Hopeless

Chapter 27

"Are you alright?" She cries as she squats down beside me.

"Yeah, I just spooked her." She helps me to my feet. "Ya'll don't call her Nervous Nelly for nothin'" I mumble, laughing.

"Did she hurt you?" She asks worriedly as I wipe the hay off of my jeans.

"No, i'm fine." I say with a smile. I slowly re-approach the horse. A hand full of hay in my hand.

"Please..be careful." Beth begs. I nod and keep going.

"It's ok girl." I say gently. She shakes her mane. "It's alright." She stomps her foot then settles down. "Thatta girl." I say as I slowly place my hand on her snout. "Good girl." I whisper as I let her eat the hay out of my other hand. She let's me pet her as she eats. Beth cleans the stall around us while I keep Nelly calm. When she's finishes we add the new hay and close her back in.

"You're really good with her." Beth says sounding impressed as we walk back to the house. I smile at her. Just then Daryl walks up to us.

"Can I talk to you...alone?" He asks gruffly. I look to Beth. She nods and heads to the house. He pulls a beautiful white flower from behind his back.

"A flower?" I ask him curiously.

"A Cherokee rose." He hands it to me, I examine it as he speaks. "The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the trail of tears the Cherokee were grieving and crying cause they were losing their little ones along the way. From exposure, disease, starvation, a lot of them just disappeared." I look up at him sadly. "So the elders, they said a prayer..asked for a sign to uplift the mother's spirits. Something to give them strength..and hope. The next day this rose started to grow right where the mother's tears fell. I'm not fool enough to think they're are flowers out there bloomin' for my brother. But I believe..I believe this one bloomed for Sarah. I know you're not her mother or nothin', but you're the closest thing she's got." I pull him close to me, tears burning in my eyes.

"Thank you Daryl..thank you.." I cry into his shoulder. He holds me.

"I'm gonna find her...I promise." I pull away when I hear someone scoff from a feet behind us. I turn to see Shane existing the house. I avoid his gaze.  He walks up to us.

"Look. Rick's tryin' to set up another search party. He wants to set out in an hour...I think you should tell him to call it quits." he says coldly.

"What?!" I ask shocked that he would even suggest that.

"Alright. I'm just gonna say it cause no one else will. This is pointless Katie! We have everyone out there risking their lives, risking the well being of the group for-for a little dead girl that you barely knew!" He yells angrily. I slap him hard across the face, tears pouring down my face.

"Don't you dare!" I scream.

"It's been weeks Katie!" He screams angrily not phased by the fact I just slapped him.

"Go to hell." I mumble storming toward the house. I stop and turn to face him. "I will not stop looking. If I have to go out there by myself that's fine, but I will not stop! Not until I know..." I cry. Rick comes flying out the door.

"What the hell is going on?" He asks from the porch.

"Shane wants to call off the search party for Sarah." Daryl answers angrily.

"You what?" Rick asks Shane.

"Oh come on man. You know just as well as I do that little girl is long gone." He spits angrily.

"You best shut the hell up." Daryl says taking a few steps toward Shane.

"I can't..I can't deal with this..." I run my hands through my hair anxiously.