Remember Me (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter Thirty: Bad News

"What is it?" Daryl asked, panic rising in his voice. I could tell that he probably expected the worst. He probably thought I was pregnant or that I killed someone. In reality, I practically killed the entire group. I had sealed their fate without meaning to. I knew that Rick would never hand me and Michonne over to the Governor, but I knew that was what needed to be done. If it meant saving the group, I would do it.

When I didn't answer, Daryl pulled away and made me look at him. "Elizabeth, what did you do?" I took in a shaky breath as I tried to gather my thoughts. I felt as if I was having a panic attack. Everything around me was spinning and I couldn't seem to catch my breath. "Rick...he lied about the meeting."

Daryl paused for a moment before pushing my hair out of my face and bending down to my level, "What does that son of a bitch want?" I heard the anger in Daryl's voice as I spoke. I knew that he had been scared about the war. That's what Rick wanted. He wanted us to be scared. That's the only way that we could accept our fates. Well, right now I was more scared than ever. I was completely terrified for the first time in a long time. Everything that I had held in was about to come out.

"Me. He wants me, Daryl. He wants me and Michonne," I said in a sob. Daryl's face twisted into shock as he stared down at me. Daryl's hand came to my face, wiping my tears away. "Why does he want you?"

I pulled his hands away from my face, pulling them into my own. I knew that he was going to be mad at me for what I had done, but I didn't care. I should've told him right when I had put us all in danger. I had made a huge mistake. "When Andrea came," I began, trying to keep my voice steady. "I threatened him through her. I told him I was going to kill him."

I could see the anger on Daryl's face as I spoke. When I saw how angry he was, I tried to explain my actions the best way I could. "Daryl, I did it to protect everyone. I did it to protect you. I thought that he would see that I wasn't someone to be messed with. He tried to rape my sister. I was so angry," I took in a breath as I continued. "I never got to mourn Lori or T-Dog. I had to stay strong. And now all of that is just coming out. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

I covered my face with my hands, sobbing into them. Despite Daryl being mad, he pulled me into a hug and planted a small kiss on my forehead. I held him close, sobbing into his jacket. He kept his lips on my forehead for a long time before I felt his head turn towards the doorway. I ignored it and figured that he was just watching the others somewhere else. "I love you so much," I said, burying my face in his chest.

That's when everything went wrong. Just when Daryl and I were finally good, everything got messed up. That was the moment that I always wanted to take back. If I never said those words, we would've been okay.

"Elizabeth?" I heard my father's voice say from the doorway.

I quickly pulled away from Daryl and gazed at my father, making eye contact. I could see the hurt and disappointment in his eyes. In that moment, I had shattered my father's heart. He stared at me for a moment before turning around and marching away from the cell. "Oh God," I whispered, crying again. Before he could get far, I ran behind him and pulled on his arm. "Daddy, please just listen to me."

My father yanked away from me, hurt crossing his face once again. "I don't want to hear it, Elizabeth," he shouted, now facing me. The tears were pouring down my face now. I could hear Daryl's footsteps walking away from us as my father began staring me down. I never wanted to hurt him. He was the last person I would ever want to hurt.

"I raised you better than this. Elizabeth, you know better than this," he shouted once again, making me cringe. I figured this would be a good time to talk, so I did. "Daddy, I love him."

With those words, my father's face turned a deep purple as he stared down at me. I could tell that he was about to say something he regretted. He was about to say something that could possibly alter our relationship forever. He wasn't speaking as my father anymore. In that moment, he was my enemy.

"For God's sake, you don't know what love is. You're a child and he is a grown man. I never expected something like this from you," he said in an angry tone. I cringed at his words. Yes, there was an age difference between me and Daryl, but I didn't care. Daryl was my rock and I needed him. But I didn't think he would need me after this.

"What about Glenn and Maggie? You never had a problem with them," I said, trying to defend us. My father wasn't having this, however. He quickly fired back with a long speech that I would remember for the rest of my life.

"Elizabeth, you're a child. I have all of the respect in the world for him because of what he did for this group. I have lost it after this. Especially with hiding it from me. I don't like it. And I don't condone it," my father muttered pausing for a moment. "You two come from completely different worlds. Completely different times. You need someone that you don't have to sneak around with. You deserve that much."

I cradled my arms to my chest, sobbing at his words. I understood where he was coming from, but I didn't like it. I knew I should have told him. I knew I was keeping secrets, but I thought it was for the best. He was the man that I loved and nothing could change that. "Daddy," I whispered, pleading for him to understand.

"I can't even look at you right now," my dad said, turning around to head to wherever Rick was. I didn't stop him. I knew that if I did, he would just yell at me again. With blurry eyes, I walked away and headed to where Daryl went. But my eyes weren't blurry enough to miss the image of Daryl walking away.

Daryl had heard the entire thing. He never left. I somehow knew that this was the end of me and Daryl. The thought of that made me sick to my stomach. I watched as Daryl disappeared in the darkness, leaving me broken and shattered.