Author's Note: This story was written for a different fandom at one time and it just didn't feel right until I used our favorite Bethyl pairing. I will warn you though, this story is a slow burn and some of the content will be very disturbing. I promise though, nothing extremely graphic and if it does turn graphic, I will warn you before the chapter. Daryl is NOT a bad guy in this so don't let the first few chapters put you on edge. The bad guy will be stated in a few paragraphs and I promise, there will be a HEA for our couple, even if it takes a little bit to get there. Besides, we all know Daryl is a finicky guy anyway and our Beth is going to be put through the ringer. PLEASE review if you like it. I love this story because it shows how real life is and how things like this really do happen. Thanks for reading!
Chapter One
I was 8 years old when my only living family were tragically killed in a hit and run accident one rainy night. Responding officers, EMT's and the fire department weren't on the scene until it was too late. Being that I had no other living family members, considering my grandparents were dead and neither of my parents had siblings, I was rushed off to a foster home in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia.
No longer could I watch as my daddy tended over sick farm animals or smell the delicious aroma of my mother baking cookies in the oven. A secret recipe that had been passed down from my grandmother.
I couldn't tease Maggie relentlessly when she finally had her first date. And how my daddy would put the fear of God into any poor guy that dared to ask her on a date.
And I would never watch my much older brother Shawn, walk across the stage to receive his diploma after four years of High School.
For a while, I tried to be an optimistic person; keep the hope alive that I would one day find another family to feel the deep, gaping hole that the death of my family left me with. But like they always say, when one bad thing happens; there's a million more situations on the way to test you.
So when I was visited by a lovely looking couple on a Saturday, I couldn't help but be hopeful when I saw their bright smiles and loving gestures of trying to make me feel comfortable.
The woman's' name was Carol Peletier and her husbands' name was Ed. They seemed like the perfect couple on paper and they played the part almost mechanically. As if they were faking it. But being an 8 year old and severely naive, I didn't catch the warning signs that should've caused the alarms in my head to ring off.
But really, I was just happy that someone was giving me a chance at a real life to be normal. Go to school, have friends and just be the kid I was.