Something Missing [Daryl Dixon Love Story]

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

When I woke up again things were different. The sun was out. It filtered through the bare tree limbs and into the window of the cabin. I yawned and turned towards what I thought was the wall. I heard a noise and it sounded like it came from the wall. I moved my hand over to the wall and touched it, it was warm.
My eyes snapped open and widened once I realized what I thought was the wall really was. I pushed myself away and squirmed backwards. I fell against the floor tangled in the blanket.
"Ow..." I groaned.
I heard him stir. "What are you doing?"
I stood up abruptly holding the blanket tightly around me. "I could ask you the same thing!" I glanced at him and down at my lack of clothes.
"Well I was sleeping."
I tried not to yell. I could feel my face getting hot as a thought came to mind. "We didn't...." I looked down at my pile of clothes again. "What happened yesterday?"
He was regaining his feet but stopped and looked up at me with an eyebrow raised. "If you're talking about us having sex then you can let your mind at ease. Nothing happened."
I could feel the heat in my cheeks increasing. "Okay...." I said emphasizing the A. "What DID happen?"
Her ran his hand over the back of his hair. "You tried to freeze yourself to death and I had some change of heart and decided not to let you die, which now seems like it was a stupid idea." He said bitterly. I started to remember and I realized that yes, he saved me but that didn't change anything. He still hated me and I him so I had to act like it.
"I didn't ask you to save me." I spat. "I can handle myself."
"Sure didn't seem like it." He shot right back.
"Maybe I wanted to die!" I yelled before I thought about the words I was saying. Of course I don't want to die. I had Dakota and Beck. I didn't need anyone else. Especially not him.
"Sorry for saving your life again next time I'll be sure to let you kill yourself."
I sighed. I didn't want to fight this guy anymore. If we kept going on this way there was no way that I'd be able to stay here.
"I'm leaving in five minutes to go back to camp. Hurry up and get dressed, I won't wait on you." He said before walking out of the cabin slamming the door behind him.

Daryl was fuming again. Why was she such a damn bitch? He save her life twice and she didn't do so much as say a thank you! He sat on the doorstep to another cabin.
His mind began to travel back to the day before. If it was only for a few minutes he felt like he saw a glimpse of the real Emma. She was so vulnerable and....broken. What happened that had been so bad to hurt her so much?
'Tell you what? Tell you I'm fucking crazy? Tell you that I'm haunted by a man who raped me four years ago? That I watched everyone I cared for killed? What the fuck do you want to know?'
Her words echoed in his head. She had told him but he hadn't really been expecting so much. Sure, she'd lost people. This was the apocalypse, everyone had lost loved ones. But that wasn't what hit him and made him feel bad for her. It was the first two things. She had said that she was raped. Was that what made her crazy?
He tried to imagine how she felt but it was impossible. You could never just imagine something as terrible as that. How could someone do that? How could they take advantage of a girl just barely an adult? It made him sick to his stomach. He got the odd sense to NEED to protect that part of Emma. She didn't have anyone when that happened to her. Could he make that up to her? Was it to late to be there for her, protect her from the shadows? Could he pull something like that off when her facade was so repulsively bitchy?
'Thank you.' She'd whispered that before she went into unconsciousness. She HAD thanked him but which part of her said it? Was it the broken one he felt the need to protect or was it the one who screamed what had happened to her and ran out the door?

'Thank you.'
It was only two words but they bothered him so much. She'd been soaking wet, crying against his jacket. She showed weakness. The real Emma was the only one that seemed capable of the words.

He sighed in aggravation. He could try to ask but there was a low chance of her answering it truthfully. There was no winning with her.

I finished pulling my still damp jeans on and ran a hand through my tangled hair. I looked down at the zipper on my jacket and tried to stall longer. I didn't want to have to talk to him again.
A few minutes passed and I heard him knock on the door. So much for not waiting.
"Come on, it's time to go." He said, his voice flat and emotionless.
I walked to the door and he was standing there. Waiting. His eyes were looking at the trees.
"Let's go then." I said breaking the silence.
I noticed that there were areas in the woods that were flooded. "Is all this from the storm?" Stupid question.
"Yeah." His response was short and final. I realized that he wasn't in the mood for conversation either and I mentally exhaled a sigh of relief.

He lead us through the places with the least amount of water and finally we got back. When we got closer to their camp I had a bad feeling. Suddenly, I didn't want to go in. I stopped and he seemed to notice.
"What's the problem now?"
I didn't answer. I didn't know. It just didn't feel right. Something bad was going to happen if I went in there, I could feel it. I shook my head and backed up a few steps.
"What is it?" I thought I heard concern but it could have been my imagination because it disappeared almost as fast as I'd come.
"I-I can't go in there." I took a few more steps back hoping that somehow it might cause the feeling in the pit of my stomach to dissipate.
He sighed. "Why?"
"I. Don't. Know." I said through clenched teeth. The feeling was growing. Something was going to happen.
He started towards me but he was interrupted by Dakota and Beck. "Hey, Emma, you're back!" She said followed by a bark from Beck. They both raced towards me. At that moment I should of been smiling. I should've been meeting them halfway but I couldn't. Instead my face was contorted in a look of horror. Instead I was retreating backwards as fast as my shaking body would allow.
Hank was back. He bounded out of the house shortly after Beck and Dakota. My ears changed the things that were coming from their mouths. Dakota was screaming, fear in her eyes. "He's going to do it again!" She cried. What? How could I let this happen? How could I let him do what he did to me to Dakota?
My backwards walk became faster. I could see where I was going. I looked at him and he was getting closer! Even Beck's looked fearful. I dared to blink my eyes and when I reopened them I wished I wouldn't have. They were dead. Hank was standing over their dead bodies. Blood covered his clothes, their blood!
Am piercing scream exited my lips. The sound kept coming out of my lungs. Even when I inhaled and exhaled the screaming continued.
My legs splashed through water and soon after my back ran into something. It was like Minecraft, I'd reached the end of the word. If I turned around I would see the expanse of clouds that went where the land didn't. I was trapped, he was going to get me this time.
I couldn't move. I couldn't get my legs to move in a different direction. I was shaking and my legs gave out. I slid against whatever stopped me until I reached the ground. I hugged my knees close to me. Sobs racked through my body. This was it. He was going to get me.
Me face went into my knees. I didn't want to see him coming anymore.

He watched her back away from them. A loud scream escaped her and she sped up.
Daryl turned to the dog and little girl. "Stop walking. I think--"
He was cut off by Dakota. "She sees Hank. I have to go to her. She's afraid." She looked at him with determination in her eyes before she started running towards Emma. He followed closely behind. Was this the real Emma? The one who was afraid of a illusion created by her own mind?
He felt the protection instinct kicking in as they ran towards her.
"Emma!" Dakota called. "He isn't real! He can't hurt you!" Emma don't respond.

Dakota reached Emma's side first. She shook her shoulders and lightly slapped her cheeks but to no avail. Emma was still screaming and her rest were still widened in terror.
"Stop." He called to Dakota. "Go get Ruth, she worked at a nursing home she probably knows what to do."
The little girl looked nervous and unsure at Daryl but finally she obliged to his demand. The dog looked from Dakota to Emma and whined.
Daryl ignored the dog and knelt down beside Emma who sat against a tree with her face buried in her knees. The screaming was replaced with loud crying. Her body was shaking.
He put his hand on her back and moved it around in small circles. "You're alright. Nothing's going to hurt you." He found himself whispering in her ear.
He pulled her into his arms and stood up. She put her face into his jacket again.
"What is it?" Ruth yelled coming towards them. "What's happened?"
He stopped walking when Ruth reached his side. They both looked down at Emma, who was shivering furiously.
"She appears to be in some sort of shock. Let's get her to the camp quickly. She might be in danger."
Daryl obliged without a second thought. He nearly ran back to the camp.

Once they arrived back he set her on his cot and turned to Ruth. "What do we do?"
Her lips were pursed. "Well, I'll be here with her trying to figure out what's wrong. You, on the other hand, will go comfort the kid and dog and keep both them and yourself out of my way.
He tried to protest but he knew that would be out of the ordinary for him, he was supposed to openly despise this girl.
Daryl left without another word.

I finally opened my eyes to not see Hank but the old woman from the camp... Her back was turned to me as she rummaged through things on a table near the cot.
"What happened?" I croaked. My voice was hoarse and it hurt to talk, possibly from screaming.
She turned at the sound of my voice. "You had an episode of PTSD and went into a fear induced shock. You currently have a high fever and your throat is raw from your screaming and overexposure to the cold weather."
PTSD, I'd heard of that before. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Is that what that was? Every time I saw Hank it was just an illusion caused by post-trama?
I didn't really know what to say even if I could freely talk without pain striking my throat so I just nodded.
"I'd like you to remain in bed the rest of today and tomorrow until I can send Tom and Aaron out to get medicine. Hopefully there will still be some at one of the convenience store over in Macon."
I nodded again. "Thanks." I said quickly.
"Don't mention it and try not to talk much. Also, the girl and dog have been sitting outside all day waiting for you to come to. Want me to let them in?"
I nodded.

Almost as soon as the woman left Dakota and Beck were next to me.
She threw her arms around me. "Do you have any idea how worried about you I was, Emma!?" She nearly screamed as I pulled away. "That stupid kid Aaron kept telling me that you were probably dead. Do you know how scared I was!?"
"Sorry." I croaked quietly.
At the sound of my voice she shook her head. "Never mind that. Where were you? Were you together with that Daryl guy?"
"Yeah... I guess he kinda saved my life out there. There was a walker....it almost got me."
"Damn. I'll have to remember not to let you go solo again. You're luck is going to run out sometime. Beck whined the whole time you were gone too. It was annoying but I couldn't let him outside in that storm."
I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I was exhausted. It seemed like that was a side effect to the 'episodes' as the woman called them.
Dakota kept talking and I tried to listen but my eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. Soon I lost the battle against them and drifted off when she was saying something about the woman. All I caught was her name was Ruth before feeling like a feather as I drifted off.

AN: okay guys, so this chapter kinda sucks but it still has important stuff in it. We found out that she's suffering from PTSD and we had another one of those DarylxEmma moments. Please tell me what you thought! I need the feedback. Also, if you guys are into romance stories check out my new story called 'Before Her Time'! it'll mean a lot to me! Thanks so much guys!
~TWT