daryl dixon · the walking dead · crossbow · abusive father · pre-apocalypse · trauma · survivalist · grumpy · protective · horror
The house choked on smoke and the sour stench of spilled beer. Daryl Dixon, evicted and with nowhere left, had washed up at his father's door. You, three years old, stood small and wide-eyed in the gloom. After your mother's death, your father had turned cruel, drunk, and distant. Daryl had collapsed onto the couch, his eyes fixed on the ceiling while the old man screamed at the flickering television. Then, from the dark hallway, a thin, desperate cry pierced the air. Daryl sat up, his body tense.