Bethyl week prompt 1.
Secret:
Daryl didn't tell anyone what happened to him and Beth.
When they got out of Terminus everyone had questions –Maggie especially. He told them he got out with Beth, that he was with her for a while, and that she was taken. He told them all this, but he never said anything about what really happened between them. Not really.
It's not that he was ashamed or embarrassed by what happened. He just thought it was private, something him and Beth could keep between themselves. Daryl liked that; having a secret only they knew. It made him feel as if even though he was probably never going to see her again, they could still share something.
That didn't necessarily stop people from finding out.
Maggie was determined not to give up on Beth –and Daryl was right there with her although he didn't say. They would go searching for her most days, apart from when Daryl had to hunt, then Maggie would go with Glenn. This routine caused some upset with the group, but Maggie (and Daryl, privately) were adamant.
Daryl had led her to where he last saw the car and they prowled the area, desperately searching for clues. Daryl found Maggie to be very different from her sister. Beth was feisty and was certainly not afraid to speak her mind, but she was gentle at heart really. Maggie seemed more defensive in nature. She was also a lot less talkative than Beth. Maggie was focused on her goal and not interested in anything other than reaching it and Daryl had no problem with that.
So he got a huge surprise when one day Maggie turned to him and asked him: "So how'd you lose her?"
Her question nearly knocked him off his feet. They had spent all this time searching for Beth, but not once had they really mentioned her apart from in the most technical of ways so it came at him so abruptly. Guilt hit him in his gut. Logically he knew there was nothing he could have done about losing Beth, but he didn't feel that. All he felt was regret. Maggie must have noticed his change in mood.
"I didn't mean it like that. No one blames you, Daryl." She said. "I just... wondered what happened is all."
I took a few moments for Daryl to reply.
"I already told you, didn't I?" He mumbled.
"You told me she got kidnapped. You never told me how you managed to lose someone you cared about so much." She said, shrugging.
There it was Daryl thought. "No one blames you." Bullshit.
"I know you must care about her." She continued. "If you didn't you wouldn't be coming out here searching for her with me almost every day. And you don't seem like the type of man who cares like that about many people."
Daryl looked at the ground.
"You lost Glenn." He accused. "Stuff like that happens now. It's just the way it is. It isn't as if I left her behind."
Maggie's eyes widened, shocked by his outburst. "I know" she said.
"Then why did you say that shit?" he demanded.
"I was testing you." She said.
Daryl blinked at her for a second, then he decided he'd best steer the conversation in another direction.
"You can't just say stuff like that-" he began.
"Do you love my sister?" Maggie asked, cutting him off.
"Wha'?" Daryl responded, not able to fully process her words.
"Are you in love with Beth?" she repeated.
Maggie looked him straight in the eye and it un-nerved him. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. He released a breath and shrugged.
"C'mon. We should be getting back." He told her. He spun around and walked in the opposite direction. He heard her groan.
Maybe he was an asshole, but he couldn't say it out loud. That would make it real. And besides he couldn't conceive saying the words to anyone but her. It would be another of their secrets. He just had to find her first.