-KAYLA POV-
I looked back and forth between Daryl and this stranger, now known as Merle, wondering how the hell they could possibly know each other...
"Well, well...." Merle was the first to speak up, his voice raspy as he eyed Daryl up and down, "My baby brother's alive, after all."
Whoa.
Hold the phone.
I whirled around to face Daryl. His expression looked just as baffled as I felt.
"'Baby bother'...?" I repeated softly, as if to clarify with Daryl that this was true.
He glanced at me and nodded, his misty blue eyes intense and piercing... And I suddenly realized why Merle's eyes had looked so familier to me at first... They were just like Daryl's.
They really were brothers...
"C'mon now, aren'tcha gonna give ol' Merle a hug?" Daryl's newly found brother asked him, that same grin forming again under his graying scruff.
Daryl glanced over in my direction again before slowly crossing in front of me and into Merle's brotherly embrace. His stiff body language screamed uncertainty, but after a few seconds he seemed to relax.
"Long time no see, eh, baby brother?" Merle croaked at him, slapping him on the shoulder. "Can't believe yer still kickin'."
"I thought you were dead, man..." Daryl muttered in a husky growl, as if he didn't want me to hear him speak.
Honestly, I was only halfway paying attention to what they were talking about. I was more or less still dealing with the amazement of stumbling upon Merle this way... I mean, what were the chances?
"So, this yer woman?" Merle asked, obviously referring to me, looking me up and down, "Boy, you like 'em young now, huh? Can't say I blame ya, hoo-ee look at the ass on- YOW!"
Daryl had brought his hand swiftly upward, smacking Merle upside the back of his head with the heel of his palm and cut off his crude comments.
He certainly was different than his younger sibling... Loud and outspoken, where as Daryl was reserved and kept to himself, mostly. I could see they shared the same short temper, though.
"Man, shut up...!" Daryl growled through clenched teeth, "She ain't my girl. Just a member'a my group... Still, don't be gettin' any ideas in yer head about 'er, you old perv."
My cheeks burned beet red as I stared at the older Dixon in a mix of disgust, embarassment, and shock. Me, Daryl's "woman"? Seriously...? I don't think so. Not in a million years... But for some reason, the thought was making me blush...
"Yer group, huh." Merle growled, rubbing the back of his head and scowling darkly at Daryl, "You still rollin' with the son've a bitch cop who did this to me?"
Merle held up his bayonette hand, and it glinted in a trail of sunlight peeking down through the top of the revine. My eyes widened as I pictured Rick in his Sheriff's uniform.
Rick... cut off Merle's hand...? When the hell did this happen?!
"You cut off yer own damn hand, Merle." Daryl snapped, sounding like he had said that a few times before.
I guess that answered my question.
My eyes passed back and forth between the two bickering brothers, listening to an argument from one side and then a rebuttle from the other.
"Those assholes chained my god damn hand to a pipe, left me fer the geeks!" Merle snarled, the veins on his neck popping out a bit.
"I told ya before, man, we went back for ya!" Daryl countered, raising his voice and pointing a finger at Merle's chest, "You were already gone!"
YOU ARE READING
Starting Over... |Daryl Dixon| |The Walking Dead|
Fanfiction[set in the third season] "That's okay, Zach," I replied as I glanced over at my brother, "We all die someday." --- It was Kayla Easton's 21st birthday on the day the world as everyone knew it came to a brutal, hellish end. Her parents are gone, and...
