FALLEN ANGEL ➵ DARYL DIXON [1] ✓

Chapter Forty-Eight: Road To Redemption

Chapter 48

The soft little whimpers of Alex mumbling in his sleep wakes Fava up the next morning, rubbing her silver eyes with her fist and yawning sleepily. She stretches her pale arms up, her white (grey) linen dress causing tingles throughout her body with the material.

She looks to her right, seeing Daryl placed on a hard wooden chair beside her, snoring lightly and his mouth slightly gaping open. Fava's heart is now tingling, knowing Daryl spent the night by her side watching over her.

Fava doesn't want to wake him from his peaceful slumber, so she quietly gets up, cringing when a squeaking noise rings out from the springs on the mattress. She begins to tiptoe out, looking back occasionally at Daryl to see if he has woken up.

All gets cut short when her four black legged friend gallops in, whining loudly and licking Fava's stitches that Merle Dixon made.

"Shhhh, girl," Fava whispers, putting a finger to her mouth, petting the wolf's head. But she continues, nearly knocking over Fava with her excitement and relief that her wonderful owner is okay.

"Huh?" Daryl grunts awake, jumping up from his chair to see the pair on the floor, Tamiko finally pushing over Fava and licking her face.

"Ugh..." Daryl moans, his lower back sore from sitting in the same position all night through. "What time is it?"

"Judging by the sun and time of year," Fava says, getting up off of the floor. "About ten."

Daryl nods, throwing his winged leather vest jacket over him and tying his shoe laces, Fava watching him carefully.

"Did you... Did you?-"

"-spend the night 'ere? Yeah," Daryl says, completing her sentence as she was struggling to comprehend.

"Why?" Fava asks, Daryl sinking low.

"Jus'."

"Just what?" Fava shrugs, looking down and tracing the embedded stitches, sighing loud remembering last night visually.

"Does it matter?" Daryl spits, Fava frowning as she can tell he's in a bad mood. She decides to drop the subject, knowing it's not worth it.

"You won't tell anyone, right? About what I did? Merle, too?" Fava worries, just picturing everyone bombarding her with the four questions: why, when, what and how. She would burst into tears. Evidently.

Daryl's sharp breath makes Fava loose her own. "As long as you keep your trap shut, I don't think we have a problem."

"Thanks-"

"EVERYONE GET DOWN HERE! NOW!"

Lance's abrupt shouting causes everyone to move and jump to it like an electric shock, the air tasting of electricity and zapping everyone painfully.

Daryl and Fava exchange glaces once more before climbing down the stairs, everyone in a long vertical line, Lance in front like a sergeant.

"So... What happened?" Sherry asks, lifting the bottle up to feed Alex. "What did he say?"

Lance closes his eyes before speaking, taking off his hat to hold at his chest level.

"He wants us dead," Lance admits, wanting to be truthful to everyone instead of lying. "He wants what we have. He wants us gone."

"Fuck me," Kai sighs beside Jane, him taking off his grey cap in frustration. "Well? What the bloody hell are we doing, Lance?"

Lance is silent for a while. Then he replies. "He wants Kendra... For what he did to him-"