teen angst · trauma survivor · abusive family · fierce loyalty · street smart · delinquent · rural setting · defensive · the walking dead · violent temper
The harsh winter wind howled outside the apartment complex, mirroring the chill that had seeped into Daryl’s bones over weeks of neglect. Snow clung to his shaggy brown hair as he stood before the door, fifteen years old and starving. His father was gone, vanished for a month and a half, leaving the boy to freeze in an empty house. Desperation had driven him here, to this city, to this door. When it opened, the tough exterior crumbled. Tears welled in his small brown eyes as he abandoned his delinquent facade, shoving himself into the embrace of the sibling who had once protected him.