Rise Up

Chapter 13

Afterwards, I had fallen asleep. I didn't know how long I had been out.

"Amelia, wake up," Enid whispered.

I shot up and looked around.

"What's wrong? Are Maggie and Sasha okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. They're fine. Jesus is back. But there's something you need to see," she said.

I stood up.

"Is he okay?" I asked.

"He is. Just come on. They're at the house," she said.

We made our way out of the trailer and toward the house. The sun was starting to set. It was late afternoon.

"Enid, I don't like being kept in suspense. Why can't you just tell me what's going on?" I said as we reached the steps of the house.

"You'll see," she said with a smile in her voice.

As soon as the door opened I looked up at him. He was here. I had to catch my breath. He was biting down on his lower lip. He half-smirked at me. The tears were rolling down my face. I ran up to him and held him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me and held me just as tightly. I leaned back to get a good look at that face that I had missed immensely. I moved his hair out of his face and his eyes were filled with tears just like mine. They had beaten him. His lip was slightly swollen.

"You're here," I choked out.

I kissed his face and then pulled him closer to me again. I looked over at Jesus.

"Thank you," I mouthed.

"I just got him here. He'd managed to escape himself," he said.

I leaned back with my arms still around Daryl's neck.

"That sounds like you," I said.

He pressed his forehead against mine.

"The thought of getting to hold you one last time is what kept me going," Daryl whispered.

I leaned back.

"One last time? The hell are you talking about, Dixon?" I asked wiping away some of the tears.

He was quiet and just looked at me. There was something that he needed to tell me. I looked around and didn't see Sasha or Maggie around.

"Where's Maggie and Sasha?" I asked.

"They're over at Dr. Carson's trailer," Enid said.

"Okay. Did you guys just get here?" I asked looking at Jesus.

"Yeah. A few minutes ago," he said.

"It's good to have you back. Oh and Gregory wanted me to have you see him the minute you got back," I said.

"All right. Let's see what he wants," Jesus said.

He headed to Gregory's office.

"I'm gonna go and check on Maggie," Enid said.

"I'll see you later," I said.

She nodded and took off. I looked at Daryl.

"You. You're coming with me," I said.

I grabbed his hand and we headed upstairs. We got to a vacant bathroom and I locked the door. He sat at the edge of the bathtub.

"What did they do to you?" I asked.

I went and turned on the faucet. He was silent.

"Dammit, Daryl. Don't do that to me. Do you know what it did to me to see them drive away with you?" I said kneeling down in front of him.