Thanks so much to my beta, my followers, reviewers, readers...just everyone really! It means so much!
MichelleBellee and Supernatural Believer: Sorry! That's my fault! This was originally meant to be a one-shot but you all convinced me otherwise, and I completely forgot to change the status to 'In progress' from 'completed'. I'll do that now so I can stop confusing people haha. So the story is still getting posted here until I say otherwise! Thanks for reviewing and reading!
Ghost of the past
"T'fuck, Darcy?" his voice wasn't angry; it was confused. "Why ya callin' me, girl? Ya a'ight?"
"I'm fine," she assured him, relaxing when she realized that he wasn't going to get angry at her for calling. As far as she knew, she could be interrupting something and he would rather she didn't try and cross the lines between client and friendship. "I just…It might sound stupid but…" Great, now she was rambling. She took a breath, trying to find the right words. "I don't want you to call anymore unless it's on my personal cell." She told him before adding. "This number."
The confusion stayed. "T'hell? Why's tha'?"
"Cause I don't wanna charge you no more." she really hoped that this didn't make him uncomfortable but… "You're my friend, and I really enjoy our calls so…"
He was silent and she was worried that he had hung up.
"Daryl?" she said hesitantly, her fingers twisting in her bed covers as she fidgeted nervously.
"'M here." He assured her, his voice wavering slightly. "Jus' dunno wha' ta say."
She smiled slightly, her heart pounding in her chest. She hoped him not knowing what to say wasn't a bad thing… "I told you I'd show you that you're special."
"Ain't special." He reminded her. "This…Tell me it ain't some kinda charity. Say ya ain't feelin' bad for me 'cause I didn't have no money ta call ya before."
"That's not what this is." She told him immediately, hearing the slight anger in his voice at the idea. "I consider you a friend, Daryl, and you shouldn't have to pay to talk to a friend."
"A friend." It sounded like he was shaking his head. "Don't even know me, girl."
Her throat constricted slightly. Had she made the wrong move? Fuck, she shouldn't have done this. "I know that you have a brother called Merle who has an alcohol and drug problem." She told him, talking without thinking. "I know you like to hunt, and that you work as a mechanic. I know that you like your women all natural and kinda kinky." She smiled slightly. "I know that you're pretty shy and awkward when you aren't turned on, and you don't think very highly of yourself. You also don't like it when people say 'thank you'."
He huffed a laugh. "A'ight, a'ight, I get'cha." He told her before going serious. "I jus' don't think you'd feel the same way if we met, s'all. If ya really knew me."
"I'd like to get to know you." She told him, once again without thinking. She quickly rushed out her next words, not wanting to give him time to think about what she had just said. "We don't have to if you don't wanna. We can just stay as we are. It was just an idea." She shrugged, trying to act as if it didn't bother her.
"S'not like tha'." He told her. "Jus'…Don't think you know what'cha gettin' yourself into, sweetheart."
"I don't care."
"Ya like playin' with fire?"
"Only if that fire is you." She retorted with a smile.
He huffed a laugh. "A'ght then." He eventually gave in. "What'cha doin' anyway? Shouldn't ya be workin' instead'a stalkin' ya clients?" he questioned almost teasingly.
She let out a laugh. "I just can't help myself. It's an illness."
He sounded amused. "Should get that looked at."
"Nah, I quite like it." She glanced over at the clock next to her and sighed when she spotted the time. "I gotta get going. My Mom's friend needs someone to cover for the night, and that lucky person is me."
"Tha' mean ya ain't takin' calls tonight?" he questioned pointedly, sounding disappointed at the idea.
She knew what he was getting at and her voice was regretful. "Unfortunately, but I can't turn her down. She's done a lot for us."
He made a 'tch' noise. "Well damn. Hope the pays worth it. What'cha coverin' for anyways?"
She winced, hoping that he wouldn't think any less of her. "Uh…A stripper." She told him before clearing her throat awkwardly.
He seemed to choke on his own voice for a moment before repeating, "A stripper?" he whistled. "Damn. I don't like the idea of all them blokes grabbin' at ya n' whatnot but…I wouldn't mind havin' a front row seat to see tha'."
Her heart skipped for some reason, maybe because he admitted that he didn't like the idea of other guys touching her, and she couldn't help but smile. "Maybe someday, huh?"
"Maybe someday." He repeated, although his voice was less sure.
"Thank you so much for doin' this, doll." Sandy told Darcy, her voice rough from years of smoking cigarettes. She stood behind Darcy, watching while the young woman put on her make-up, ready to take the stage. She had one arm folded underneath her breasts while the other held a cigarette up to her lips as she leaned against the dressing room wall.
"It's not a problem." Darcy assured her, her voice sounding raspier than usual; most likely from all the smoke which seemed to circulate around the entire building. She wasn't used to the thickness of it, having given up smoking and taken up 'vaping', the term used for people who smoked electronic cigarettes. The smoke definitely wasn't as thick as real cigarettes. "You're practically family. It's what we do."
Sandy smiled, showing nicotine-stained teeth. "Amen to that, sugar." She took a puff of her cancer stick and glanced up at the clock. "You've got ten minutes. Ya nervous?"
Darcy went to shake her head but thought better of it as she applied her eyes with heavy black eye-liner. "Nah," she told her. "S'like riding a bike." She said with a smile, making eye contact in the mirror with Sandy.
Sandy grinned proudly and gave her a nod. "That's my girl." She glanced down at Darcy's outfit. "You know, you look better than most of my girls in that outfit. I wish ya'd let me take ya on as a regular. We'd make a fortune together, baby."
Darcy smiled shyly, doubting the compliment but feeling giddy nonetheless. The outfit was pretty simple; a black baby-doll with blood-red trimmings and a small bow tucked between her breasts. The majority of the material was see-through, except the bra cups and thong which sat underneath the clothing. "Thanks but…this isn't something I wanna do." It was something she didn't mind doing, for a friend, or extra cash, occasionally, but it wasn't something she wanted as a career.
Sandy nodded, looking disappointed but not shocked; they had already been through this before. "I know, baby. Now," she started, leaning forward and mashing her cigarette against the bottom of the crystal ash-tray which sat on the dresser. "Best go warn the security guards cause things are gonna get pretty rowdy when you go on." She finished, giving Darcy a wink before heading out of the dressing rooms.
Darcy couldn't help but shake her head with a smile. She had no idea if Sandy was that kind to all the girls, or whether it was a tactic to make Darcy want to work for her; either way, she couldn't say she didn't mind the ego-boost; it was something a girl needed to hear every once in a while.
She blew out a breath and turned back to her circular mirror. She started to puff up her hair, trying to give herself the 'sex hair' look while muttering to herself, "It's show-time."
"You might wanna get yourselves a fire extinguisher 'cause things are about to get a whole-lot hotter in here!"The announcer's voice echoed through the speakers, sounding happy and enthusiastic. "Please welcome to the stage, one of our finest, sexiest, and more flexible girls; Kay!" Darcy almost rolled her eyes at the last part. No way in hell was she one of the more flexible girls here. She could barely split her legs without pulling a muscle in normal circumstances.
Nevertheless, she licked her lips, wetting her lip-gloss even more, and smiled as she walked onto the stage, swaying her hips purposely. The lights on the stage made it hard to see the customers, something they did on purpose; stage anxiety could hit at any moment and it was easier when you could pretend that no one was watching, but because she couldn't see them properly, didn't mean she couldn't hear them.
A chorus of wolf whistles and comments filled her ears one after the other. She could only make out a few, something along of the lines of: "Hey, baby!", "Damnnn, girl!", and "Hello, sexy!"
She bit her lip and gave them all a shy wave; It was all a part of her role. She naturally looked innocent, so it was easier to play on that instead of trying to play a role which didn't suit her. As she approached the pole, she saw the glare from the lights bouncing off the shiny metal and she reached out to grab it in an unsure manner.
Of course, she wasn't unsure. She knew exactly what she was doing but she couldn't say the same for the men as she heard one of them holler: "C'mon, sugar, don't be shy now!"
With her bottom lip still trapped between her teeth, she looked up at the barely-visible audience and dropped her weight, relying entirely on the grip her hand had on the pole as she dropped and span, going lower with every circle.
With a blink of an eye, she stood and placed her back against the pole as she attempted her 'shy' face again, looking up at them from under her eyelashes.
Somewhere near the back of the club, she heard a deep voice drawl, "Damnnn!" and she smiled, causing her lip to slide out of the grip her teeth had on it. Just like she'd said to Sandy; it was like riding a bike.
The men were less than happy about her departure from the stage, making her feel some-what flattered, but it wasn't enough to convince her to stay on longer. She was exhausted, aching and sweaty. Plus, the next girl was due on stage so it's not like she could of stayed on, even if she had wanted to.
The night was almost over, and she quickly headed back stage to shower before changing into something sexy – same as the baby-doll – but a little less revealing. Sandy liked the dancers to take a few moments to walk around the club, maybe serve a few drinks and talk to the customers. It encouraged them to come back since for a lot of them, it was almost like meeting their favorite porn star.
So once she was cleaned up and dressed in a pink corset with matching underwear and full white stockings, she headed out to spend the next half-hour talking to customers before heading home. It was almost mid-night, and maybe if she was lucky, she would be able to text Daryl when she was finished and hopefully he'd still be awake.
The first few guys grinned at her and gave her their approval. It was kinda creepy the way they smiled and eyed her up and down but she smiled nonetheless, all while thinking that this was one of the many reasons she preferred working the phones instead of working a stage.
She was in the middle of talking to some guy with adorable glasses and a nice smile when someone tapped her shoulder, making her turn around, ready to remind them that the club had a no touching policy, but what she saw stopped her.
Josh; or more specifically, her ass-hole of an ex-boyfriend.
"Well, well, well." He repeated slowly, shaking his head with a cruel smile on his lips and never breaking eye contact with her. "I thought I recognized the girl on the stage. Wasn't too sure though, so thought I'd check it out." He tilted his head slightly, a certain look in his eye which made Darcy's stomach fill with dread. "Always told ya you were a good-for-nothing slut."
Suddenly, it felt like she was back in that relationship; mentally exhausted from all the insults, insecure, never feeling good enough…She felt like she was about two-foot-tall, and she wanted nothing more than to rush back to the safety of her Mother's arms, as childish as it may seem.
"Ain't ya got anythin' to say?" he taunted. "Not gonna moan 'bout how harsh I'm bein'?" he rolled his eyes. "Never could shut you up once you got started. Josh, why do you always have to say things like that? Josh, I love you, can't you stop?" he mocked, his voice as cold as his heart. "Pathetic. Ain't my fault you're too damn sensitive."
Her mouth was dry as she tried to think of a response while blinking back her tears. She knew that she would run into him eventually but not in a million years did she want it to happen like this, in a strip club, where he had unlimited ammunition on her.
She didn't have to worry about a come-back though as a presence behind her appeared, placing a rather large hand on her shoulder and pulling her back slightly. She didn't see his face, couldn't seem to tear her glassy gaze away from Josh, but she did hear his rough southern drawl next to her ear.
"Everythin' alright here, liddol lady?" the man questioned.
She knew it wasn't one of the security guards; she knew their voices, which meant it was most likely a customer. Either way, it didn't really matter as long as they got her out of this situation. Before she could answer him, Josh spoke up again.
"Nothin' that's your problem, man." Josh told him in a reasoning tone of voice, as if they were friends. "Just talking to the ex," his gaze turned back to Darcy. "Funny really. She said she'd be better off without me, and she ends up working in a fuckin' strip club." He choked on a laugh. "Women for ya. Act like they're the best thing around then crumble to the lowest of low without ya." He shook his head, almost sounding disappointed. "Shoulda stayed with me. I wouldn't of let ya turn into such a whore."
The man behind her let out a whistle. "Damn," he said lowly, making Darcy realize that this was the same guy who shouted it out while she was dancing. "Sounds like ya got a whole lotta issues with each other. Now, I ain't one ta judge. Lord knows I 'ave enough women hatin' me for bein' less then gentleman-y, but I'm afraid I can't jus' let ya stand there n' upset her."
Josh's face morphed into annoyance. "And why's that, redneck?"
"Cause she means somethin' to ma brother." He told Josh darkly, his voice low and threatening while Darcy wondered what the hell he meant by that. "Means she's family, ya see? So why don't ya go n' beat on some other chick while I take liddol missy n' introduce myself."
T'fuck is going on? Darcy thought to herself in confusion as she found herself slowly nudged from between them, leaving them face-to-face with each other. Who the hell was this guy?
They stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. The stranger had a good few inches on Josh, and he was certainly a bigger build. So when Josh gave him a nod before stepping back, she couldn't exactly blame him.
"Whatever." Josh mumbled, shooting Darcy a look. "Shouldn't be talking to someone as dirty as her anyways. Probably catch something."
The stranger blew out a breath, watching as Josh walked away. "Man's got issues." He turned to Darcy, making her look up at him an notice his bright blue eyes. "Ya alright, girly?"
She nodded slowly, her mouth hanging open slightly. She figured that it was all an act on his part, most likely used the 'family' excuse to scare Josh away; It made more sense than him telling the truth, anyway. "I'm ok." She told him although her voice was shaky. She forced herself to give him a small smile while she wrapped her arms around herself, needing the support. "Thank you so much. If there's anything I could do-"
He grinned and cut her off. "There is." He held out his hand. "Name's Merle Dixon. I believe you're the chick who's taken away my baby brothers innocence."
She frowned, confused and wondering if this guy had all his marbles or not. "I have no idea what you're talking about." she told him while a little tickle in her brain asked: Merle? Why does that name sound familiar?
He cackled, a grin so wide it could have split open his face. "You're Kay, right?" she nodded and he continued. "Good. Now, let's find somewhere we can 'ave a liddol private chat, hmm?"
Please don't hate me for the third cliff-hanger in a row now...It's not on purpose lol.
I'm glad that a few of you seem excited for the Walker version of this story! I'm still getting my ideas together for it but so far, the beginning will be the same as this story but before they meet up, the apocalypse happens, and it will start it's own separate plot.
I just love the idea of them meeting a year or two into the ZA and not knowing who each other are, and then slowly figuring it out...Hehe. I doubt that it will follow the show since I already have a story that does that...So I will more than likely come up with my own story line, which includes lots of sex haha! I'll let you all know when it's been post!
Thanks for reading!