Daryls Sister {Book One}

45

I was helping Glenn and Daryl set out traps to slow the Governor and his men down, at least for a bit, while Carl and Maggie was distracting the walkers. Once we finished with that, I got on the back of the truck with Daryl while the others were inside the truck. Rick opened the gate and we got out.

"We thought that we should put something to slow them down." Glenn told Rick.

"That's smart." Rick said.

"It was Michonnes idea." Daryl said.

He knew about the deal and so does Merle. Everyone else walked away, leaving me with my thoughts. I sat down on the steps and just zoned out. I decided to walk around a little bit to clear my mind so I walked in the same direction the others did. I saw Rick crouched down with a wire wrapped around his hand and wrist. He looked up and he looked like he saw someone. I walked over and touched his shoulder, making him jump slightly.

"Are you okay Rick?" I asked.

"Yeah I'm okay." He replied, unwrapping the wire. He stood up and wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. "I can't give him Michonne. I just can't bring myself to do it." He said.

"It's alright if you can't do it Rick, I understand." I said, hugging him back. "You are human after all." I said.

"I should tell Daryl and Merle that I'm not doing it." He said, pulling away and walking away.

I decided to follow him since I know how Merle is. We found Daryl and he led us to where he last saw Merle.

"He was in here looking for weed or whatever." Daryl said.

"But where is he?" I asked. We looked around and Daryl found a bag.

"I think he took Michonne because I haven't seen her." Daryl said.

"Shit!" Rick exclaimed.

"I'll go track them down since I can track." Daryl said.

"Please be careful Daryl." I said. He opened his arms so I ran and hugged him.

"I'll be okay Maddie." He assured me. He then left to go find Merle and Michonne.

"He'll come back safely Maddie." Rick said.

"I know but I just can't help but worry." I said. I was then engulfed into a hug and he kissed the top of my head. We pulled out of the hug and walked outside holding hands until we saw Carl coming towards us. We pulled our hands away from each other and he stood in front of us. "Are you okay Carl?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah but Hershel wanted me to come get you so he can look at your arm." He told me.

"I completely forgot about it." I admitted, laughing. "Thank you Carl, tell him I'll be there in a few minutes." I said.

"Okay." He said, running off and went back into the prison.

"That was close." Rick said, chuckling.

"Yes it was." I agreed. We started walking to the door just talking.

"My question is, how did you forget about your wound?" He asked, curious.

"I guess you and everything else kept my mind off of it." I responded. "Especially you." I added, looking at him.

"Makes sense." He said.

We walked inside and went to Hershel to see him sitting at the round metal table. I walked over and he looked up and saw me. He motioned me to sit next him and I did. He unwrapped the bandage and looked at the wound.

"It's getting better." He said. "Still red around it but it's not the color that indicates an infection." He added.

"That's good." Rick said. Hershel bandaged my arm again but with a clean bandage.

"So what's going on between you two?" Hershel asked, catching us off guard.

"What do you mean?" I asked, acting dumb.

"I know something is going on." He said. "I never catch either of you separate." He said.

"Promise not to tell anyone?" Rick asked. "Daryl is the only who knew about it and now you do. I don't want Carl knowing about it yet." He added.

"Your secret is safe with me." Hershel assured.

"Me and Maddie are together." Rick told him.

"I knew it but don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Hershel said, smiling.

"Thank you Hershel." I thanked him. "You want to know something?" I asked.

"What is it?" He asked, curious.

"You're like a father to me. A father I never had." I told him.

"Is that right?" He asked. "What was your real father like?" He asked.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush, so I'm just going to be honest about it." I said. "My real father was abusive, he hit me. I still have scars on my back and some on my ribs." I admitted.

"Can I see them?" He asked. I nodded my head and lifted my shirt but not enough to expose something else. He examined the scars very closely. "How many times did he hit you?" He questioned.

"Basically everyday of the week but sometimes I would just run before he has the chance." I told him.

"Why didn't you report him for it?" He continued asking.

"I was always afraid of what he would do if he found out." I admitted.

"Oh okay. Well you can come to me whenever you need anything, I see you as a daughter." He said, getting up on his crutches and left.

"I'm sorry your father did that to you." Rick apologized.

"Don't apologize Rick. It's not your fault and plus Daryl saved me from him." I said. "Hell, I think if I did report him. I probably would have met you before the whole apocalypse." I said.

"Maybe we would've but I was married." He said.

"That don't mean we couldn't have been friends." I said, smiling.

"That's true." He agreed, chuckling.