Cherokee Roses {Daryl Dixon's Daughter}

f i v e

~~~
"And that class is the trail of tears," the history teacher at Georgia Mountain Middle School concludes his lesson and let's the students disperse into their own groups. "You can talk until the bell rings, go."

Cherokee sits at her desk, doodling on the side of her notebook. She already knows about the Trail Of Tears. That's what she's named after.  Her dad, even her uncle used to tell her about it as a bedtime story. But at the end of the story, Daryl would always tell his daughter, 'one of those roses, was you my little Cherokee rose,' and Cherokee would always giggle at her dad telling him she wasn't a flower.

"Aye Cherri," her best friend Donnie says pulling up a chair and sitting on it backwards.

"Hey Don." Cherri responds ready to get out of school. "What's up?"

"Can I come over tonight? We need to study for that science final." He asks her.

"Can't, Sorry Donnie." Cherri quickly responds. No one comes over to her house. Ever. Especially with Will there. In fact, the Dixon's where going hunting. "Besides, since when do you study?"

"Since my momma beat my ass for failing." Donnie shrugs.'

"Well I'm doing something with my dad for the weekend so, I will see you Monday." Cherokee tells Donnie as the bell rings before grabbing her things and rushing out the door. Outside of the school she's greeted by her father and uncle.

"Hi Daddy." She greets giving her father a big hug.

"Don't forget your favorite uncle," Merle says from beside his brother.

"Merle, your my only uncle." Cherokee states.

"But that automatically makes me your favorite." Merle says full of himself.

"Your so cocky Merle." Cherri laughs.

"Yeah but you love me Sport." Merle laughs heartily clamping his hand on Cherokees shoulder.

"Come on, le's go," Daryl says getting in the truck. "All these single moms are eyeballing me and it's gettin creepy."

Cherokee laughs before throwing her school stuff into the bed of the pickup truck and getting into the middle seat.

"Aw come on Darlina, you know you'd tap some ass out there." Merle teases.

"Can we not talk about this you big ole' sack 'o shit?" Daryl asks his brother.

"Sure thing Darlina, only if I can tap that ass if you don't." Merle says lighting a cigarette.
~~~

I wake up with a start, I'm in a unfamiliar place, with an unfamiliar girl telling me to calm down.

"Who are you?" I ask. "Where am I?"

"I'm Beth Greene, you're in my house." Beth tells her gently. "My daddy took care of your head, and he's taking care of that other boy, is he your brother?"

Beth seems nice, almost like she hasn't seen the horrors of this world. I'm confused for a moment more as to why I'm in this strangers house.

"Carl? No he's my friend." I say slowly. "What happened?"

"You've got one hell of a concussion Cherokee." Shane tells me as he enters the room. "Carl's needing some medical supplies, the shot shattered into six fragments and knocked you down making you hit your head pretty hard on your crossbow, you needed some stitches."
I blink a couple times very confused.

"What." I manage to get out.

"Just lay down kid." Shane says walking out the door. "You need the rest."