Angel

Chapter Five - Daryl

It could have been the morning sun coming into the room that woke me up or it could be the beautiful woman that was still sound asleep on my chest. It was odd that I slept better last night than I had in months. We were crammed into this little bed so that neither of us could barely move as her body was practically on top of mine. This was not what I was used to. Hell, no. I slept by myself in my own space. I didn't share a bed like this before the world got fucked up or after. It just made no damn sense, that as much as I hated to admit it, I enjoyed it. I liked having Jessie pressed up against me. Since there was no place else to sleep, this could become a nightly habit that I was looking forward to.

Another weird thing was that we had no one was on watch. That was hard with just two people, so this run down piece of shit shack that we were temporarily calling home was vulnerable to an attack by anyone. Apparently, last night I didn't care. I didn't even think about it or say nuthin' like I should have, I just fell asleep anyway. Not exceptionally smart of us, but what else could we do?

It wasn't like I was much good right now anyway. I know I could shoot a gun, but using my knife or crossbow right now ain't happenin'. Between the broken ribs and the slice in my side, I had a lot of healing to do first. I was lucky I wasn't alone. Luck didn't often come to me, but it showed up this time in the shape of the hot black-haired woman that was sleeping with me.

I looked down at her, and she looked so peaceful and stunning. Thinking back, I don't think I ever thought of a woman as stunning before. Hot...a few, pretty...a few more and too many damn ugly when the drunk wore off. But stunning...never. Those types of women never looked at a Dixon. We were as bad as they came. Merle and me ain't the type of guy that you took home to mommy and daddy. We were the kind of guys you fucked to piss them off.

Even though my arm was completely numb from Jessie lying on it all night, I wasn't in any big rush to move. I did shift a little and bend a knee up to take a little strain off my back. She fidgeted in her sleep just a bit but quickly settled down. I put my hand on the arm that was across my chest and thought back to what she had told me about her life these last few years.

Jessie had survived without the benefit of a group like I had. Being able to know I could count on people like Rick, Glenn, Carol and the others all these years was the main reason we made it as far as we did. With the trust we all had in each other, we knew someone always had our back. Did anyone ever have Jessie's?

She never talked about a boyfriend or anyone that she could count one. I knew without having to ask that she left out quite a bit about her life, but then again she barely knew me. Maybe in time, she would tell me more, as I was pretty damn sure that she had come across some animals that abused women and I was talking about the two-legged variety.

Sure I liked getting laid just as much as the next guy, but I never forced a woman to have sex with me. Never could. Never would. Never will. That wasn't me. But now, with no law and basically no rules I knew too many assholes took what they wanted. The word "No" meant nothing to them. I really hoped Jessie hadn't had to suffer through that. Just the thought of this beautiful woman in my arms having to go through anything like that had my hands curling into fists and my heart starting to pound. I would gladly slit the throats of anyone who had done that to her.

"What are you looking so mad about?" her soft, but sleepy voice asked.

Damn, when had she woken up?

"It ain't nuthin'," I told her trying to brush it off. I didn't realize my face was showing what I was thinking.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" I could hear the uncertainty in her voice which surprised me.