"If you think this is the best decision, then I can't say no," Rick was saying. Daryl and Carol were sitting in his living room, along with Michonne, Carl, and Judith.
"It'll be fine. Got woods for huntin'. Can see anyone comin' a mile away on that balcony," Daryl replied.
"And you're not afraid of the ghosts?" Carl asked, smirking.
"Shut up," Daryl growled, but there was no venom in his voice.
They all laughed.
"So, what's the story behind that place anyway?" Michonne asked.
Carol spoke up. "From what Aaron told me, an entire family was murdered in there. The husband beat them all to death with a baseball bat. He never got caught."
Everyone sobered up a little after that, eyes all cast down to the ground, stunned.
"Wow," Michonne said, shaking her head.
"That's intense," Rick stated.
"Yeah," Carol said.
"Well, y'all have fun with that!" Rick said with a laugh. They all stood up and headed toward the door.
"Will y'all need help moving anything?"
"Nah," Daryl said with a shake of his head, "Ain't got shit to move. House already has furniture."
"Alright, then. We'll let y'all get to it."
They waved goodbye to Rick and headed down the street.
When Daryl noticed Carol lagging behind, he turned around.
"C'mon, woman. Time to move into our new house."
The sun was setting by the time they got to their new house, duffel bags full of their sheets and clothes in their hands.
"You ready?" Daryl asked.
"Carol smiled, nodded. "As I'll ever be."
They walked through the front door and set their things down. He gave her the grand tour of the first and second floors.
"I can't believe how beautiful this home is," Carol commented. They approached the third floor spiral staircase.
"Aren't we going up there?" She asked.
"Mmhmm," he hummed, "But first, I gotta do something."
She watched him as he pulled a clean rag from his back pocket and folded it. Then he started to approach her.
"Daryl Dixon, what the hell are you doin'?"
"I'm puttin' this over your eyes."
She sighed as he tied the rag around her eyes.
"How am I going to get up the stairs if I can't see?"
"I'll guide ya. Just relax."
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her forward.
"Step up."
She did as she was told. They went on like this for twenty-four more steps. She'd counted. Not once did she stumble thanks to Daryl's guidance.
"Alright, we're at the top now," he told her. He kept guiding her forward. Their footsteps were muffled now. They must have been walking on carpet or a rug.
"Just a few more steps," he said. Finally, they stopped. She could feel him standing in front of her now.
"Alright, take off the blind fold."
She quickly unwrapped the knot he'd tied, letting the rag fall to the floor. Then she gasped.
She was surrounded by books. Thousands of them, it seemed like, perched on dark wooden shelves. There was no wall space, only shelves filled with books. Two stained-glass windows let in the last rays of sunlight.
"Daryl…this is…wow."
That was all she could get out.
The room was amazing. She ran her hands lovingly over the books, briefly inspecting the titles. There were the classics, romances, young adult literature, books on art and tools and wedding planning. Children picture books. Cook books. It was like her own personal book store. God, did she miss book stores.
"Well, this is officially my favorite room. You probably won't be able to drag me out here. I'll be useless."
"Figured you'd like it," he said shyly.
She beamed at him.
"I love it."
They went back downstairs to find something to eat for dinner. Carol had packed several cans of soup, so she heated two of them up on the stove and served it with some bread.
They ate in silence mostly, except for a little bit of small talk. They mostly chatted about things they would need for the house or stuff that needed to be done. Nothing deep.
When they were finished, it was time for bed, and they both headed upstairs.
"Which room you takin'?" Daryl asked her when they'd made it up the stairs.
"I think I'll take the one by the staircase. That way I can be close to the books," she said with a laugh.
"Sounds good. I'll take this one."
He nodded to the master bedroom. It was closest to the top of the stairs, and it had a door that led out to the balcony. It made the most sense for him to have that room.
"Okay. Well, I guess this is good night."
Daryl nodded, chewed his thumb nail.
"See ya in the morning. Good night."
"Good night, Daryl. Thanks for asking me to move in with you."
His face turned red. He nodded, gave her a half smile, then retreated into his room, closing the door behind him.
Carol felt suddenly nervous then. She was so used to being surrounded by a lot of people; now the house seemed much too large and intimidating. Their bedrooms were separated by another room in the middle, and that bothered her now, made her feel like he was miles away.
She shook her head, told herself to get it together. She was a fighter, a survivor. She could take care of herself. Still, she couldn't shake that anxiety she was feeling.
She walked down to her room. Just as she opened her door, she heard Daryl's open. She looked back. He was poking his head out the door, looking at her.
"I'll sleep with the door open tonight in case ya need me," he said softly.
Immediately, Carol felt some of that anxiety float away.
"Thanks, Daryl. I'll do the same."
Later, in the middle of the night, Carol woke abruptly. She sat up, heart racing, a thin layer of sweat covering her body.
She sat still for a few moments, trying to calm herself down. She must have had a nightmare and didn't remember it. It wasn't uncommon for her to have nightmares these days.
Then she heard a noise, and her body broke out into a sweat all over again, heart beat picked up.
Scratching. Coming from the library, maybe. Or the staircase. It was close, but she could tell it wasn't coming from her own room or down the hall.
What the hell was that? She was ashamed to admit her first instinct was to run to Daryl, wake him up, and ask him to go check it out. He'd said he'd leave his door open in case she needed him...
She forced herself to calm down. It was probably rodents running around up there, although she'd seen no signs of rodents up there earlier. But she had been distracted by the books.
She made herself lay back down, get comfortable again. The scratching continued for awhile, then finally went away.
She told her worried mind that it would be morning soon, and then she could tell Daryl about it, maybe get him to find some traps for their little guests. She held onto that thought, and eventually drifted back off to sleep.
Author's Note: Hey, y'all! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. Now we're getting into some spooky stuff! Did anyone catch my little reference to a certain TWD villain? I didn't even mean for that to happen!
Thank you so much to those of you that read, followed, and favorited. It makes me happy! And to my three reviewers, y'all are fantastic people! Please keep them coming and let me know how I'm doing! Ignore any errors. Thanks!