My Damaged Protector

Chapter 52 ~ Twice As Far

The entire ride back was silent that afternoon. We had been in that warehouse for most of the day, and by the time we got back onto the RV, Maggie, Carol, and I were all in some state of shock. I had barely moved from Daryl's side for more than half a minute. He sat on my right; hands linked tightly together with my head on his shoulder while Merle sat on my left.

When we got back inside the walls of Alexandria, we were met with a few people wanting to know how the night went, but I had veered off towards the house with Daryl, the thought of a shower and some sleep being the only things really on my mind at the moment.

Jasper had met us on the porch, a smile on his face as he instantly started asking questions. Daryl did his best to pull the attention off of me while I vanished up the stairs, heading right into the bathroom attached to my bedroom to scrub the blood and sweat away.

My shower was fairly quick. I took most of the time scrubbing at my skin to get the little flecks of red off my skin before I stepped out to get dressed in a pair of soft broken-in jeans and one of Daryl's shirts before sitting myself down on the bed, giving myself a few moments before brushing my hair and teeth.

"Angel?" Daryl's voice called from the hallway. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." I answered and pressed the towel into my hair to dry it.

The door opened and he walked in, stopping to sit on the bed beside me. "You alright?" I nodded and picked up my brush. "Skye, seriously."

I gave him a forced smile. "Yes. Just a rough day."

"Come 'ere." He held his arm out to pull me to his side. I had instantly fallen into his hold, my head resting on his shoulder with his arms draped carefully around me. After a few moments I felt one of his arms drop away and begin digging through his pocket.

"You ok?" I asked, sitting up to look at him better.

He nodded quickly, avoiding my gaze. "Yup. Jus' a long day is all. Thought I'd never see ya again." Another kiss was pressed to the side of my head as his hand finally came back out of his pocket with something hidden in it. "Ya know, I been thinkin' 'bout this for a while now, ever since your little bro mentioned it."

I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion, trying to think of what Jasper could possibly have done or asked to make Daryl this nervous. "Thought about what?"

His fingers stumbled ever so slightly as he held up a stunning ring, silver band with a larger stone sat in the middle a smaller one on either side. It felt like my heart picked up and stopped all together as the pieces finally clicked in my head. I was sat straight up now, one leg hanging off the side of the bed while the other was draped carefully over one of Daryl's. "Before all this, I didn't think I'd ever find someone that would care about me, or love me, the way you do, and that I would love back too." Daryl was soft spoken now, almost like he was nervous to say what he wanted. "And I know that you'd usually ask the dad, but since he's no good and not here, I asked three other people." Daryl paused for a moment, taking the time to look up at my expression before his eyes were reattached to the ring. "Your little bro was so excited, jumping up and down and yelling." A smile crossed his face at the memory as my eyes started to tear up. "Maggie's so happy for us. And then Rick. I know you two have somethin' special, its like watching two best friends who've known each other their whole lives. He only threatened me a little." Both of us laughed a bit at that. "Figured those were the three most important people in yer life." I was completely speechless by now, staring at him as my eyes filled with tears and a smile covered my face. "Last night showed me one of my biggest fears in life. I lost you and couldn't do nothin' 'bout it. I can't live without you." Now the tears were running down my cheeks slowly as my heart raced in my chest. "I know there won't be a big party or anything to make it like it used to, but would you marry me?"