Meet Me Under Our Willow (A Daryl Dixon Pre-Apocalypse Love Story)

Chapter 14 - Confessions

I carefully peel his shirt off, and he winces in pain as the fabric sticks to his open wounds. I keep apologizing, trying to soothe him in some way. Noah comes in with the supplies I asked him to get. He gapes in shock at Daryl's bloodied slashes on his back. I take the wet cloth and start dabbing at his wounds, trying to clean the blood and get to the wounds. Noah ends up leaving because he can't handle the gore. But, I can handle it. This isn't my first time doing this, and the first time was worse.

Daryl grips the sheets in pain as I begin putting hydrogen peroxide on the gashes. He groans in agony and I keep trying to soothe him by apologizing, but I know that won't do any good. Before I can stop myself, I start singing the first song that pops into my head,

"And I'll use you as a warning sign,

that if you talk enough sense, then you'll lose your mind,

and I'll use you as a focal point,

so I don't lose sight of what I want,

and I've moved further than I thought I could,

but I miss you more than I thought I would,

Oh, I'll use you as a warning sign,

that if you talk enough sense, then you'll lose your mind,

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be,

right in front of me, talk some sense into me,

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be,

right in front of me, talk some sense into me." ('I Found' by Amber Run)

During the song, I noticed his grip on the sheets loosen and his back muscles slowly relax. I finish properly cleaning them and begin bandaging them up. When I'm done, I look at my blood soaked sheets and sigh. Daryl's breathing heavily, his head faced away from me. My shoulders slump and my body sags slightly from my sitting position on the bed. I glance down at my hands, which are covered in dry blood. Daryl's blood.

"Who did this to you, Daryl?" I quietly ask, keeping my voice soft.

"Who do ye think?" he replies, no trace of hostility in his voice.

"Your father?" I asked, my voice cracking. He grunts as a response, and anger fuels inside of me.

"You can stay here while you heal up." I offer.

"Thanks." he grumbles.

Without thinking, my hand moves to sit on Daryl's arm. I expect him to tense up, but he doesn't, he just lets out a shaky breath.

"Daryl," I start, "why have you been treating me so poorly?"

He turns his head so he faces me, and he sees that I'm on the brink of tears. He closes his eyes for a second and sighs, then opens them again and doesn't meet my gaze.

"I was mad at you for leaving me like everyone else in my life." he confessed.

"It wasn't my choice. I wanted to stay here with you."

"Why didn't you?" he pressed, "I felt like the whole world was against me, and I still feel like tha'."

"I'm not against you."

He meets my eyes, before breaking his gaze again. I continue, "You know I've never been against you. I was there when your mother passed away, I was there to clean your wounds, and on top of all of that, I was your friend. I know I left you here, and I'm sorry for that, but you weren't the only affected by it."

He looks up at me questioningly, and I explain, "I didn't sleep for weeks and I barely ate anything. My parents thought I was depressed at a very young age and tried taking me to a therapist, but it didn't help. I eventually got over it, but I surly didn't forget about you, and I missed you everyday. I still miss you."

"I didn' know ye went through tha'."

"I did. And it was a terrible time for me." I said.

It's quiet for a few moments, both of us soaking in the information. I look down at my hands, trying to hold in the tears that have been threating to spill.

"I'm sorry."

My head snaps up to look at him. He was looking right back at me, with a genuinely apologetic look. He continues,

"I'm sorry for the way I've treated ye. That wasn't fair to ye, 'nd I'm real sorry."

I smile, "I forgive you. And I'm sorry. For lashing out at you and barging into your house yesterday."

He gives me a weak smirk, "I forgive ye, too."

"You should get some sleep. Your body needs rest." I suggest, getting up and getting a pillow for him. I prop it under his head and cover the lower half of his body with a blanket.

"'Night." he said, snuggling into the pillow.

"Goodnight, Dare." I smiled.

I went and turned the lights out. The moonlight dimly lit the room, and his skin reflected off the pale light. He was truly beautiful, inside and out. It just takes a while to show his inner beauty. I quietly walked back over to him and placed a light kiss on his temple. Before I can walk away, he catches my hand and softly kisses the top of it. He lets it go and I walk out of my room to let him get some rest. I can't help but grin for the rest of the night.