Rise Up

Chapter 23

I eventually caught up with him. We were both quiet and it drove me insane. The house was long behind us at this point.

“I didn't want you coming to look for me,” he said sternly.

“Well I did. Sorry for being so stubborn,” I said matching his tone.

“When the hell have you ever apologized for being stubborn?” he asked.

I didn't say anything. I looked down and kept walking. He sighed. I didn't realize he'd come to a stop until after I bumped into him.

“Ow,” I said.

He turned around.

“Look, I was wrong. That crap I said back at the Kingdom…” he started.

“Yeah. What the hell was that about?” I asked cutting him off.

“You gonna let me tell you?” he retorted.

“Sorry,” I said.

“I just said it cause I knew Richard was wanting to kill them. And I didn't want you out here risking your life for me. Like I said before you're my everything. The thought of losing you kills me,” he said.

I scoffed and walked passed him.

“So your feelings about me have changed huh?” he said.

I stopped. I turned and went up to him.

“Is that what you gathered from what I told you? That I wanted to be smart about this because I don't want to lose you or anyone else? Because, my feelings have changed? Do you sincerely believe that I don't care?” I asked a little hurt.

“Well I've just got so much shit going on in my head,” he argued.

“I know! And I've asked you to open up about it. Not to judge you but because I actually give a shit. Daryl if you can't grasp the fact that I would give my life for you or any of the people back home then what the hell are we doing here?” I asked.

Tears were burning in the back of eyes.

“You want to put an end to this?” he asked softly.

“No! God no! But we have to fix this. We have to be on the same page. I love you. And the mere thought of ending what we have breaks my heart. Even more than it already is. My heart broke at the very beginning of this world. And it continued to do so with every single person that we lost along the way. But being with you, getting to know you and loving you the way that I do, that has made everything that I’ve gone through, bearable. It’s what has kept my heart from breaking completely,” I said making my way closer to him.

He grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. He kissed my forehead.

“You have to talk to me. Tell me what's bugging you. We have to have that here,” I said.

“You were right,” he said.

“About what?” I asked.

“Being smart about this. Richard was wanting to kill the Saviors they had made the deal with.  Said he made a trail that led to Carol’s house. We'd kill them, and the others would come and follow the trail,” he said.

“They would come and follow the trail he had left. An ambush? What the hell? That asshole. Is that why he looked beaten up. You beat the shit out of him?” I asked.

“Yeah. If we'd gone through it, Carol would have gotten hurt,” he said.

“Well I honestly think she would have been able to kill them all,” I retorted.