Barely Surviving // TWD // Daryl Dixon #Wattys2016

Chapter XXV -- Needed You

                                         "I may not have gone where I intended to go,

                                      but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."

                               ― Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

I saw those eyes. The eyes I never thought I would see again, except on myself. Tears were falling out of them, down below her mouth, which was covered with both her hands.

"Mum?" I choked out.

I couldn't believe it. My mother was standing in front of me. She had blood on her forehead, she looked weak and she was dirty but she was alive, wasn't she? I really hoped I was not hallucinating. I turned to look at Rick to ask him why he told me she was dead but he just shrugged with a smile before I could ask, probably knowing what I was going to ask him.

It took us around a minute, but finally my mum walked towards me and hugged me tightly. It was probably harder for her to believe that I was here than what it was for me to believe she wasn't dead. I cried in her arms as I hugged her as tight as I could, I never thought I would miss her this much.

"Thank God!" she muttered. "Thank God!"

"How?" Hershel asked, making us break apart.

"She fought her way into a cell," Daryl said. "Must have passed out. Dehydrated."

It was then when Beth approached my mother, I noticed she was holding a baby and it was then all made sense in my head. They were looking for formula, Glenn and Maggie... oh shit, Glenn and Maggie, I have to tell them but I wasn't going to spill it, I needed to tell Rick alone, maybe Daryl and him.

I turned to look at my mum, she looked as surprised as I did when I saw the baby, she had a huge smile on her lips. I was going to hold the baby when my arm started to hurt again so I just dropped my arms and looked sadly at the baby, I had to wait, so I just ran my hand through the baby's small head.

"I'm sorry," I heard her say, I looked up to see from the baby to her and I saw her crying and Rick was looking at the ground trying not to cry and in that moment I realized Lori was gone, she had died.

I turned to look at Carl and his blue eyes were filled with tears, even some of them were rolling down his face, he was biting his lips, trying not to cry but it was in vain.

"Carl," I muttered, taking a few steps towards him but he just shook his head at me and ran up the stairs.

"I have to talk to him," I told Rick. "But when I get back I need to tell you something."

"What about your wound?" Hershel asked.

"What wound?" Daryl exclaimed.

"It's nothing," I told him. "It can wait, Hershel. Michonne is worse than me, fix her up first. I will talk with Carl first and then Rick and then you can cure my wound, maybe that will give you enough time with her."

I walked up the stairs and looked inside every one of those cells. I found Carl in the very last one. He was sat on the floor, knees bent, head buried in them and his back against the grey wall. I leaned against the opposite wall and said his name, making him jerk his head up.

"I had no idea, I'm sorry."

"How could you know? You weren't here!" He wasn't excusing me, by his tone and the way he was telling me I could tell he was actually accusing me, he was extremely mad at me.

"Get it out," I told him. "It's not good to keep things inside." If only I could follow that advice.

Carl stood up quickly and took two steps towards me. I took a deep breath to prepare myself to what Carl had to say to me.