Bleeding Love | Daryl Dixon

Chapter Twelve.

"MERLE!" i shouted as I dropped my belongings on the ground and ran over to him. Once Merle and I went back to the old camp, Merle started to take vengeance against whomever it was that left him on that roof. He currently had T-dog in a headlock and was pointing his gun at a man I had never seen before, a sheriff. "Stop it Merle, He cant breath!" I said as I pushed past Carol who's back was facing me. I grabbed onto Merle's arm and tried to get him off of T-dog who was gasping for breath. Merle still held tight onto his head. "Son of a bitch left me to die up there!" He yelled at me "And he cuffed me" He said pointing his gun in the direction of the sheriff.

I sighed and went and stood in front of the man, so Merle's gun was now pointed directly at my chest. "Go ahead Merle, pull the trigger" I said tauntingly at my best friend. Merle growled at me before putting the safety back on his gun and putting it in his holster. "That's my boy" I said giving him a wink, Merle just rolled his eyes and shoved T-dog onto the ground. Merle mumbled something before wandering off into a tent off to the side, a large blue tent I recognized as his and Daryl's. "Sorry about that" I said turning to the sheriff. "Merle's well...He's Merle" I said with a small chuckle as I shrugged my shoulder. The sheriff just smiled and held a hand out for me to shake. "Rick Grimes" He said smiling. Grimes, I recognized that as Lori and Carl's last name. This must be the husband she told me about, the one who she thought was dead. When I looked over and saw her smiling at me I knew it must be true, a miracle happened and she got her husband and Carl got his father. "Savannah Montgomery" I said shaking his hand firmly in mine.

"Savannah!" i heard a small voice call behind me, and I whipped around to see Sophia and Carl running towards me with arms opened. I smiled and engulfed the two of them while they wrapped their arms around my legs. I chuckled and ruffled Carl's hair while playing with the ends of Sophia's. "I'm glad your back" Carl said looking up at me through his long brown locks of unruly hair. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Sophia asked as the two of them leg go of me. I nodded to the two happy children "I sure did" I said looking past them to Merle and Daryl's tent. Daryl! I totally forgot I needed to go see him. "Excuse me kiddos" I said patting their heads and running over to the tent Merle was currently sitting in.

I whipped open the tent that was already partially open, and climbed in. I frowned when i saw Daryl's sleeping bag empty, and only Merle sitting inside playing with a hunting knife. "He's probably hunting, his crossbow ain't here" Merle said when he saw it was me who walked inside. I nodded and plopped down beside Merle on his cot, he scooted over to make room for me. "You cant go trying to kill people you know" I said as I leaned my head on Merle's shoulder. Merle grunted and i heard him toss his knife onto the ground beside him. "Served him right, he dropped the damn key" Merle said angrily, I could feel his shoulder tensing under my head. 

"We have never needed anyone in our entire lives, but I think it's different now" I told him removing my head from his shoulder and looking over at him. Merle got that same scowl on his face that Daryl got when they got pissed off about something, their eyebrows scrunched together causing their eyes to wrinkle slightly on top. "I ain't worried about nobody except you and Daryl" Merle said looking down at his hands. I reached over and held one of his hands in my own squeezing it gently "These are good people Merle, you must think so too or you guys wouldn't have stayed here" I told him. "I cant leave them, I see myself in little Sophia" I said quietly looking down at my dirty jeans. I had told Merle in the car that I was previously a part of this group before Atlanta. 

"I want to kill Ed, I know you've noticed how he treats them" I whispered in case there were prying ears outside of the tent. Merle chewed on his lip before he gave me a knowing look and a quick nod of his head. "Ed is just like our dads were, controlling, manipulative and abusive. And Sophia was just like I was, terrified, wounded and trapped" I said feeling myself growing emotional thinking about the little girl who was outside the tent. She really was the epitome of what I was at her age, the only difference was she had her mother and i did not.  "I know" Merle whispered, squeezing my hand slightly. Merle was a tough man, large in stature and not on to show emotions, but he always had a soft spot in his heart for me and he always will.

"Im going to see everyone else, try not to kill anyone" I said with a laugh as i stood up and walked out of his tent. The sun was bright and I had to let my eyes adjust to the light, and almost ran into Shane who was walking right past me. "Welcome back" He said with a tip of his hat, a smirk plastered across his face. I rolled my eyes and walked past him over to Glenn and T-dog who were chatting with Dale. I snuck up behind Glenn and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, causing him to slightly jump. "Do scare me like that" Glenn said before wrapping his own arm around my waist and giving me a hug. "Can I still be your tent buddy?" I asked nudging his hip with mine. Glenn smiled and nodded his head "Of course" He told me. 

I smiled at Glenn before hugging Dale and T-dog who were standing off to the side. "Glad you decided to come back Savannah, I take it Merle and Daryl were who you were looking for?" Dale asked me. Glenn and T-dog had walked over to Rick to talk about something. I nodded my head "Yup, those two fuckers are my family, for all intents and purposes" I said smiling over at Merle who was now saying something to Sophia and Carol that were sitting at a table. "Im glad you found each other" Dale said placing a hand on my shoulder "Daryl should be back shortly, He's been hunting for a while now" He said before taking his place back on watch on top of his RV.

I grabbed my belonging that were still laying on the ground by my car and brought them back to Glenn's tent. I saw the sleeping bag I was sleeping in before was still there, and placed my bags on top before heading back outside. I decided to just keep myself occupied until Daryl came back, so I went and sat with Sophia who was currently coloring with Carl and Morales's daughter Eliza. Carol and Miranda, Eliza's mother smiled at me when i looked up from helping Sophia color a unicorn. I nodded back at them and continued my picture, hoping that Daryl would come back at any moment.