Daring Dixon (A Daryl Dixon fanfiction)

Chapter 20

WARNING! This is a very emotional chapter towards the end! Proceed with caution!

I didn't want to be around the group anymore. I just couldn't be around such stupid people. The only option I had was to go to bed or go up to the house. I decided that I'd go up to the house and see if anyone needed help with anything.

Maggie was sitting on the porch when I got there. I smiled, then walked up and took a seat next to her. "I'm Rosaline," I said, holding out my hand. She smiled and took it.

"I'm Maggie," she said.

"I know," I said. Her face grew puzzled. "Dale told me to ask for you when I got to the house earlier," I explained.

She smiled. "I like the name Rosaline."

"Thanks," I said.

"It's very unique. Wasn't there a girl named Rosaline-"

"In Romeo and Juliet? Yes. That's who I was named for," I said with a sigh.

"Where are you from?" she asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"I was living in Atlanta before all this hell broke loose. I was still there when Rick and the others found me," I explained.

Her face grew impressed. "You were livin' there all by yourself? In Atlanta?"

"Yeah. I stayed on the top floors of buildings, moving from building to building and only leaving to get things when I absolutely needed them," I said. She shook her head in awe.

"That's crazy. Why were you by yourself?" she asked unknowingly.

My eyes brimmed with tears and her face suddenly fell. "The guy I was with was killed early in the game," I said quietly.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. I nodded.

"You have a beautiful farm," I said finally.

"Thank you. So far we have been able to keep the majority of walkers away, with only a few getting in. We've taken care of all of them though," she said in assurance.

Lori and Carol walked up the porch. "We're gonna start cookin' if you want to help us," Lori said.

Maggie and I both nodded and made our way into the house behind them.

We made mashed potatoes, meat, and many other things. I was sure that we'd all be full for the first time since the CDC. It seemed so long ago.

When everything was done we set it out on the table. I helped Maggie set the table and then everyone came in and sat down. All was quiet. Hershel said grace, and then we all helped ourselves.

Maggie, Glenn, and two other woman, whom I assumed were Hershel's daughters, were sitting at a card table away from the rest of us. I was sitting between Lori and Carol at a larger dining table. I exchanged looks with T-Dog, who was sitting across from me. It was too quiet for my liking.

"You have a beautiful home," I said, trying to break the silence between us all.

Hershel shook his head and gave me a small smile. "Thank you."

Silence followed, and I left it at that. Glenn was the next brave soul to try to break the silence. "Do any of you play guitar? Dale found a really cool one." There was a pause where all those in Hershel's family exchanged glances. "C'mon, someone here has to play," Glenn pushed.

"Otis knew how to," Hershel said quietly. I didn't know who Otis was, but by the sound of it, whoever he was, he must've been a part of their family. And he must've died.

Dinner ended and I helped Maggie and the others clean up and clear the table. "Would you mind grabbing Daryl's plate for me?" asked one of the blond woman. I sighed, but nodded and made my way towards his room.

He was laying on his side with his back to the door when I peeked in. I knocked on the door and he turned over. "What the hell do you want?" he demanded, scowling.

I walked in and grabbed his plate. "You finished?" I asked.

"Take the damned thing," he snapped.

I walked over to the door and shut it, then walked back and sat on the end of his bed. "What the hell is our problem?" I asked him.

He scoffed. "Our problem? More like your problem."

"Daryl, you know damn right that you are contributing just as much to this as I am," I snapped.

"I don't think so," he denied with a roll of his eyes.

"I do. I know damned well that it's not all my fault. You are such a fucking instigator. I can't even stand it!" I spat.

"Well excuse me for-"

I couldn't help it. I did what I shouldn't have done. I kissed him lightly. Or attempted to. He pushed me away.

"We're just friends, right bitch?"

I shook my head angrily, grabbing the plate and stalking out of the room and into the kitchen. "What's wrong?" Maggie asked.

"Men," I spat. She smirked and nodded. I sighed. "I'm going to bed," I said, leaving the house and going to the camp they had set up.

Dale was cleaning up inside the camper. I went inside to him. "Am I supposed to sleep in Glenn's tent again?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No. Glenn got you one the last time he went in to town. It's laying on the seat of the table," he said, gesturing behind him.

"Thanks," I said. There was a pause. "Did you and your wife ever fight?" I asked quietly and as casually as possible.

"Of course we did," Dale said. "All couples fight." I nodded. He sat down at the table with a basket and started riffling through it.

"May I ask you something?" Dale asked.

"You just did," I said jokingly. He smiled. "Of course you can."

"Why do you not seem to know anything about relationships? Didn't you date in high school, or have a boyfriend since then?" Dale asked. I wasn't expecting that question. I sighed, sitting down across from him. I didn't want to answer that.

Dale sensed my apprehensiveness. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he assured.

I nodded, but finally decided that Dale deserved the truth from me, no matter what. He had helped me a lot. Put up with me. Heck, he even let me sleep on his extra bed. "I got pregnant when I was a Junior in high school," I admitted. Dale's head snapped up, his attention immediately caught. "I went to a New Years Eve party, got drunk, and made a mistake. My parents were so disappointed, but didn't believe in abortion, so I carried it for six months. I wore baggy t-shirts and sweaters as I started to show. Then, in the June after Senior year, I went in for an ultrasound. The doctors couldn't find a heartbeat," my voce started to become hoarse, and I could feel the tears start to come. Dale put his hand on my hands which were folded on the table to try to comfort me. I pulled them away.

"They took me in to have a C-Section. I passed out on the operating table," the tears were really coming now. "When I woke up, they told me that I could never have kids and that I was lucky to be alive. My parents were scared out of their mind, and I was too. That fall after it happened, I went back to school, dug myself in my work and got the best grades I could. I thought I didn't deserve anyone because I had 'broken pipes' as my mom so frequently called it," I was bawling by now. I couldn't stop the tears. But I had to finish. "My best friend Riley was the first man I ever let in. And it took me forever to let him in. And now he's dead, and so are my parents, and so is that lovely green eyed baby girl that I never got to see and can only imagine," I said, laying my head in my hands. There was a movement behind me and I snapped my head around. Lori was standing in the doorway of the RV.

"How long have you been listening?" I demanded through my tears.

"Long enough," Lori said sympathetically.

So... This chapter has been brewing in the back of my mind for a week or so. I couldn't get her back story out of my head. It was the tragedy of it all, I guess.

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