Boulevard of Broken Dreams {Daryl Dixon}

T w o

"Can't believe tha' bitch had th' nerve t' hit me," Merle Dixon grumbled to his brother, gently brushing his rough fingertips over the bruise on his cheek the next morning.

"Ye' had it comin'. I tol' ye' t' leave 'em th' hell alone," Daryl replied, tossing a chunk of deer meet into a pan on the stove.

"Tha' other one was fucked up in th' head, man."

"Wha' makes ye' think tha'?"

Merle shrugged. "Ye' coul' jus' tell. She was like a li'l baby, and 'er sister was 'er mama. Ye' know, takin' care o' 'er an' shit. Kinda like me an' ye', huh baby brother?"

The younger man scoffed, shaking his head. "Ye' never took care o' me. Hell, ye' were gone by th' time ye' were sixteen!"

"Wha', ye' think Pa took care o' yer worthless ass?" 

"I took care o' myself!"

"Ye' coul' hardly wipe yer own ass, boy!"

Daryl's blood boiled. He and his brother both knew that Merle was in and out of jail constantly as a child, or he was out getting high with his friends. "Ye' were nothin' but a worthless piece o' shit, jus' like ye' are now!"

Before Merle could shoot back at him, his brother had grabbed his crossbow, and stomped out the door.

>>>

Vada woke up beside her bare-chested father the next morning, her thighs throbbing. She was used to the sensation, but it still hurt her deeply nonetheless. Carefully, she slipped out of bed, ignoring her sore body, and gathered her clothes from the floor, before hobbling into the bathroom to shower.

As sick as it was, keeping her father somewhat please was what kept him from hurting Josephine. Vada swore to him that he could have her for whatever he wanted, just as long as he kept his hands off of her sister. Luckily for her, he agreed. So, while her twin sister slept peacefully at night, Vada was busy doing treacherous and foul deeds for her own father.

No matter how hard she tried, she could never wash his filth away. The amount of times she washed her hair didn't affect how strongly the smell of a drunken man lingered in her blonde locks. The amount of soap never seemed to get rid of the layer of someone else's sweat and saliva on her fragile skin. And no matter how much makeup she put on, she couldn't cover up the purple handprints and lashes that had covered her thighs and torso since she was fourteen.

After pulling on some clean clothes, Vada headed to Josephine's room, where she was sleeping soundly with a stuffed animal pressed her her chest.

"Jo, it's time to wake up. We got stuff to do today," she told her softly.

Josephine slowly opened her eyes, gazing up at her sister. "Can I come?"

Vada rolled her eyes. "Of course you can, dumbass. C'mon, get dressed."

As usual, it took a while for Josephine to get ready, even with Vada's help. But, the two were on the road about twenty minutes later. Vada kept her eyes glued to the stretching road before her. She was determined to get a new job, as it would easily give her more time away from her father, and add more money to the amount she was saving to get a house for she and her twin to live in together.

"Sis, where are we goin'?" Josephine questioned.

"A job interview," her sister replied, bluntly.

"Another one already?"

"Damn right, and you'd best not mess it up."

>>>

Daryl silently made his way through the woods, his crossbow slung lazily over his shoulder. Hunting was about the only thing he could do to relieve the stress of living with his brother. It was a beautiful morning. Sunlight poured through the gaps between the tree leaves, forming tiny puddles of light all over the ground. The only sound in the air was the calling of birds, just the way the Dixon liked it.

He closely watched both the ground, and the trees, in search of a sign of something to catch. Most of the trees were packed with squirrels, and today was no different. Daryl pulled his weapon in front of him, aiming it at the nearest squirrel. Just seconds later, an arrow had gone straight through the anima's skull, pinning it to the tree it had been climbing. With no emotion, Daryl went to retrieve his catch, already beginning to forget about the argument with his brother.

His comment about the twins stuck with him though. "She was like a li'l baby, and 'er sister was 'er mama." The more he thought about it, the more he figured his brother was right. The way Vada spoke about Josephine, and how quick she was to defend her made him wonder if Jo could defend herself at all, or rather, if she knew that she needed to. He couldn't help but wonder what it was like to grow up with someone like Josephine. Someone who couldn't fend for herself, speak for herself, do anything on her own. He wondered how he would've dealt with it. Would he abandon her? Would he still love her? He didn't know.

But, something in the back of Daryl's mind told him that they were more than a pair of twins. He knew they had a story, just like he did.