I Need You (Daryl Dixon Fanfiction)

Chapter 24

Daryl-

"Where is she, have you seen Ruth?" I was scrambling around like an idiot asking everyone if they had seen Ruth, she was just gone. She had taken her bow and her back pack, her jacket and hoodie, everything was gone, I should've known she wouldn't stick around much longer. She didn't seem like the type of person to stay in one place for very long. There was no way I could lose her too though. Why would she leave, why wouldn't she say anything to me? I thought, we were something, we've been through quite a bit together. I needed to go after her, I needed to know where she was going, what she was doing.

"Rick, where is she, have you seen her?" I said a little hysteric.

"Ruth? No I haven't." I took a deep stressed breath as I put my hands behind my head, Rick grabbed my shoulder," Daryl what's going on?" Rick and Carl both looking at me confused.

"She's gone, she left, I-I don't know where she went." I sniffed.

"Daryl a lot of people are gone, a lot of people just... died." Rick looked down at the ground.

"She ain't dead." I stomped toward him." I need to go after her, you need to let me go after her." I paced around.

"Daryl you're not thinking clear enough to go after her, I think you need to just stay here, we need you here." Rick grabbed my shoulders firmly, stopping me in place, making me listen to him." I need you here." Rick said to me I took a deep breath and nodded," go take a minute, we are going to be getting a meeting together in an hour, I could use you there." I nodded again and went back home.

I looked around, the house seemed empty, bleek. Without her here it was just a house again, just a place to sleep, it wasn't home without her here. I went up the stairs to her room, and stood in the door way, seeing the blankets on her bed tossed around, her clothes hanging out of the dresser, on the floor, one of the comic's Carl gave her laid on the bed, a pen marking a spot. I opened it up, the second my eyes rested on the pages my heart sank. She had blacked out the pages, leaving bold blank letters that spelled out "I. LOVE. YOU." Tears started to stream down my face, as I studied these pages.

I wasn't sure what I was feeling seeing these words written across these pages. She loved me, she cared about me, but did I really feel the same way? All these emotions I've felt since meeting her were all new to me, I wasn't sure what they were most of the time. As much as I panicked seeing that she was gone, that was me caring right? When we would lay in bed next to each other and I would study her face as she slept, what was that emotion? When I would admire her bare body, when she would shower with me, what was that? When she would smile between soft kisses, making me smile back, was that it, was that love. When her smiles would make my stomach flop, when her touch would give me goose bumps, when her kisses would make my heart race, when her body against mine would make me unable to think straight, was that it? Was that what "Love" felt like?