Trust Me | Daryl Dixon

Part 80

"My dad knows what he's doing." Carl said as he set Judith down on the carpeted floor of the living room.

"I never said he didn't, but we don't know whats left out there." I pointed out, crossing my arms as I followed him into the kitchen.

"I'm not worried about him or any of the others, so you shouldn't be either."

"How can you not be?" I asked confused, "Denise just got killed by one of the leftover Saviors-"

"Denise wasn't one of us-" he stopped himself, sighing, "She was one of us but she wasn't a fighter-- she never should have been outside the walls."

I sighed, remembering the part that I had in that decision to begin with, "I know."

"Hey," Carl said, getting my attention, "They didn't win." He shook his head.

"Yeah, but neither did we."

"Maybe," he nodded, "But we will-- we always do."

"At what cost?" I scoffed, "It's never gonna end."

***

As time passed, I watched while daylight faded into darkness, feeling lost and waiting for some kind of answer to all of my problems.
I stuck close to Ricks house for most of the day since it had a decent view of Alexandria as a whole, letting me see the gate, watch posts, and most importantly, everyone who was left. I had this irrational fear that if I looked away for too long, more people would disappear, and I wasn't willing to lose anyone else.. I can't be the cause of that again.

***

I woke up in a panic, realizing that I had fallen asleep on the couch, right as I saw Rick walk through the door.
My breathing was heavy as I tried to catch my breath, my heart beat speeding as I felt like I was burning up; everything around me was falling apart, and now, so was I.

"Liz- hey, it's ok," Rick hushed as he came over to where I sat, worry covering his face as he quickly looked me over, "Hey, it's just me."

I shook my head, rubbing at my eyes, "I know, I know-- where is everyone?"

He let out a breath, "Glenn, Rosita, and Michonne are still out looking for Daryl, and Morgan volunteered to look for Carol on his own."

I nodded, biting harshly at my bottom lip as I felt the mental exhaustion catching up with me before I looked up at him, "I'm sorry." My voice barely let out, feeling to blame for what has been happening.

"For what?" He questioned, sitting on the arm of the couch in front of me, "Liz, you don't have anything to be sorry for.. you've been nothing but a help to Alexandria since you got here-"

"I was going to leave today to find the rest of the Saviors and try to stop all of this, but Daryl left before me because he already knew what I was planning to do.." I explained weakly, "Because I told him."

Rick let out a sigh, harshly rubbing at his face, exhaustion present in everything he did as he stood up, "This isn't your fault-"

"How is it not?" I cut him off as I followed him into the kitchen.

"Daryl would've gone off on his own after the Saviors eventually-- honestly," he paused, taking a drink of water, "I think you might have been the reason he held off for so long."

"But now everyone's gone-"

"They're not," Rick shook his head, "They're going to be back-- all of them, ok? Now why don't you head upstairs and get some rest."

I shook my head, pushing loose strands of hair behind my ear, "I think I'm gonna head home-"

"With Daryl not being here, this is your home, Liz." Rick stopped me.

A tired smile pulled on the corners of my mouth as, even in a time as horrible as right now, I had never felt so much love in my entire life. Alexandria and everyone in it gave me what I had always been searching for; love and acceptance. Every town I had been through, every ex, every fake friend, every family member who never gave a shit about me-- everyone in Alexandria made up for everything I had gone through.. and for that, I owe them my life.

I wrapped my arms around Rick as he did the same to me, my eyes stinging as I finally realized I had the family I'd always dreamed of, but was convinced I didn't deserve.

"Thank you for taking a chance on me." I breathed quietly as my head laid against his chest, "Thank you for changing my life."

I felt as Rick's hands grabbed my shoulders, pushing them back as he looked me in the eye, "No, thank you for changing all of ours. The second day you were here you told me that you'd always be on my side, and you've stayed true to your word, which is more than I can say for most people." He began, "You saved lives, Liz-- the lives of people who you barely knew, without even a second thought. You belong here-- you're family."

_____
Slowly but surely getting to the end of this fanfic, just really want to continue showing the relationship Liz is/has built.

ALSO, if you're into ftwd, I have a Nick Clark fanfic that I'm working on and it's actually really good so far, so you should totally check that out-- it's called Not The Same.

I love reading all of the comments you guys leave, so keep them coming!