Remember Me (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter Ten: Randall

I awoke the next morning with my head pounding and my stomach aching.
I could practically feel the alcohol swirling in my stomach. I could practically see the memories of the previous night on a projector.

Once I was fully awake and aware of my surroundings, I gasped and put my hand to my mouth.
Oh my god, you kissed Daryl.

No way. There was no way that I had actually kissed Daryl. I wanted to believe that my mind was playing tricks on me, but I soon realized that I was in Daryl's tent.

He wasn't anywhere in it, but I was. So it's true. You totally locked lips with the asshole of the farm.
Jesus, it was true. My mind was being honest. I got completely wasted and slept in the tent with Daryl.

I slowly rubbed my eyes and began scooting towards the opening of the tent. When I emerged, I found Daryl standing near the entrance. My heart began fluttering when I saw him. How would I confront him after the events that took place last night?
He's probably gonna avoid you. Maybe that's good. What happened was wrong.

He quickly acknowledged me, but I couldn't read his expression. Was he feeling as awkward as I was? Did he agree that what happened was wrong?

"Hi," I quickly said. I didn't know what else to say. Oh, sorry I kissed you. Sorry I invaded your personal space. There was nothing I could say to justify my action. I wanted to apologize, but he kissed me too. It wasn't entirely my fault, was it?
Daryl didn't say anything back. He simply watched my movements with a blank expression.

I could tell that he was uncomfortable and he didn't now what to say. I couldn't really blame him. We made a mistake and there was nothing that we could do to take it back.

"Your dad is back," Daryl said as he nodded towards a vehicle. Oh no. He was back and he had probably been searching for me. How long had I been asleep? Part of me felt that it was mid-afternoon, but I couldn't prove that with no clocks
around. My head turned towards the direction of the house as I saw Glenn emerge. Glenn was with dad and Rick. I could ask him if he knew about my whereabouts.

If he did, I could at least have time to prepare for the lecture. I began walking towards Glenn who stopped as he saw me.
"Is he okay? Was he drinking? Did he get hurt?" I asked with concern in my voice. My dad could've been seriously hurt being out there on his own. I wanted to confirm that he was okay before I worried about my own safety. I wouldn't be able to bear it if he was hurt in any way.

"He's okay. We found him in town...at a bar," Glenn said as he rubbed his head. I knew it. I knew that daddy had been drinking.
I frowned and pushed a piece of hair behind my ear, "I knew it. I knew that he would be drinking."

"Hey, you need to understand something. Your dad just watched most of his family get slaughtered. Are you gonna tell me you weren't drinking? I can smell it on your breath still." Glenn fanned his face in a dramatic way, causing me to laugh. Yes, I had been drinking. That was pretty obvious. After he said that, I kind of understood my dad. I wanted to be angry for him relapsing, but he was under a lot of stress. Stress caused by these new people.

"Listen, I would appreciate if this could stay between us. If my father found out that I spent the night in Daryl's tent..." I stopped and imagined what he would do. He would probably literally murder me. While nothing serious happened between us, he wouldn't believe that. He was pretty skeptical, but I didn't blame him for that. Him being skeptical is what kept us alive this long.

"I won't utter a word to anybody. Daryl told them that you fell asleep in the RV with Andrea. She backed it up. Said you were worried about your old man."
Thank god. I would forever be in Andrea's debt for backing up Daryl's story. I smiled at him and shocked myself when I embraced him in a forceful hug.
He hesitated at first, but hugged me back after a moment. "What's this for?"

I pulled away and smiled at him. "That was for finding my father and saving his life. Also for taking care of my sister. She needs you, Glenn. Whether she admits it or not, she does."
Glenn blushed slightly at the mention of Maggie. He always did that when he heard her name, that's how I knew that he loved her. I was thankful that they found each other. I was against it at first, but now I was all for it.
"Also," Glenn began, "We kind of brought someone back."

Someone back? Who could they have brought back? I mean...we weren't missing anybody. He had to be talking about Merle or someone along the lines of him.
"Who?" I asked with curiosity in my voice.
"His name is Randall. We saved his life, but I don't really trust him. He had men with him, they damn near killed us. Your dad worked on him. His leg is messed up pretty bad."

Randall? That name was familiar. In fact, I could almost put a name to a face.
That's when it hit me. I knew Randall.
Randall was in school with Maggie. He was my friend.
We went to summer camp together. We would leave in the middle of the night and go walking in the woods, looking for trouble.

I pushed past Glenn and ran into the house, looking for dad. Randall was here. Randall was alive.
I found Maggie before I found dad. Well, she found me really. She knew that I would be looking for Randall. She knew if from the look on my face. "Elizabeth, don't."

"Where's he at? He's alive. That's great. Is he in one of the rooms?" I asked, looking around for anybody. It was just Maggie and me, though. I didn't see dad or Beth in sight. I knew that Beth had been having some trouble coping with everything, but I was too distracted to help her. I would soon realize what a terrible mistake that was.
"He's...he's chained up in the barn. He can't be in here, you know that."

Chained up in the barn? What was she even talking about? She had to be playing, because that was crazy. That was torture.
"You're joking. Randall and I used to be friends. Daddy knows that, why would you guys do that?" I demanded as anger started rising inside of me. No sane human being would chain someone up in a barn. That was completely inhumane.
"Yeah, and you also got in trouble with him many times at summer camp. He almost got everyone killed. He can't stay here, but he also can't be let go."

"What are you trying to say? You're just gonna kill him?"
Maggie motioned for me to keep my voice down, which I did. I was angry, but I didn't want anybody else in on this conversation.
"I don't know, Elizabeth. If we let him go, there ain't no telling how many people he could bring back here. Do you really wanna risk that?"

I was kind of baffled by how crazy Maggie was sounding. I know we had to be alert with who we trusted, but we knew this person. I considered him my best friend at some point, but I knew arguing with Maggie wouldn't solve anything.
Instead of standing there and being irrational, I simply turned around the walked out of the door.
I could convince them to spare him, but I wouldn't be able to do it without a clear head.

I needed to take a walk and clear the fogginess in my brain. All the events that had taken place over the course of the past 48 hours was taking it's toll on me.

When I got to the steps, Daryl approached me. I was nervous about what he would say. Would he cuss me out? Would he be reasonable and agree to just never speak again?
I didn't know the answer yet. But when he opened his mouth, it was like he understood what I was going to do.
"Come take a walk with me."