Daughter of a Dixon ✔️

12: You're Not Alone

Maggie escorted me to the bedroom Dad was in, just to make sure I could walk on my own safely. When I got the bedroom door, she let me go in by myself, saying she didn't want to intrude.

So, with her walking away back into the kitchen of the house, I creaked open the door and took a small step inside. I looked up to the bed, and saw that Dad was turned away from me, laying underneath two, thin blankets. With his back to me, I could clearly see the dark, purple scars that littered his back. I quickly looked down, and pulled down the sleeves of my yellow flannel before returning my gaze to Dad.

By then, he had realized it was me who came in, and had turned to lay on his back. I looked over to him as he gave his head a slight nod, indicating for me to come and sit by him. I quickly obliged, and carefully sat on the edge of the bed, letting my feet dangle off.

"What happened to you, Dad?" I asked him, looking down as I kicked my feet out. It actually felt good on my ankle, to move it around a little bit after a day of holding it still.

Dad scoffed. "That damn horse got all scared, threw me off a cliff and made me impale myself on one of my own arrows," he said. "Then, comin' back to camp, Andrea thought I's a walker, pulled the trigger on me. Good thing she ain't the best shot, or I might not be here."

I felt bad for my Dad, but I could tell he didn't want to talk about his injuries or how much pain he was in. So, for his sake, I decided to hold back on my sympathy, and try to humor him.

"The last thing you said; About how it's good Andrea isn't the best shot, or else you wouldn't be here?"

He nodded his head.

"You know I could say the same thing about you and me, right?" I said, laughing a little.

Dad attempted not to smile, but I saw a small grin making its way onto his face as he spoke. "That's low, Sid, that's real low," he said, chuckling quietly.

I laughed at his response, smiling over at him as he tried to fight one of his own.

"Yeah... I guess this is my karma, ain't it?"

I immediately turned serious, and shook my head. "No... it's not. I talked to Rick; you've been out, everyday, looking for Sofia, and when I was gone, he said you weren't even around. You were in the woods, looking for me, every minute of the day. If there's anyone in camp who doesn't deserve karma, it's you, Dad."

He stayed quiet for a minute, picking at a loose string on the blanket he was covering up with. I saw his shoulders rise and fall in a quiet sigh before he spoke. "Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Now look what happened."

"Don't think like that," I told him, shaking my head. "You've been workin' yourself to death these past few days. Maybe this is a sign you need to take a break, slow down."

"There's a little girl out there right now, alone, scared, in the woods. There ain't no time for a break, Sid."

"Yeah, I know. But... Dad, you aren't doin' this by yourself. There's other people who can help you look for Sofia; you're not alone."

"Sure as hell seems like it," he muttered, looking back down to that one, loose string on his blanket.

"Dad, you can be really dumb sometimes," I said, laughing quietly. I smirked, and took the string out of his hands. He immediately looked up at me, raising an eyebrow.