COLLAPSED ᵀᵂᴰ¹ ✔

91. one for the small girl

Most of them had survived though and that fact should have made her happy. But instead the last few days had left Quinn feeling as though she was communicating with ghosts. With people who shouldn't be alive anymore, whose luck had almost run out. It felt as though death was still wandering around the streets, ready to pick off the survivors one by one. The feeling lingered in the pit of her stomach, slowly poisoned her mind and took over her every thought. It created a strange tiredness to keep escaping death so closely. It left her wondering when they truly would get to start living. She thought she would get to live once she told Daryl how she felt, but even that had grown more complicated.

As soon as the hunter crossed her mind, her eyes looked over the working people surrounding her, searching for his sharp features and ice blue eyes. Down the street Aaron and Milo were loading corpses in the back of a truck. Eric was seated behind the wheel, looking like he was trying very hard not to throw up. On her left Olivia was handing out water while keeping an eye on Judith at the same time. She finally found him when she turned to look on her right. He was lifting up another corpse to bring to the truck together with Rick. Her heart fluttered when she watched how the muscles in his arms tensed as he lifted the decayed walker. Sweat glistered on his skin, making him look like he was glowing in the sunlight. 

He was painfully beautiful to look at.

Ever since their kiss three days ago she had been terrified to talk to him. When she had woken the next morning and came downstairs, he had been very quick to leave the room. She hadn't seen much of him since. She could feel the hesitation radiating from him every time they were in the same room and it had only fueled her own fear. Both of them seemed to be avoiding each other while, at the same time, fighting a burning longing within for another kiss.

Quinn was in no way sorry it had happened. In fact, she had replayed the moment over and over again in her mind without fail since the second it happened. She felt an indescribable happiness blooming in her chest whenever her eyes found his. But at the same time it felt as though they had find each other all over again, learn how to be comfortable around one another like they had to in the beginning. This was different from anything she had ever experienced and no matter how badly she wanted to run over to him, she was terrified of pushing him away completely. She knew there was no way she could rush this but she also knew she couldn't go on like this forever. Her entire body ached to be with him and the distance they were both creating was slowly killing her. It was eating her alive, like an animal trying to claw its way out of her body, roaring with desperation to be at his side.

As if he felt her staring, Daryl turned to look over his shoulder. His hair hung in sweaty strands in front of his face but she could still see his eyes as if they were burning into hers. But as soon as their eyes met he looked away again. Her heart whimpered like a wounded dog in her chest.

'I think I preferred the longing stares over this awkward tension,' Michonne teased, breaking Quinn out of her thoughts. Her friend had been observing the exchange with her hands on her hips. 'Now stop moping and help me lift this.'

Without saying a word Quinn reached down to grab the legs of the walker, while Michonne grabbed the shoulders. They had learned quickly that the arms tended to be rotten so badly that they fell off and so instead they lifted the corpses by the shoulders. For three days now they had been working on cleaning the streets. Another crew was working on fixing the wall, which had taken longer than they all had been comfortable with. First all the debris from the tower had to be cleared out. Then new material had to be brought in from the construction site nearby and then finally they could work on repairing the hole and surrounding walls. Everyone had been working tirelessly for days now and to avoid facing Daryl, Quinn had taken up as many night shifts at the hole as she could. She knew it wouldn't solve anything but part of her refused to take the first step again in trying to figure out whatever it was that was going on between them.