gone."
Behind her she heard Carol's gasp at the cop's words. "What does it mean that he's gone?"
"Is he dead?" Charlie asked.
"No...God, no," Rick shook his head. Before he spoke again he looked her in the eyes for a moment and Charlie knew this face. It was his work face how she used to call it. She was sure that it was the face he used back in work to pass some bad news to people.
"Rick," she spoke. "What the hell happened?"
"We found Merle," the cop said.
Charlie furrowed her eyebrows after his words. Math wasn't mathing at that moment. Who the fuck was Merle? Rick seemed to know him and Charlie had a strange feeling that she knew him too, but she just couldn't match the face to the name. She wanted to know what happened to Daryl, she didn't care about a guy named...
Wait...
"Dixon? Merle Dixon?" she asked as soon as she connected the dots.
"Yeah."
"He's alive?" Carol asked from behind her friend and Rick nodded his head as a confirmation.
After everything they had been through, Charlie already forgot about this colorful and great persona like Merle Dixon. The redneck became just a memory to her so distant that she sometimes thought he didn't really exist. Once he died, she thought he would never bother her again - and just to be clear, she wasn't happy when he died. She was just relieved.
But now it turned out he was all good for all this time. And she was more than ready to blow up her life again...Or should she say he already did?
Of course that no matter what or how good she would treat Daryl, he would still choose his older brother. Charlie more than anyone understood him because if one of her brothers would raise form the grief - it would be better not if they were Walkers - she would drop everything and follow them. However, she couldn't push away the thought that she wasn't worth even a stupid goodbye.
"Charlie..." Carol whispered and placed hands on her shoulders.
"No, it's okay," Charlie said, even though she was crying inside. "I bet we have bigger worries than that."
"We do have something to worry about," Rick nodded.
Charlie sighed. "And we have something to show to you."
—- 24 hours earlier -—
"Where's Carl?" Charlie asked entering the prison. She went out this morning to practice shooting as there were many Walkers wandering around after the storm. Some time before coming to the prison Daryl made her a bow - but it wasn't the best and as a confirmation she dropped the broken piece of wood on the table. "Hershel, where's Carl?"
