prompt: 'rewrite'
It was the kind of dreary, overcast day that stirred upintrospection and nostalgia. The air seemed to seep into everyone’s thoughtsand dredge up all the loose ends, old memories, what-ifs, and almosts thatthey’d buried in order to sleep at night.
Carol had combated that and held it at bay by throwingherself into work around Alexandria that morning. So far, she had reorganizedthe entire kitchen, pulled out all the weeds in the garden by the front porch,and was seriously thinking about digging out the rickety push mower, just forthe noise and the distraction.
Daryl, on the other hand, had backslid into the mood of theday with hardly any fight at all, and it had left him lethargic and surly.Carol felt a little guilty for avoiding him for most of the morning, but whenDaryl got like this, he wanted to talk about things that she had made veryclear were not on the table for discussion. He knew what was she was doing too,otherwise he would have found her by now.
It all left Carol feeling a little lethargic and surlyherself, so instead of mowing, she resigned herself to tinkering around thehouse, keeping her hands busy, and some of her frustration leaked out in jerky,aggressive movements of her hands as she tinkered.
“I know,” Daryl greeted, hands already lifted in surrenderas he shuffled into the living room where she was.
Carol hadn’t quite seen him come in yet, and when she lookedup at him, she grimaced. It wasn’t like she was going to jump down his throatif he talked to her…She just…didn’t want to really talk today. Talking withDaryl always ended up in divulgences on his end or hers, and usually that wasgreat…but…
“I know, but I gotta know…” he spoke again, eyes notentirely meeting hers.
Carol stilled her hands, sitting back in her seat on the couch,giving him her full attention after trying so hard to avoid it all day. “Knowwhat?”
Daryl looked apprehensive, but he lowered his hands anddidn’t sit with her. Instead, he folded them across his chest, almostdefensive.
“You didn’t come back to the prison…I mean, when Rick—Youknew how to get back to the prison. He had no right to…but you could have comeback any time you wanted—“
“Could I have?” Carol interrupted, paused, and shook herhead. “Daryl, that was months ago. It’s behind us…”
“I know, just…I need to understand.” He stepped around thecouch and dropped into the seat farthest from her, not pressing into her space.“He…He told you to go away…but why did you?”
Carol swallowed. “If it was in the best interest foreveryone—“
“It wasn’t,” Daryl cut in. “Did you think I—that I would—Youknow that I wouldn’t have let—“ He took a deep breath, looked away briefly, andthen caught her gaze again. “I hate it…but I’m glad you didn’t come back to theprison.”
Carol blinked. “You—“
“If you’d been there…when the Governor rolled up…” He sighedand ran a hand over his face, around his neck and hung his head. “Maybe itwould have been worse, maybe it wouldn’t have gone down the way it did…I dunno,cain’t rewrite it now, but…If you had been there, I just…I think we all wouldhave died in Terminus.”
