❛ now daryl, daryl was gray. he always seemed to be bitter and emotionless with no other dimensions to himself; his mere presence was the only one. gray was intriguing, almost acting like an acquired taste, but it had the potential to be beautiful t...
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fifty four.
I woke up in bed, rolling over to face the door which was wide open. There was a stool next to me where I assumed Daryl sat while I slept. On it sat a pamphlet that read: "PTSD: 10 Tips for Family, Friendsand Caregivers". I sat up to get a better look at it, but before I could grab it Daryl came back into the room.
"Hey," he grinned. "Sleep good?"
"What's that," I asked, motioning to the pamphlet.
"Oh," he muttered, picking it up and putting it in his back pocket. He sat back down on the stool. "Aaron got it from the doctor and gave it to me."
"Daryl," I sighed, feeling guilty for what happened last night. "I'm sorry. I don't even really know what happened, it-it's like I blacked out or something. I kept hearing these people talking to me and I saw that girl and—"
"Aften," he interrupted me, grabbing my hand and rubbing his thumb over my skin. "It's okay, it's over now. You're safe."He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. I smiled, kissing his hand back. Aaron startled us by suddenly speaking from the doorway.
"You're awake," he observed, smiling with relief. "I was hoping you'd get some rest. We got a big day ahead of us."
"Y'all are letting me go with," I questioned with happiness. I was glad they weren't gonna shut me out after what happened. I was nervous I was gonna be confined to this house.
"Of course! You're a recruiter, aren't you," Aaron chuckled. "I'm gonna go get our packs ready and I'll meet you at the gate." He walked away to tend to his duties so we'd be ready for the day.
"C'mon." Daryl held out his hands to me. I grabbed them and he yanked me out of bed. I stumbled into him and we both laughed a little. He kissed my forehead. "You tell me if you need a break out there, okay?"
"It was just one time, Daryl, I'll be okay. I promise," I said as I swept his hair away from his eyes.
"I know, sweetheart. Just want you to know I'm on your side," he reassured me. My heart skipped a beat. I loved him so much I felt like my body was gonna burst. I came up with a little plan.
"Wanna race to the gate," I proposed, raising an eyebrow playfully. Daryl didn't even respond before he took off. "You cheater! I didn't even get to do a countdown," I hollered at him as I chased him through the house and out onto the streets. We ran after each other like little kids, laughing and trying to trip each other up. Daryl just barely made it to the gate ahead of me.
"Beat ya," he smirked, nudging me playfully.
"Yeah because you cheated!" I nudged him back, out of breath.
"Did not."
"Did too!" I laughed in disbelief that he was denying this. We climbed onto his bike as the gates rolled open, Aaron already in his car. I squeezed my arms around Daryl a little harder than normal just to annoy him. I could hear him let out a wheeze.
