𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 ➳ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

Chapter 14 ~ Story Time with Daryl

Daryl shifted beside me and clasped his hands together in front of him in a nervous gesture, strands of his dark hair hanging in his face.

"I met Mandy when I was fifteen," he started softly, "She had just moved into town with her parents. She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen..."

His blue eyes seemed distant then and I could tell the memories of mom was resurfacing for him.

"She had this ridiculous laugh that just made you smile. And she always knew the right thing to say..." he continued, his Southern accent sticking to 'smile' and 'right'.

I smiled sadly, the image of mom clear in my head at his words. Gosh, I missed her.

"One day, I saw her being bullied by some of the older kids. I told 'em off for her...." he said and chuckled, "I'll never forget how mad she was that I fought her battle for her. Said she could do it herself and didn't need me..."

"We hung out a lot after that though and the next year, I asked her out. We went steady for a long time.... She was all I needed... It was bad at home and she made it better somehow..." he continued, his voice raspy, "It was bad for her at home too though... Maybe we both needed each other..."

He paused and took a deep breath then. My eyes were trained on him as I saw him bite his lip in thought before pressing on.

"Then things changed... My mom died in a house fire... She'd fallen asleep with a cigarette in her hand... I tried to distance myself from Mandy but she wouldn't have it... When I ran off into the woods afterward, she just followed after me..." he said, cracking a sad smile, "She was persistent like that... But after my ma died, my dad..."

He trailed off then and I could see him fidget in the darkening church. The story was getting harder and harder for him to tell. He let out a breathy sigh before continuing.

"He started to beat me...and my brother Merle had already left off to some military school so it was just me..." he said slowly, the words painful for me to hear as they left his lips, "...That lasted a few months before he died... Then I left..."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, deciding to ask about that brother later.

"You left? Just like that?" I asked, speaking up for the first time during his story.

He looked up at me, deep blue eyes intense. Slowly, he nodded in response.

"I loved your mom... But she deserved better than me. I knew it then and I know it now..." he replied quietly.

I shook my head, disagreeing.

"She loved you so much... And she chose you! She knew what she was getting herself into when she chose you, Daryl... And she did it anyway," I told him, my words soft in the darkness.

Silence ensued between us then as he cast his blue eyes down to his boots. I fidgeted absnetmindely before he finally broke the silence.

"I never would have left had I known about ya..." he told me, his voice husky, "Ya know that, don't ya?"

Slowly, I nodded, "I know..."

And I did know. As I gazed over into the piercing blue eyes of my father, deep down I knew.