Boulevard of Broken Dreams {Daryl Dixon}

O n e

'Vada (Vay-Duh) Dalton'

That's the first thing she wrote on her job application. Vada Eloise Dalton, the girl that couldn't keep a job, the girl that dropped out of school. The girl that lost hope. She had nothing except a father that was sick in the head, and her identical twin sister, whose mind was that of a five-year-old's.

"Whatcha writin', sis?" Josephine, better known as Jo, chirped from beside her.

"Ain't nothin' you'd understand," she replied, slamming her pen down and taking a sip of her bourbon. Vada was no alcoholic, but her lifestyle gave her every reason to have a drink now and again. Though she and her sister often spent their time at the local pub, this was the first time in weeks that she'd ordered something other than a cherry coke. Jo, on the other hand, drank happily from her glass of orange juice.

"Is it for your work?" Jo inquired. "I thought your boss fired you for being late again."

"That's because your dumb ass put a rock under the hood of my car and stalled the engine," Vada muttered, sourly.

"I didn't do it to be bad, Vada, honest! I just wanted you to think of me when you went to work..."

"Oh, I thought of you alright."

>>>

Daryl Dixon trailed behind his older brother, Merle, as the two walked into a small dingy pub. It was the closest one to where they lived in Georgia, and, according to Merle, it had excellent vodka. The pub was mostly empty besides a group of men playing poker in a corner, and a pair of girls at the bar. One of them scribbled mindlessly on a sheet of paper, while the other looked around with curious eyes.

Merle took a seat just a few stools away from them, and patted the vacant one beside him as an invitation for his brother to sit down. Daryl slouched into the stool, leaning his elbows on the counter, his hands folded in front of him.

"Hey!" Merle called to the barista, who wheeled around. "Four shots o' vodka!"

Daryl grimaced as his brother threw what little money they had onto the counter. "Don' ye' think we shoul' save tha'?"

The older man chortled. "Fer wha', baby brother?"

"I don' know, maybe t' pay th' bills? Th' landlord ain't gonna keep takin' excuses."

That was when four tiny glasses of vodka were put down between the two brothers, and the wad of money Merle had thrown down was swiped off the counter. Daryl watched as his brother downed two of the shots in less than ten seconds, not even touching his own two. He didn't drink often, but when he did, he preferred whiskey.

"Hey, man, ye' seein' wha' I'm seein'?" Merle suddenly rasped from beside him. 

Daryl followed his gaze, only to see that his older brother was staring at the two girls just a few seats away from them. "Yeah, so?"

"So? They're twins, baby brother! One fer each o' us! They're smokin' too. Betcha they'd give it up t' anyone!"

The younger man rolled his eyes. "Leave 'em alone, Merle."

"Ye' gay or somethin'? C'mon, baby brother, this is yer chance!"

"I ain't talkin' t' 'em."

"Fine, let ol' Merle show ye' how it's done," the older of the two brothers rose to his feet, and slid onto the stool beside the girl who was writing. "Hello, ladies. Yer lookin' fine t'day."

Daryl quickly downed a shot of vodka, letting the burning sensation tearing down his esophagus distract him from his embarrassment.

"Thank you!" One of the twins chimed.

"We ain't interested," the other grumbled, not looking up from her paper.

Merle simply chuckled. "Yer sister sure is. Wha's yer name, sweet cheeks?"

"Josephine, but you can call me Jo."

"How woul' ye' like t' go on a li'l ride, Jo?"

Josephine's sister glared up at Merle, her winter grey eyes cold and hard. "She ain't goin' anywhere with you. She don't know what the hell she's talkin' about." 

"Yes I do, Vada!" Jo protested.

"Sure ye' do, baby. C'mon, let ol' Merle show ye' a good time," Merle cooed at her.

Vada growled. "What'd I just tell you?"

"Ye' can't tell Merle Dixon wha' t' do, Vada," he spat at her.

Without a warning, Vada raised her hand, and slapped Merle across the face, causing the men in the corner to cheer for her. Daryl jumped up, grabbing his brother's arms before he could lunge at her. The angry woman took that as an opportunity to snatch up her paper, and grab her sister's arm, before storming out of the pub.

>>>

"What the hell were you thinking?" Vada demanded at her twin as they reached her beat up Ford.

"He was nice, sis! Why'd you hit him?" Jo replied.

Vada took a fistful of Jo's collar in her hand, and forced her to meet her gaze. "When a stranger talks to you like that, you ignore them! I told you that about a thousand times by now you ignorant bastard!" She reached up with her other hand, smacking the back of her sister's head.

"I'm sorry, Vada..." 

"How about instead of being sorry, you get some sense through that thick skull of yours?" Once again, she conked her in the head. She then shoved her toward the passenger's side of her car. "Get in."

The ride back to the rathole the twins were forced to call home was silent. Vada glared angrily out at the road ahead of her, gripping the steering wheel so hard, her knuckles turned white. Josephine stared down into her lap, twiddling her thumbs. She hated the very thought of her sister being upset with her.

As soon as the car was parked in front of the small trailer the girls lived in with their father, Vada jumped out, slamming her door behind her. Josephine mimicked her actions, but got no reaction from it as she had hoped. Upon entering the trailer, the two were met with their angry-faced father, who was sitting on the couch.

"Where the hell you been?" He barked, drunkenly.

"Jo, go to the backyard," Vada muttered, staring coldly at her father.

"But sis--" her sister instantly cut her off.

"Josephine! Go!"

Once the back door had slammed shut, Vada inhaled deeply, mentally preparing herself for her father's nearing outburst. "We were at a job interview."

The intoxicated man stumbled to his feet, his beer gut popping out from under his filthy t-shirt. "Lost your damn job again?" He shouted.

"I quit," the grey-eyed girl lied, growing intimidated under her father's nasty glare.

"The hell for?!"

"The hours weren't flexible enough..."

Next thing she knew, she was pinned against a wall, her father's hands holding her own above her head. He leaned closer to her so his breath tickled her ear. "You owe me big time tonight."