Loving Eden

~4~

*Flashback*

""Hey, who are you?"

"My name is Eden."

"What are you doing here? Hasn't anyone told you to stay away from us, Dixon's?"

"Yea"

"Why don't you listen?"

"Because I judge people on my own, I don't listen to other people...I'm not a great listener either."

"I'm Daryl."

"nice to meet you, Daryl."

"This my brother Merle."

Merle stood beside Daryl and whistled, "well, hello there, sweet cheeks. I'm Merle Dixon at your beck and call."

she smiled and said in a sweet tone with a hint of hostility;

"call me sweet cheeks one more time, and I'll cut off your dick and shove it so far up your ass you won't walk straight for a week."

Daryl laughed while Merle looked stunned and almost impressed. Merle took ahold of Eden's hand and kissed it.

"Damn! I like you, you're feisty, and you're not so bad to like at either. I think she's a keeper Darlina."

She smiled and let out a small laugh as I cursed Merle out for calling me that. We heard yelling, "hey, you worthless piece of shit, where the hell are ya? I don't see lunch or my Damn beer."

Daryl and Merle looked at each other confused, and watched Eden turn around and yell back.

"Coming, Jack," she sighed and shook their hands again

" I got to go, or I'll get the shit kicked out of me...hope to see you guys around."

"Oh, you'll see us around."

"bye"

Eden walked off and headed back towards her new home with her ass-hole of a foster dad. Merle and Daryl went back inside.

"I can't believe she has to go home to that"

"me neither. She seemed so happy and bright when we talked to her, but then to hear him call her those things.....I guess she copes differently than we do."

"I guess"

the boy sat there in silence, neither one bothering to speak. They both listened while they heard the yelling from Eden's house. They both felt terrible for her having to deal with that man. Both have been on the receiving end of their own father's anger before. It was nothing to laugh at, but part of them thought it was much worse for her. as they both went to speak, a knock came at the door, and Daryl got up and answered it to see Eden standing there with fresh cuts and bruises. She looked up at Daryl, still with a bright smile like earlier, and asked if she could hang with them and clean up. Daryl let her in, and he pointed her to the bathroom. Merle and Daryl watched Eden walk off, and they both looked at each other and got pissed.

"He did that to his daughter. How could someone do that? She's too young and sweet. he needs his ass kicked."

"I agree"

then a tiny voice came from behind them, so small they almost didn't hear it.

"Please don't hurt him; I'll be out of that house with him soon enough."

" Alright, how bout we watch some TV, or we could......we could go hunting."

Eden's face lit up like a Christmas tree "Hunting.....I love hunting. Can I go with you?"

"Sure thing you know how to hunt?"

"Yup," she said, popping the P and skipping outside towards the woods with the Dixon brothers trailing behind her. Let's just say that the Dixon brothers were put to shame that day.