Daryl Dixon: A Beautiful Disaster (SEQUEL)

Chapter 12: Truths

TW: mention of rape

Shannon's P.O.V.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He starts off, keeping his eyes averted from staring directly into mine.

"It's too late for that." I spit back.

He nods his head "I understand-- I just-- I had no choice."

"Bullshit, we could've left! We had that choice!" I yell back.

He chuckles "no we didn't. They were going to take you either way. I was the one who had a choice. A choice to live or to die."

I clench my fist tightly, fighting against throwing it into his jaw. "Right" my eyes roll. "None of that matters to me, it never will. Why are you here now? Why did you "help" me?" I ask with air quotes around help and an exaggeration on the words.

He looks over his shoulder "Lisa, that's why." He tries to say simply.

"That's not enough. Why did you come here with Clint? Why did you wait in the wings and help him bring me back there? You could've killed him, we could've taken care of Flax and the other guy. Why?" My anger courses through me and I stand up as I ask these questions.

Spencer stands next to me, putting a hand on my shoulder to try and calm me. I leave it there but stay standing, breathing through my nose. "Cause I'm in love, and I needed to save her." He says looking over at Lisa again.

My stomach begins to emit laughter and I can't control it. I let it out with everyone staring at me like I've lost it. No one says anything and let's me let it out. Eventually, my laughing slows down and I wipe a tear from my face "you were like a brother to me, you were the only family I've ever really had and you traded me like I never mattered to you."

"You mattered most to me, I loved you too Shay." He admits to me now.

"Stop. No, I'm not doing this." I try to push that conversation away.

"If not now then we never will." He pushes.

I shake my head furiously "No. this isn't my fault, I'm not going to talk about it."

"Shay, please. I'm not saying it's your fault. They gave me a choice. If I told you what they had planned, they'd kill us both. If I went along with it, we'd both live. I couldn't be the one to kill you." He tries to explain.

"What you did was worse. What they did, what they were going to do--" I trail off.

"I know. Lisa went through it all and-- and I couldn't let it happen anymore. I couldn't let them kill her." He explains "so I went out again with Clint to find you. And I-- I did something terrible." He stops.

"You already did something terrible." I say back "what could be worse?" I ask.

He takes a deep breathe before speaking "I started the fire at your old camp." He looks to the ground now.

"What?!" My voice along with maybe two others spit out together.

He keeps his eyes down "I didn't mean too. I saw you working on the field when we were scouting . Clint was about to go in and I knew he'd find you, they couldn't protect you." He explains. "That camp was barely holding it together."

"You killed those people?" Petra asked in a low whisper.

"I tried to just shoot out one car, maybe warn you guys, but there were propane tanks or something around and it just exploded. It got out of hand so fast." He shakes his head.

My mouth gapes open, not sure what to say. Luckily the door to the room opens and Maggie walks in "Rick's back." She looks right to me and my heart drops. Thank God, I think storming out leaving them all behind me.

Maggie tries to slow me down and talk to me but I leave her in the dust, quickly walking towards the house I used to live in. I soon realize the huddle of people forming around the gate and switch directions. As I get closer I try and listen to all the chatter. Everything goes quiet inside and outside of me though when I see him again. My feet move faster now, quickly closing the gap between me and everyone else as I run. Although he's facing away from me, I know it's him. Everyone around stares as I get closer, their words slowly coming to a stop and when he goes to turn to see what it is they are looking at, I lift my right hand from my side and throw a punch directly into his face.

Daryl's P.O.V.

I see her for only a moment when her fist connects to my jaw. It stings a little but I don't move from it, or the second and third hits she brings down on me. She has every right to be mad at me. Although I was hoping once they told her what we had planned she'd forgive me, I didn't think it would happen instantly. Spencer comes up behind her and tries to pull her away. She fights against him, getting lose and slapping at me while cursing. Rick steps in to help and they drag her a few feet from me "it's iight, let her go." I try to tell them.

"We shouldn't do this here." Rick responds. "Let's go inside." He calls back to me as they pull at Shannon to go along with them. About half way to the house she stops fighting them and walks ahead, never looking back to me. Rosita, Maggie, and I follow behind them.

We get into the living room and Shannon starts yelling "what the hell are they doing here Rick? They were in on it!" She cries.

My attention goes to Spencer, whose still touching her shoulder "yew didn't tell her?" I snarl at him. Of course he didn't.

"We've been busy." He shrugs back at me, as if that's an excuse.

"He didn't have to tell me anything." She spits towards me. "I figured it out on the way to the compound and I figured it out while I waited for my turn to be raped. You're just as bad as he is, Dixon." She looks ill while saying my name.

I want to reach out to touch her, to tell her everything, but what she is saying isn't making all that much sense "as Clint?" I ask, wondering what she meant.

"As your father!" She growls with rage and sadness shining through her eyes.

"What?" I say back, everyone else around me disappearing.

"No wonder you betrayed this group, Rick, me. You're his son." Her words blend together as if she isn't breathing in between saying them.

"I uhh.. uhm.." I can't form thoughts yet alone words to say something back. It can't be true, can it? I haven't seen my father since long before the world ended. I figured he drank himself to death and haven't thought about him since I was in my 20's.

Rick steps in front of me, his blurry figure slowly comes into focus "alright, let's let her calm down and I'll talk to her."

"I What?" I ask him, looking over his shoulder now seeing she's not standing there anymore. "Where she go?" I ask, I didn't see her leave.

"She went to Spencer's, she needs some rest, Denise's orders." Rick explains to me.

I hide my anger with a head nod and blow out some air from my nose "Rick, I need to talk wit her."

"You will Daryl," he puts a hand on my shoulder "soon. Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll go talk with her first, give her the heads up on what happened."

"Fine." I mumble and walk to the house.