My Only Weakness

Chapter Twenty-one

The sun shone brightly, late afternoon slowly setting in as it warmed my skin. I soaked in the sun's rays, welcoming the calming sensation it gave me; something about it always made me feel relaxed, almost safe.

I treaded through the semi tall grass to where we buried our dead, or at least, the ones we cared about. I could hear a shovel scraping at dirt, and soon a familiar figure came into view.

"Need any help?" I called out and Daryl turned just enough so that he could look at me, pulling the bandana hiding his face down.
"Ye ain't supposed to be 'round me." he stated with a grunt, and I shrugged my shoulders in response, "Oops?"

He sighed, stabbing the ground with the shovel so that it stayed up when he let go, and climbed out of the grave he'd currently been finishing up.

He walked towards me and I met him halfway, his muscled body towering over my petite frame.
"I don't want ye t'get sick." I shook my head quickly, "I don't care. I want to help."

He gave me a hard stare, and I almost gave in. "Phoebe..." he started, but I quickly stopped him. "I want to help, Daryl. I can't just sit around by myself."

He thought this over, chewing on his thumbnail before finally nodding with a small, defeated sigh. "I guess ye can help me with the grave markers." I nodded, giving him a faint smile, which he returned with just a simple twitch of his lip before turning away.

I sighed looking down at my feet as I walked over to where he was now crouched over, working on a makeshift cross. I kneeled down, sitting back on my heels as I start to make one of my own. "Are we putting names?" I asked softly, not feeling the need to be loud.

He nodded his head before handing me a black sharpie, which I placed in front of me until it was needed. I felt his eyes on me, but continued to wrap the twine around the two pieces of wood.

We stayed quiet, the peace between us now being something I had missed the passed few days. Just simply being near him calmed my nerves. Once finished with my first cross, I held it out for a full examination, finding it not too shabby for my first attempt.

"Not bad," Daryl commented, and I smiled inwardly at his compliment, before setting it down with the rest of them. A sharp pain erupted from my hand, and I let out a small yelp. "Damn splinter," I mumbled looking down at my finger, but was soon distracted when his hand wrapped around mine, pulling it to him.

I watched as he pressed my index finger to his lips, and shivered when his teeth grazed over my skin as he pulled the tiny splinter out, his eyes holding mine the entire time.

I felt a blush creep up my neck and bit my lip. He lifted my hand, placing a gentle kiss to my palm, and a dark shade of pink spread across my cheeks. I didn't know how he made me feel this way, made me melt with the simplest of gestures.

I found myself no longer caring that I could be exposed just by being close to him. And when his lips met mine, I realized he had came to the same conclusion.

He kissed me slowly, his eyes fluttering closed as mine soon followed. He moved my hand down to his chest, our fingers intertwined as his other hand cupped my face.

The clearing of someone's throat is what pulled us apart, and I turned to find Rick standing near us a few feet away, arms crossed with a smirk plastered across his face. Daryl coughed awkwardly and stood up to face him. "I'm glad ye were in there," he stated, and Rick shook his head. "I wasn't much help without my gun."

"No, you were. All this time off, you earned it." Daryl continued, squinting as the sun hit his eyes, and Rick gives him a small smile. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Tyreese's booming voice. "Hey guys! I think you'll wanna come see this!" The three of us looked at each other before following him to the prison.

"You found them like this?" Rick asked Tyreese as I stared down in horror at the two, still smoking, burnt corpses, and the urge to vomit arose within the pit of my stomach. He nodded, "I came to see Karen, and I saw the blood on the floor...then I smelled them."

"Tyreese, I..." I didn't know what I could say as he looked in my direction, and as our eyes met I could see all the pain he was going through. "Somebody dragged them out here, and set them on fire!" Tyreese yelled, anger filling his tone. "They killed them and set them on fire!" he continued, moving dangerously close
to Rick.

Rick backed away from him quickly, and I watched as Daryl moved behind Tyreese, ready to step in if necessary. "You're a cop. You find out who did this and bring them to me." Daryl looked hesitantly at Rick. "You understand? You bring them to me!"

Daryl reached out to him. "C'mon man, we'll find out who did this-"
Daryl was cut off by Tyreese, who pushed him away. He looked at Rick, who held his gaze as Tyreese let out puffs of air, his broad chest rising every time. "I need to say it again?" he asked angrily, almost shouting.

"No...no," Rick said shaking his head. "I know what you're feeling. I've been there, you saw that. It's dangerous-"

"Karen didn't deserve this." Tyreese interrupted, and I stood there, helplessly watching the interaction between the two. "David didn't deserve it." He pressed his chest against Rick's, getting in his face. "Nobody does!"

"Alright man," Daryl started as he reached out to grab his arm and pulled. "Let's calm-" Tyreese whipped around and pushed Daryl up against the bars.

"Daryl!" I exclaimed, both Rick and I moving to help, but Daryl held his hand up to stop us. "We're on the same side brother." he stated looking from me to Tyreese.

"Hey look," Rick stepped in, "I know what you're going through...." I tuned him out as I glance down at the bodies once more. One thought crossed my mind: we were starting to turn against each other.
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A/n: hey lovelies! I am so happy and proud of how this chapter turned out. I worked so hard to make it long and great for you guys! Let me know what you think and please vote! :) <3