Living Like You're Dead

A bath. That's what Addie wanted. She was still covered with dirt. But she looked at the tub. She couldn't get in. The water was cold yes, but that isn't what scared her. She could see her mother... so clearly. Hadn't it all been just a dream? She thought about how it could've been just her imagination - but she knew in the back of her mind that she lived with Alderic when she barely turned four.

She didn't remember anything from before Alderic... until yesterday. Had her mother really tired to kill her? She stood naked just staring at the water. Finally she let her fear get to her.

"LORI!" Addie yelled.

"Hm?" Lori looked up at her from the living room. Addie was fully dressed again.

"Please, come have my bath."

"No no Adeline! You did all that hard work."

"No please I can't bathe in that tub, really. Its yours, don't let it go to waste." Addie left before Lori could refuse her again. She walked through the fence and out into the trees. Maybe the stream lead to a pond somewhere - and then she could bathe without the scary tub.
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Daryl thought this pond was a nice find. He'd keep it as his own secret, somewhere he could come and relax from the others. He had left all his clothes behind and dove in. The water was immensely cool. He swam from one end to the other, the pond was maybe five feet deep, the water was pretty muddy but some rocks on the bottom would fix that. Daryl decided he could make this place pretty fit for swimming. It was maybe fifteen feet in diameter give or take. And he felt relaxed from all his worries there.

Until he saw one had found him.

"Can I join?" she asked. Daryl felt very awkward that he had left all his clothes behind.

"Well..." he paused, Addie hadn't noticed the pair of boxers that lay against the rocks.

But she did remember how she had washed her undergarments only this morning. They were probably still wet.

But then a thought popped into Addie's head. Maybe this could be fun. She took advantage at his pause in speech and began to unbutton her shorts. She slid them off her tall legs and when she stood up she noticed Daryl had turned around, to give her privacy. He really was gentlemanly with her. She left her tank top on to cover her chest so that she wasn't completely naked, yet she was still oblivious to the fact that Daryl in fact, was.

The water barely covered her chest. It wasn't very deep, yet it barely covered Daryl's stomach. So through the muddy water Addie couldn't tell she was swimming with a naked man. One that found her very attractive, and dreamed about her on top of him.

Daryl was speechless. He was naked, and she was standing before him. All he wanted to do was pull her into a kiss... she seemed so enticing. Is she going to freak when she knows I don't have no clothes on? he thought.

"How'd you find this place?" she asked trying to make conversation.

"Just out wandering this morning. Thought you had a bath to take?" he said with a stern look.

"It was Lori's."

"Oh I see. Just doing something nice for a friend?"

"You could say that." she said as she swam a tiny circle around Daryl. He looked uncomfortable when she stood up and found her shirt soaked to her flesh. Addie caught the look on his face, it was the same one she saw the morning after the school house, the same one from last night.

"What is it I do?" she asked. He looked at her like he wasn't sure as to what she was referring to. "I mean to offend you?" she asked as she swam up to him.

"You're beautiful." he said. Addie smiled. She swam up to him - her hand brushing against his hip, Addie looked down at the surprise her hand found.

She felt slightly embarrassed swimming with a naked man - yet she felt strangely intrigued as to why he seemed so much more appealing now. Before she had seen Daryl as her comfort, her safety - but now she looked at him with entirely different eyes.

She let her hand travel up his stomach muscles and to his chest, and that's where she left it. He touched his hand over hers and with his other he pulled her closer by her waist. Daryl wanted to kiss her so bad... Addie wanted him to kiss her. So she made the first move.

She easily lifted her lips to his and kissed him. He made her feel dizzy, nothing she'd felt with Alex. Alex was what her friends had expected her to pick - and with him, Addie never had felt this passion. Daryl was dizzy too. He was kissing the girl he had deemed forbidden. Forbidden, yes, he wasn't supposed to do this, she wasn't meant for him... I'm filth, uneducated... ugly!

He held her head against his with his palms... and when he came back to a conscious state he pulled away. She looked hurt. Her green eyes riddled with confusion.

"Why do you keep doing this?" he asked closing his eyes.

"What?" she asked confused.

"I'm just a git. A racist, always drunk, stupid git." he said,

"Daryl what are -"

"Just please... don't worry about me. I'm here if you need me. But we can't be together. Not like this." He pulled away from her a took her hand off his body. He stepped out of the pond, and put on his jeans. Addie sunk back into the water, she let the air out of her lungs until she was sitting at the bottom. I had upset him. When she came up she didn't see Daryl anywhere.

Daryl was struggling with the rules he lived by before the apocalypse, she was high class, he was lower than the lowest. He didn't realize that the rules didn't apply anymore.
"If she got hurt I'd be even more lost. I can't get attached!" he thought.

But Daryl already was.