A Broken World

Twety-Six

Hershel looked at my shoulder first. Luckily the bullet went right through. I gritted my teeth together as he stitched it up. “You have an old bullet wound here I see,” he said. I hummed in acknowledgement. Silence fell between us. I could feel his eyes on me waiting explain more. “I was a detective before all this shit happened. I got shot by a suspect a few back,” I told him.

He nodded his head and finished the last stitch. “You're going to need to take it easy for a few days and make sure you keep that clean, we don't have that many antibiotics.”  He cleaned up all his supplies and washed his hands. “Thank You. Thank you all you have done for us. I know it might not seem like it but we are all very grateful for your help and hospitality.” His eyes softened a little and he gave me a small smile before walking out of the room to go tended to Daryl.

I walked out of the room and to the front door. I figured Daryl could tell Rick and Shane exactly where we found Sophia's doll. Plus, there were going to be enough people in that room. When I pushed the screen door open I was crowded by Andrea. “Oh, my god, yn, I am so sorry!” I took a deep breath and walked past her and down the steps. “I didn't know…”

I spun around and stopped her in her tracks. “Stop! You fucking shot at us! You could have killed Daryl for fuck sake! Why the hell did you have a fucking gun in your hand in the first place? I know damn well with how the sun was hitting that you couldn’t have had a good shot. There is no way. But you just think you know everything! Maybe learn how to listen when someone tells you not to do something. Get off that high horse of yours. You are not better than anyone else.” With that I walked away.

I went right to my tent, and grabbed clean clothes. Maggie had said the shower was free if I wanted to use it. I liked Maggie, she was one of those girls that doesn't take shit from anyone. She does what she wants and she loves her family with everything she has. I could tell Glenn had taken a liking to her. The way he looks at her says it all. He was like a teenager with a crush.

I walked back out of my tent and back to the house. Andrea was sitting on the porch steps with Dale. I ignored them while I walked back inside. “Hey!” Maggie said, coming to stand in front of me. I looked over into the kitchen  to see Carol, Lori, Beth, and Patricia all laughing and talking while making dinner. “What's going on?” I asked. She looked into the kitchen and smiled. “Lori and Carol thought it would be nice to cook dinner for everyone as a thank you to my dad and the rest of us for helping you guys and especially Carl.”

I nodded my head, “oh, okay.” I let out a breathy laugh. “Is the shower still free for me to use?” I asked. She gave me a bright smile and led me upstairs. “I have extra razors in here and this is my shampoo, conditioner and soap. You are free to use it.. There are also extra toothbrushes and toothpaste in the cabinet. I set a towel and washcloth her for you. Just be careful of those stitches.” I thanked her and she left the bathroom, closing the door on her way.

After locking the door I stripped off my dirty clothes and turned the shower on. I didn't want to use all the hot water so I only planned to be in as long as it took to wash my hair and body, and shave real quick. I haven't shaved in while and when I finally it did, it felt fucking good. I made sure to be extra careful of my stitches while washing my body and even my hair. Then I pat myself dry with a towel after I got out of the shower. I used the toothbrush and toothpaste Maggie set out for me and then gathered everything up and left the bathroom.

Later that night we sat around the table and ate the dinner Carol and Lori made with the help of Beth and Patricia. Maggie, Glenn, Beth, and Jimmy sat at another fold out table. I looked over to see Glenn and Maggie passing a paper back and forth. They were passing notes like they were in high school again. Maggie caught my eye and I raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. She rolled her eyes at me and went back to eating. No one was talking. The air was quiet and tense.

Carol got up with a full plate and walked out of sight before coming back a few minutes later. I knew she went to the room that Daryl was in, he was given orders to give it a rest there for the rest of the night. After I was finished eating the little that I could, I got up, walked into the kitchen, washed my dishes, and then headed back to that bedroom. I don't know why, but I felt like I needed to check on him. I haven't seen or talked to him since we got back.

I knocked on the door before slowly opening the door. Daryl was sitting up with his back to the headboard, eating the dinner Carol had brought to him. “May I come in?” I asked. He looked over at me and nodded his head. I walked in and closed the door behind me. “How are you feeling?” I asked. He chewed his food and shrugged his shoulders. “Feel like I been hit by a damn train,” he said. I gave a little laugh and sat in the chair that was near the bed.

“What about you?” He asked, nodding head to my shoulder. I looked down at it and shrugged, “Nothing I can't handle. Can I ask you something?” He looked up from his plate and hummed. “Who did you see out there? Was it Merle?” I asked. He set the empty plate on the nightstand before answering. “Yeah, fucking asshole is everywhere.” We both laughed and then everything fell back into silence but a comfortable silence.