Dangerously In Love (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 22

Carl and I had knocked on the door just as the rain began to clear out. How typical. Now it wants to stop raining. And as I stared at the both of us I noticed that our appearances were horrible and very questionable. We looked like two third degree walkers and when T-Dog opened the door, I saw him do a double take trying to make sure if we were dead or alive.

I rolled my eyes, agitated. "Are you going to move out of the way or just stand there like an idiot?"

T-Dog was surprised as he stuttered. "R-Rick! They're h-here!"

The moment he said this a mob collected on the porch and I made it a point to avoid all of them. My suspicions were painfully correct as the whole lot of them came from inside of the door. Even Daryl. He spent weeks searching for Sophia, days comforting Carol and now he wants to act like I exist. Asshole! He took a step towards me and I took one back, daring him with my eyes to get near me. His eyes flashed and I knew, he got the message.

"Oh Carl!" Lori ran up to her son and hugged him. I knew the questions would come so I leaned against the porch pillar, waiting. "Where have you been?" she asked but Carl remained silent. His expression guilty. "You're in big trouble, young man." I felt bad for the kid so I decided to help him out.

"He was with me Lori." Everyone's eyes snapped up to me. Carl looked both relieved and confused. "We went into the forest because I wanted to show him the swamp. That wretched storm made us a tad bit late. That's all." I finished and went to leave when Lori grabbed my arm.

"You do not take my son ANYWHERE without my consent. I'm his mother!" she shouted and I slapped her face, hard. Who the fuck does she think she is?

Darly held me back, though I was fine. "Relax, Amber!" But I shrugged his dirty arms off.

Rick held back Lori as she attempted to scare me by yelling. "YOU stupid-"

"Shutup Lori! How DARE you call yourself his mother when you have done absolultely nothing for him! You didn't even notice when he left! Some mom! So what if I took him? He obviously wasn't being cared for. And don't you dare fucking reproach me for doing YOUR job!" I snapped ferociously at her. "I am more of a mother to him than you!"

"I don't care! Amber, you've crossed the line. You do not hit me in front of my child," she yelled and I rolled my eyes. "He could have gotten hurt! You're nobody to protect him. You're more of a child then he is. If something would have happened to him I would have killed you Amber!"

She took a clumsy step forward. My eyes flashed and I went to lunge at her when a pair of small arms wrapped around my waist making me stop. I looked down to see Carl holding me. Calming down, I patted his head as he glared at his mother.

"Don't yell at Amber mom! She saved me!" Carl shouted making everyone stop. "She's lying! I took Dad's gun and ran into the forest looking for a walker to kill and Amber went in after me." I smirked at Lori's lost expression. Even Rick looked at me appreciatively. "She saved me and even had to kill her niece for me." Everyone gasped and I resisted the urge to laugh. My grieving hour had long been over.  I didn't care anymore."You should be thanking her not crit- crit-"

"-Cirtisizing." I supplied and he nodded.

"Yeah, critisizing her. She's my hero mom, not you." Lori looked hurt while I just smirked. Because when Carl said this I felt my heart swoon. If this is how my kid's going to act then I can't wait.

I looked up at Lori one last time and gave her the finger before going upstairs to my room. Locking the door, I went around my bed and picked up one of the loose floor boards and took out a dark brown bag. I smirked at its contents. As a teen I had a wild streak when my mother disapproved of my wearing pants. So I used to wear them at school behind her back. And this is where I kept them after she found out. And I don't know whether it's because of this apocaplypse but they all still fit me. Ugh! How depressing...

Sighing, I then proceeded to take a long, hot shower and leave my hair curly and unruly. Just like Brittany would, I noted but dismissed the thought. I hadn't heard from her since the woods and I didn't know how I felt about that. Anyways, my hair looked messy unlike it's naturally straight nature but that's nothing a little styling gel couldn't fix. Smirking, I put on a tight baby blue shirt with a pair of light grey sweats and some dark blue Jordans. I hadn't worn sneakers nor pants in years. I finally felt free.