Boulevard of Broken Dreams {Daryl Dixon}

F i v e

"Ignore 'em, Jo," Vada muttered to her twin, already sensing her fear. 

"Are they gonna hurt us?" She whimpered, gnawing on her bottom lip.

"I'll kill 'em before they do. Just relax."

Doing their best to hide their faces, the Dalton twins busily continued sorting their clothes. Moments later, two men stood on either side of them, letting off the strong scent of beer. The girls knew these two far too well. They were friends of their father, instantly giving them a not-so-good reputation. They enjoyed knocking them around when they were just children, and continued to do it for as long as the twins could remember.

"I'm talkin' to you!" One of them, Scott, barked, pushing Vada's shoulder roughly. 

"C'mon, Jo, we're leaving," she muttered, hurriedly gathering up their clothes.

The two men chuckled at their fear, and watched as Josephine began to cry. People were staring, but no one bothered to help.

"Let go, Eric..." Josephine squeaked as the other man grabbed her arm. 

Her blood boiling, Vada stomped forward, jerking her sister from Eric's grasp. "Touch her again and I'll tear your appendix out!" She seethed.

They both chortled, shaking their heads at her. "Ooh! Someone's a big girl now!" Scott sneered.

"I ain't afraid of you anymore. Get out of my sight before I kick your sorry asses!"

Already having enough of Vada's attitude, Eric and Scott grabbed the grey-eyed girl by the arms, pulling her outside. She kicked and squirmed in protest, but her strength was no match to theirs. Josephine followed along, bawling and pleading the two to release her sister, but she was ignored.

Scott pushed the struggling girl against a car, pounding her in the face with his fist. Vada clawed at his eyes, only to miss each time. Several blows later, she was thrown roughly to the ground, and a boot collided with her ribcage. The impact caused all of the oxygen to rush from Vada's lungs, leaving her breathless and groaning in pain.

The relentless beating had finally ended with one last kick to Vada's stomach. Josephine stared down at her sister in horror, not knowing how to help. Once Eric and Scott had stalked off across the street, she hurried to her twin's aid.

"Sis, are you okay?" She squeaked.

"Don't matter. They didn't hit you, did they?" The beaten girl croaked in response.

"No...but they hit you! Maybe we should call Dad."

Vada glared at her frightened sister. "What'd I tell you about callin' him that?"

Josephine sighed. "Sorry."

"You're gonna have to drive, Jo. The trailer ain't too far from here."

"But, sis, you never let me drive!"

"Yeah, 'cause you suck ass at it. Look, I've taught you what you gotta know. All you're doing is driving down the road. C'mon and quit your whining."

"What about our clothes? They're still inside."

"I'll come back for 'em later. Let's get outta here now, please."

Chewing nervously on her lip, Josephine helped her sister to her feet and waited for her to steady herself. It was indeed true that Vada had taught her to drive, however she was easily distracted. On the few occasions that she was permitted to sit behind the wheel, the car had been wrecked. Luckily, the incidents were as simple as fender benders, in which no one was hurt. Nonetheless, they were still frightening. 

As soon as the two girls had settled into Vada's car, Josephine hesitantly started the engine, flinching when it sputtered to life.

"You can do it, Jo. Just relax and do as I taught you," Vada assured her twin, worried that her frazzled nerves would result in an accident.

The girl could only nod before tapping the gas pedal with her foot. But, as soon as the car began inching forward, she put the break to the floor, causing the vehicle to jolt to a stop. "I can't do it, Vada!"

Vada clutched her ribcage, silently wheezing in pain. "Quit doing that, dumbass. Just do what I taught you and go!"

Startled by the sudden change in her sister's tone, Josephine lifted her foot from the break pedal, and pushed it onto the gas once again. This time, however, the car was thrown forward, which caused it to collide with a nearby electrical pole. Both girls were slammed into the dashboard (or in Josephine's case, the steering wheel) before sinking back into their seats. Shards of glass rained over them, as the windshield had shattered, and the engine stalled altogether. 

"Vada--"

"Stop talking."

>>>

Daryl went into work the next day, despite his deeply aching body. Any possible way to avoid Merle's presence was good enough for him. Upon his arrival in the dingy car shop, he found himself staring at a familiar red Ford. However, it appeared to have been badly wrecked, as the entire front of it was crushed. 

"Ain't we gon' fix it?" The blue-eyed man questioned one of his co-workers, who was simply staring at the vehicle.

The man turned to Daryl, and sighed. "We got us a pair of twins who can't afford to have it fixed. One of 'em looks like hell, and the other's a goddamned idiot. Hell, I don't even know why this piece of shit's still here."

The younger Dixon felt his heart jolt at his co-worker's description. The car belonged to Vada and Josephine. He looked outside, only to find that the pair of girls were sitting on the curb together. One had her head in her hands, and appeared to be covered in bruises, while the other sat, fanning herself in attempts to cool down under the beating sun. As soon as she noticed him, she perked up and waved. "Hi Daryl!"

"See? She ain't right, I'm tellin' you."

Daryl turned back to the man beside him, sending him a glare. "Don' talk 'bout 'er like tha'. She ain't doin' nothin' wrong." With that, he headed out into the suffocating heat, and straight toward the Dalton twins.