Dixon's Girl- TWD

Home Sweet Home

Jody Pov

I was the person who identified the body. I stood, all alone, staring at my brothers face. But I still didn't believe it, not until I watched them lower him into the ground. The cops said it was a tragic hunting accident but I wasn't so sure. His body was found in the woods and max would never just go in there. He hated the outdoors especially the woods. And he sure as hell didn't hunt. Still, they refused to investigate further

Daryl was by my side through everything. Mama and merle were there too, mostly keeping my daddy away. He thought he had a right to be at the funeral but max wouldn't want him there. I knew that. He knew that. But he still tried. So merle stood guard, not letting him enter. He even got some buddies from the bar to help keep Freddie away.

That was months ago, and i had been left some money from my brother. Most of it went into savings, but a portion of it was used for me and daryl to finally move out of the trailers and start our own lives. Daryl insisted on not spending any of it. He wanted to be the one who bought our first home, so we compromised and decided to split it. Daryl put all his money towards the actual apartment without having to worry about saving any. We used my brothers money to buy furniture, paint, a TV, kitchen appliances, curtains, and just any additional things that didn't already come with the apartment

"This is insane," I said with a smile, looking around at our new bedroom. Nothing was unpacked yet and boxes piled high. But the apartment was nice. It wasn't very big and there was some decorating that needed doing, but with the money I was left being used for furniture, we could afford a much nicer apartment than we were aiming for. It was 2 bedrooms, one with an en suite, a kitchen, bathroom and a living area. There was no damp, no drugged up neighbours, rat free.

"I cant believe we finally have our own place," daryl said in shock

I walked towards him and put my hands on his hips from behind. I planted a kiss on his shoulder and mumbled, "Thank you."

"What for?"

"You promised that you'd look after me and you've done just that. You're a good man, daryl dixon."

"I'm your man."

"Hell yeah, you are," I giggled, spinning him around to kiss his lips. We made out for a while, our tongues fighting for dominance until eventually daryl won. He shoved me down onto the mattress (the bed hadn't been delivered yet, so it was just a mattress on the floor). With his body hovering over my own, we kept kissing, my legs wrapped around his waist

"I love you," he said quietly as he pulled away for breath

"I love you too. Daryl-"

"I know. I can wait. I just want you to be happy."

I kissed his cheek in understanding and we both sat up on the mattress. I wasn't ready for sex. It was a huge commitment. I know that moving in is also a commitment but this just felt different. I didn't have a single good sexual experience. Everything had been painful and cruel. And I was so scared about getting it wrong. If we ever broke up, then it would just be anything sour memory and the thought terrified me.

Daryls hand rubbed up and down my jean covered thigh. "Jo, are you doing okay with all this? It's a big change."

"My head is just swamped right now. Feel like I've got so many contrasting thoughts that I don't know what to do."

"Tell me."

"Daryl, this is supposed to be a happy day. I don't wanna spoil it."

"It can still be happy. But that doesn't mean hiding your feelings. Getting everything out will help you make sense of it all." He could be a real smart ass when he wanted to be

Tears brimmed in my eyes as I choked out, "We've left, daryl. We've left the trailer park and I feel like I've left part of me behind. I know this is what mama wants for me but it doesn't make it any less painful knowing she's stuck there. And merle, I mean, he could've left years ago. But he stayed because of us and now its like we've abandoned him. As for Max...I just thought he'd be here ya know? I would dream about us getting a home and in every dream, I would call him and scream the good news down the phone. He'd help us move in like a real big brother and now he's never gonna get the chance. I feel robbed, ya know? Only knew him a year but I feel like part of my life is just...gone."

He cupped my cheeks lovingly. "Hey, don't cry. Ain't worth your tears, sugar. We left the trailer park, but we haven't left the people. We'll see them all the time, you know that. And max wanted you to get out of there as fast as possible. I know he's not here to see it, but he knows. And I am certain that he's smiling down at us and this place. He'd just be glad that you're finally safe."

I nodded my head and kissed him again, then wiped away my tears with the back of my hand quickly. "Jesus, I'm sorry."

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Apologise for crying. You always apologise and you don't ever need to. Come on. This is your home now. You can show whatever emotions you want, here."

I started to laugh and stood up. I grabbed a paintbrush from a bucket by the door and turned to face daryl. "Well, I'm not so sure about the emotions crap, but I do know that this place can only be our home when we decorate it and make it our own."

"Oh yeah?" He leant back on his elbows on the mattress with a cocky grin. "What colours were you thinking?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I do know that if you just lie there and don't help, then I will paint our room the brightest pink they sell," I threatened, pointing the paintbrush at him

"Alright, alright. I'll help. We could have a really cool dark blue room?" He suggested

"Or purple."

"Brown?"

"Light blue?"

"Black."

"Why do you keep suggesting dark colours?" I asked him with a frustrated sigh

"Why do you keep suggesting childish colours? We ain't painting a nursery, this is a grown ups bedroom."

"Grown ups? Really? Whilst we were packing, I recall shoving a box of spider man underwear into the van," I reminded him

Daryl rolled his eyes. "I thought we agreed to never mention them again."

"Fine. But about the paint colour, how about we flip for it?"

"Alright. Heads, we have dark blue."

"Tales, we have light purple."

He grabbed a coin from his pocket and flipped it. We watched in anticipation as it flipped through the air, eventually landing to reveal heads.

Daryl had a smirk on his face as I groaned. "Damn it."

"Alright, alright. So this room is dark blue but out of the goodness of my heart, you can do whatever you want to the rest of the apartment."

"Really?"

"Anything at all. Living room, kitchen, guest room, bathroom, it's all yours, babe."

I threw myself ontop of him, straddling him as I playfully pulled his hair. "I love you."

"I love you."