Remember Me (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter Thirty-One: Taken

When I awoke the next morning, Daryl was the only thing I could think about.
I knew that the stuff with my dad would blow over eventually, but I couldn't forget the fact that Daryl heard every single word. Daryl respected my father greatly. There was no way he would continue seeing me if my father didn't like it.

The man who raised me was now completely disappointed in me. I knew that our relationship would be wrong in the old world, but this was the new one. In this world, things like that didn't matter. You had to live and love while you could. I couldn't help who I loved and my father couldn't tell me who to love just like he couldn't tell Maggie who to love. If I wanted to be with Daryl, I was going to be with him. After watching death and heartbreak, he was the first beautiful thing I was able to get stuck on. I couldn't lose him. Daryl was my happiness.

When I woke up, I rolled out of bed without even fixing my appearance. I had to speak to Daryl no matter how trashy and sleepy I looked. I had to know where we stood. When I entered the main room, I didn't see Daryl anywhere. I saw daddy, Beth, Maggie, and Judith. Dad and I shared a look when I walked out, but he quickly dismissed me. The look on Maggie's face told me that he had told her. Her face was full of pity. I ignored her and began walking towards the exit.

My mind told me he was out there, so out there I went. When I opened the door, the sunlight blinded me. It didn't blind me enough to miss the image of Daryl standing next to his motorcycle. When he heard the door slam, he spun around and looked at me with disappointment. I could tell what was coming. As I approached and looked into his eyes, I could tell that our story was about to end. Daryl was about to break my heart.

I stopped a few feet away from him and awkwardly stood there, awaiting his words. His eyes pierced through me as he looked me over as he thought about Hershel's words. It didn't take much for me to realize that Daryl was just as hurt as I was. Maybe this was for the best. Nothing ever lasted in this world, so why should we?

"I'm sorry," I simply said, looking up at him. "My father can't tell me who to love."

Daryl nodded after a moment and put a cigarette to his lips, lighting it. I watched as he inhaled the smoke without a care in the world. He didn't care what I was saying. He didn't care about me at that moment, "Okay."

"Don't do that," I said after a moment. "Do what?" he asked, inhaling the cigarette once more. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew exactly how to get to me and hurt me if he wanted to.

"Act like you don't care. Act like nothing bothers you," I snapped at him. My mind flashed back to the farm. Back when he shut down and didn't care about anybody but himself. I didn't want to see Daryl turn into that man again. That man wasn't the one that I fell for.

"It's because I don't care," he snapped back, getting in my face. "He ain't wrong. I ain't good for you. You're just a stupid girl who don't know what she wants. Spendin' your days wastin' your precious time on me."

While I was upset by his words, I wasn't surprised. I expected Daryl to get hostile when I confronted him. I expected him to live up to my expectations and be an asshole. "Daryl, don't. Don't do this."

"Do what? Do what your dad wants?" he yelled, pointing to the prison. "Hell, might as well walk away now."

"Daryl," I said, pulling his arm as he walked away. That was when it all went wrong. That was when Daryl Dixon shattered my heart and completely broke me. The one moment that I could never forget.

He snatched away from me, pushing my arm away before spinning around. "What do you want from me girl? I ain't got anything for you. He's right."

As he was yelling, I started crying against my will. Even though I was clearly upset, he continued. "You're pathetic! Can't you see I don't want you? I never wanted you."
When he spoke, his voice was cracking. I could tell that he was getting emotional just like I was. "You're such a coward," I began. "Look at you, you can't even finish what you were going to say."

"I ain't no coward. Hell, I'd rather be that than a sad little girl. You ain't gonna survive in this world. The only thing that's gonna save you is you being immune. You ain't fit for this world. And I ain't fit for you."

Even though I tried to fire back at him, I was still crying. I was crying so much that I didn't know what to say. "I love you," I whispered in a weak voice.

"I don't love you," he yelled, beginning to walk away. "Go cry to your daddy some more. In fact, why don't you just leave? I don't want you here anymore."

I collapsed to the ground, letting out loud cries that could probably be heard from the prison. It didn't matter how much I cried or screamed his name, he still walked away. Through blurry eyes, I looked to the right of me. The sound of footsteps echoed into my ears. When I looked, I saw Merle hovering about me with his fist ready to hit.

He was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

~Daryl's P.O.V~

ONE HOUR LATER

"Where's Elizabeth?" Maggie asked in a panicked voice. She had ran inside with fear following her. Hell, I didn't care where she was. Hopefully she ran off somewhere.

"Out there last time I saw her," I replied, glancing at Rick. Rick was staring at Maggie with confusion on his face. I could tell that he was just as curious as everyone else.

"There's blood on the ground outside. I think somebody took her," Maggie almost screamed due to her fear. When I heard that, I got a little worried. But then I figured it was probably Elizabeth trying to scare me for what I said. I didn't want to hurt her, but I had to. Being hurt was the only way she could accept reality.

That's when Carl ran in the room, joining everyone else. Fear was also on his face. "Michonne and Merle are gone. I think he is taking her to the Governor."

At that moment, my heart fell into my stomach. Maggie put a hand to her mouth and tears began falling from her eyes. How could Merle do this? Not only did he take Michonne, but he took Elizabeth. Breaking her heart would be the last thing I would do to her. My last words to her were words I didn't mean.
I guess my wish came true.