A Walking Dead Love

Chapter 19- A Mother's Death

           

Chapter 19- A Mother's Death

I dragged out another body into the hallway, emptying out the office that belonged to Daryl and me.

With a huff, I straightened up the room, memories flooding me as I picked up the floor. The flashes of the nights Daryl and I would spend together, loving each other. The days we would throw darts, playing games that would only raise more questions than answers. The silence that seemed to speak louder than words.

Everything.

One memory stood out to me though, one that continued to bring a smile to my face.

A dart flew through the air, hitting the center once again. "Another win for me, so, were you ever married or engaged?"

Daryl laughed at my question, sitting on the desk as he watched me walk over to him. "No, never."

"Would you ever consider it?" I asked, hoping to get more from him. His large hands wrapped themselves around my waist, pulling me closer. He never acted this way in public, but alone we would do things like this.

"Maybe, never met the right one."

I nodded, my smile gone as I took a step back, a little hurt by his comment. He noticed, sighing, "Why, have you?"

Shrugging, I said, "Depends on what happens."

Daryl pulled me closer again, "Nothing will happen, I promise." I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, "And I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

At the thought, a smile appeared on my face, causing a voice to say, "What could ya be smilen about?"

I looked up to see Daryl, holding his crossbow strap as he watched me from the door. "Nothing, just thinking."

Daryl nodded, "Alright. Carl, Oscar, and I are gonna check out the lower level, wanna come?"

"Yeah, let's go," I said, grabbing my gun and following Daryl out of the office and into the corridors where Oscar and Carl already stood, waiting. I pulled out my knife and we cautiously walked around on the bottom level.

Oscar was wandering around a bit while I walked behind Daryl and Carl, having their back. Daryl looked over at Carl seeing the unreadable expression on his face.

"You know, my mom, she liked her wine. She liked to smoke in bed," Daryl started, immediately getting my attention. He never mentions his mom, just told me that she was dead.

"I was playing out with the kids in the neighborhood. I could do that with Merle gone. They had bikes, I didn't. We heard sirens getting louder. They jumped on their bikes, ran after it, you know, hoping to see something worth seeing. I ran after them, but I couldn't keep up. I ran around a corner and saw my friends looking at me. Hell, I saw everybody looking at me. Fire trucks everywhere. People from the neighborhood. It was my house they were there for."

Oh no.

"It was my mom in bed burnt down to nothing. That was the hard part. You know, she was just gone. Erased. Nothing left of her. People said it was better that way. I don't know. Just made it seem like it wasn't real, you know?" Daryl said, making me look at the back of his head with sadness.

I didn't know that's how it happened. The way he talked about it reminded me of my mom.

Carl paused before saying, "I shot my mom," surprising Daryl and I. "She was out. Hadn't turned yet. I ended it. It was real." Carl and Daryl stopped, making me stop as well. "Sorry about your mom," Daryl said, making Carl nod, "I'm sorry about yours."