Trespassing (Daryl Dixon x OC)

Heaven Is Hell

"Heaven's what I seek, but Hell is what I find."

Most of the next day started out uneventful. The old, usual feelings of despair and fear being constant, throwing me back into my phase of quietness among the group, even with Daryl. Dale and Glenn--and occasionally T-dog--were working on the RV; lots of stuff I never learned about since I had my nose stuck in portraits and graphite. Well, that and Dad came down sick. I still couldn't stop thinking about what Jenner said; we're all infected. How the hell is this what the world came to? I never got to see other countries with my father, or share our first dance at my future wedding. Shit, I barely even got anywhere with my art career. He said I was destined to do great things, I guess I'm just gonna have to figure out what that means in this fucked up world.

"Belle." I looked up--as I was staring at my feet--from my place on the side of the road, sitting on the barrier of the highway. Rick held out an energy bar of sorts to me. "You have to eat," he told me. I looked back down. 

"Not hungry," I mumbled. 

He sighed as he shifted his weight, sitting into his hip as he lowered his arm. "I don't think starving yourself is the smartest idea right now." 

"I'm not starving myself," I instantly shot back. "I've eaten." 

"Not a lot. And not today. So take this." 

"I don't want it," I pressed. In all honesty, I guess I was hungry, but that sort of nauseous-hungry you get when your stomach's too empty. 

"Belle," Rick said more sternly, "you need to ea-" 

"I'm not your daughter," I interrupted, looking up and speaking a little louder than intended, which caused a few heads to turn in our direction. "Rick, I-" 

"No, I get it," he said with a sigh, now interrupting me. I felt bad, I must admit. I didn't mean to for it to come off like I didn't care or that I was frustrated. Truth is, I'm scared shitless. And plus, my relationship with Rick was...strange. We hit it off as friends but deep down inside I would like some type of father figure. Although at this point, I don't really think I'll ever get one. And then there are those weird moments where I can't tell if he's being flirty or what. 

"You're scared, we all are. We all just experienced some crazy shit back there, I know. But we all need to stick together. And truthfully, you're one of the few people keeping this group together. And for you to do that, we need you healthy. So, please, eat," he said with a lower, more caring voice. 

I took in a deep breath while taking in the concern from his blue eyes. I nodded. "Okay." He gave a small smile, tossing me the bar.

The next few hours were also rather uneventful. The group still did their thing, I was doodling in a notebook I brought along. I glanced up at the highway. I did one of those movie-double takes to make sure I was seeing clearly. There was another small herd of walkers coming down the pavement. I stood up, letting the pen and paper fall off my lap onto the dirt. 

"Guys," I called out. Most of them looked up and began gearing for the small "battle" that would occur in the next few minutes. But then I realized Sophia was playing a number of feet behind the RV, closer to the walkers. 

"Sophia!" I called to her, causing her to turn. The frightened child did what any kid would do in a scary situation, she hid under a car. At this point, the world was moving so fast that many of us were already wrapped up in targeting the herd. A shrill shriek seemed to knock me out of my trance and I noticed Sophia running into the woods. 

"Sophia!" I nearly screamed as I abandoned all other thoughts other than finding the girl. I paid no attention to whoever screamed my name from the group, I booked it in the direction she ran.