Make it Till You Don't

New Problem Surfaces

I let out a groan as I began to wake up. Glancing around, I found myself inside the house, lying on the couch. I winced, feeling pain on the left side of my head, bringing a hand up and running my fingers over it, only to pull away as it made the pain worse.

"Hey, take it easy, don't press on it." I moved my gaze onto Lori as she walked out of the kitchen, holding something out to me. "Here, put some ice on it for now."

I leaned up on the couch, grabbing the ice pack, before gently putting it against my head. "W-What... what happened..." I asked, wincing as the pack pressed against my head.

She came closer and sat on the side of the couch, looking down to her hands. "At the barn, Shane whacked you with the pickaxe in his hand. Luckily it was turned to its side, otherwise you'd be dead." She paused for a second, unsure of her upcoming words as she looked at me. "We found Sophia in the barn... who knows how long she's been in there." She sniffled, wiping her face.

I began recalling the events that occurred before I passed out, hearing Sophia's name and a gunshot. "What about Carol?"

"She wanted to be alone for a while." Lori explained. "We brought you here to have Hershel look you over but he took off, Beth isn't doing too good, and now Rick and Glenn are out looking for Hershel."

I nodded my head, taking all the information in. "I see."

It was silent for a few moments, neither of us knowing what to say. Lori let out a breath, looking at me. "You gonna be alright by yourself? You might have a concussion and I need to check on Beth."

I gave her a nod, waving her off. "Gotta be. Go and look after Beth, I think I'm going to get some air for a little."

She looked at me for a moment before nodding and getting up to head upstairs. I let out a heavy sigh, closing my eyes for a moment to relieve the pain in my head. After a few moments, I got up and went to the kitchen, putting the ice in the sink before making my way out the front door.

I shielded my eyes with my hand as I adjusted to the light, squinting from its brightness. I heard footsteps, seeing Andrea coming up the stairs. I gave her a small nod before she went inside before making my way to the camp. I didn't see anyone around and sat down in one of the chairs.

A few minutes went by as I heard footsteps approaching the camp. I turned my head to see it was Carol and gave her a small wave. She walked to me, sitting in the chair beside mine. "How're you holding up with...?"

She stared off into the field in front of us for a moment. "I'm managing... coming to terms that Sophia wasn't the same girl that walked out of that barn. No, no my Sophia... she died a long time ago."

I frowned at her words, not knowing what to say. "You know, I went out into the woods yesterday thinking just for a moment, that maybe it'll be like the stories I used to read as a kid. Maybe I'll find her hiding in the hole of a tree..." I looked down to my finger, playing with them.

She grabbed one of my hands, causing me to look at her. "You did everything you could, all of you did." She assured me, giving me a weak smile. "How's your head?"

I let out a hum. "Seen better days, I'm sure. Lori thinks it's a concussion, nothing I can't handle." I wrote off, not wanting to worry her in her state.

She nodded her head, noticing it was getting dark. "I better go help with dinner, you coming?"

I shook my head. "Nah, I think I'm going to stay here... I don't want to be anywhere near Shane right now."

She gave me a nod, patting my hand. "Okay, I'll bring you something to eat later." As she left, I sat with my thoughts, wondering what to do. To avoid Shane, I can't be near the camp. Easier said than done, I still don't have a tent.

I turned my head to the side, when I noticed a small camp in the distance. I let out a deep breath, standing up and making my way over. God I'm going to regret this... Once I was close enough, I spoke up. "Hey..."

"Go away." Daryl huffed, sliding his knife against the stick in his hand, making an arrow.

I rolled my eyes at his attitude. "Someone's in a bad mood." I muttered before speaking up. "Look, I'll be blunt. After today, I don't want to-"

"Moving to the Suburbs?" I turned my attention away from Daryl, seeing Lori approaching. "Listen, Beth's in some kind of catatonic shock. We need Hershel."

"Yeah, so what?" Daryl asked, not glancing up as he continued working on his arrow.

Lori came up beside me, crouching down to Daryl's level. "So I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and Rick back."

"Glenn too." I mumbled under my breath, somewhat annoyed that she didn't mention him at all.

"Daryl?" She said his name, trying to gain his attention as he ignored her.

He stopped for a moment, glancing over to Lori. "Your bitch went window-shopping. You want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things to do." Daryl went back to making his arrow.

"What's the matter with you?" Lori asked, somewhat in disbelief. "Why would you be so selfish?"

"Selfish?" Daryl stopped, standing up and looking down at Lori. "Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I was out there looking for that little girl every single day." He pointed his knife as he was talking. "I took a bullet and an arrow in the process. Don't you tell me about me getting my hands dirty!"

Lori stood back up, glancing at me as if I could do something about Daryl, causing me to shrug at her. What does she expect me to do?

"You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride." Daryl finished, sitting back down in his spot. "I'm done looking for people." Lori looked displeased as she walked back down to the farm. "Why're you still here?"

I took a moment, not sure if I should even ask anymore. I looked to the ground, kicking some of the dirt. "Look, I'll stay out of your way, but... can I at least stay over here?" I grumbled, hating that I'm even asking this.

"I moved up here to get away from you damn people for a reason." He retorted back, swiping his knife against the stick.

"If I had another choice, I wouldn't ask, but I don't. I can't stay at the camp, not with Shane there, not after today. Please..." I felt my voice crack. "I-I don't have anywhere else to go." I glared down at my shoes, frustrated that I had to even ask.

As the silence continued, I took that as my answer and began thinking of what to do from here on out. "Damn, he got you good, didn't he?"

I instinctively brought my hand up to the side of my head. "When I saw that pickaxe come at me, I honestly thought he was going to kill me then and there. He threatened me and said I better watch my back." I let out a dry chuckle. "Guess I should've listened..."

There was a moment of silence before he spoke back up. "Fine." He grumbled.

I blinked a couple times, making sure I heard right before relaxing my shoulders. "Thank you..." He didn't say anything as he went back to making his arrow. Glancing around, I found a spot a couple of feet from the fire and laid down, facing him.

"Ain't ya gonna grab your stuff?" Daryl asked, glancing at me.

I shook my head. "Don't have anything. Glenn's been keeping an eye out for some stuff on his runs, no luck so far."

After a moment, Daryl motioned behind him. "You can take the tent."

I averted my gaze from the flames to him, furrowing my brows. "What?"

"Don't sleep much anyway, not doing me any good" He grunted, putting the newly formed bow down, starting on another stick.

I slowly got up, making my way to the tent, hesitating for a moment. Seeing him not trying to stop me, I climbed in and lied down, leaving the zipper unzipped. "You pretend you don't care about people, but in reality..." I trailed off, glancing at Daryl one more time before closing my eyes.

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Published: 03/19/2024