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Beth slowly came out of her sleep, sensing noises around her and the truck starting to slow down. She opened her eyes and felt just how tired she still was. The sun was starting to shine from the front window but she was able to make out tall buildings.
She stretched out her arms and legs, and took her time to sit up. She had to hold onto the mattress slightly as the rig seemed to make a large turn and it jostled her.
"Where are we?" Beth asked, her voice riddled with sleep.
"Just gettin' here. Wait back there." Daryl said over his shoulder. The rig slowly rolled to a stop and Daryl rolled the window down.
"Here with CBS?" a man asked. Beth could see Daryl reaching for something in the visor of the truck and hand it to the man. "Alright, park her in bay 1." Daryl thanked the man and rolled the window back up before putting the rig back in gear. He inched the truck along and Beth curiously poked her head up in between the seats. She could see the concentration on his face as he expertly moved the massive vehicle around the rather small looking lot. Several moments later he was inches away from a bay door she could see in the side mirror.
"I've never been behind the scenes like this before," she smiled as she spoke. "Have you always done setups like this?"
"Never been here, but similar places. We've got an hour before the crew'll show up for power up. I need to check into the hotel around the corner." He paused for a moment, his thumb up to his lips chewing nervously on it.
"I'm not supposed to be here, am I?" She asked. He shrugged. "I can hide out in here till you get back. You shouldn't be long, right?"
"Nah, the hotel is attached to the arena. I'll go check in an' be back soon. Just hang low and we'll figure it out. Think T-Mac is opening the truck, he's pretty laid back." She nodded and settled back on the bed as he grabbed his bag from behind the passenger seat and climbed out of the rig. She watched him walk back to the security station and then back to the street.
It was now that Beth finally caught up to her feelings. This was crazy. She met this man, barely six hours ago and here she was, alone in the back of his semi-truck, in his shirt, laying on his bed. This was messed up, even for her. But even though she had a strong urge to just get up and leave, he had done nothing to provoke fear in her. If anything, he has probably been the nicest person to her since she left home.
She figured, while he was gone, she could get dressed into her clothes. Hopefully after this, they could stop and get her some essentials. With no clothes, or toiletries, she really had nothing but a few dollars on her. Also with this time, she might be able to learn more about this man by looking through his stuff.
Once dressed, she began sifting through the scarce contents of the rig. She noticed there was nothing personal in sight. No family pictures, no souvenirs, nothing but this crossbow and a few bottles of water and a jar of pigs feet. She scrunched her nose at the sight of the disgusting looking 'treat' and placed it back where she found it. She was starting to discover that this man was a bit of an enigma. Her train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the sound of someone banging on the door. Beth nearly jumped out of her skin and fell, rather loudly, back on the floor of the truck.
"Daryl, you in here?" A man's voice called as he opened the door. Beth began to shake slightly, her breath trapped in her lungs as she waited to see who was climbing into the rig. She caught site of an older man, mid-fifties maybe, with a mustache and thinning brown hair. He saw her immediately and froze. "Are you ok?" Beth nodded and realized how she must have looked, hiding and shaking in the back of the rig.
"I was just waitin' for Daryl." she responded as she extracted herself from her corner. The man nodded and climbed back out of the truck, leaving the door open for her to follow.
Beth was unsure if she should follow that man. She really didn't want to get Daryl into trouble for having her with him. But what would happen if she stayed where she was, would someone else find her, someone that could possibly hurt her. Beth decided to follow the man out and see if this was the same guy that Daryl told her about.
"Never known Daryl to travel with anyone. I'm Terry. Everyone calls me T-Mac." He stuck his cigarette in his mouth as he extended his hand to her.
"Beth." She offered a small smile to the man before her. He seemed kind enough. "How long you and Daryl known each other?"
"Chris usually drives for the shows I work, so Daryl and I don't work together to often. But they needed the B-unit on this job so here we are." T-Mac explained. "Where'd he go?"
"He's checking into the hotel… around the corner?" She responded with a question.
"The Hyatt. He won't be long. He's got the keys to the bay. Can't get started without him." The man snubbed out his cigarette and moved to the back of the arena, his press pass gaining him entrance to the back stadium.
Beth wanted to stay as close to the rig as possible, waiting for Daryl to get back. She was unsure of what she was allowed to do or where to go and she noticed several more people moving around the lot to the building. She decided to sit in the truck again and wait for Daryl to come back. Just as she was going to get back in, she saw Daryl come around the corner with a few papers in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth.
He noticed she was slightly tense and becoming anxious with the people wandering around so he got to her as quickly as possible.
"Why ya' out of the truck? Told ya' to stay in there," he stated grabbing the door and opening it.
"Your friend T-Mac came by looking for you. He saw me and asked if I was okay."
"Where is he?" Just as she was about to respond, they caught sight of the door T-Mac disappeared in open as the man reappeared. He walked up to them and shook Daryl's hand.
"Good to see ya, buddy. How have you been?" He asked, seemingly completely unfazed by the woman hitching a ride with a stranger. While he was addressing Daryl, he handed a small laminated card to Beth with the word "MEDIA" printed on it. Daryl took notice of it and felt a small wave of gratitude.
"Good, keepin' busy." Daryl stated blandly and the other man laughed.
"Tell me about it. These asshole's will run you into the ground. I put in 75 hours last week on a four day job. At least this one is in my home town. Got the keys? I wanna get her opened up before John gets here." Daryl nodded and fished the keys out of his pocket and turned them over to T-Mac. Beth felt out of place, not knowing if she should stand there awkwardly or move around now that she didn't have a fear of being thrown out by security.
Once T-Mac walked away to start the unloading process, Daryl took one look at Beth and sighed. "C'mon, I'll bring you to the hotel. Show you our room." He turned and started walking back where he just came from.
"Room, as in singular?" she asked nervously suddenly running to catch up to him.
"Yeah, the company only pays for one room, it would look odd if I asked for two," Beth nervousness turned into anxiety and she suddenly didn't know if this was a good idea anymore. And she wasn't certain about heading into a hotel room with him at this moment.
"Daryl! Where ya headed? I need a hand pulling out the stairs once I pop it out."
"Gunna show Beth to the room, figured it'd be better than hangin' around here." he shouted back to T-Mac.
"Then you should have taken her with you when you checked in. Beth, walk to the street and take a right and then follow the road until you see the hotel. You can't miss it." Daryl sighed and looked and Beth with unease.
"Ya' ok with that?" Daryl asked. Beth nodded and took the keycard from him and headed towards the street, thankful that she wasn't going to be put into another situation like the last time. "Room 1013." He called after her and she waved her hand in response.
Finding her way to the hotel was easy. It truly was just around the corner. But once she got inside, she suddenly felt very lost. She made her way through the front lobby, which was probably bigger than her whole house where she grew up. She managed to find the elevators and get to the 10th floor.
Once she got to the appropriate door for their room, her panic set in again. Once Daryl returned, he would probably want to sleep and she was still pretty tired so they would have to share a bed. Hopefully it was at least a queen size so they could each have some space.
Inserting the key card and opening the door, she was in for quite the surprise when she noticed two double beds instead of one. She instantly felt the tension and nervousness slip away. This room felt so fancy with its furniture and the bedding. The curtains were opened up and she was able to see the beautiful skyline of Lexington. The bathroom looked luxurious with its glass shower stall with what looked like quite the amazing shower head. She couldn't wait to take a shower in there.
Like any hotel, it had soaps and hair products on the counter. She was certain she could call to the front desk and ask for a toothbrush and toothpaste. It had definitely been awhile since she was able to feel clean, and she was going to take advantage of this while she could. But first, she would need to get a change of clothes. The ones she had on carried such terrible memories that all she wanted to do was burn them. Once Daryl returned, she would ask what she could do about that.
Sitting on the bed, closest to the door, she finally felt comfortable. She was alone and safe. No one could hurt here and that made her feel good. She took notice to Daryl's bag on the small desk. It wasn't bigger than a gym bag and yet it held his personal belongings. The only thing not in here was his crossbow, which she assumed stayed in the truck, locked up. It would seem weird for a man to be carrying a crossbow into a fancy hotel.
Laying back on the bed, her mind began to wander. She thought about her home, her family. What she left behind. All it did really was bring her emotions to the front of her mind and she shed a few tears. She never gave herself many opportunities to think about everything that happened before she left, but now, in the comfort of this warm bed, she finally let it take over. She wiped the tears away but the sadness remained until she fell asleep.
She awoke not long after she drifted off to sleep to the sound of soft knocking on the door. She stood and made her way to the door, stopping to look cautiously through the peephole to see Daryl standing on the other side. Of course, she had the only card. She quickly opened the door and let him in.
He entered silently and took notice of the wrinkled comforter where she had been lying and moved to the bed closer to the window.
"Was a bit worried ya ran. Ya looked a bit panicked back there." He admitted as he sat down on the bed.
"Aint got anywhere else to be." She countered, almost playfully, trying to ease the tension. Rationally, she understood why she was concerned. Her instincts were in overdrive after her last encounter, but Daryl was nothing like the others. He seemed kind and genuinely concerned for her. Why else would he pull her from that dingy diner in the middle of no where Tennessee and bring her here? "You know of any place I can get clothes around here?"
"I asked T-Mac since he lives here. Said there's a small shopping area in the arena but everythin' is expensive as shit. Said if I needed to borrow his car, he gave me directions to a Wal-Mart." Beth's eyes widened.
"You told him?" Daryl shrugged.
"Nothin' more than he needed to know an' enough to get what I needed to know." Beth sighed in relief, the idea of new clothes breathing new life into her. "Ya got any cash? Otherwise, I can give ya some money." Daryl offered.
"I have a bit." She murmured as she stuffed her hand into her pocket to feel the fifty dollar bill she had tucked there. "You're probably tired. You should rest first. I can go check out what's in the area." she said quickly, remembering he drove all night.
"Nah, I'm good. Just let me shower an' get cleaned up an' we'll go." He stood, grabbed his bag, and headed to the bathroom. The door clicked softly behind him.
Daryl was surprisingly quick with getting ready. Beth was quite amazed what a shower could do to that man. His hair looked neater, and the flannel shirt he wore had no sleeves. She was able to take in how muscular he was and she had to stop herself from staring at him too long. He didn't seem to notice her anyways as he just grabbed his jacket with his angel wing vest already added on. Beth only had a long sleeve shirt and she could already tell that wandering around shopping might leave her a little chilled. Daryl must have known this as he grabbed the long sleeved shirt she wore the night before and threw it at her.
Finding the Wal-Mart wasn't too hard. Having Terry's car made things a lot easier. Daryl wanted to give Beth some space to shop for her own items, so he suggested that he would go pick out some essentials for her, like a toothbrush and toothpaste.
While Beth shopped, she stayed mindful of the prices. She was only going to grab a few shirts and maybe two pairs of jeans, then she would need some new underwear and a new bra. She guessed she should grab a sweatshirt even though she did kinda adore the flannel she was wearing right now. She decided that she would just sleep in this for the time being, and maybe down the road, she could get some pajamas.
She made her way to the dressing room to try on the clothes and was relieved to find that no one was around. She grabbed the number that said five and hung it on the door handle. She made sure everything fit but when it came to the under garments, she replaced her current bra with the new one, pulling off the tags. She felt guilty for stealing, but she knew she didn't have enough money to pay for the shirts, jeans, underwear, and bra. Her father would be ashamed of her right now. But then again, he might not care considering the state he was likely in.
She put her clothes and the comfy flannel back on and exited the fitting room, shoving the old bra into a trash can under the counter as she passed. She looked up to see Daryl heading her way and she tried to look as inconspicuous as possible. He had a basket full of items but it was the backpack that was on top that surprised her. It was black with pink splatters all over it. When the finally met up in the aisle, she picked it up and gave him a questioning look.
"If you're wearing this, I can find you a lot easier," he replied. She nodded her head and looked through the rest of the basket. Inside was a hair brush and hair ties, deodorant, a pink toothbrush, travel toothpaste and tampons. She grabbed the box and just stared up at him.
"Really?" His face immediately grew red in embarrassment and he stared at the ground.
"Got everythin' I thought ya' needed," he stuttered out. She just smirked and threw it back in the basket.
"You are a real sweetheart, Daryl, you know that."
"Stop. Ya' ready to go?" he asked, still not willing to make eye contact with her.
"Yeah, I don't know if I can get all this stuff though. I'll have to leave some of this till I earn some money from ya."
"Call it an advance then. Can't have ya wandering around in my flannel for the next few weeks smellin' like shit."
"Well, I'm keeping track of all this and I'll make sure those log books are perfect down to the last mile," She said with determination, her mind already mentally tallying up the damage they were going to do at the register, sans the stolen bra under her shirt.
Once Daryl paid and they grabbed her bags, Beth made sure to take the receipt from him so she could keep tally of everything she racked up with him. She figured that until they got back on the road, she would be racking up the debt with him. But she was determined to pay him back for his kindness and generosity.
Once they got back to the hotel, Beth immediately went to the bathroom to take a long shower and just relax for the rest of the day. The shower was everything she had hoped for and more and she found herself standing under the hot spray longer than expected. Brushing her hair and braiding it and putting on new underwear felt amazing. She saw the flannel and since she felt pretty tired right now, she figured she would just put that on and go for a nap.
Stepping out of the bathroom, she noticed the lights were off in the room but there was still some sunlight coming in from the closed curtains. She could barely make it out but Daryl was fast asleep in his bed with one arm over his eyes and the other laid across his chest. The blankets were pulled up over his legs but his shirt had ridden up slightly, exposing a small amount of his torso.
She couldn't stop her eyes from raking across his body. After what she had been through in the last week, this was the last thing she expected to find herself doing, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the chiseled body of the man before her. She stepped into the space between the beds and almost tripped over his discarded jeans. Her face flushed in embarrassment at the thought of him sleeping in just this shirt and underwear.
Her eyes moved back to his face to make sure that she hadn't woken him with her clumsiness. He was still fast asleep, his arm now off his face and down at his side. She took a moment to admire his features. He was very handsome but his eyes, even in sleep, looked so sunken and tired. His long hair was, for once, off of his face, and she could see the age lines and small imperfections that looked at home on his face. She found her train of thought rather ridiculous that imperfections could be perfect and decided that it was the weight of everything the last twelve hours had held on her. She tore her eyes from him and pulled the covers back from her bed to lie down. She was asleep before she knew it with visions of a perfect V shaped abdomen filling her dreams.
WOW, thank you all so much for all the reviews, follows and faves. We are just over the moon with excitement.
We hope you guys like Chapter 2. We get a better idea of what Daryl's job is and how Beth could fit into his life. We are going to be spending a few chapters in the pre-ZA, as these two get to know each other. Eventually the drama will come along so hang on tight!
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3 Stacey and Brandy