Arrowhead ➳ Daryl Dixon

t w e n t y f o u r

Sometimes she still felt the feeling of his hands on her body. Her skin itched and crawled, but even when she scrubbed it all raw, even she was to the point of nearly bleeding, it still itched and crawled and burned. Nevermind her own mind had become her own worst enemy.

She tilted her head back and took a swig of the bottle of Jack Daniels. It burned, but it was good. It made her forget, even if it was just for a little while.

She leaned back, propping herself up on her elbows. The stars shown brightly, undisturbed by any city lights. No gun shots, no moans. It was so peaceful, even if it would only last for a little while.

"Where da hell did ye get that?" A voice asked. Presley swiveled her head around to look at him. Daryl- she should have known. She bared a drunken smile, raising the bottle over her head and taking another drink.

"I've had it." She answered simply, flopping down onto her back. She kicked her legs out into the air like a child, a mane of black hair sprawled out underneath her head like a pillow. Daryl couldn't deny, that even in a drunken state, she looked just as stunning. "Join me, my friend... Have a drink."

"Yer hammered." Daryl muttered, shaking his head. Still, he sat down. He couldn't just leave her out here on his own... Or so he told himself. "What is it?" He asked, squinting to read the bottle. "Jack Daniels? Hardly a lady drink. Shoulda got yerself a margarita or somethin'." He frowned. "Damn kid, you drank half the bottle!"

She threw her head back and laughed. It was definitely a drunk laugh, but still radiant and clear... Not broken, like it was before. "Daddy always said... If ye gonna drink, ye gonna drink right, kid." She smiled and shook her head. "He gave me my first drink when I turned thirteen. I thought it was disgusting... I ended up getting six months later at a party." She rolled her eyes at his last comment. "What, just because I'm female I can't hold my own liquor? Boo on you, I could probably outdrink you."

Daryl listened to her, rolling his eyes at the last part.

He didn't say anything... There was nothing for him to say. She was drunk enough that she probably wouldn't even remember any of it, anyways. So he just listened. He took a drink, wincing at the burn. This girl is tough shit, he thought as she took another swig. She hardly even blinked, and he knew for sure that it burned.

"My daddy... At the time, he wouldn't have won father of the year." She shook her head, rolling the bottle of golden liquor in her hand. "But now... His baby girl has survived, because of what he did for me." She looked up at the stars, the light illuminating her face beautifully. 

"My pa is the reason I'm alive too." He admitted, looking away. She offered him the bottle, sensing that it was a sensitive topic. He took another swig, shaking his head. "But I don't think we learned survival the same way."

"I know he's still alive... Up in Washington." She said suddenly. Her words were becoming more and more slurred and it was becoming hard to understand her. Still, her voice was calming. 

"Don't ye wanna go find 'im?" Daryl asked.

"I know he's lookin' for me... If I went up there, I would be disappointed to find that he had left a long time ago." She shook her head, setting the bottle beside her. Daryl feared that if she took another drink she would pass out from too much alcohol. "He pry thinks I'm still up in Colorado."

Daryl stared forward, taking the bottle from the ground and taking a drink. He had never been a big drinker, but it felt so good to have it after going so long without it.

"The Governor raped me." She blurted out. Daryl spit the drink out of his mouth, thankfully into the grass instead of the bottle. Anger swelled up in him, so much that he couldn't control the rage. He fisted the green grass between his hands, bringing up weeds and all. "Every day, the same time. Sometimes more than once a day."