Ain't Nothin' Left *Daryl Dixon love story*

Letter

        Avery woke up the next morning to screaming. She mumbled under her breath, dressing in her day clothes before exiting her tent to see what the fuss was about. She saw Daryl looking at Rick in disbelief, then started pacing back and forth.

        ‘Let me process thi’! Ye handcuffed ma brother to a roof, AND YE LEFT ‘EM THERE?!’Daryl screamed, throwing his squirrels at Rick and charging at him with a knife. She watched as Shane put Daryl in a head lock and she couldn’t watch anymore. She sat down on her log and drew the picture from her pocket.

        ‘Yer brother’s goin’ on the deep end there Tery.’ She smirked, looking at the picture of the young happy two friends. She heard the yelling stop and she couldn’t help but wonder if they had to knock him out. She chuckled to herself slightly, taking a deep drag off of her cigarette. She stared down at the picture in her hands.

        ‘I miss ye…’ She sighed. She heard a gasp from behind her and spun around to see Daryl standing there. He had tears in his eyes, one hand covering his mouth slightly and one hand reached out in front of him, pointing at the picture.

        ‘T-Tery…’ He stuttered out his name, he hadn’t said his name out loud in forever. Daryl’s eyes flickered from the photo in Avery’s hands to Avery.

        Avery’s eyes flickered between Daryl and the photo, completely lost with words. ‘Daryl…’ She muttered, standing up slowly. ‘I… I…’ She never finished, Daryl took off running from Avery, and he ran from everyone. Left and right people were screaming his name, trying to get him to stop. But to no avail, he kept running. No one knew where. Daryl didn’t know where he was going either, but he kept running.

        Avery shut her eyes tightly. It was true. Tery was his little brother… Daryl was the one who found him, Daryl was the one she saw screaming at his father, screaming that it was his fault. And it was. It was his fault that Avery lost her best friend, his fault Daryl lost his baby brother.

        Avery joined everyone by the fire, eating breakfast. Everyone looked to Avery for answers on what happened with Daryl. She never spoke to anyone, it wasn’t their business.

                                                                      ~ ~ ~

        It was about noon in the camp, three hours after Daryl ran off. No one has seen him and he didn’t take his crossbow so Avery knew he couldn’t be far. She sat on her log, smoking yet another cigarette. It seemed like that’s all she’s done today. The small box sat in front of her, it held all of Tery’s memories. She had pictures of Tery and Avery, even pictures of Tery and Daryl. Tery had given her some, the most recent one of Tery and Daryl was on that was took on Tery’s thirteenth birthday, two weeks before he committed suicide. She still had their notebook, and in the notebook held a note to Daryl she was supposed to deliver when she ran into him in their small town. She was supposed to give it to him at the funeral, but he never showed up.

        She took a deep breath and ripped the letter out of the notebook, reading over it one more time.

        Dear brother,

        I love you. I hope you know that. I don’t blame you for anything Dare. You tried so hard to protect me, but with dad, there was no way to do that. Don’t blame yourself, please. It’s not your fault. I just can’t take it no more, you know? He took it to far and he’ll kill me if I don’t do it first. I guess when you get this letter from Avery, you’ll finally met the girl I’ve always told you about, huh? You’d like her, she’s tough just like you big brother. Well, my time has come to an end. I love you with all my heart. Anytime you’re out thinking by a lake or whatever body of water you manage to find, just remember I love you and I’m looking over you. I guess it’s my turn to protect you. Goodbye Dare. Take care of yourself you hear. You’re strong. I love you like the ocean.

        ~Teryl Dixon

        Just like the letter to her, it held so much emotion. She thought deeply to herself. Her eyes shot open in realization. ‘The lake. He’s down by the lake’. She thought. She picked up the picture of Daryl and Tery and the letter holding them in her hand while she put the small box in her tent. She grabbed Daryl’s crossbow and a pack of cigarettes, the same kind he got the first morning she was here at camp. She walked through camp, earning suspicious looks from everyone around her.

        ‘Avery!!’ Rick screamed, catching up to her. ‘Are you going to look for Daryl?’ She simply nodded to him. ‘When you find him, tell him we’re leaving.’

        ‘Okay.’ She told him. She continued down to the lake and just as she thought, he sat there on a log and stared out into nothing. She walked up to him and handed him his crossbow. He looked up to her, tears still in his eyes. She handed him the pack of cigarettes next. ‘I uh… figured that’s why ye came over to me earlier…’ She told him. He nodded in agreement. She took a deep breath before giving him the last two items. The letter and the picture. She watched as he looked down at the picture and a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.

        ‘This was his thirteenth birthday…’ He said, remembering it. He looked at the letter, opening it and reading it. She watched as the tears in his eyes, finally fell over, his body racking with silent sobs. She wanted to hug him, but she didn’t know if she should. ‘Th-thank you.’ He sobbed, clutching the picture and the letter to his chest.

        ‘Rick said we’re leavin’… We better get goin’.’ She told him, turning to walk away. She turned back around when she was just a few feet from him. ‘And Daryl?’ She called. He looked up at her. She took in how he looked just like Tery when he would cry, he looked so innocent, so venerable. ‘I miss him too.’ She walked away, disappearing behind a rock.

        As soon as Daryl thought she was far enough away he looked at the picture then back out to the lake. ‘I couldn’t save ye, Tery. But I’m gonna save Merle.’ He stood up, putting the picture, letter, and cigarettes in his pocket. He wiped his face, erasing the tears. He picked up his crossbow and set off to find his brother.