A/N: I'm in the process of finishing the final chapter of Seven Layers and decided it was time to take on a new story! Once again, just a huge thank you to my beta jazznsmoke. She's incredible and you should check out her stuff! Also, if you ever want to talk stories or prompts message me on here or message me on Tumblr at beyondmythought-s. And onto the story! Review and let me know what you think or even something you want to see in the story.

Standard disclaimer: I don't own TWD or the song Love The Way You Lie pt.3


Beth could only put her head on the steering wheel of her 1969 midnight black Camaro. This was one of the moments she cursed Maggie for moving to Michigan and cursed herself for deciding to write music in Atlanta instead of Nashville. She breathed heavily as she backed out of the driveway of her apartment and began her trip to Senoia. She could only pray Shawn would let her stay and not go ballistic when he saw her again.

The drive was quicker than Beth would've liked it to be. An hour simply wasn't enough time for her to gather her thoughts. She didn't even know what she was going to tell Shawn when she saw him. The streets of Senoia hadn't changed any while she was away. She drove the streets casually like she hadn't been gone for close to a year and a half. She could see people on the streets staring at her car as she drove down. She knew if the gossip mill still worked as well as it had back then, than everyone in town would know she was back.

She turned down the gravel road leading to her old home. The beautiful farmhouse stood at the end of the driveway. The only differences Beth noticed was a motorcycle parked next to her brother's truck and the shutters had been painted a light green. Beth could feel her stomach fill with dread at the sight of the house. If Shawn rejected her she would really have nowhere to go. It wasn't that she didn't have money to get a new place, but the farm offered a safety and a comfort that she wasn't sure money could ever recreate.

She took a deep breath and grabbed the bag she had thrown her clothes in. It was now or never. She bounded up the steps and hesitantly knocked on the front door. She didn't know what she was expecting, but the man who answered the door was not what it.


Daryl cursed when he heard knocking at the front door. He knew Shawn was sleeping and wouldn't be awake for another hour or so. When he saw through the window it was a girl holding a suitcase he had to bite back a groan. Probably some girl Shawn tried helping out once because he has sisters that now expected him to help. Daryl wanted to roll his eyes at the situation. It wasn't the first time it's happened. He didn't want to see his best friend get taken advantage of again. The last girl had stolen money and ran straight back to her dirt bag boyfriend.

At least Shawn was asleep and he'd never know Daryl sent away the girl. With that thought in mind he swung open the door. This girl wasn't like the usual girls that Shawn tried helping out. Despite the busted lip and the bruise that rode high on her cheek she exuded a sort of grace and class the previous girls lacked. Daryl could admit to himself this girl was beautiful despite being injured, but he strengthened his resolve to send her away.

"Who are you? Where is Shawn?" the girl asked, the question wasn't rude but laced with mild curiosity.

"I'm Daryl, Shawn's roommate and he isn't in right now. You best leave, we really don't need your kind here." Daryl tried to keep his tone gruff. He didn't like the idea someone had clearly beat this girl, but he was more concerned about his best friend being taken advantage of again. After everything Shawn has ever done for him, he figured he ought to look out for him.

"Well Daryl, his truck is here so I know you're lying. I need to see Shawn." Her voice rose towards the end of her sentence. Clearly she was getting desperate for Shawn.

"Look girl, forget seeing Shawn it ain't gonna happen as long as I'm here," Daryl took a step forward in hopes of being intimidating. He didn't need their raised voices to wake Shawn up. The whole point of this was for Shawn to never know she had been sent away.

"I'm not going to just forget it. I'm gonna see Shawn and you aren't going to stop me!" The girl, he still hadn't learned her name, was hollering now. Whatever hope Daryl had of keeping Shawn out of it was dashed. He could hear his best friend's clumsy steps coming down the stairs. He took a deep breath and prayed his friend had enough common sense to send this crazy girl back to wherever she came from. Shawn stumbled into the room rubbing sleep from his eyes and that's when Daryl knew he saw the girl standing on their porch.

"Beth, when did you get here? Aren't you supposed to be in Atlanta?" Shawn asked abruptly.

Why the fuck did the name Beth sound so familiar to Daryl? He had remembered his friend mentioning that name a few times.

"I got here a little bit ago, I uh needed to get out of Atlanta. I would've gone to Maggie, but you're closer." The girl-Beth- mumbled, staring at the floor of the porch like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

The name Maggie clicked immediately with Daryl. So apparently this Beth girl wasn't some random pick up from the bar if she knew Shawn's sister. It still didn't make sense why she would assume she could stay with Shawn. Daryl wanted to curse. It was much too early for all of this bullshit.

"Shit Beth, what the fuck happened to your face?" Shawn was getting heated staring at the defeated stance of the girl in front of them. She was clearly embarrassed by the bruises. It didn't help that Shawn had a penchant for melodrama when it came to battered women. Not that Daryl was for beating a woman, but Shawn made it a personal mission to try and save everyone. Something his daddy instilled in him or something.

"I don't want to talk about it Shawn, I just want to come home," The girl seemed to deflate even more with Shawn's attitude.

"If you want to stay you're going to fucking tell me how and who put their hands on you, little bird," Shawn wasn't backing down from this.

In that moment everything clicked into place for Daryl. He knew why Beth sounded so fucking familiar. It was his best friend's little sister, but he typically only referred to the girl as little bird. Shawn had told him most people assumed he gave his sister the nickname because she was a little songbird, but it actually came from a time when he watched her jump off the barn convinced she could fly like a bird. He told Daryl she was lucky to have only walked away with a sprained ankle and from then on he called her little bird and it was their special inside joke.

Daryl felt like he could bang his head on the wall. He had tried sending his best friend's little sister away in hopes of protecting him. Daryl's self-loathing and guilt was cut short when the slip of a girl huffed in front of him.


Shawn's roommate had been giving her dirty looks until he heard Shawn calling her little bird. The poor guy had looked like a deer in headlights and Beth had to stop herself from smirking in victory at him. Serves him right for being a jackass.

Except, as Beth felt herself floating with victory she realized what Shawn had said. She let out a little huff knowing Shawn was not going to back down until he knew exactly what happened to her.

"Can I at least come inside and sit, it's sort of a long story?" Beth hoped her brother wouldn't go ballistic when she told him what happened. She knew that was unlikely. Once Shawn heard the story she was sure he would want to make a trip to Atlanta and she couldn't have that. Shawn made a gesture towards her and then to his roommate as if he were herding both of them to the couch.

Beth didn't know how she felt about this virtual stranger knowing her story. Sure, Shawn had told her about his best friend Daryl Dixon, but hearing about said friend and then spilling your darkest secrets to that friend were very different scenarios. She'd just have to suck it up, she told herself because at this point the only other option would be to tell Sasha, but as much as Sasha was her best friend they also worked together. Beth knew they spent a ton of time together already, but moving in would only strain their friendship and she didn't want that.

Once she was seated on the leather couch she could feel her stomach twist up in knots. This wasn't a pleasant story and Shawn was going to be pissed. Both Shawn and Daryl sat on the couch opposite of her. She could see both of their curious gazes and she wanted to curl into a ball and die right then. She steadied her breath, she was a Greene and she could tell them.

"So, you're sitting. Explain why your face is messed up, Beth" Shawn had sounded like he growled his words. Beth knew better than to take it personally. She knew Shawn felt like he let her down by not protecting her better.

"I guess I should start from the beginning because it doesn't make much sense unless I explain from the moment I left Senoia for Atlanta, and no interruptions." Beth made sure to give Shawn a pointed glance. If she stopped at any point in her tale the mortification would make it difficult to finish explaining what happened.

Both of the boys nodded. Beth wasn't looking forward to this, but it was now or never.

Beth explained to both of them about moving to Atlanta. She had told the story of how she waitressed during the day, but at night she would go to these open mics that many producers attended. She was at Terminus, which was just a hipster coffee bar, and ended up meeting Tyreese Jones who owned Prison Yard Records. He was scouting for a songwriter for his baby sister and he thought Beth would be perfect for that role. Within the month the song Beth wrote for Sasha had gone double platinum and she was enjoying success in Atlanta. While at Prison Yard, she met Zach Higgins an up and coming artist. His songs were rising in the charts and he was charming. Beth didn't really know how to explain their whirlwind romance, but it hadn't taken much time for her to move in.

Beth paused to look at the reactions of the boys in front of her. They seemed confused by the story she was weaving. It all sounded like a dream come true to them, but that's pretty much where the dream turned into a nightmare for her. Beth continued onto the story, they'd need to know everything anyways. She told them about discovering Zach's habit of smoking pot, but believed him when he said he needed it to relax and write his songs. She willfully ignored that one bad habit because he was still a good person in her eyes. While she might've ignored his occasional recreational use of pot, Tyreese did not. He had a non-negotiable no drugs policy with all of his artists. Zach had been dropped from the label, but it didn't matter Woodbury records picked him up almost immediately. Beth had felt uncomfortable when she met his producer and he insisted on being called the Governor, but Zach claimed he was the best in the business. Apparently his most recent artist Tara, known more for her meltdowns with paparazzi, had completely sold out her US tour. Beth told the boys she noticed that the more Zach worked with the Governor the worse he became. His drug habit had spiraled out of control instead of pot he had begun snorting cocaine to help the flow of creativity. Beth didn't want to leave him because you weren't supposed to quit on the people you love, just like how mamma had stayed until daddy stopped his drinking habit. She could see the clenching of Shawn's jaw and she knew he had to be biting his tongue so she could finish. She figured she should probably wrap up the story and skip some minor details. Beth bit her lip; this part of the story was the hardest because it was the freshest. She said she came home from the studio late and had caught Zach with two other girls. Apparently, the Governor told Zach it would help publicity if he released a sex tape. They had gotten into an argument about the situation and Beth told him she couldn't stay with him anymore; that his cheating on her was the last straw. He didn't react until he saw her walking to the front door with a suitcase. He roughly grabbed her arm and punched her repeatedly. He told her that she was useless and no longer wanted her and that she could kiss his ass when his album went triple platinum. She had picked herself up off the ground and just drove home because she didn't really know where else to go.


Shawn's sister had just finished telling her story. As pissed as Daryl was earlier when he thought she was just some random chick taking advantage of Shawn, he was even more pissed at this Zach dude for the way he treated her. It was as plain as day that what the little prick did to her had shaken her confidence in herself.

Shawn was barely keeping it together. Daryl had moved in shortly after his parent's deaths and that was the last time he had seen him this upset.

"Where does he live, Beth?" Shawn spat out. Daryl could tell he wanted to pay this douche lord a lesson. If he wanted to make a visit he would go and back him up one hundred percent of the way. He might not have liked the girl initially, but she was Shawn's sister so that practically made her family.

"You can't beat everyone who hurts me, Shawn. That isn't how this works. I just need somewhere to live while I finish writing songs for Tyreese and Sasha, I can pay rent." Beth mumbled.

Daryl could only shake his head in amusement. This girl was family and had pretty much been traumatized, Shawn would never make her pay rent. It was a no brainer that she would be staying with them. Daryl could only hope that she knew how to cook. Their diet had consisted of pizza, wings, and burgers.

"You don't need to pay rent, just make dinner and we can call that a fair trade," Shawn offered his sister, echoing Daryl's train of thought.

Daryl was excited. Shawn would've only made that offer if he knew his baby sister was a good cook. Daryl had to keep the excitement off his face, just in case Beth took it the wrong way. He didn't want her thinking he was some pervert excited about a girl living with them. One thing was for sure; Daryl knew that he would apologize for his behavior this morning. He could only hope for her to understand where he was coming from. Shawn left the room and Daryl saw his window of opportunity. Hopefully it went well, apologies would never be his forte but he owed it to Shawn to at least make an attempt.

"I'm sorry 'bout earlier. Didn't know you weren't some random girl from the bar" Daryl hoped she understood and wasn't the kind of girl to hold grudges. He'd be fucked if she's like that.

"S'okay, I'm just glad someone is looking out for Shawn. He needs that, y'know?" Daryl could feel the relief that swept through his system with that statement. Despite all the bullshit that had happened to her she's still understanding and if anything Daryl could respect that kind of strength.

He gave a stiff nod in her direction. He wasn't a big fan of small talk and wasn't sure how to proceed. He guessed it didn't matter much because she gave a nod back and grabbed her bag and went upstairs to what he presumed was her old room.


It had been almost a week and a half since Beth moved in and Daryl could safely say her intrusion in their life was more than welcome. Daryl was a little bit shocked by that sentiment. He liked routine and he wasn't a huge fan of change, but Beth brought a light into the home. It also helped that she was a killer cook. Both boys had been thrilled when she took over the cooking duties.

Daryl noted Shawn seemed happier to have his baby sister around. Their house also constantly had music playing. Beth was always playing the piano or the guitar trying to write down new songs. Originally Daryl thought the added noise would be a nuisance but it was actually quite nice.

Right now Beth was sitting at the piano and had been repeating cords of a song she had been working on the past week. Normally Daryl would be at work with Shawn, but he had finished his project early and decided to head home. Both Shawn and he had opened a shop downtown that had gained recognition for restoring old cars. People traveled all over the US to get them to work on their cars. It was decent money, but long hours.

He cleared his throat to get Beth's attention. He had liked hanging out with the girl, much more than he'd ever admit out loud. Beth spun around pretty fast when she heard him clear his throat and smiled when she realized it was him.

"Ya wanna get some lunch and bring some to Shawn?" Daryl figured this was a safe option. He figured including Shawn was a smart decision.

Knocking at the door interrupted Beth's answer and she went to answer the door. Daryl heard what could only be described as a squeak of shock from Beth. He headed towards the door to see what caused that reaction. He hoped it wasn't the ass hat she had just dumped. He'd have to teach him a lesson if he was really dumb enough to show his face here.

Whatever he was expecting it wasn't Beth to be wrapped up in the bulky frame of a guy at the door laughing.

"Daryl, this is Tyreese, my boss," Beth introduced the man currently setting her back down on the ground.

"Hey man! Sorry to bother you Beth, but I need at least one song to bring back so the studio can get off my back about Sasha's next hit." Tyreese really did look apologetic as he slouched and looked towards the ground.

Daryl knew Beth had been writing ever since she came back to the house, but she hadn't let neither him nor her brother hear the lyrics she had been writing. He figured whatever she was writing was how she had coped with the Zach fiasco.

"I, uh, I have one right now I can play for you. If it's good enough can I get an extension for writing?" Beth played with the braid in her hair. Daryl figured she didn't want to give Tyreese the song, but didn't have any choice. According to Beth, Zach had stolen her journal that had been filled with at least four songs she had been working on for her friend.

Daryl followed both Tyreese and Beth as she sat down at the grand piano. The keys she had begun playing were familiar to Daryl. He realized the keys she had started playing were the same as the ones she had played all week as she scribbled in a new journal. Daryl heard Beth take a deep breath and begin singing.

On the first page of our story
The future seemed so bright
Then this thing turned out so evil
I don't know why I'm still surprised
Even angels have their wicked schemes
And you take that to new extremes
But you'll always be my hero
Even though you've lost your mind

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that's alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well that's alright because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

Now there's gravel in our voices
Glasses shattered from the fight
In this tug of war you always win
Even when I'm right
Cos you feed me fables from your head
With violent words and empty threats
And it's sick that all these battles are what keeps me satisfied

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that's alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well that's alright because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

So maybe I'm a masochist
I try to run but I don't wanna ever leave
Til the walls are going up
In smoke with all our memories

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that's alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well that's alright because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

Daryl could honestly say he wasn't a huge fan of music. He preferred silence, but Beth's song had struck a chord in him. The lyrics had haunted him. He hadn't been the only one. He had caught Tyreese covertly wiping a tear from his eyes while struggling to record the song on his phone.

"That's good, Greene. I can get you an extension if you promise to deliver more songs just like that," Tyreese impressed Daryl with the way he managed to keep his voice steady despite being shaken by the lyrics Beth had just sang.

Tyreese stuck around for a few more minutes going over details of the timeline for Beth before leaving.


Beth had barely heard what Tyreese was telling her after she sang that song. She had never really intended to give that song to the studio, but she had little to no choice. She watched him leave with the promise of sending her a more concrete timeline that the studio had in mind.

Singing the song had released some of her emotions that she had been holding in since Zach. She stared over at Daryl who looked a little slack jawed at what she just sang. She knew he probably wanted to make a comment, but was unsure of what exactly he could say.

Zach had been such an emotional roller coaster for her. In fact, he was like a stone throne into a placid lake of Beth's life. But if the ripples he had created had brought her closer to her brother and the man standing before her, than it was all worth it. Before she could ponder what exactly it was worth she smiled over at Daryl and asked, "You still want to get that lunch and bring it to Shawn?"