One way or another [Daryl Dixon]

[34] IT WAS ME.

"Face your fear. Accept your war. It is what it is."
-Zakk Wylde.

A blinding light shone through one of the windows, lighting up the garage and startling me awake.

I'm not sure how much sleep I actually got last night, but for the first time since the prison fell, I didn't feel exhausted. For once, my eyelids didn't seem heavy, and I felt like a completely different person.

Then I realized we were still stranded with a group of hostile men who would kill both Daryl and myself in an instant. But for the time being, they all appeared to be deep asleep.

Daryl was no longer laying on the floor, instead his back was propped up against a wall watching me as I walked over to him. I sat down next to him, he didn't look tired one bit but I'd come to learn that he was a genius at masking how he really felt.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked him, looking up to the celling and letting out a quick yawn.

He let out a small grunt, looking down at his fingers before he actually made eye contact with me.

"Ya snore in yer sleep." He told me a slight smirk playing on his lips.

At this point, I think Daryl and I are way past the embarrassing stage in whatever this is. Letting out a dry chuckle, I lightly hit his chest which caused a genuine smile to grace his face.

He's the most gorgeous man I've ever seen.

Sighing, I changed my face from amused to serious real quick. "C'mo, that's not what I asked."

He swiftly diverted his eyes away from me and started nibbling on the inside of his cheek.

"You should've woke me up. You need rest too."

A comfortable silence soon fell over us and I started to think that the conversation had ended.

Daryl cleared his throat before speaking up. "You've had a couple stressful days, figured ya needed the rest more tha' me." He nodded to himself. "Tha's all.'

My chest constricted at his simple words, and for the first time since I was a teen, heat rose to my skin, notably my cheeks.

Only my mother, my brothers, and that one guy who taught me everything I needed to know about self-defense, cared about my well-being before the outbreak.

It was odd to have someone who wasn't related to me care about me, but I'd be the world's worst liar if I said I didn't enjoy it.