Little Mouse

Life Lessons

The next few days had been ok. Sadly, Daryl and I had drifted apart, and I felt like our friendship (no matter how brief) was dying. He stopped talking to me, and I just followed. I would always go back to the tree, though, and practice my knifing skills. Sometimes, I wished that he would follow me up there, and then we'd hang out again. But nothing ever really goes my way.

Today, while I was about to go do laundry with Andrea, Jacqui, Carol, and T-dog, (Shane said it'd be a good idea for someone with a gun to go with us, even though Andrea was pissed.) I heard someone approaching me from behind. Turning around, I saw Merle.

"Hi." I greeted him. Sure, he turned out to be an asshole, but I didn't mind him. Much.

"Hey. Daryl needs ya." He stated bluntly.

"What for?" Andrea demanded.

"Got cut. Needs Doc to look at it." Merle explained. He gave Andrea a challenging look. She threw it back.

"It's ok, guys. I can go look at it." I said. "If you don't mind."

"If you wanna take care of that redneck, go ahead." Andrea snorted. "I'll take your laundry."

I handed her my laundry basket, then followed Merle to the orange tent.

"In there princess." He stated, stepping aside. I nodded, stepping inside the tent.

The sunlight filtered through the orange fabric, making the place seem orange. There were a couple sleeping bags, and a crossbow. Daryl had his back to me, polishing it.

"Where's the cut?" I asked. Daryl jumped at the sound of my voice. He whipped around.

"Hey Courtney." He greeted, then turned back to his bow.

"Where's the cut?" I repeated, crouching down beside him.

"Ain't got one." He declared, setting down the red rag.

"Then why am I here?" I asked, standing up.

"I wanna take ya somewhere." He stated, getting up.

"Where?"

"You'll see." He smirked, right before exiting the tent. I followed him out, confused. He led the way into the woods, making sure that I was following. We hiked through the woods, Daryl glancing around. Finally, we ended up in a clearing.

"What's this?" I questioned Daryl. He was loading his crossbow.

"Yer gonna track." He declared.

"Track? Why?" I asked, confused.

"So ya don' have ta rely on others fer yer next meal." He explained simply.

"You're making it sound like you're leaving soon." I joked. But Daryl stiffened slightly. "Daryl, you're not leaving, are you?" I asked, concerned. I stepped forward, resting my hand timidly on his shoulder.

"Nah." He muttered.

"Daryl, you can tell me. We're friends." I said with confidence. Daryl stiffened again as the word 'friends' escaped my lips.

"Nah. We ain't leavin'." He mumbled, almost too quiet for me to hear.

"Ok." I murmured, stepping back.

After a couple awkward moments, Daryl cleared his throat. "Let's go." He muttered, starting forward.

I followed him, glancing around. I didn't know what to be looking for, until Daryl stopped me. Crouching down, he motioned me closer.

"Ya see that?" He asked, gesturing to the floor.

"No." I whispered. All I saw were leaves and dirt.