TWD ~ Daryl + Reader ~

Secrets

1 day later

ᐧ ᐧ ᐧ

You throw knife after knife at a hollow part of a tree, just outside the walls of Alexandria. They land right on top of each other about an inch above the holes you had made with them the time prior.

Crack.

You pull your brother's pocket knife out of your pocket at the sound of a twig breaking. The air shifts behind you. You turn ready to plunge the knife into a brain.

Your arm is grabbed and your eyes meet Daryl's. "What are ya doin' out here?"

You pull your arm from his grip. "Practicing." You move out of Daryl's view, so he can see your knives sticking out of a tree. "Jesus is pissed about me going out on that run yesterday, said the only way I'm going out again is if he's with me."

Daryl almost snickers with a partial smirk on his face. "Ya need a sitter?"

"No," you pull one of the knives out of the tree, "well you were kinda my sitter yesterday."

"Nah, ya didn't need me," you glance at him in disbelief, "not really."

"I would've let the walkers get me if you wouldn't have been there." You pull the other knives out of the tree and walk back towards Daryl, "It's not like I've got anything to live for." You set your arms up and get ready to throw the first knife.

"How old are yah?"

You throw the knife and blink at the question before answering, "I'm 27."

"How do ya got nothin' ta live for?"

You turn to look at Daryl, "Negan took my brother, so he's probably dead now. My mom is a walker that I left on a road where she'll be forever. And my uncle is a coward who did whatever Negan wanted even when Negan requested to take me. The only reason I'm here is that my brother told Negan I'm a virgin and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can because of what happened to my mom." You peer down at the knives in your hands, "Might as well lose that too, so I don't die a virgin." You look up to see Daryl staring at you wide-eyed.

'Shit. I just blurted that all out at him. Shit.' The word 'shit' keeps running through your head as you drop your gaze to the group and nervously fiddle the knife in your hands. It feels like minutes pass, but it's really just seconds later that Daryl says;

"You ain't gonna die." Daryl's expression changes to a stern look, almost like he's promising what he's saying. You hear a twig break behind you and you turn to see a walker about two arm lengths away from you. You're about to throw a knife at it when Daryl walks past you and stabs it in the head.

"I was gonna get it." You say as you show him the knife in your hand. All he does is shrug his shoulder and walk back towards the gate.

You quickly pull your knife out of the tree and put it in your belt with the rest. You run to catch up with Daryl. Once you get to his side you start babbling.

"Daryl, I-" he glances at you but continues walking. You step in front of him to make him stop. "Thank you." He looks down at you for a second but immediately looks away, "And I'm sorry."

Daryl walks around you and starts walking towards the gate again, "For what?" You turn and walk next to him as he asks his question.

Your fingers intertwine, with your mind not knowing how to feel. "What I told you back there, it was too much information about someone you don't know."

"I don' know anyone."

You glimpse up at his face. "You know the people in your group."

"'Cause I've been with 'em since almost the start." His voice is cold and mellow, "The only person I really knew was my brother."

"You have a brother?"

Daryl is still for a moment but starts walking again as he says, "Had. He died, bein' an idiot and doin' somethin' for someone other than 'imself."

"I'm sorry-"

"He was a dick." Is the final thing Daryl says as he whistles for the gate to open. When it does he walks the opposite direction of you.