Living Like You're Dead

Adeline could see the ceiling of her bedroom. It wasn't her room in Paris, it wasn't the room she shared with Andrea, but it was in the house in Georgia. Addie could see her mother - she was so beautiful with her red lips and long dark hair. She came into Addie's room and picked up her tiny body. Addie was a young child again. Maybe three years old. Addie was carried to the nearest bathroom, and place in a tub of warm water.

Her mother placed her hands on her shoulders and pushed her underneath. Should couldn't breathe. She hadn't even taken a breath. She sucked in water, and it stung her lungs. She clawed at her mothers hands. And then she stopped.

Addie sat up - her lungs forced her to cough up the water, and she breathed in air real air, and when she looked around her mother was gone. Instead she saw Andrea.

She was awake - no longer dreaming. That was how she knew this house. It had been her mothers.

"Sweetie are you okay?!"

"Woh-What?" she asked dazed. She was still confused about her past memory haunting her dreams. She sat up, faced Andrea and asked, "What happened?" she vaguely remembered Erik... then everything had gone black.

"That Maniac! He was trying to kill you, you were so lucky Daryl hadn't left yet. He walked by your room and he stopped him.

"How...? Where is he?" Addie asked.

"He's outside. He's been hoping you'd still wake up. You've been out for almost six hours."

Addie looked out the window. They were tightly shut, but she could see through a small crack that it was dark out. She touched her fingers to her neck and they were tender.

"Let me talk to him." Addie pleaded.

"Daryl won't talk to anyone, but he'll want to know your safe." Andrea said sad.

"No please I want to... to talk to him." Daryl had been listening. And he walked into her room. Andrea stood and looked at them both,

"I'll get you some food." she said. Andrea left the room to give them some privacy.

"Daryl." Addie said nearly crying. He sat down next to her on her bed. "Tell me what happened." Daryl took a moment of silence to gather his thoughts - thinking of the best way to explain what happened.

"I heard... I heard your body fall to the floor. I opened the door to see what happened and that's when I saw him standing over you - his face was so enraged I thought he had just killed you. I grabbed the nearest thing I could and hit him with it.

I - I - didn't mean to hit him so hard." Daryl said.

Addie knew that he must've killed him. She looked at the wall where he had been standing, it was a different shade of pink than the rest of the wall. He must have been the first person Daryl killed that was still a person. It seemed to be what bothered him most, or maybe the fact that Adeline had been in danger, yet again.

Daryl touched her hand as he stood to leave. Instead she grabbed him and lifted herself to a stood on the bed, she hugged him. She hugged him very tightly. Part of it being on account of him saving her life, again, and part of it being based on the fact that she just had a horrific nightmare about her mother.

It took him a moment before he wrapped his arms around her too. Daryl took deep breaths, taking in her amazing natural scent. She smelled like spring. Fresh wild flowers - wet rain... how could she possibly smell this good?

Daryl thought that holding her like this was not going to be good for him. But all he wanted was to feel her tiny body against his, her could feel her heartbeat, and that was assuring.

Andrea knocked before she went in - it gave Daryl time to let her go and put a stern. "I'm tough," look back on his face.

He left the room and Andrea sat down to feed her something that smell delicious, pasta. It was her favorite.

"Did he say anything?" she asked Addie.

"He said he didn't mean to hit him so hard." Addie said.

"We all thought walkers were in the house when we heard him yell. He was yelling for us all to come help... if I didn't know any better I'd say he cared for you." she said with a smile.

"He avoids me." Addie said.

"Maybe that scares him." Andrea said.
___________________________________________________________

Adeline sat outside on the back porch, it wasn't lit, so Daryl didn't notice her when he sat down. When she said "hi." he almost reached for his crossbow, but the voice soothed him almost as quickly it had startled him.

"It's warm in there." he said.

"Well I'm kinda cold." she said. She waited for him to say something. All he did was lean foreword. He looked at her in the moonlight, the crickets were the only thing making noises.
He looked at the bruises on her throat, and it eased his pain about killin Erik. He reached out an touched each bruise with his finger tips. She closed her eyes when he touched her. His palm contoured to her neck.

Adeline prayed for a moment that he would kiss her. She always believed in making every moment the happiest - and right now that was Daryl. She felt so odd feeling these things for him, wishing he woud kiss her, hold her again. But it didn't happen. He got up and lead her inside. She followed him all the way to her room. That's where he left her.