Lilly Watkins has always been the strong one compared to her twin. That doesn't change when the dead start walking. Taking care of her family during the apocalypse, she never relied on anyone else. When she meets Daryl Dixon, a more temperamental pe...
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Daryl has been quiet since returning from raiding the Saviors. I find him working on his motorcycle, Cash on my hip.
"You gonna look at me?" I ask finally, knowing I've made enough noise for him to know that I'm there.
"What do ya want, Lilly?"
Ouch, my full name. "I came to check on you. You didn't come home after the run."
"Run, yeah." He laughs humorlessly to himself.
"Raid, run, whatever. What happened there?"
"Just more of the same old."
I kick a tin can of oil. This startles him.
"The fuck, woman!"
"Well, that got a reaction out of you! I feel like you've been on autopilot since we lost the prison."
He looks away. "I don't want to start with ya right now. I need to get this ready for our next run."
"Right, another one I'm not allowed to go on."
He jumps up suddenly, making me take a few steps backward. "You're damn right another one you aren't going on. Stay home and be a mother for once."
"Maybe you should step up as a father!" I spat. "You don't want to end up like your dad."
His eyes glossed. I've gone too far with that comment.
"Hey guys," Tara says softly, interrupting us both. "We're here to discuss the trip." Denise is beside her.
"Yeah, have at it." I walk away, Cash fussing over the turmoil between Daryl and me.
Daryl leaves without a goodbye, not that I blame him. I hope he gets back before the end of the day so I can at least apologize. I check in on Tiff and Carl, both getting a little too close in her bedroom. When I split that up, I headed downstairs to my sister.
"Do you think I can fix this?" I ask after explaining what all was said.
"I don't think you got a choice," she says softly. "We don't have the privilege to hold grudges against our loved ones."
She's right. We cook dinner together, feeding the teens and ourselves. I hear the familiar roar of Daryl's bike at sunset.
I run outside, watching him hop off his bike and run towards me at full speed. He embraces me tightly, kissing my cheeks.
"Daryl?" I ask.
"Can you help me with something?"
I nod without hesitation. He leads me down the road to the car that the others took. Inside the trunk is a now deceased Denise. I cover my mouth in shock.
We both carry her next to the infirmary, then Daryl grabs two shovels. We both take turns digging the grave.
"What happened?" I ask softly.
"The Saviors. Eugene is inside with a bullet wound. It's just a graze, most likely."
"Where are the Saviors now?"
He shrugs. "I don't know. They ran off." He pauses shoveling, staring at me. "There was something else, too."
I nod, leaning on the handle of the upright shovel.
"In the pharmacy, there was a deceased little boy." He struggles to find the words. "He wasn't killed for being a Walker. He was alive when it happened."
My stomach turns. "The monsters aren't only Walkers."
We finish late into the night. I dress in something more comfortable before bed. His hand grasps mine, pulling me towards him.
"Can I have you tonight?"
I nod, pressing my lips against him.
When I awake the next morning, the bed is cold in his spot. The only proof that he had been here is the bike exhaust as he leaves Alexandria.
