Lone Survivors

A few weeks later, and a few massages later, I was in Daryl’s tent chatting away to him as I ran my hands over his back in all the right ways. I had gotten to know him rather well, now that we had actually started to talk, and he really wasn’t a bad guy; he just had a rough exterior, just like Andrea had said. Somehow, he managed to deal with the apocalypse, and I admired him for that. I was just a mess on the inside. Distracting myself from the depressing thoughts that only proved that I should kill myself, I stopped moving my hands and moved away slightly.

“All done,” I whispered and a few moments later he hauled himself up, showing off his biceps in the push-up position.

“Take ya shirt off,” Daryl said softly yet authoritatively. I froze and blinked wide-eyed at him. Uh what? Do what? Why? “Take ya shirt off and lie down on your stomach. I wanna try an’ repay you.”

“You repay me enough with protection from those monsters an-”

“Just do it before I change my mind,” he growled. It was enough to make me pull off my top and get down on my stomach where he had been lying. Daryl then gave me a fantastic massage, his calloused hands moving smoothly over my bare back. He must have really been paying attention when I worked on him, because he used some techniques that I had been taught by a professional masseuse. The soothing moment was over far too soon.

“Oh, you did so well… I’m just so relaxed, I don’t wanna get up…” I groaned honestly. Every muscle in my body was sleeping happily for the first time since this nightmare started. Daryl had completely subdued me with his hands.

“So… stay here…” he mumbled. My eyes opened and glanced at him. For the first time ever, he wore a slightly shy expression, uncertainty in his eyes.

“What?” I whispered, unsure of what to do.

“Ya could just stay here… with me…” Daryl repeated. “Only if ya wanted, though. I’m just sayin’ there’s room for two…” I paused, thinking about what he was saying. In a way, I expected him to suddenly announce he was joking around and then to get the hell out of his tent, but it didn’t happen. I guess Daryl was being serious… Staying where I was, I watched as he shifted a bit, moving a few things away from his sleeping area before heading to the exit. He looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“I’ll stay…” I whispered and Daryl nodded, zipping up the hole in the tent. He then came back to me and I rolled onto my side. Daryl lied next to me and then pulled a heavy blanket over us. Our faces were barely an inch apart and I could feel his breath on my face. In the dim light given by the fire outside, I could kind of make out his facial features and how soft they were, for once. I didn’t want to leave the moment. Unfortunately, sleep overcame me, and once I woke, Daryl was gone.