𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟔𝟏𝟓

𝟏 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝟖 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬, 𝟏 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟑 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬

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I had been on bed rest for the past few days, due to my injury. Denise said I was lucky, because the bullet had barely grazed me. My thighs had started to feel better and better, and now today I was allowed to start walking around. Denise said I shouldn't stand for long periods of time, though. 

I carefully made my way down the stairs, eventually making my way to the porch. I sat on the steps, in front of Daryl, who was working on his bike. If he wasn't busy, he was sitting beside my bed or sleeping next to me. Things had been moving quickly, but I wasn't against it at all. 

"Walking already?" He asked playfully, wiping his hands on his pants and sitting next to me. "Finally. I don't think I could spend one more day in that bed." I smiled, looking over at him. "Got your bike back. That's good."  He looked at the bike before looking back at me.  "Yeah." He grunted, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket.

"Want one?" He offered, holding one out as he put the rest back into his pocket. "Yeah, why not." I hummed, taking it and lighting it after he lit his. "You let them live though, right?" I eventually asked, not forgetting about what we were previously talking about. "Wish I didn't. Should've killed 'em right there." I gave a tight lipped smile as I looked over at him. I could tell what they did to him wasn't good, whatever it was. 

He stood up, walking a few steps over to his bike. He continued to work on it and I sat on the porch steps, just watching him. It wasn't in a creepy way or anything, I just couldn't stop. The way he held the tools and the way we messily poked and prodded at the motorcycle, but still managed to fix it amazed me.

After sitting there for who knows how long, Rosita came over with Denise. She held a map as Daryl stood up. I followed him, carefully moving one leg in front of the other as Denise spoke up. "Edison's Apothecary and Boutique. It's this little gift shop in a strip mall. If it's really an Apothecary, it'll have drugs." 

"How do you know they still got 'em?" Daryl asked, his voice a bit higher than usual. I could tell he was in a better mood than normal, and honestly so was I. I was finally able to get up and walk around, instead of laying around all day. "It isn't that far, I just wanna check." I really liked Denise. She had helped me with my "problems", and that was enough for her to be considered a close friend to me.

"We'll go." Daryl responded, before Denise quickly added on, "I wanted to check." I knew it was a bad time for me to say I also wanted to go, but I kept quiet. I needed  to get from out of these walls. After being trapped in a small room for over a week, I was done recovering. "How much time you spend out there?" 

I looked towards Daryl, then back at Denise. "None." Seriously? She had never left these walls? I almost felt bad. I was itching to leave, and she had never gone. With Daryl, Rosita, and hopefully me. She'd be fine. "Forget it." He grunted, shifting his weight and side eyeing Rosita. "You good with this?" He looked towards Rosita, and she quickly answered. "No." I sighed.

"She'll be fine. I'll go too." I finally spoke up, quickly getting looks from all three of them. "No. You ain't going." Daryl spat, but no bitterness behind his words. "I've been stuck in a bedroom this past week. Im going."  I retorted, crossing my arms. He looked towards Rosita, then back at me. I could see the looks on their faces, and had to hold back my laugh. 

✦

We drove in a large truck, I sat in the back with Denise. I could tell she didn't want me to come, but she didn't say anything. Probably because she wasn't supposed to come either. It was a silent ride, nobody saying anything. The truck was loud and beat up, but Daryl eventually got it figured out.

After driving for a little bit, we came to a stop. "What's going on?" I asked, sticking my head between the seats, and eventually saw a large tree blocking the road. "Stay here." He directed, grabbing his gun and stepping out of the car with Rosita.

"So, is everything  good with you?" Denise asked, I could tell it was a desperate attempt to break the silence, but I was enjoying not talking perfectly fine, and I could tell what she was getting at. I had to bite my lip, too scared to say something I might regret. "Everything's fine." 

She was about to speak when Daryl opened my door. "All clear." He interrupted, but I was so incredibly grateful he did. Any longer and I might've blown up.

Daryl got out stuck from the truck, while Rosita held up a plastic bag. "Booze. Any takers?" I ran over, taking the bag out of her hand. I unscrewed the lid, immediately taking a drink. "We'll have to walk the rest of the way. Esmé, you think you'll be alright?" I smiled. Everything was going pretty good today, and I didn't know why.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I grinned, chucking the empty bottle into the tree. "Straight shot if we take the tracks." Denise looked up at her map, then to the railroad. "No tracks. We'll take the road." I groaned. Seriously? "That's twice as long." Rosita looked at my leg, then back to Daryl. "Go whichever way you like." I took a deep breath, I felt fine right now. My leg hardly hurt, but I didn't want to push that. Maybe I shouldn't have come on this little run, but was he seriously suggesting we go the long way?

"I ain't taking no tracks." He finished, and started to walk off. We stood there for a moment. Daryl had left us, but I had a healing wound. "We should stick together." And with that, Denise followed him. 

I looked towards Rosita, and she gave me a soft, forced, smile. "Let's go." And we took the tracks. I wondered what that was about. He had just left us, and didn't even think twice. Was he mad at me? 

The walk was silent, and we eventually got there. "Now, we have to wait." Rosita sighed, dropping her bag and sitting down on the concrete. He carefully sat down, wincing as I bent my leg. It hurt to bend my knee, in any way. "You good? Not too much walking or anything?" It didn't hurt too bad right now, just the sudden pain from sitting down. I was a hundred percent sure it would hurt like hell tomorrow, though. "Yeah, for now." I smiled, trying to lighten the mood with a not so funny "joke,". 

✦

We eventually saw Daryl and Denise walking down the road. Immediately when he saw me, I could see him perk up. He was walking fast, and with a purpose but slowed down when he saw me alright.

We followed after him, but he didn't stop. The shop wasn't far from us, only about a mile. And with Daryl's fast pace, we quickly arrived. The doors were covered in bloody handprints, but only the doors to this shop. Weird. 

"You guys stay back, we got this." Daryl handed his gun to Denise. I frowned. I was fine now, but Daryl was treating me like some fragile statue. "Im coming." I retorted, my voice firm. I wasn't gonna argue. I was coming, and that was that. 

"You just got shot. No ya ain't." He reached into his bag, pulling out a crowbar. "The bullet barely grazed me. Im fine." I unsheathed my knife, preparing to go. "You're a damn idiot, y'know that?" He grunted, but there was no bitterness to his words. "I know." I gave a smile, preparing to go in. Rosita held her gun as Daryl pried open the door. He dropped the crowbar and grabbed his shotgun, and we followed him inside

Denise gagged, I could tell she wasn't used to the scent of the dead. I had barely noticed it now, I guess I was just used to it. We eventually got to the back of the store, a large sign above the pharmacy window. Daryl struggled to get it open, but eventually got it. "If you put them on the counter, I can tell which ones we need." Denise used her flashlight as she looked over the shelves. I climbed over the counter, struggling on my own to do so. 

It hurt, but I eventually got myself behind the counter. "Nah, we'll get all of them." Daryl replied, walking over to a shelf. "Hey, you good?" He walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder. I took a few deep breaths before looking up at him. "Yeah, im fine. Just hurts I guess." I grunted, leaning against the wall. "Told you, you shouldn't have come." His tone still playful,  before he took a step back. "Just wait here, alright?" He took another step back and I gave him a nod before he walked off. 

There was a thud. At first I thought it was Denise, but then there was another one. And another one, and finally after one more I knew something was wrong. Probably a trapped walker. "Just one. Probably stuck." Rosita and Daryl returned to collecting pills. I saw him take one off the shelf, pausing, and sticking it in his pocket. Not his book bag, but his pocket. Was he seriously keeping that for himself?

Denise came out of a room, running into a shelf. "The hell are you doing?" Rosita asked. I could tell she was irritated, ever since we left Alexandria. "Nothing." Denise responded, quickly walking out. 

Daryl slid his bookbag over the counter, before looking over at me. "We're good." He grunted and walked over, picking me up with ease. He set me down on the counter, before climbing over himself and helping me down. I knew he was strong, I could tell from his muscles. But wow. He had picked me up, a grown woman, like it was nothing.

"Thanks." I mumbled, as he grabbed his bookbag and put it on. "Nah, it's nothin'." I followed the two of them outside, my leg starting to hurt a little bit. Denise was sitting against the building, not looking at us.

✦

I could hear Denise and Daryl talking about siblings, and I couldn't help but think about Elliot. I tried to shake that thought from my head, but couldn't. I reached in my pocket for my pills, only to realize I was out. Okay. Just think about something else. That's not too hard, right?

We started to walk past the train tracks, but Daryl walked towards them. "Hey." Rosita called out, and we were all a bit confused. "This way's faster, right?" I smiled and followed after him. 

After walking for a bit we came across a few cars beside the tracks. I walked beside Daryl, desperately trying to distract myself from the pain in my leg and the thought of my sister.

"There's a cooler in there! Might be something we can use!" Denise called out, and I realized we had left her. "Ain't worth the trouble. Come on." Daryl yelled back. We continued to walk. Suddenly, we heard yelling. I quickly turned around. Denise was on the ground with a walker on top of her. I started to run over, but Daryl placed a hand in front of my chest and ran over with Rosita instead.

I waited by the railroad as Denise surprisingly, killed the walker. She opened the cooler, pulling out a pack of sodas. "What the hell was that?" I heard Daryl yell, and arguing with Denise. I continued to stand there, watching as Denise stormed off. I walked over, standing beside Daryl as she yelled at the two of them. 

Suddenly, an arrow went directly through her head, coming out of her eye. I immediately felt sick. I supported her as she fell over, but failed to do so and watch her limp body hit the ground. "What the fuck!?" I yelled as I crouched down. But it was too late.

The only person who truly knew how to help me, dead. I didn't look up, I just kept my gaze on her. I couldn't help the tears that boiled up in my eyes, but wiped them away as I reached for my knife and carefully stabbed her by her temple. 

I looked up, only to realize we were surrounded. "Drop 'em, now!" A voice called out. I stood up, but Daryl quickly stepped in front of me, lowering his gun. 

A man came out of the woods, thin blonde hair, and a burn scar on the side of his face. And, he had Eugene. I dropped my knife immediately, and looked towards Daryl. He looked mad, like he was about to blow up.

"You got something to say to me?!" The man yelled, and I immediately realized that they knew eachother, somehow. Three men came over, patting us down and taking our weapons. I reached for his hand once the men stepped back, and he surprisingly took it. 

"I should've done it." He grumbled, before adding on. "I should've killed you." His voice was a fast growl, one that would've barely been audible from a distance. "Who the hell are you?" I looked at him. He looked relatively clean, despite the big scar on the right side of his face.

"Im sorry, Darlin, I didn't catch your name." He paused for a second before adding on. "I'm D, or Dwight." I looked at him, completely taken back by the situation. A felt a mix of emotions, and I wasn't sure which one was right for this situation. Anger, confusion, sadness, disgusted. "Sooo, what's your name?" I looked towards Daryl, then Rosita, unsure what to say or how to react. "Esmé." I eventually responded, and he quickly spoke up, yet again. "Well Esmé, you're gonna let us into your little complex and we are gonna take whatever, and whoever  we want. And I think I already have an idea of who im gonna take. Or, we blow Eugene's brains out. Then his, then hers, then that pretty lady in the back." He pointed towards me, and honestly I felt absolutely disgusted. A man like that, talking to me like that.

I just wanted to pull my gun and fire it right between his two eyes. But I couldn't, I didn't have it. Those people took it. "You wanna kill someone, kill that companion of ours hiding behind the oil barrels over in that direction." Eugene pointed with his head, and everyone looked over that way. 

Suddenly, Eugene leaned over and bit the man's dick. Abraham came out of the woods with a gun and shot a few of their men. Daryl sliced a man's throat and I took his gun. Daryl grabbed my wrist and pulled he over to a car, ducking behind it. "You alright?" He asked, leaning against the car and loading the gun he just took. "You good? I saw the way you looked at him." He nodded, and I could tell something was up. "Ready?" I nodded. We stood up, firing at the people then ducking behind the car. 

They started to run away, and Daryl ran out of ammo. He started to run after the group. "Daryl, stop!" I yelled as he grabbed his crossbow and started to chase after them. He slowed down, and eventually stopped in front of Denise's dead body. I walked over, with slight limp due to my now aching thigh. Eugene was shot, and everyone ran over. They all three carried him, and I followed behind.

"Esmé, you good?" Daryl called out, not looking back as he continued to help them carry Eugene. "Yeah! Don't worry about me." I sighed, following as fast as I could

✦

I sat on a chair in the infirmary, while Daryl stood by a window. I eventually managed to stand up and walk over to Daryl. "I got you this." He mumbled, his voice soft. I could tell he was sad, and I was too. He handed me a bottle of pills. The antipsychotics I needed. I looked up at him, taking the bottle and putting it into my pocket. "I-I.. I don't know what to say.." I was shocked. It wasn't much, but it meant so much to me. And I think, that was when I realized how much I truly loved him.

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