"Often the people with the strongest hearts carry the heaviest ones."
Beth Greene let out a frustrated sigh as her car started sputtering, smoke slowly rising from the hood as she pulled the piece of crap towards the side of the road. She was about four and a half hours into her five hour trek to FSU from her father's farm when her car started making those unpleasant noises. She was in her third year of college, not quite up to her eyeballs in student loan debt yet but in her humble opinion, any debt was too much. Her pop tried to save up enough for all of them but it wasn't a realistic goal in the end… a proper education was too expensive, even for someone who was great at saving their income. No one could've realized how steeply the prices of university would continue to rise over the years- so although the however-many thousand he saved up helped with her first two years- on the third she still found herself having to take out a loan.
"Crap." She groaned warily as she got out the car and propped open the hood to let the smoke clear out. Her car was known for overheating on occasion- but that sputtering sound was a new one and she could only guess that it didn't mean anything good. Her big brother Shawn had tried to teach her as much as he could about what was under the hood of her car but honestly, she'd always had trouble paying attention in those lessons. She cursed herself now as she gazed into the puzzle of tubes and big metal pieces.
Shawn hated the idea of his little sisters ever feeling helpless- always taught her tricks and tips as she grew up. She'd acquired a large list of odd skills because of him- things like making a bow from sticks or bamboo lying around to building a tiny explosive if she needed for some reason. He had some weird interests before studying to be a doctor and for some reason, he realized at a young age how those skills may be of use to his sister. Beth couldn't help but to roll her eyes as she realized that she could easily make a bow right now if she wanted but had no idea what was going on inside her vehicle.
She opened the passenger door and reached into the glove department, pulling out a piece of paper with the phone number of the roadside assistance provided by her insurance company. Before calling, she quickly googled the nearest mechanics on her phone- rejoicing when she realized how close the place was. If it was under five miles, her insurance would tow her for free; she'd just made it.
As she sat in her dinky car and waited for the tow truck, she thought about the classes she'd be starting in the morning. She decided to only take three this semester... she had a feeling she would struggle with economics. Beside that, she found herself excited to take Child Psychology and Foundations of Social Justice. The blonde felt good going to class and learning about things that she actually felt passionately about- blessed to have an opportunity that others only dream of.
The end goal was to become a social worker of some sort, specifically working with children- she was planning on getting her masters after finishing up her BSW… she had many more years in school to come but she found herself taking her time getting her bachelor's despite that. She hadn't taken a workload more than four classes and didn't really plan on starting now, enjoying the expansion of her mind without having to stress about if she could actually finish all her assignments.
She took a moment to briefly wonder if her roommate would be cool this semester. The student had gotten lucky last semester, her roommate was almost as quiet as she was. Well honestly her roommate last semester wasn't ever in the dorm so it wasn't that she was quiet, it was that she simply wasn't around; the stranger was actually rather loud when she was around, always bringing friends by but it happened so infrequently that Beth never had trouble with her.
As he was expecting her to call when she got to school, Beth thought she would call her dad really quickly to explain the situation. He was supportive as always, telling her to call him back if she needs anything and to call whenever she made it to FSU. "I love you, daddy." Just as she hung up, the tow truck approached her tiny red car.
It didn't take the man long to hook the small car up to the truck, Beth waited in the passenger seat of his vehicle with earbuds in- gazing at nothing in particular. She enjoyed her studies and although she didn't have many close friends at FSU, she had enough acquaintances to feel like she belonged. Despite those things, she wasn't really looking forward to this semester. Truthfully, she'd been struggling with something dark within her lately. The woman was always known as the sunshine in their family, the peacemaker- so admitting that she'd been feeling depressed for no apparent reason didn't seem like a great option; she kind of felt like admitting she had a problem would make it real.
Beth knew this wasn't a reasonable approach to depression…. She knew it but it didn't change a thing. Admittedly, the blonde has always struggled with the mental illness. She seemed upbeat and optimistic most of the time but she went through periods when she felt like smiling was the most exhausting thing to do in the world; regardless, she hadn't felt depressed in four or five years. She knew this darkness could have a lot to do with her mother passing recently but if that was the cause, was there even a cure?
Her beautiful mom had been driving home from the grocery store when the drunk driver ran their red light. Her father had told her it was painless although all the news articles said otherwise- Beth knew that he was only trying to console his youngest daughter; honestly though, the thought of someone lying to shelter her made her blood boil. She wasn't a child anymore and being treated like one was one of her least favorite things.
She wanted to run away from all her obligations- her family, her school, her life. Responsible as always (we all have a job to do, after all) she knew these were just daydreams to get her through the day. In reality, she couldn't ever leave her family. She wanted to become a social worker and make people's lives better….She wanted to enjoy her time at university. If only she didn't feel so damn empty all the time.
The repair place was a small, modest establishment. Beth guessed as they pulled up to the tiny brick building that there couldn't be more than ten employees in the whole place- even that was probably overshooting. Instantly, she wondered if they would even have time to look at her car today. They didn't look busy at all- in fact, she was the only customer there at the moment- but maybe they had appointments. She sure hoped not, wanting to settle into her new room before her early classes tomorrow.
After signing some papers with the man driving the tow truck and wishing him well, she made her way towards the front of the building. Stopping to admire the motorcycle out front, Beth found herself zoning out as she looked at the shiny black paint. She found herself zoning out a lot lately. Without thinking much about it, she grazed her hand over the bike; unsurprised to feel the smooth, polished paint beneath her hand. It felt clean and well-maintained.
She was thinking about how someone took better care of this motorcycle then she takes care of herself when she heard the clearing of a throat behind her, making her put a hand over her heart and gasp. Turning to face the person behind her, Beth had to bite her lip as she took in the sight. The man was a lot older than her undoubtedly… but he was handsome in a rugged way. He carried himself as if he wasn't aware which was all the more appealing.
Theoretically, Beth would be turned on by older men... The ones who hit on her are always egomaniacs who are more interested in proving they could get someone half their age than being in a respectful relationship though; they walk around like they're the hottest dudes on the planet, like anyone who received their attention was blessed. Come to think of it, Beth had that problem with men her own age as well. The older men were worse about it, having had more time to perfect the craft of being a jackass. What instantly appealed to her about this stranger was that he carried himself with a quiet dignity. If he knew he was attractive, he surely didn't act like it. Wasn't interested in gaining anything from his looks, just wanted to go about his business.
Bright red as she realized she had been staring at him for about thirty seconds to a minute, Beth scratched at her head sheepishly. "Er.. uh. I'm sorry if that's your bike, I wasn't tryin' to touch what wasn't mine or anythin'... I just… it's a beautiful motorcycle…. Not that I know anything about them…It's very…..clean…." She sputtered out, her stomach filling with fire as she embarrassed herself even further.
Don't get this twisted, the blond was very good with the opposite sex. In fact, she's a good communicator in general, she never really had a problem making friends. That made this moment all the more mortifying, she brought her hand to her face for a moment before looking back towards the stranger. He had a small little smirk on his face to show that he was just as amused at the display as she was horrified. "Can I help you?"
Beth almost rolled her eyes when she heard his gravely voice. She knew she was still a child at heart for being caught completely off guard by this gruff older man but he was simply TOO attractive to her. She could imagine him telling her exactly what to do in the bedroom and her complying without a second thought, the mental image making her even more red. It took her a second to realize that he worked at the establishment- his lack of nametag or jumpsuit wasn't what she was used to seeing from mechanics. The man wore a pair of loose-fitting jeans, a plain black shirt under his leather vest… she definitely thought he'd been a customer.
Snapping back to reality, Beth smiled at the man. "Yeah. I was drivin' to school when my car started to make some ugly sputtering sounds, started smokin' too. It's been known to overheat every now and again but that was a first." She gestured toward the red car that had been dropped off near the front of the garage, adjusting the strap on her messenger bag as it dug into her shoulder.
Nodding, the man pointed toward the front door near them. "A'ight, I'll look 'er over and let you know. There are water bottles in the office if you're thirsty." He made his way over to the red car, popping the hood and gazing under it as she watched from afar. After a second of her watching him, he glanced towards the office and met her eyes.
She knew she was being obvious but the moments of embarrassment had passed rather quickly and she found herself remembering just how much she enjoyed the thrill of being attracted to someone new. She used to be boy crazy when she was a lot younger, when her depression was bad the first time. She was old enough now to realize that she was trying to feel anything by dating those boys, old enough now to know that giving yourself distractions doesn't actually work. Doesn't mean she won't try though. Shamelessly, she smirked back at the older man before following his original gesture and going into the air conditioned office.
Nose pressed into her Child Psychology book- she wanted a little headstart- Beth wasn't even aware someone walked into the room. This could partly be due to the music blaring through her earbuds, partly because she was actually pretty into the textbook material. After several minutes of her remaining oblivious and him patiently waiting for her to realize someone was looming over her, the man cracked and tapped the young woman on the shoulder.
He was faintly surprised that she didn't jump like she had outside; that moment had given him the impression that she was easily spooked. Perhaps it wasn't his presence but the fact that she thought she'd been caught that scared her. This time she had been expecting him.
Daryl wouldn't have normally paid much attention to how gorgeous this young woman was; would've made an excuse that he was too old to even check her out. But goddamn- the man is human after all and she kept looking at him as if she already pictured him naked. He used that thought to justify admiring her beautiful big, blue eyes as they met his.
Pushing her beauty out of his mind (because honestly right after their eyes met she smiled and he could go on and on about how beautiful that was and how he could imagine them lips wrapping around his thick-ahem… but it would be fucking pathetic and not like him and he'd rather die) the man frowned at the woman seated, "S'gonna cost more to fix than it would to get yourself another used car." He went into the mechanics of what was wrong (it would have been easier to tell her what still works, probably) but he could tell that once the first sentence left his mouth, her mind was reeling about what she was going to do. He'd be surprised if the woman even realized he told her the specifics of what was wrong at all.
He wrote up a quick summary about what was damaged and went to hand it to the woman about ten minutes later, catching the end of a phone conversation as he returned to the waiting area. As he waited for her to hang up, he eyed the book she'd been reading with a raised eyebrow. She's a smart little thing. "Daddy, you have work in the morning- I can't have you drivin' all night long…" Her voice was soft but pleading, begging the man to let her handle this. "No, Maggie is busy with the baby- please don't ask her. I'll just get myself a cab to campus and figure out the rest later; I'm just lucky I live in the dorms and gettin' to class will be easy." She glanced up at the man waiting and smiled, "I'm sure. I love you, daddy. I'll call you tomorrow."
After hanging up she accepted the paper, looking over it blankly as she thanked the older man before her. This was Beth's least favorite part about becoming an adult: she wasn't quite ready to be one yet but moments like this forced her to get there. "Do I owe you anythin' for looking at it?" She asked, how stressed she was feeling evident on her face as she pulled her blond curls into a ponytail high on her head.
The man before her was impossible to read and extremely prompt, she was surprised he was still standing near her instead of going back into the office; he didn't seem like one to linger around. "Naw… if anyone tries to charge you for a consultation, go ahead and tell 'em to fuck off." That got a smile out of the younger woman and he decided to keep it going, "I can sell your car for parts- won't be much but you'd probably get a couple hundred dollars for it."
Her face absolutely lit up when she heard that, "Oh thank God! I hadn't even thought about what I was gonna do with that heap of crap." It occurred to Beth that she had really no reason to trust this stranger- but it also occurred to her that it might be her only option. Although he was rough around the edges, Beth felt like he had a air of trustworthiness about him. Not to sound sexist but most men made Beth uncomfortable- they treated her like a piece of meat or acted superior to her in general. This man appeared grounded, genuine. To be fair, most people do before you get to know them. She had the bad habit of building unattainable images of people in her mind that they never live up to- she had just a bit too much faith in people and their potential; always found herself disappointed with reality.
Placing the paper of damages inside her textbook to save the place, she stood and held out her hand. "I'm Beth Greene." She spoke with a smile, a smile that only got more wide when he took her hand and shook it firmly. He had rough, calloused hands that told her he'd worked hard throughout his life- the opposite of hers, she guessed, which were frail and very moisturized.
The man nodded awkwardly, "'m Daryl… Dixon." She could tell he felt weird introducing himself with his full name, she got the idea that maybe he was used to more informal settings. She hadn't thought twice about introducing herself with her full name- her daddy had made her go to so many events and gatherings for their hometown that she felt just as comfortable in a gown as she did in her jeans. She suspected the same wasn't true for this man.
"Well I really appreciate your help, Mr. Dixon." She spoke coyly, her smile permanent on her face. "Y'know, I was really stressed about this whole thing but you've got a real… calmin' presence about you." She wasn't trying to hit on him this time; just spoke honestly. Only moments prior and she had been sure she had a stress headache coming- all it took was a minute or two with this stranger for her to forget that she'd been stressing to begin with.
He watched casually as she began to pack up her book back into her messenger bag, standing and hoisting it on her tiny shoulder. She was leaning slightly to the side now, although he didn't know her well enough to tease her about the amusing sight. "Just doin' my job." He conceded with a shrug, leaning against the door frame to his left.
Beth scoffed as she gazed at the man, "Don't be modest, you're goin' above and beyond. I really do appreciate it." She spoke as if he had saved her life, making sure to keep her eyes locked with his as she expressed her gratitude. He could've been a complete asshole to her- could have ripped her off and she probably wouldn't have realized it. She got lucky and she knew it. "Should we exchange numbers in case you get rid of that piece of junk?" She asked, gesturing toward the front window where the car was in view.
After exchanging numbers quickly, the Beth thanked him once more and exited the office door. The humid Georgia air hit her at once, the sun just as vicious as it had been an hour ago. She hadn't noticed how horrible it was before she got used to the damn air-conditioning inside. Realizing that she exited the office a little early, the woman sat down on the curb as she scrolled through her apps. She hadn't thought to request an uber while she was waiting and she already said goodbye, so she resigned to wait in the sun instead.
She heard the bell ring behind her once more though, indicating that she wasn't alone outside anymore. Considering she was still the only customer, Beth naturally assumed it was Mr. Dixon behind her. She listened to a lighter flick and his work boots crush the gravel under his feet as he walked. When he spoke, her suspicions were confirmed. "Need a ride?"
Looking to her left at the man who sat casually on his motorcycle with a cigarette in his hand, the smoke drifting through the humid air effortlessly. "I'm gonna request an uber."
The man's brows wrinkled as he tilted his head curiously. "A what?" He spat out, obviously never having heard of the newest means of transportation.
She couldn't help but to giggle a little at the ignorant older man, relishing in how cute he looked with his head tilted like that. "It's basically a cab." She spoke, shrugging in a way that said 'dont ask me.'
"If you wanna waste money, that's up to you... My offer is on the table regardless." He spoke simply. Although he looked indifferent, Beth got the distinct feeling that he didn't go out of his way for people this often. She suspected that maybe she hit a soft spot in his heart.
She found herself looking around the empty lot, squinting as the sun beat into her eyes mercilessly. Although they were alone here, who was to say someone else wouldn't come along looking for his services? "Do you have someone to watch the shop?" She asked, unaware if there were people working in the back that she hadn't seen. She somehow doubted it considering how empty the establishment was at the moment.
Daryl just shrugged, "Ain't doin' any business. I'll close her down for the day."
Still, the young woman found herself hesitating. Not because she didn't trust the man but because she'd already taken a lot of time out of his day already, he'd already done her a few favors. "I can't impose…" She spoke, disappointed in herself for not taking more risks. Wasn't she just complaining about feeling empty? She hadn't felt her heart beat this loudly in a long time- all because of this greasy mechanic.
The man flicked the ashes from his cigarette and nodded as he walked toward the garage, speaking faintly as he walked. "Suit yourself." Her eyes landed on the angel wings on the back of his vest, reminding her of her religious family back home.
All it took was thinking about her family to remember how important it is to accept help. If someone was willing to stick their neck out for you, it was more inconsiderate to turn it down than to accept it. They wouldn't have offered otherwise. Standing from the curb, the woman called after the handsome mans back. "You know... " He paused, glanced over his shoulder at the girl. "I ain't ever ridden a motorcycle before."
Authors Note: This is supposed to be in kind of the same universe as the Walking Dead- except the zombie outbreak never happened. So, Beth is around twenty-one… I know Daryl says that he wasn't anything before the turn but I thought the idea of him being a mechanic was a pretty good one. I'll explain how he got there in the next chapter! At first I was just gonna introduce Beth in this chapter but I'm a sucker for our man...