I had a lot of running to do today so this is a little late! Sorry about that. Thanks for reading. I'm seriously amazed so many of you like this story! It's appreciated!
Chapter Ten
Daryl reached one hand out from under the blanket and slapped the alarm clock. Sitting up he rubbed his hand through his hair and yawned loudly. The first thing he noticed was that his bedroom door was standing wide open. He frowned, squinting towards the living room. There was a light on in the kitchen and he knew that Carol must have woken up a while ago because the smell of bacon and coffee filled his nose.
He dressed quickly, taking note that the room was a lot colder than it should have been. Maybe she had turned the heat down for some reason. In the bathroom he found that the cabinet under the sink was left open and there was a steady drip coming from the faucet. When he turned on the lamp in the living room he checked the thermostat and cursed out loud. The heater must not have gone out long ago because the house would have been frigid.
"Hi."
He nearly jumped out of his skin. She was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Mornin'." He followed her into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks when he realized exactly why the house hadn't turned into an igloo.
"I woke up and it was freezing and I didn't want you to have to worry about it so I just used the stove. Is that okay?" She asked in a rush.
He nodded. "You been up all this time?"
"Since a little after one but that's okay." She held up the book. "I had something to occupy my time. And I made you something to eat. I got bored. I'm sorry if it isn't very good but I wanted you to at least get to eat something warm before going out there. And like I said, I got bored."
"I'd say you did," he muttered as he sat down heavily. "You didn't have to do all this though. You shoulda woke me up."
She sat a cup of coffee down in front of him and then a plate piled high with bacon and eggs with a couple of pieces of toast on the side. "I could have but that would have been stupid. You had to get up early and I was perfectly capable of helping." She sat down in the chair across from him with her own steaming cup. He noticed that she wasn't eating.
He was surprised she had done all this on her own. Any other woman would have woken him up and demanded he do something to get the house heated up. "I'll call Doug before I leave but I doubt it'll do any good. It ain't suppose to get out of the teens today so we'll have to figure something else out."
"I can keep it warm so the pipes don't freeze," she offered with a yawn. "It's the least I can do, really."
He frowned, chewing thoughtfully. He couldn't leave her here in a freezing house and she had barely gotten any sleep so he couldn't expect her to keep it warm. He was so sick of this place that he was damn near ready to burn it down himself. He paid his damn rent on time every month and he never caused any trouble so the least that bastard could do was make sure that everything worked. Especially the heat since it was the middle of January.
"It's okay, really. I don't mind," she said, watching him carefully. She looked nervous.
He shook his head. "No it ain't. You haven't slept but a few hours. You can't stay up all day and you can't be stuck here freezing. I ain't havin' it."
She bit her lip, gazing at the stove thoughtfully. When she finally looked at him again she looked almost ready to cry. "But there isn't anywhere else for me to go."
He sighed, running his hand through his hair again. "We can't do this," he muttered. He saw her visibly flinch from the corner of his eye. When he looked at her full on her eyes were wide and wet and so damn scared it made his chest hurt a little.
"I can't go back home. Not now. I know he's called a million times and he knows I haven't been there and if-"
"Hey," he said softly. She stopped talking but she still looked about to panic. "That ain't what I meant. I meant this damn place. It ain't fit for a hobo." He just realized he'd put his hand over hers on the table and he jerked it back quickly, his own face flaming.
"What else can we do?" She asked, her anxiety ebbing.
He chewed his food, thinking long and hard about what he was going to say next. When she had offered to move with him to the house Hershel was willing to part with he had dismissed it. He'd had a little more time to think about it, however, and after spending the day with her yesterday he was starting to reconsider. She was easy to get along with and she wasn't annoying. Hell, lots of people moved in with strangers. It wasn't like they would be sleeping together. The house had three bedrooms. It had a fireplace in case something like this ever happened. The only problem would be his brother and he would deal with that when the time came. Besides, it was nice to wake up to coffee and breakfast. She damn near had him sold on the eggs alone. "We can move," he said, after giving it a little more thought. "You were right. It makes sense. We'd both save some money and the place is plenty big enough so we wouldn't have to be in each others way."
She stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds before her face broke out in a grin. He stared at her, unable to look away for a few moments. "You're sure?" She asked.
He nodded. "It's the only way I'm gonna get out of this place. You need somewhere to go too. It just makes sense."
"But just yesterday you didn't think it was a very good idea," she reminded him softly.
He shook his head. "You'll understand when Merle shows up. Get used to the peace and quiet while it lasts. Wherever Merle goes, trouble follows. He ain't easy to live with. You might only have a few months to get ready for him to."
"Is he dangerous?" She asked, looking down at her cup. There was no fear there, only curiosity.
"Nah. Not to us anyway. He's gonna give you a hard time. He'll give me a hard time. You'll probably learn to just ignore him. It's what I do."
"Well, what should we do for today?" She asked after a few silent minutes.
He groaned. "I need to call my boss and use one of my sick days. We can head over as long as the roads ain't too bad. There anything you need to get? You only brought two bags."
"I don't have anything. If I could have left those I would have. I don't want anything from that house," she said with a bitter bite to her tone.
He nodded in understanding and finished his breakfast in thoughtful silence. When his plate was empty she instantly stood up, reaching for it, but he intercepted, his hand gently pushing hers away. He took his plate to the sink. "That was probably the best damn breakfast I've had since I was a little kid. You cook like my granny did when I was a boy," he said, glancing over his shoulder.
Her eyes shot up, meeting his and then her teeth worried her bottom lip. She almost looked like she was about to cry. Instead she smiled softly. "I'm glad."
He made the call to work. His boss wasn't exactly happy with him for missing but there wasn't much he could do about it. Daryl worked his ass off and this was the first time he was missing a day in over a year. He called Hershel after that and this call took longer. Carol paced, glancing at him as he laid it all out for the old man. He made sure that he kept his face devoid of emotion, keeping her waiting on purpose. He didn't want her to get her hopes up too much because there was a big chance that what little bit he had put back wouldn't be enough for Hershel to agree to anything.
~H~
She watched him closely but she couldn't tell what Hershel was saying by Daryl's expression alone. She was nervous for a lot of reasons. For one, his brother didn't sound like someone that would be very welcoming. He had mentioned that he would give her a hard time but she wasn't sure what that actually meant. She knew he wasn't dangerous because if he was then Daryl wouldn't have her living in the same house as the man. But it was the way he had worded it when she had asked about it. He had specifically said that Merle wasn't dangerous to them. But he didn't say he wasn't dangerous in general. What could he have meant by that?
Another thing was, she was eagerly agreeing to move in with a man that she barely knew. She trusted him... But there was a time she had trusted Ed too. What if he got her out there and changed? Was she running head long into another situation that would end up catastrophic? Surely not. He had helped her. He had gone out of his way to save her, twice. Once from the cold and once from herself. She would have never left that house on her own.
He hung up the phone and she cursed herself silently for not paying attention to the end of the conversation. He made a great show of not saying anything. Instead he took her dishes to the sink and took his time rinsing out the cups.
"What did he say?" She asked eagerly.
He turned, leaning against the counter and shrugged.
"Daryl!" She said, exasperated. She was filled with a nervous kind of energy that had her feeling jumpy.
His face betrayed nothing for a few more seconds and then he grinned. "We're in."
She returned the smile, forgetting her earlier feeling of trepidation. "Really?" She breathed. The smile was so big it hurt the cut on her lip but she didn't care.
He nodded and then she did something that shocked them both. In her excitement she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. He stiffened and she was about to pull away and apologize but then she felt one arm go around her waist and he hugged her back.
She stepped back, blushing furiously. "I'm so sorry," she said, not sounding very sorry at all. It had felt good. She wasn't used to touching a man that she actually wanted to touch. The thought had her eyes widening because she didn't know where it had even come from. "Anyway, now what? Do you have a lot to pack? I can help you with that. I can even help move the furniture. I'm tougher than I look."
He shook his head. "There ain't much here that wasn't here when me and Merle moved in. My clothes. Odds and ends. Hell, I've got about as much worldly possessions as you do."
"And you sure you want me? I mean, want me to live there too?" Why had she worded it like that!
She could have sworn she saw his eyes sweep over her before he nodded. "Yeah. Don't know how I'd manage without you, actually. You know, cause it's gonna cost more and shit."
"And you're sure I won't bother you being around all the time?" She asked.
He smirked. "We'll have our own rooms. And the woods are right there so I can take off if you start pesterin' me."
"I won't. I swear," she grinned and then she felt like hugging him again but she didn't. "And I won't have to worry about running into Ed. It's far enough away that I can be free. He probably won't find me."
"That's another plus," he said as he headed towards the living room. "We should head out. Suppose to get more snow later on this mornin'. I'll get some things packed. Maybe we can just stay there for the night."
"What about electricity?" She asked, grabbing her bags and setting them by the front door. That was about all the preparation she needed.
"Fireplace. We'll at least stay warm. It just might get a little boring."
She laughed. "I don't think that can happen with you around."
He snorted and disappeared into his room to pack his own things.