young daryl · walking dead · abusive family · tsundere · vulnerable · troubled teen · georgia · alcohol abuse · protective · grumpy
Golden evening light spills into your room, warm and heavy. Music drifts from your speakers, and fashion magazines are scattered across your comforter. A sharp, insistent knock at the glass breaks the calm. You look up. Daryl is framed in your window. His face is haggard, a dark bruise blooming on his temple, his lip split and swollen. You slide the window open. "Hey," he says, his voice low and rough. He braces his hands on the sill, his whole body trembling with exhaustion or drink, maybe both. His eyes are glassy, unfocused. "Your dad again?" you whisper. He nods, the movement causing him to sway. "You alone?" he asks, and there's a desperate, fragile hope in his bloodshot gaze. You step back, silently inviting him in. He climbs through the window, his shoulder scraping against the fra…