"Uh, hey," Daryl stood before Beth Greene once again, shifting awkwardly in front of her with his hands shoved into his jean pockets. He watched her with slight amusement while she struggled to hold the door open with her phone tucked between her head and shoulder. Her face was twisted slightly, looking more annoyed with the person on the other line than him. He was surprised to see her hand wave him in as if they had known each other forever and this was just another visit. Beth motioned for him to sit onto the couch, continuing her conversation in the kitchen.

"Yes, I realize that," She went on, tension growing in her voice, "I'm not meeting you here. I'll drop your crap off once I have time to. You're not welcome here anymore," With that, she ended the call, throwing the phone onto the table as she rubbed her face with both hands. Daryl raised an eyebrow; it seemed she had forgot he was there all together. He cleared his throat awkwardly, making Beth turn around, placing her hand onto her hip.

"Sorry for that," She mumbled. Daryl shrugged his shoulders as she brought herself into the living room, taking a seat next to him.

"Boyfriend problems?" He grunted slightly only to find Beth's face filled with sadness. She sighed while she let herself fall back onto the couch.

"Ex boyfriend problems, actually," Nothing more was said about her situation, seeming Beth didn't want to deal with Zach anymore than she had to. They sat for a second while Beth pulled herself together. The two kept quiet until Beth reached into her pocket, chucking a small object at Daryl. He grabbed the baggy out of his lap, looking down at the item he had lost the night before.

"You're digging yourself a hole much deeper than it needed to be," Beth sighed. She was used to drugs and alcohol, but stealing from drug dealers wasn't something she thought was too bright.

"Didn't do shit. My brother's the dumbass who did," Daryl tucked the bag into his pocket. Beth turned towards him while resting her head in her hand as a smile crept up her face. She wasn't stupid, but this man must've thought she was.

"I'm sorry, but I watched you shuffle through his pockets and take that. Don't mistake me for a fool, Daryl," She nudged his arm playfully, causing him to stiffen up his body. He definitely wasn't used to anyone being playful with him. She kept on smiling at him as he became more uncomfortable. He avoided her eyes as much as he could, looking at the small room with nothing more than books scattered everywhere and a few girly things he would normally roll his eyes at.

"So tell me, why is your brother causing so much trouble for you?"

"He's got nothin' better to do. Lost his job 'bout a week ago for bein' boozed up," Daryl shook his head thinking back to the night where he picked up Merle, drunk off his ass with his boss's foot right up there, screaming at him to never step foot on his property again. Merle couldn't keep a job if his life depended on it, even if it was a simple mechanic job. Daryl counted his blessings, thanking whatever gave him the chance to keep his part time job there even though Merle pissed off his boss to no end. Daryl still got a lot of shit at work because of him, even more so now since Merle would ride past, flipping off the place while blaring his music. Sometimes Daryl had a hard time thinking his brother was much older than him.

"Sounds like a handful," Beth laughed as she pulled at a strand of her hair, "But he's your brother. Can't live without him," Daryl looked towards her, feeling better as she welcomed him in with her words. She had a funny way of looking at things, but he sort of liked it.

"Sure wouldn't mind havin' to not babysit a grown man all the time," Daryl scratched his head while he shook it in disapproval. They sat in silence for a little bit before Beth spoke up.

"Is that the only reason you came back?" Beth bit her lip as she made eye contact with Daryl. He searched for an answer, but came up with nothing more than to get his drugs and run. He sat for a second, realizing he wanted to talk more with the little blonde next to him. He wasn't used to being around a woman who wasn't going down on him for a buck or two. She was a breath of fresh air.

"I guess so," He blurted out stupidity. His nerves got the best of him as he messed with the corner of his buttoned shirt, trying to muster up any sense of manhood that he had left.

"You guess so, huh? If that were the case you would've left a while ago," She smiled at him, making his chest tighten a little bit. Was she flirting with him? He chuckled at the thought of how ridiculous they both must've looked.

"Yeah, that's so," Daryl grunted, standing himself up; he figured his stay was overdue. Beth watched him get up, trying to figure out why this man was so conflicted inside. First he sounded as if he wanted to talk about his problems, but now he was looking ready to leave.

"How about this. Since you decided to interrupt me while I was debating on whether or not to go out and eat by myself, you take me out and I'll think about forgiving ya?" Beth blushed as Daryl looked at her with a confused expression. A girl askin' me out? The fuck is this? He thought to himself as he gazed down at the floor before connecting eyes with Beth again. She looked so innocent while she sat on her couch, head cocked to the side while biting her lip. Jesus Christ.

"Deal?" She continued without a reply from the man standing before her. Without a response again, Beth took the silence as a yes. She grabbed her phone and wallet before shoving them both into her back pockets. Daryl waited in silence while Beth stood up next to him.

"Don't ya think it's a lil weird askin' someone ya don't know to eat?" Daryl eyed the girl.

"People have sex randomly all the time and yet you don't hear people making a fuss about that. Come on, there's a diner just down the road," Beth opened the door, letting him walk out while she locked it behind them. They set off on their short journey in silence. Daryl's confusion died down as he stole glances of the happy-go-lucky girl next to him. She was determined to get to know him, he knew that much and for a second Daryl started to warm up to her.

...

Merle's head hit the wall with blunt force, causing him to groan in pain as he rubbed the spot with his hand. His body buckled over as a boot connected with his stomach, making him ache with pain. His vision became hazed, only making out the blurred, tall figures that invaded his house not long ago. Sweat dripped from his face, connecting with blood that seeped from an open head wound.

"Still alive, Dickwad?" Merle's ears rang as the figures seemed to scream into his head. His head nodded off, only to be shoved back onto the wall, making eye contact with the man before him. Merle chuckled, coughing up blood in the process. The man's hand squeezed Merle's throat harder.

"Fuck you, man." Merle spat out, causing another blow to the face. His breathing was caught short as the hand grasped his throat with greater force. He tried his best to fight back, but his energy ran short after what seemed like hours of watching his house become a battle zone. The men rummaged through everything he owned-which wasn't much and wrecking the rest. His beat up furniture was overturned and destroyed. The men went away at his belongings, taking anything that looked valuable.

"Mendel sent us to fuck you up. Said Caleb had your brother's ass caught up on the street last night," The man threw Merle back, letting his body collapse onto the floor. Merle's vision cleared somewhat as he made out three men standing in front of him.

"My brother made that kid his bitch," Merle's hoarse laugh brought on more bloody coughs. His stomach ached, practically screaming at him with pain.

"Let this be one last message to you and your hick brother," The man stooped down to Merle's face, leaving only an inch between them, "Take what's ours again and you bet your ass the pigs will be findin' your bodies washed up in a river," With that, the man gave one last blow to Merle's head, causing him to see nothing but blackness. His body fell limply onto the floor. The man stood up, looking at his accomplices before adding their final touches to the destroyed house. They left the house through the back door, making sure to break the door's frail window in the process, finishing off their mass destruction.