This Is Reality

Chapter 22

I pull up a chair and sit next to Carl. Resting my forehead on the bed, I quietly start crying too. This was all my fault, this is what I get for trying to help.

Carl wipes his tear-filled face. "Why did you drop her? Why did you leave her?" He asks facing me, his arms and body still draped over Dodger.

I pick up my head slowly, "I had a bad feeling and I went after it... I don't know why I just left like that. I felt the need to just go... Ever since then, her and I haven't been the same"

"Yeah I don't blame her. You dropped her and left her. After you did whatever you did, you never even brought her in, I did. You came in and didn't say anything about her. I found her out there, bleeding and unconscious..."

He's right. I did leave her and never said anything about how she was out there.

"I-I don't know what I was thinkin' to be honest with you Carl..." I confess

"I thought you loved her" He says through his gritted teeth

I don't know how I felt about her now...

"You don't care about her, do you?" He frowns

"I put her here, why wouldn't I care?"

"You know what Daryl, if so care about her why did you leave her? Why did you shove tons of drugs into her veins? Why do look at her so differently!?" Carl says angrily, picking his head up

I looked down at the floor, I was getting yelled at by a teenager...

Carl sighs and hugs Dodger one last time before leaving her side.

"You better not lay a finger on her" He says, leaving the room

Looking over at her, body pale and limp. Tears form in my eyes and I quickly shake them away. I didn't need to cry over her, she wasn't who she was before. I stand up, looking down on her, she looked dead to me. Carl said not to touch her so I didn't check if she was alive or not.

"Who are we anymore... What are we..." I say to myself before leaving the room. It was going to be sometime before people start trusting me again...

~next morning~

I didn't sleep last night, I couldn't. It felt as if Dodger was haunting me. Every so often I would see Maggie or Michonne go in and come back out a few minutes later. What would Dodger say to me when she wakes up, if she does...

Everyone slowly starts waking up after the sunrises. Rick goes into her room with Carl and Father Gabriel. Gabriel doesn't even know her but I guess that's what priests do.

"You hungry?" Carol comes over to me with a smile

"Nah 'm not" I look down at my feet

"What's wrong pookie?" She asks getting to my level. Saying 'Pookie' in a joking way

"Nothin's wrong"

"Now we both know that's a lie Daryl" She frowns

"Why? What are you happy she's probably gone?!" My voice was louder than I wanted it to be

Carol didn't know what to say and everyone was staring. They thought I wanted Dodger dead...

"No that's not true. You're happy with her, I can see that. I'm sorry for what happened between her and I before. I was jealous, that's all. But I accept that you love her Daryl. You need to be with her" She says calmly

"Nah I don't" I say getting up, only to be stopped by Carol

"You know you need her and that she needs you"