Here's the next one! No sex I'm afraid...but I hope this makes up for it ;P.
Warnings: This chapter deals with mentions of emotional abuse; if you find any of this upsetting, please don't read as I don't want to upset anyone! ❤
Explosions: Ghost of the past
"Mom, I'm homeeee!" Darcy sang as her and Daryl entered Jasmines house. It was the weekend and they promised that they would give her a visit that wasn't business related.
"Hey, baby!" Jasmine grinned, rushing over from the kitchen and pulling them both awkwardly into her arms. "How are my favourite couple?" she questioned, squeezing them tightly.
Daryl huffed uncomfortably, trying his hardest to remove himself from her grip while Darcy just laughed.
"We're fine," she answered and Jasmine finally pulled away. "What about you? Seen Merle recently?" She questioned casually, although her and Daryl pretty much already knew the answer.
"Yeah, here and there." Jasmine said nonchalantly, but they all knew it was more than that; Daryl barely saw Merle around anymore and there was only one place he knew he'd be since even his bikers gang asked about him. "Coffee?" she offered, walking back towards the kitchen.
"Yes, ma'am." Daryl answered quickly. The coffee she had – whether it was from the brand she brought or the fancy-ass coffee maker, he weren't sure – was to die for.
"Darcy gave him a knowing smile before saying, "Yes please," as they followed her into the kitchen and sat up at the counter. "How's business?" she asked. She'd only come down a few days ago to check on everything but she still liked to stay up-to-date.
"Oh!" Jasmine exclaimed as she made the coffee, sounding as if she'd just been reminded of something. "I actually had an idea that I wanted to speak to you about!"
"Oh yeah?" Darcy encouraged, quirking an eyebrow at her.
"I think we should rent out an office," Jasmine told her, bringing the coffee over to them and placing it in front of them before grabbing her own mug and leaning her hip against the counter as she spoke, hands wrapped around her coffee mug. "Do it all proper, you know? The girls would have a plan to talk to us face-to-face. They could even come into the office to work instead of working from home. We'd have somewhere to set up interviews…" the list went on.
"Darcy liked the idea of that. She could also have a place to go actually go to work to instead of checking in with her Mom once a week. It would feel more like a proper job; like she was actually working for her money again. "I like it," she agreed honestly, blowing on her steaming coffee. "When we gonna set it up?"
"We'll start on Monday," Jasmine decided. "Soon as I can, I'll call around and get the ball rolling. Oh, it's so exciting!" she gushed happily, making Darcy smile. She loved seeing her Mom happy. "What do you think Daryl?"
Daryl looked a little lost. He hadn't a clue when it came to business-type shit. He just let Darcy deal with it all. "Sounds a'ight." He said eventually.
Darcy hid her smile and reached over, giving his thigh a squeeze. "You have any idea where you wanna set it up?" Darcy questioned, turning the attention away from Daryl.
Jasmine's eyes brightened. "Oh, well, I saw this place downtown which was actually what gave me the idea…"
"Huh. So this is the place." Darcy said, over at the building Jasmine was planning on renting out.
"Not bad." Daryl commented. "Gives ya somethin' more ta do. Ya were complainin' that you were bored." He pointed out.
"Oh yeah," she nodded in agreement as they turned to leave, planning on heading back to her Mom's. They fancied going on a walk and Daryl suggested that they checked out the place Jasmine wanted to rent. It would be where Darcy would be working from afterall. "I think it's a really good thing. It'll give me and Mom a chance to-" she was cut off with a 'oof' as they turned the corner and a figure smacked into her. "I'm so sorr-" she went to apologize but when she saw who it was, she stopped herself. "Josh."
Daryl raised his eyebrow at her tone of voice and questioned, "Josh?" he didn't recognize the name.
"Darcy," Josh spat, crossing his arms over his chest. He eyed Daryl. "And who's this? Some guy you're fucking?" He questioned, jealousy evident in his voice.
The way he puffed up his chest let Daryl know that this guy once cared for Darcy. He was trying make himself look bigger, look like a threat and Daryl almost laughed in his face. "Try talkin' to her like that again wit' a mouthful'a my fist." Daryl told him lowly.
Josh almost looked afraid for a moment before he rolled his eyes. "So, you're a redneck? Like that guy at the bar?" his eyes widened and his mouth formed a 'o'. "Lemme guess, this is that redneck's brother?"
Daryl squinted, trying to put two and two together. "Ya mean Merle?"
Josh shrugged. "Didn't catch the stupid fucks name."
Daryl ignored that comment and turned his gaze to Daryl. "Darce?"
She nodded at him. "It was Merle. The night he found me…" was all she told him, hoping he'd catch on. She didn't want to say too much in front of Josh. It wasn't his business, and he would probably spread it around the whole damn town that Darcy worked as a sex phone operator and was now dating one of her clients.
Just another reason why she loved Daryl's town; no one would even blink at the story of how they met.
Daryl turned his gaze back to Josh. "This the ex?" his voice was a dangerous growl, one that both worried Darcy and sent a spike of lust through her. "Th'one who called you them names?"
She almost said 'no', fearing what Daryl would do if she told him the truth. She didn't want him to get arrested for beating Josh. She didn't want him to go to jail. Her silence was enough of an answer for him.
Daryl took a step forward to the point where his forehead was almost touching Josh's. Josh attempted to take a step back but the back of his shoe met the edge of the curb.
"Josh swallowed and held up his hands, one which held his phone. "You touch me, I'll call the cops." He warned shakily.
Darcy grabbed Daryl's arm, not wanting that to happen. "Daryl, please, let's leave it – he's not worth it." She said pleadingly.
Daryl smirked darkly and shook his head, not once breaking eye contact or moving away. "Tch. Ya need the cops ta fight yer battles? Ya a goddamn empussy./em Wouldn't last a damn day where I come from. Ya think you're a big man 'cause ya like to cuss at girls?" Daryl's face twisted into disgust. "I'd kill ya if it didn't mean spendin' the rest of my life away from her. You talk to her – you even emlook/em at her again – and you'll emwish/em for me to put ya outta your misery." With that, Daryl spat in the fucks face before taking a step back and wrapping his big hands around Darcy's small one. "C'mon, sweetheart, let's get outta here 'fore he pisses his pants."
It wasn't a lie; Josh looked like he was that close to peeing all over the floor. As they walked away, Josh continued to stand there, phone in hand, looking shocked. Darcy couldn't help but laugh – the asshole deserved it.
After a few moments of silence, Darcy looked up at him. He still looked angry and his face was silent red with it; his nostrils flaring. "I love you." She told him with a small smile, butterflies fluttering in her belly. He'd stood up for her.
And just like that, his face lost the tension and he looked down at her, giving her a half smile of his own before removing his hand from hers and lifting it up so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders. "Love ya too, Darce."
After the encounter with Josh, they headed back to Jasmines before saying bye and going back home. Because it was the weekend, Daryl stayed the night, although he probably would have anyway after earlier. He could tell that seeing Josh had shaken her up somewhat.
They got into bed and Daryl automatically pulled her back against his chest. It was one of his favourite sleeping positions because he could feel her ass against his dick, he could bury his face in her hair, kiss and nibble her neck, and his hands could easily roam her chest. His other favourite was when she slept with her head on his chest; he liked feeling her curl around him.
They were silent other than there breathing. He sniffed her hair and wrapped an around underneath her breasts before pulling her more firmly against him.
She was waiting for it, sensing that he had something he wanted to ask, and she had a feeling it was to do with Josh. Dread filled her; she knew that he must have questions – she would too – but it wasn't something she liked talking about.
After a few more moments, he finally spoke up:
"How long were you with 'im?" he questioned, lips moving against her hair as the arm around her waist tightened at the idea of her being with another man.
And there it was. She swallowed nervously, knowing that she owed Daryl some answers. "Three years." She said quietly. "He was real sweet at first. Thought he was every girls dream."
Daryl heard this type of thing more times that he could count. "Didn't stay that way though." He finished for her.
"No," she confirmed, eyes down as she started picking at her nails. "About a year after we started dating, he got nasty. Would go into horrible moods where he would call me names, tell me I looked like shit; said no one actually liked me." Her voice was quiet as she remembered every insecurity she had because of his words, and how long it took her to recover from them. Hell, sheemstill/em hadn't recovered from all of them. It was like a wound that would never heal. "I stopped talking to a lot of people because of it. My confidence was low and I was only a teenager still – eighteen, nineteen – I didn't know any other relationship. I just…thought it was normal."
His arm tightened around her once more, a protectiveness coming over him, and a serious need to kill Josh. He stayed silent, letting her continue.
"He wasn't like it all the time. He would get real bad but then he would be really good again. Buying me flowers, telling me I was pretty. He would build me up, only to knock me back down."
"I'ma kill him." Daryl mumbled against her shoulder, nostrils flarin' with every breath. "I'ma rip his guts out."
"Don't," she closed her eyes, a tear falling. "It's not worth it. I don't want to lose you." She couldn't imagine what it would be like if Daryl went to jail. She wouldn't know what to do with herself.
Daryl ignored her. "Keep talkin'." He was hopin' that maybe something good would be said about this guy which meant Daryl wouldn't have to get his hands messy, with a little help from Merle and his biker gang.
She licked her lips, mouth feeling dry. "Not much else to it. I lost all my friends and only left after I found him chatting up some other girl. He said sorry at first and wanted to make it up to me but I wouldn't have any of it so he got nasty again. Said she was better than me; said he would treat her better." She frowned at that. "I think that was the part which hurt the most," she rolled over so she was face to face with Daryl. "Not the cheating, no. The fact that I felt like everything that happened, it was because of me. I wasn't good enough to be treated with respect. He treated me that way because emI /emdeserved it, but she didn't. No one else did. It was only ever me…" she sniffled, another tear falling which Daryl caught with his thumb. "I couldn't understand what was wrong with me."
He pulled her to him, feelin' his own eyes wettin'. "Ain't nothin' wrong wit' you. You're perfect, sweetheart." He mumbled against her hair, thinking about how good it's gonna feel when he gets Josh in that warehouse. "No one will treat ya like that ever again, ya hear me? Not while I'm around." It was true.
She was too choked up to speak. Hearing Daryl tell her that nothing was wrong with her, and that she hadn't deserved it meant so much. The dam broke and tears spilled over and she found herself crying into his chest.
He held her tighter, a tear falling down his own cheek. He hated that she was hurting. "'M gonna treat ya right. Gonna make you happy best I can. Y'all see."
She couldn't help but smile even through her tears. She knew that he would do just that. "I know, baby." She whispered, placing a kiss on his heart.