Suddenly...Gone

Chapter 27

Daryl was not in a good mood the rest of the day. He was pissed off at everyone – Dwight for showing up, Rick for giving everything away and Emma for not letting him touch her. It all was hitting him at the same time. The angry look on his face just made everyone steer clear of him as no one ever wanted to be on his bad side.

When he let Emma out of the closet, she could tell something wasn't right. He had a look that she hadn't seen in a really long time. Once she crawled out of the closet, Emma stretched her muscles. It was very cramped in there.

"Did it not go well?" she asked.

"Only if you consider giving away that whole fuckin' van full of food a good thing!" he snapped at her.

"Maybe Rick didn't have a choice," Emma suggested.

"Of course there was a fuckin' choice! Wiping out those assholes when they came inside the gates was the choice! This place is so god damned fucked up!" Daryl shouted.

Emma was surprised at the vehemence in his voice. She had never seen him like this. "Daryl, just calm down. I'm sure that Rick..."

"Don't you tell me to calm down," Daryl said his voice low with anger. "You know nothin' about this place or me anymore. And I sure as hell don't know you. So don't go spouting off on shit you don't know."

His words startled her. Who was this man? The Daryl she knew would never talk to her that way. She was not going to let him get away with it.

"Fuck you, Daryl," she spat at him.

"Like that's ever gonna happen again." He knew he was too angry to talk to her about this, but his mouth wasn't shutting up.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that my girlfriend, who still says that she loves me, won't let me fuck her or even touch her. The Emma I used to know was as horny for me as I was her. What happened to her, cause you sure as hell ain't her!"

Daryl didn't wait to let an astonished Emma answer him. He stalked from the room, and Emma knew he had left the house when she heard the front door of the house slam. The roar from the engine of his motorcycle let her know he was leaving Alexandria. Emma ran after him, but all she saw was the back end of the bike passing through the open gates. Then he was gone.

Emma made it as far as the living room and crumpled into a heap. She and Daryl had small arguments before, but nothing like this. She understood they had been apart for a long time, and they each had changed, but she didn't recognize the man that spoke to her this way.

Michonne had heard the loud voices coming from their room. The slamming of the door and the sound of the motorcycle leaving was a sure sign that not all was well with the newly reunited couple. When she wandered into the living room, she saw Emma crying on the floor.

"Are you okay?" she asked Emma squatting down in front of her.

"I don't know," Emma cried. "I think he just left me."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Michonne offered. "I may have a better insight to Daryl than you do. You guys were apart for a really long time."

"I think I need to, but not here."

Michonne suggested they go up to Emma and Daryl's room as it looked like he wasn't coming right back. Emma agreed, and the two of them headed upstairs. They sat down on the loveseat in Emma's room, and Michonne asked the first question.

"I heard him yelling from Judith's room. Why was he so mad?"

"I know he was upset at Rick for giving away the van, but I told him that Rick had to have had his reasons. He did, right?" Emma said.