"Lori." Shane caught her arm as the dark haired woman tried to walk around him. "You're right. We can't keep doing this." He pulled her close to him, breathing in her scent. "You're mine and you know it. Rick can't stop us."
Lori pushes herself away from his hold. "Can't you take a hint? Rick... RICK is my husband." She gestured between the two of them. "We- what we did was a mistake."
Diana covered her mouth, trying to quiet her breathing.
Shane was going crazy with want.
"Lori I know you love me more."
"No I don't. Shane, you have to stop. You have to stay away." She hissed. "You're drunk."
He cupped her cheek, brushing it down her face, and leaned forward.
Lori tried to wriggle away but Shane clamped his hands around her forearms.
She broke free and raked her fingernails across his face before he could do anything.
Shane stumbles back, hand touching the oozing blood gently. His love turned to rage within seconds as he pushed his body to Lori's.
She tried to scream but Shane covered her mouth. "Can't have you warnin' Rick." He chastised. "You're all mine, sweetheart." He licked his lips, eying the struggling woman up and down.
Diana had to do something.
She couldn't leave Lori like this.
She crawled out from behind the blue chair, stuffing her book and pen in her pants waist.
Okay... she had the element of surprise in her side.
And he had the element of... bigger and stronger and probably gonna beat the crap out of her.
But she had a knife.
She walked behind Shane quietly, biding her time.
Lori's wide eyes locked with hers, growing bigger.
Shane turned around to see what she was looking at.
Diana launches herself at him, fist flying for his throat.
He tumbled to the side (not very far) and let out a short of choking noise while he tried to get air in.
"Stay away from Lori!" Diana spat, standing protectively in front of Carl's mother. She held her knife out in front of her. "And before you ask... yes I was here to see the whole thing."
Shane rubbed his throat, bringing himself up by his forearms. "What's the plan now, huh?" He asked raspily. "Gonna kill me?" He chuckled darkly. "Gonna give me scars?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm telling Rick everything about you. About how you slept with his wife. About how you tried to take his son as your own. About how you won't let Lori leave you. About how you tried to take advantage of Lori." Each sentence made her grip her knife tighter and tighter.
Shane stood up, stumbling on his way. "You're gonna go tell Rick? Really." He walked closer to her, ignoring the knife. "How are ya gonna do that, exactly."
She rolled her eyes. "By walkin' outta here and tellin' him."
Shane stopped just a foot from her.
"Stay back!" She hissed. "Or I swear I will gut you."
Shane didn't move closer.
He began undoing his belt.
"Lori, get u-!" Diana had Leaned down to help the woman up, not seeing the attack coming her way.
The belt wrapped around her arm, the pain making her drop the weapon.
The crack stung her skin and broke the fabric.
"WHaT THE HELL!" She tried to dive for her knife, but Shane kicked it away.
He drove his foot into her side harshly. She cried out and tried to raise herself to her feet, only for Shane to place his foot on her back and bring her down again.
"Bout time someone taught you a lesson." He laughed humorlessly, his breath tainted heavily with alcohol.
Horror filled her stomach when she realized what he was doing.
"Ya been a real pain in the ass kid." He raised the back of her shirt, her struggles doing nothing.
The first one, she thought, was the worst.
She felt the skin split, the snap of his belt ringing in her ears. She cried out again, trying to break free.
"Ya run away!"
Crack
"Ya ruin my plans!"
Crack
"Ya do nothin' but use up supplies!"
Crack
The first wasn't the worst.
Maybe it was the third one.
Or the seventh one.
Or perhaps the eleventh.
With each new one, the belt drove into the other new wounds.
He was stopped by Lori, wrenching him away from her. "SHANE! STOP!"
It was like he was snapped from a daze. He looked at Lori, eyes now wider.
"You- you beat her!" Lori kneeled down next to the small blonde girl, who was now curled up in pain. "You- you're worse than the walkers!" Lori touched Diana's back carefully, wincing as the girl drew in a sharp intake of breath.
"I- I don't." Shane stuttered, "I don't know what came over me." He dropped the belt quickly. "I- I did- I did have too much to drink..."
"Get away!" Lori snapped when Shane tried to come closer. "I don't want you near Carl- or- or any of the kids!" She stood and shoved him away.
Diana pulled herself up, hands scrambling for her knife.
She needed to leave.
She needed to leave before she was hurt again.
She needed to leave before Lori noticed the water coming from her eyes.
She dashed from the room, Shane and Lori both calling her name.
She ran down the long hallway as she put her knife away.
Shane beat her.
Shane really... truly... had beaten her.
She knew he was crazy...
But not that crazy.
She turned the corner quickly, bumping into a solid object and bouncing to the ground.
She squeaked as she hit the floor. She wiped at her eyes quickly, lifting her head to see what she had run into
Well...
More like who.
Daryl.
"Why do I always run into ya." He huffed. "Why are ya up."
She jumped off the ground and tried to run around him.
"Where are ya goin'." He grabbed her by the back of her shirt and dragged her back. "If ya tryin' ta run away again the doors are locked."
"Let me go!" She cried angrily. "Let me go now!"
Daryl frowned, her attack on him doing little to nothing. "What are you cryin' bout." He asked, voice filled with condescension.
She swiped at her eyes furiously. "Let me go!" She sniffed and tried to hit his hands away. "None of your business!"
Daryl grabbed her arm to stop her from hitting him again, Diana gasping in pain when he gripped the belt wound.
It nearly drove her to her knees.
"What in the-?" He released her arm, fingers coming away with blood.
"Stop it!" She cried, trying to shove him away.
Instead he gripped her arm below her slash and pulled the sleeve away.
It was uglier than Diana had imagined.
It was swollen.
It was red.
It dropped red onto the carpet.
It hurt like hell.
Daryl's confused frown turned to anger. "Who did this to ya."
She stared at him, wide eyed.
He shook her harshly when she didn't respond. "Who hit ya with a belt?!"
She wrenched her hand away and pulled it to her chest. "Please. Let. Me. Go." She pulled the sleeve over the hideous scratch.
"Tell me who did it." He ordered. "Why did they hit ya."
She stayed quiet, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. His eyes searched her face for any sort of answer.
She wanted to be anywhere but there.
"Did they get ya anywhere else?" He pulled her closer to examine her.
"Why do you care?!" She hissed, the skin on her back feeling like it was being lit on fire.
"Cause I know what abuse looks like, dumbass!" He turned her around, spotting the blood beginning to seep through the back of her shirt.
He lifted the back up quickly and placed an arm in front so she couldn't run.
The cool air hit her spine, her nerves firing away messages of pain.
"Who-why...?!"
Diana dunk her teeth into his arm, the surprise and pain making Daryl let her go.
She dashed around the hallway and disappeared before he could even chase after her.
She ran straight to Sophia's room and didn't look back, locking the door when she got in.
Diana breathed heavily, leaning against the wooden door.
Sophia and Carol were both asleep.
The memories flashed in Diana's brain, each filled with the same pain and terror. She covered her face with her hands, sinking lower.
Lori...
Shane...
Daryl.
She rubbed her eyes.
She needed to bandage the wound.
Maybe the CDC kept wrappings in the bathroom?
Surely they would.
It's the CDC.
They probably have health stuff laying around everywhere for usage.
She pulled herself off the ground and forced her body to stumble to the bathroom to begin.
Diana crawled into the bed, hoping Sophia wouldn't wake.
She slipped under the covers and sighed.
How was she gonna cover up the wounds? Old shirt rags and hand soap wouldn't do much to stop the bleeding.
Maybe Sophia would know.
As sick as the logic was, Sophia would most likely knew how to take care of a belt slash.
Her stomach felt like bursting and her nerves were still going haywire.
She didn't care about the pain in her dazed state.
She wanted comfort.
So she pressed herself against Sophia, who leaned back against her contentedly.
Her pain flared but her heartbeat calmed.
She needed comfort badly.
She wanted her mother to hold her close and tell her 'when your father gets home he's going to run Shane over with a golf cart'.
But her mother was far far away.
Too far away to even begin to dream of being held again.
~~~~~
Diana had never seen Sophia even remotely miffed, let alone furious.
She didn't ask who had hurt her.
She only asked how she could help.
Sophia forced her to take a shower before she began, saying that washing away the blood first would be a good start.
When she was done Sophia pulled bandages from her mother's backpack.
Diana's heart clenched, knowing exactly why Carol kept the bandages on hand.
Well, she didn't need them any more.
"I didn't know you had freckles." Sophia commented as she placed the fresh white strips on her friends back. "I've never seen you without dirt on your face."
Diana tried to shrugged but immediately regretted it. "It's been a while."
Coming out to breakfast was even worse.
Rick had called them out from their room, even though Diana tried to convince him her head was still hurting and she needed to sleep more.
The older man just rolled his eyes and told her to get up.
Underneath the table, Sophia allowed Diana to grip her hand tightly.
"You look different." Carl commented, clueless about why she was so quiet. "I like your freckles."
Diana just nodded and continued to stare at her legs.
Three people were trying to force eye contact with her.
Lori was most likely trying to see if she was okay. She gave her small glances around Carl, like she was checking up on her.
Shane was attempting to send her apologetic looks. Or maybe he was just checking to see if she was still mad.
Or to see if she would say anything to any one.
The most intense one by far was from Daryl.
He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
She glanced up one time to look at him.
He glanced to Jenner and then back to her, almost asking her a question with his eyes.
Who did it.
When she didn't give him any response he glanced to Rick and then back at her.
She looked back to her untouched plate of scrambled eggs and held Sophia's hand tighter.
Glenn stumbled into the eating area, clutching his head. "Never... EVER... let me drink again." He plopped down at the table and covered his eyes.
Rick chuckled at his younger friend. "Yeah that happens when ya drink too much."
He stopped, noticing Shane trying to hide the mark on his cheek.
"Shane, what happened to your face?" Rick asked as he set his fork down.
Diana tensed.
Shane rubbed the scratch Lori gave him gently. "I don't know." He cast Lori a look. "Must've been in my sleep."
Rick frowned. "You've never done that before."
Shane nodded. "Yeah. I never have."
Rick shrugged it off as Lori went back to awkwardly eating.
Diana tried to look at Daryl to see if he had noticed the underlying meaning in Shane and Lori's words. To see if he knew that whatever it was, she had been involved.
He nodded his head slightly at Shane.
Her face turned pink and she looked away quickly,
Shane spent the rest of the meal wondering why Daryl was glaring at him.
Dianan cleared her throat and stood up from the table. "I-I'm gonna go... I'm gonna go draw or something."
She retreated down the hallway, not stopping for Rick trying to call her back.
She didn't stop either for Sophia asking if she wanted her to come with.
She rounded the corner and leaned against the wall, quickly being reminded of her pain when the wounds flared.
Footsteps approached from the dining area.
"Diana?"
It was Shane.
Her heart rate picked up.
He turned the corner, spotting her quickly.
"Listen, kid," he tried, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm sorry-."
"No." She hissed. "You don't get to be sorry." She took a small step away. "You're a monster."
Her flight or fight responses were firing away in her body.
Should she run?
Or should she hit him and face possible consequences?
He sighed and faced the ground. "I was drunk, Diana. I know that's not enoug-."
"Damn right it's not." She spat. "I don't understand how you could be the friend Rick was praising when I first met him."
"Kid, come on. It was a mistake." He pleaded.
"Yeah. It was. Good job, nancy, you've remembered morals!" She clapped, fake congragulatory. "Now you're gonna let me leave."
Shane stepped closer. "Not until I hear you say you won't tell anyone."
She dropped the chipper attitude quickly and backed up. "The only thing anyone is gonna hear is me screaming if you take another step forward." She enforced her words with a glare. "I swear I will."
"Listen kid-." He began harshly.
"What's goin' on." Daryl interrupted, causing both of them to jump.
Shane narrowed his eyes. "Absolutely nothin'."
Daryl crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "I find that hard to believe."
Diana swallowed thickly.
"The girl is fine, Daryl." Shane spat, pulling back his stoic attitude. "You should leave. We're in a discussion."
Daryl raised his eyebrows and strolled casually closer to the two. "Really? Don't look fine to me."
She shrunk away under his gaze.
"Since when do you care?" Shane accused. "Not to be rude or anythin' but you two hate each other."
"True." Daryl stopped about two feet from Shane. "But i hate you more."
Shane laughed, almost nervously. "Why would that be?"
Daryl just glared. "I think you might know why."
Shane cleared his throat. "I don't know what you thinks goin' on here but it's not what you think." He began to walk away. "I'm gonna go see... what Ricks doin'."
Daryl glared at his retreating figure the whole time.
Diana wrapped her arms around herself, preparing for the worst.
"It him?" Daryl questioned, leaning on the wall she was leaning against.
She shook her head, throat feeling like it was swelling.
"No ya won't tell me, or no it wasn't him."
She bit the inside of her cheek and stayed silent, fiddling with her fingers instead.
"Why don't ya wanna talk." Daryl interrogated.
"Why do you care." She slid down the wall and hit the floor. "What's your motive."
"My what?"
"Your motive. You know... when you want something and-." She tried to explain.
"I know what a motive is, dumbass. Why do ya think I have one." He joined her on the tile floor.
"You hate me." She pointed at herself. "I hate you." She pointed at him. "There HAS to be a reason why you're acting like that. What do you want from me."
He shrugged. "It'll slow ya down and we need to work fast in the apocalypse."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
Was that it?
Surely there was something else.
"Don't look at me like that." He shoved her face away.
"Ow!" She rubbed her forehead and glared.
As strange as it was... she preferred that to being treated like glass.
"You're fine kid." He rolled his eyes.
"You're just sayin that so you can beat me up." She muttered, going back to fiddling with her sleeves.
"I'm savin' that for later." He referred back to when they were leaving. "When you're not expectin' it."
She nodded.
"Did you take care of ya slashes?"
She shrugged. "Yes and no. Bandages but no antibiotics."
"Mm." He nodded. "If ya had ice that would work. But..." he rolled his eyes at the whole situation of the world. "That ain't gonna happen."
She turned to him. "How do you know what to do with belt wounds?" She stopped to think, then added, "and how do you know what belt wounds look like?"
He tensed by her side.
"Just seen it before." He muttered. "Knew people that had it done to 'em."
When neither spoke again he stood up.
"Stay away from whoever did that to ya." He ordered. "I hate you, but I don't want ya dead."
"Wish I could say the last part for you." She mumbled.
He leaned down and flicked her hard in the forehead.
"OW!" She jolted away, hand flying to her face.
Daryl turned and walked down the hallway. "Ya needed it."
Diana opened her mouth to retort but was stopped by a small... almost unnoticeable... detail.
Daryl liked to wear sleeveless shirts and leather vests.
Just where his back met his left arm, she could see a pale jagged line tucked underneath the leather and trailing even out of sight.