Status: Active
Tonight the World Dies
One of Us.
Daryl's POV
The room stays quiet, even after we hear the door slam upstairs. I chew my lip, knowing I should go up and make sure she’s all right, but I don’t. My feet are bolted to the floor. Truth is, I’m not sure what to make of her now. We’ve all been through terrible shit, but her… She’s been through much worse, that much I know. It’s the only explanation for her behavior today.
Aaron is still fearful, but he’s worried about her too. Rick is beside himself, torn between exiling her and keeping her with us. I think he knows it’s a losing battle, though. The rest of us—save Carol, who’s been arguing up a storm as to why we need to get rid of her—are firmly on her side.
“I don’t understand how you all can just…let her stay here,” Carol says firmly, a horribly stunned expression on her face. I tense beside her. I knew as soon as she saw Candace and the state she was in she’d be all for sending her on her way.
“She’s one of us,” Maggie interjects, appalled that someone in our group would even make such a suggestion. I’m with her, of course, but I keep quiet, opting to watch this all play out.
“Did any of you see her? She was covered in blood!” Carol tries to reason. I clench my jaw, biting my tongue against the words I’m tempted to spit. Rick does it for me.
“Let’s not forget what you did back at the prison,” he reminds her. Carol stiffens, her eyes going hard and cold.
“That was to protect the group! To protect all of us!”
“An’ what she did was to protect herself,” I hear myself growl. Carol’s head whips around, surprise and betrayal clear as day on her face. “Ya weren’t there. Those men...they weren’t good people. Candace is.”
Carol scoffs. “I think you’re a little biased. She killed someone, brutally, and came back to us covered in blood! No normal, sane person does that! We need to lock her up, keep her away from the children. We don’t even know what happened to her before she met Gabriel! He said she showed up injured but didn’t say how. Why? Unless it was something she didn’t want anyone knowing.”
I can see the seeds of doubt Carol’s words have planted in everyone’s head, mine included. But unlike them, I keep myself composed. A small smirk appears on Carol’s face, and I wonder briefly where the mousy woman used to be inside her. When I met her, Carol was meek, weak-minded, and didn’t shove her nose into other people’s business. Over time, she came out of her shell and evolved into a strong, independent woman. Now, as I look at her, I don’t know who she is. She’d never liked Candace, and I still am not sure of the reason why—the reason other than Carol’s infatuation with me.
“She don’t know half the shit we been through neither,” I retort. Carol opens her mouth again but I’m quick to cut her off. “We all done some bad shit we’ve had to do to survive. If ya saw those men, you’d do the same damn thing she did.”
Her mouth opens again but Rick steps forward and throws up a hand between us. “I think that’s enough for tonight. Candace isn’t going anywhere. No one needs to babysit her.” He ignores Carol’s scoff before she turns and sweeps from the house, the front door slamming shut behind her.
Slowly, the others follow her, and Maggie pauses to lay a hand on my shoulder before I hear her head upstairs. I duck my head, throwing my hair into my face. I don’t want anyone seeing how upset Carol has truly made me. Rick is the last one in the room, and I know he’s been wanting to speak to me privately. As my best friend and my brother, I can’t help but spill my concerns to him when we step out onto the back porch.
“Ya shoulda seen her,” I mutter, so low I’m surprised Rick even hears me. He leans on his hands as they rest on the railing, looking out into the night. “’s like some kinda switch just…” I click my tongue and twist my hand in a ‘turn-off’ motion. “Man, she went through some shit. She just went…cold, and she was angry. But not angry like I get. Angry like calculated. She had this look in her eye… And when she swung that hatchet… Man, I’m worried about her, and I don’t know how to help her.”
“Might not be anything you can do to help her, Daryl,” Rick replies, gazing across at me with sympathy in his eyes. “She’s gotta come out of this on her own. Let her pull herself back to the now. I won’t say I’m not curious as hell to know what kinda shit she’s been through to trigger an episode like that, but I agree with you in saying it doesn’t matter. Not now. We’ve all done things we’d never thought we’d have to. That includes Candace. She doesn’t owe me any explanation.”
I bring my thumb to my mouth and chew the skin. Rick’s answer is everything I expect it to be, but I can’t help the frustration building. Whatever is happening between Candace and me… I’m wrongfully annoyed that there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do for her except be there if and when she needs me. The realization that people need me has taken me far too long to come to grips with, but now that I know it’s true, I’ve been saddled with the desire to want to help however possible. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem like something I can push on her. I pushed her to care about the group, pushed her to let people, let me, in. I can’t push her to open up about memories she’s no doubt kept locked away in the deepest, darkest parts of her mind.
“She’s one of us, Daryl, just like Maggie said.” I jump slightly when Rick lays his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t let Carol try and sway you from that.”
“She ain’t,” I retort semi-defensively and then sigh. “Don’t know what’s got into her.”
Rick is smirking knowingly and he takes a step back. “Oh, I think you do. You just don’t wanna see it.”
“She ain’t sweet on me.” Talking about feelings is definitely not one of my strong suits. I like to think I’m getting better, but I can never be sure when the next minute I’m putting my foot in my mouth. Rick’s eyebrows rise slowly until they disappear into his hair, chuckling when I groan. “Well, I ain’t sweet on her at least. Carol’s always been…well, ya know.”
“I know.”
“Damaged people, man. Never more than that. Don’t even know when it started honestly, when she started lookin’ at me diff’rent.”
“Oh, I think it started with Sophia, and your refusal to give up on her. Carol was right there even when you tried pushin’ everyone away. I think she’s been harborin’ these feelings for a while.”
“Yeah, well, I ain’t returnin’ them.”
“I know you aren’t. You seem to have some kind of connection with Candace.”
Uncomfortable, I nod briefly and look away. I can’t say for sure when I started seeing Candace differently. Maybe it was the day she decked Nicholas and took off like a loose tornado. Or that day on the road when she kept insisting we leave her behind. She tried to hide it, but I read the look on her face as clearly as if she’d been putting it out there for show. I knew it because I’d felt the same way when I realized, with these people, I was home.
Rick leaves shortly after, and momentarily I wonder if I should too. But I can’t help but wonder what that would make Candace think if I just left…
I take the stairs two at a time and stop outside her room. The door is open a crack, and I take a moment to compose myself. I decide acting as if nothing is wrong is the best tactic. She’s sitting curled up on the bed when I walk in, already dressed in her pajamas. Her heads snaps up, her eyes wide with surprise, when she hears the door. I hold her eyes for a moment before I look away and remove my vest. I can feel her eyes following me, no doubt wondering what the hell I’m doing in here.
“Ya gettin’ in bed ‘r what?” I ask once my boots and socks are removed. I sit on my side of the bed—inwardly I huff, ‘my side’—and watch her expectantly. She stares down at her hands, and I can see the wheels turning in her head.
“I don’t know what happened out there…I mean, that’s never happened to me before.” Her voice is weak, and it’s a tone I’m not used to hearing. I hate it.
“Ya don’t owe nobody nothin’.”
Her eyes snap back to me. “You aren’t the least bit curious?”
“Curious? Hell yeah. But I ain’t lookin’ fer an explanation. Don’t need it. Ya comin’ to bed or not?”
She moves then, turning to crawl on her hands and knees to the head of the bed, and goddammit if it isn’t the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. Her eyes are wide, doubtlessly because I’m not pushing for answers, but all I can think about is the sudden look of innocence on her face, and paired with that sexy ass pose, it’s killing me. I look away as she crawls under the covers, lying on her side while I get myself settled on my back. I lift my arm and look at her.
“C’mon,” I urge quietly. She hesitates, pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, before shuffling over and resting her head on my shoulder. I slowly lower my arm, suddenly unsure, but she relaxes as it curls around her, so I let myself relax too. I bite my lip for a moment, pulling at the chapped skin, before I say, “When ya ready…if ya think it’ll help, I’ll be here. Ain’t gotta do it alone.”
She doesn’t say anything in response, and when her breathing evens out minutes later, I know I won’t get one. I sigh through my nose and let my eyes close. Sleep finds me, but it’s fitful.
The room stays quiet, even after we hear the door slam upstairs. I chew my lip, knowing I should go up and make sure she’s all right, but I don’t. My feet are bolted to the floor. Truth is, I’m not sure what to make of her now. We’ve all been through terrible shit, but her… She’s been through much worse, that much I know. It’s the only explanation for her behavior today.
Aaron is still fearful, but he’s worried about her too. Rick is beside himself, torn between exiling her and keeping her with us. I think he knows it’s a losing battle, though. The rest of us—save Carol, who’s been arguing up a storm as to why we need to get rid of her—are firmly on her side.
“I don’t understand how you all can just…let her stay here,” Carol says firmly, a horribly stunned expression on her face. I tense beside her. I knew as soon as she saw Candace and the state she was in she’d be all for sending her on her way.
“She’s one of us,” Maggie interjects, appalled that someone in our group would even make such a suggestion. I’m with her, of course, but I keep quiet, opting to watch this all play out.
“Did any of you see her? She was covered in blood!” Carol tries to reason. I clench my jaw, biting my tongue against the words I’m tempted to spit. Rick does it for me.
“Let’s not forget what you did back at the prison,” he reminds her. Carol stiffens, her eyes going hard and cold.
“That was to protect the group! To protect all of us!”
“An’ what she did was to protect herself,” I hear myself growl. Carol’s head whips around, surprise and betrayal clear as day on her face. “Ya weren’t there. Those men...they weren’t good people. Candace is.”
Carol scoffs. “I think you’re a little biased. She killed someone, brutally, and came back to us covered in blood! No normal, sane person does that! We need to lock her up, keep her away from the children. We don’t even know what happened to her before she met Gabriel! He said she showed up injured but didn’t say how. Why? Unless it was something she didn’t want anyone knowing.”
I can see the seeds of doubt Carol’s words have planted in everyone’s head, mine included. But unlike them, I keep myself composed. A small smirk appears on Carol’s face, and I wonder briefly where the mousy woman used to be inside her. When I met her, Carol was meek, weak-minded, and didn’t shove her nose into other people’s business. Over time, she came out of her shell and evolved into a strong, independent woman. Now, as I look at her, I don’t know who she is. She’d never liked Candace, and I still am not sure of the reason why—the reason other than Carol’s infatuation with me.
“She don’t know half the shit we been through neither,” I retort. Carol opens her mouth again but I’m quick to cut her off. “We all done some bad shit we’ve had to do to survive. If ya saw those men, you’d do the same damn thing she did.”
Her mouth opens again but Rick steps forward and throws up a hand between us. “I think that’s enough for tonight. Candace isn’t going anywhere. No one needs to babysit her.” He ignores Carol’s scoff before she turns and sweeps from the house, the front door slamming shut behind her.
Slowly, the others follow her, and Maggie pauses to lay a hand on my shoulder before I hear her head upstairs. I duck my head, throwing my hair into my face. I don’t want anyone seeing how upset Carol has truly made me. Rick is the last one in the room, and I know he’s been wanting to speak to me privately. As my best friend and my brother, I can’t help but spill my concerns to him when we step out onto the back porch.
“Ya shoulda seen her,” I mutter, so low I’m surprised Rick even hears me. He leans on his hands as they rest on the railing, looking out into the night. “’s like some kinda switch just…” I click my tongue and twist my hand in a ‘turn-off’ motion. “Man, she went through some shit. She just went…cold, and she was angry. But not angry like I get. Angry like calculated. She had this look in her eye… And when she swung that hatchet… Man, I’m worried about her, and I don’t know how to help her.”
“Might not be anything you can do to help her, Daryl,” Rick replies, gazing across at me with sympathy in his eyes. “She’s gotta come out of this on her own. Let her pull herself back to the now. I won’t say I’m not curious as hell to know what kinda shit she’s been through to trigger an episode like that, but I agree with you in saying it doesn’t matter. Not now. We’ve all done things we’d never thought we’d have to. That includes Candace. She doesn’t owe me any explanation.”
I bring my thumb to my mouth and chew the skin. Rick’s answer is everything I expect it to be, but I can’t help the frustration building. Whatever is happening between Candace and me… I’m wrongfully annoyed that there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do for her except be there if and when she needs me. The realization that people need me has taken me far too long to come to grips with, but now that I know it’s true, I’ve been saddled with the desire to want to help however possible. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem like something I can push on her. I pushed her to care about the group, pushed her to let people, let me, in. I can’t push her to open up about memories she’s no doubt kept locked away in the deepest, darkest parts of her mind.
“She’s one of us, Daryl, just like Maggie said.” I jump slightly when Rick lays his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t let Carol try and sway you from that.”
“She ain’t,” I retort semi-defensively and then sigh. “Don’t know what’s got into her.”
Rick is smirking knowingly and he takes a step back. “Oh, I think you do. You just don’t wanna see it.”
“She ain’t sweet on me.” Talking about feelings is definitely not one of my strong suits. I like to think I’m getting better, but I can never be sure when the next minute I’m putting my foot in my mouth. Rick’s eyebrows rise slowly until they disappear into his hair, chuckling when I groan. “Well, I ain’t sweet on her at least. Carol’s always been…well, ya know.”
“I know.”
“Damaged people, man. Never more than that. Don’t even know when it started honestly, when she started lookin’ at me diff’rent.”
“Oh, I think it started with Sophia, and your refusal to give up on her. Carol was right there even when you tried pushin’ everyone away. I think she’s been harborin’ these feelings for a while.”
“Yeah, well, I ain’t returnin’ them.”
“I know you aren’t. You seem to have some kind of connection with Candace.”
Uncomfortable, I nod briefly and look away. I can’t say for sure when I started seeing Candace differently. Maybe it was the day she decked Nicholas and took off like a loose tornado. Or that day on the road when she kept insisting we leave her behind. She tried to hide it, but I read the look on her face as clearly as if she’d been putting it out there for show. I knew it because I’d felt the same way when I realized, with these people, I was home.
Rick leaves shortly after, and momentarily I wonder if I should too. But I can’t help but wonder what that would make Candace think if I just left…
I take the stairs two at a time and stop outside her room. The door is open a crack, and I take a moment to compose myself. I decide acting as if nothing is wrong is the best tactic. She’s sitting curled up on the bed when I walk in, already dressed in her pajamas. Her heads snaps up, her eyes wide with surprise, when she hears the door. I hold her eyes for a moment before I look away and remove my vest. I can feel her eyes following me, no doubt wondering what the hell I’m doing in here.
“Ya gettin’ in bed ‘r what?” I ask once my boots and socks are removed. I sit on my side of the bed—inwardly I huff, ‘my side’—and watch her expectantly. She stares down at her hands, and I can see the wheels turning in her head.
“I don’t know what happened out there…I mean, that’s never happened to me before.” Her voice is weak, and it’s a tone I’m not used to hearing. I hate it.
“Ya don’t owe nobody nothin’.”
Her eyes snap back to me. “You aren’t the least bit curious?”
“Curious? Hell yeah. But I ain’t lookin’ fer an explanation. Don’t need it. Ya comin’ to bed or not?”
She moves then, turning to crawl on her hands and knees to the head of the bed, and goddammit if it isn’t the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. Her eyes are wide, doubtlessly because I’m not pushing for answers, but all I can think about is the sudden look of innocence on her face, and paired with that sexy ass pose, it’s killing me. I look away as she crawls under the covers, lying on her side while I get myself settled on my back. I lift my arm and look at her.
“C’mon,” I urge quietly. She hesitates, pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, before shuffling over and resting her head on my shoulder. I slowly lower my arm, suddenly unsure, but she relaxes as it curls around her, so I let myself relax too. I bite my lip for a moment, pulling at the chapped skin, before I say, “When ya ready…if ya think it’ll help, I’ll be here. Ain’t gotta do it alone.”
She doesn’t say anything in response, and when her breathing evens out minutes later, I know I won’t get one. I sigh through my nose and let my eyes close. Sleep finds me, but it’s fitful.