Trust Me | Daryl Dixon

Part 21

"What are you-"

I pulled the trigger, cutting her off mid sentence and causing her to stumble to the side.
The look of anger on her face quickly disappearing as she saw a walker, now on the ground, behind where she once stood.

"Thanks.." She breathed out, pushing her hair out of her face, "We should- we should probably get back before the gunfire draws more of them in; we can pick this back up later."

I nodded, putting the gun into the waistband of my pants, "Yeah, that sounds good."

***

The walk back to Alexandria was silent but as soon as I saw the gate in the distance, I decided to finally speak up.

"Thanks for pushing me out there, I think it actually might have helped a bit." I said honestly, "When we get back though, I can ask Abraham to get someone else to help me, like Daryl or maybe-"

"You said what I did helped, right?" She cut me off, "Then why do you want someone else to train you so bad?"

I let out a small chuckle, stunned at why she'd ask, "Because I'm afraid that if we keep being left alone with guns, one of us is gonna snap."

She struggled to hold back a laugh, looking over at me, "Well, I won't if you won't."

I smiled shaking my head before pausing for a moment, wanting to clear the air, "Look, whether you'll ever believe me or not, I really like you people and would never do anything to mess this up; this is the best thing I've ever had-- even before what happened."

She looked at the ground, nodding, as we continued to walk closer to the gates.

"You had my back back there-- literally," she began, "But that doesn't mean I trust you."

I nodded, "I get it-"

"But I don't hate you." She shook her head, "We've all been through a lot, though, and I'd do anything to protect these people."

"If I was in your position I'd probably do the same thing," I confessed, "But all I can give you right now is my word; you guys are what I've always hoped for, but never thought was possible."

We stood now at Alexandria's gate as it began to open, "Same time tomorrow?" Rosita asked, looking over at me through the glare of the sun.

I nodded, letting out a relieving breath, "Deal."

Our talk was then quickly cut short by the sound of shrieks coming from the inside of Alexandria, causing us to both bolt through the gate and down the street until we saw a fight unfolding in the middle of the road.
I ran up beside Carl, adrenaline pumping, as we all stood around while Rick was on top of Pete; Jessie's husband.

I told Rick that I was on his side no matter what, and I wasn't lying when I said that.

Pete soon got the upper hand and that's when I knew this would be my only chance to step in, and apparently Jessie had the same idea.
We both ran over to the men, grabbing onto Pete's jacket in a desperate attempt to throw him off enough for Rick to make another comeback, but were quickly knocked away; Jessie's body falling right on top of mine, knocking the wind out of me.

I looked up in a daze, seeing Rosita's face as she struggled to pull both me and Jessie to our feet, before Carl was also knocked back in our direction.

I then looked back over at Rick, watching him quickly flip over, placing Pete in a choke hold and showing no signs of letting up.

As I struggled to regain my breath, the logical side of me finally kicked in, wondering why all of this was happening in the first place.

"Stop!" Deanna ordered as she ran up, "Stop it right now."

"You touch them again, and I'll kill you." Rick threatened at the man he was gripping the life out of.

"Dammit Rick, I said stop!" Deanna yelled.

Rick then released his grip on Pete, sitting up on his knees as members of Alexandria made their way over to him.

"Or what?" He said, drawing a small revolver that was hidden in his waistband, "You gonna kick me out?"

Immediately the group of people in front of him stepped back, "Put that gun down, Rick.." Deanna said carefully.

"You still don't get it.." Rick breathed out heavily, "None of you do!"

We all stayed silent, exchanging stares; the tension in the air was thick as everyone waited for the next move.

"We know what needs to be done and we do it; we're the ones who live." He began, "You! You just- you sit and plan and hesitate-- you pretend like you know when you don't! You wish things weren't what they are.. well you wanna live? You want this place to stay standing? Your way of doing things is done! Things don't get better because you- you want them to." He continued to explain, leaving the people around him speechless, "Starting right now, we have to live in the real world-- we have to control who lives here-"

"That's never been more clear to me than it is right now." Deanna said, cutting Rick off.

"Me? me? You-" he tiredly laughed, "You mean- you mean me? Your way's gonna destroy this place; it's gonna get people killed-- it's already gotten people killed.. and I'm not just gonna stand by and let it happen. If you don't fight, you die-- I'm not gonna stand by and-"

And just like that, Rick's eye opening speech was cut short by Michonne knocking him out cold; leaving us all stunned.

_____
Do you think this'll change Liz's outlook on Rick? If so, how?