Daryl’s fist slammed into the metal table, the noise vibrating throughout the lunch room and causing everyone to cease their chatter. “I can’t believe we even havin this fuckin conversation!” His raspy voice was accompanied by yet another punch to the table.
Rick ran his hand over his hair before resting his palms against the table, “Daryl you know what she’ll do if we tell her.”
“Man stop tryin to act like you’re the good guy in the situation!” Daryl threw one arm up in the air and took a step towards Rick, “If you’re too pussy to tell her then I fuckin’ will!”
“And then what?” Hershel stood up from his chair, Maggie helping him with his crutches, “When Arden goes running off into the woods right before winter, do you really think she’ll find him? Or even survive out there on her own?”
“Who said she’d be on her own?” Daryl growled, ignoring the looks of skepticism he received.
“You?” Glenn took a hesitant step forward, “You’d go with her?”
Daryl’s eyes narrowed, “Why you say it like you don’t believe it?”
“We couldn’t afford to lose you,” Carol’s petite voice cut through the growing tension, “With winter coming we need you here.”
“But we can afford to lose Arden!?” Daryl was beginning to see red- the audacity of these people! His eyes scanned the room- Rick, Hershel, Glenn, Maggie, Carol- trustworthy people who were all conspiring to lie to Arden.
“That’s not what she means and you know it,” Maggie walked up to the table, grabbing the crumbled piece of paper and reading over the messy handwriting.
Arden,
I’m alive. Meet me by the tracks. Be there every day- sunrise and sunset. Found camp. Safe.
-Matt
“We can’t just keep it from her,” Maggie whispered, locking eyes with Daryl, “If she leaves though you have to promise to go after her.”
“Maggie,” Glenn whined, eyes switching between Daryl and Maggie, “C’mon you can’t be serious! We don’t even know how old that note even is! Matt could be dead for all we know and telling Arden is only going to make her worry and then run off!”
“He has a point,” Hershel sighed, rubbing his eyes with his index finger and thumb.
“All this back and forth bullshit is gettin us nowhere!” Daryl’s eyes focused on Glenn, “If you’re so against tellin her why you even bring that note back huh!?”
“I dunno I just found it in a tree and well I couldn’t leave it there! I had to tell Rick, who told all of you guys,” Glenn mumbled the last part, unable to believe how out of control this whole thing was getting.
“Glenn is right,” Rick spoke up, “Telling Arden will only rile her up. Given time she’ll finish her mourning and move on, tellin her will only make her obsession with finding him worse.”
The room fell silent, waiting for some to disagree. Daryl looked to Maggie but her eyes quickly averted to the ground. The whole scenario made Daryl want to punch a wall…or a person. Anything to release this frustration that was steadily building inside of him. Daryl paced back and forth, his hands balling into fists. Damn it, he thought, a scowl coming to his face as he realized that there was no way around it. If Arden were to ever see that letter Daryl would have to break his promise.
“She won’t get over it,” Daryl mumbled, trying his best to avoid the curious gazes of his comrades, “Her brother, she ain’t gonna just forget.”
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Firecracker ➝ Daryl Dixon
FanfictionBook One. Complete. Arden was a fighter, or as Daryl liked to call her- a firecracker. But when Arden's brother goes missing that fire starts to die out and she is faced with a decision: stay with the man who saved her life or leave to find the on...
