Chapter Three

Carol clutched her midsection tightly as she moved around the now sleeping Ed. She unzipped the tent as quietly as she could and only enough so she could squeeze through. Her ribs felt like they were on fire. She just had to hope he hadn't broken anything. The fog was back and she was once again glad for it. It almost felt like a blanket to her. Security. The fires were burning low so she knew it was late. She had stumbled upon Daryl the night before but surely he wasn't there now.

She felt her eyes start to sting when she thought about the look on his face earlier that day after he had hit Ed. What people didn't understand was that she didn't cry for the man. She knew what would end up happening to her for what other people did, and that was what the tears were for. She knew they all meant well but no one in camp was making her life easier at the moment. As soon as she had saw the look on Daryl's face as he advanced on her husband she knew that she was in for a world of pain. The tears were for herself. For the pain she knew was coming, but she couldn't tell anyone that.

She made her way down the trail as quietly as she could. She just needed to get away for a while and think about things. She should have woken Sophia but she hadn't wanted the girl to see her like this. She was a mess. She had always been a mess and she didn't understand why. Why she put up with the things she put up with. Why she let her daughter live in such violence. The sounds of frogs and insects filled the air the closer she got to the water. She couldn't see it yet through the thick blanket of fog that lay across it but she could hear it. The soft lapping sounds. Even the splash of an occasional fish. It was all soothing to her. Numbing.

She sat down near the waters edge in her usual spot. She picked up a few of the rocks and tossed them into the water. Then she picked up a whole handful and threw them with as much force as she could muster. She choked out a sob and then pulled her knees up to her chest, and let her tears come. No one could hear her way down here and she really just wanted to cry. She felt so weak and completely useless. Her ribs ached with each ragged breath she was able to draw in but she couldn't stop. She had to do something. She had to get Sophia away from that man. Had to get herself away from that man.

Nothing she had ever done before had worked. She had tried leaving him but it hadn't worked. She had no skills, no money and he owned everything. The car and the house belonged to him and the bank accounts were all in his name. She had no family left and he had kept her away from her friends until eventually they had all just given up. And she knew eventually he would try to take them away from here. She knew the only thing that had kept him from killing her back then was his fear of going to prison. And the only thing keeping him from killing her now were the people around them. If they left alone she was done for and then what would he do to Sophia if she wasn't around?

Her shoulders shook and her ribs burned but she couldn't stop her sobs. She didn't really have anyone. These people were nice but they had their own problems and their own families. She felt like she was going to be sick just thinking about it.

~H~

Daryl couldn't believe it. He was just walking back up to his tent after going to the woods and taking a leak and he saw Carol, he remembered her name now, crawling out of her tent and heading straight for the path. For a few seconds he thought about saying to hell with it and letting her go on alone. That was obviously what she wanted. But then he started thinking about what else could be out there so he followed her. She was a few yards in front of him but the fog had kept him hidden, just like it could keep anything else hidden that could jump out and hurt her.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around her ribs and he could only guess what that meant. And then something occurred to him. Something he should have thought about before now. Maybe she hadn't been upset about him hitting Ed earlier. Maybe she had been upset because she knew that she would be the one to pay for what he did to Ed. Something twisted painfully in his stomach and he knew what it was. Guilt. Was he the real reason she was clutching her ribs that way?

He shook his head. Even if this did happen to her because of what he had done, it was still her fault. She was the one that let Ed do those things to her. He wasn't to blame for that.

She sat down slowly next to the water. He watched as she threw a few stones and then she chucked a handful and then she fell apart. Her knees came up and she started crying. That guilt ate it's way up his throat until he thought he would be sick. Wouldn't that be great? He was pretty much stalking her now, he may as well gross her out too. He didn't know what to do.

He stood there for a long time and just watched as her small form shook from the force of her tears. He felt like some kind of freak but he couldn't leave her alone and he didn't know how to comfort a person. Especially a woman. He didn't know shit about women other than that half of them were crazy and the ones here were annoying as hell. Well, all of them but her. She was different.

He finally decided that he had to do something. He couldn't stand the sounds she was making. If he had heard an animal in that much agony he would have shot it in the head. He couldn't very well shoot her so he had to do something else. He walked up behind her. He didn't try to be quiet because he wanted her to know he was there. She tensed when she finally heard him coming. She didn't turn her head to look to see who was there. She just became very still, like she was waiting for something.

He walked up next to her and then dropped to the ground, crossing his legs. She was so close he could feel the heat radiating off her body. Her forehead was pressed into her knees so he couldn't see her face. He knew he should stay something but he wasn't sure what to say. He thought to much. That was his problem. He didn't think anyone else thought so hard about what they were going to say before they said it. People just said what was on their minds. Not him. He was always too scared he would say something stupid. He tried to just say the first thing that popped into his head but he couldn't say that because he wanted to ask her why she put up with that asshole and that wasn't going to make her feel better.

"I'm sorry. Bout earlier." He finally managed but his voice was so low he doubted that she had even heard him.

But she turned her head slowly resting her cheek on her knees instead of her head. She looked at him for a few uncomfortable minutes and then to his astonishment the corner of her mouth turned up. "Earlier wasn't your fault."

He looked away, out towards the water and the fog. "You come out here a lot?"

She raised her head up and wiped her eyes. "I try to. It's quiet and I like the peace."

"You want me to go so you can..."

"No." She said quickly. "I..." But she let the sentence hang there in the air. Her voice was a bit breathy and he couldn't help but worry about her ribs.

He knew that was where Ed was hitting her now and the way she was breathing sounded like something might be more wrong than just some bruising. "You ever have broken ribs before?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I've had broken bones in a lot of places but never my ribs. Why?"

"Don't sound too good. If you got broken ribs then the bone could puncture a lung or somethin'."

She let out a breath and winced.

He stood up then and held out his hand. "Come on, I ain't gonna bite." He grumbled.

She took his hand and let him pull her up slowly. Her arms wrapped around herself instantly. "I think I'll head back now. If he wakes up..."

"You need looked at." He said, sounding annoyed.

"Well, there isn't any doctors here. I'll have to manage on my own."

He sighed. "Can I see?"

"What?" She sounded panicked.

"I've had a rib or two cracked in my lifetime." He looked away again. He didn't know why the hell he was talking to this woman. And no matter how much he told himself to shut the hell up he wouldn't. She wanted to go. He should let her go. But he really didn't want her too.

She finally nodded and wadded up the material of the baggie shirt she was wearing before slowly lifting it, exposing her torso.

The first thing he noticed was how her pale skin damn near glowed in the moonlight. The second thing he noticed was the flat planes of her stomach that led down to the subtle swell of her hips and then, after swallowing, he noticed that a lot of that pale skin wasn't glowing at all. Dark bruises, that he couldn't make out the color of in the moonlight, were covering a large portion on her midsection.

He reached out carefully and touched the darkest bruise that damn near spanned the whole length of her ribcage. Her skin was hot. Or his hands were cold, he wasn't really sure anymore. He cursed himself when the first thought that popped into his head was how soft her skin was. Like silk under the rough pads of his fingertips. And then cursed again when other parts of his body started reacting to that small touch.

She made a small sound when he pressed on the spot. He kept his eyes averted as he willed his hands to check her ribs instead of feel her skin. Another, sharper sound escaped her lips when he pressed against a spot that was lower. He took a deep breath and then quickened up his examination. When he told her to turn around he had to look away for a second. Her back was worse but he was moving quickly now, willing himself to stop being so distracted. When he was finished he let his fingers linger there on her back for a few seconds before pulling his hands away and tugging the shirt back into place.

"Well? What's the verdict, Doc? Do you think I'll live?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood.

He didn't reward her with a smile. He was dead serious when he met her eyes. "For now. But it's gonna get worse. And I ain't too sure how much longer you got if you don't do somethin' about it soon."

Her eyes widened. "I don't need you telling me what I need to do." She sounded pissed. Good. She needed to be.

"You're right. Ain't none of this any of my business." He held her gaze but almost faltered when her eyes grew moist once more. "You wanna head back now?" He finally asked.

She nodded and walked away. He let her stay a few feet ahead of him. He wasn't the most social person in the world but it was pretty clear that she was done talking for the night. He watched like he had watched her before but now with a new appreciation. Everyone around here whispered behind her back about how weak and pitiful she was. But that was one good thing about being Daryl Dixon. If you kept your mouth shut and really looked at things, you learned a lot. And he was starting to think that eventually, Old Ed was going to regret the things he had done to this woman. He saw it in her eyes. Just a brief flash but it had been there.

He decided on the spot that he needed to stick around for a while.