A/N: I gotta admit, I was nervous about the last chapter. I don't typically write this "romance"-y stuff if you couldn't tell. And as of right now, I'm thinking about writing a chapter in Daryl's POV so that it helps to explain what's going on. At this point I'm beginning to feel like it's needed—though it'll probably be the only chapter like that. This one's a bit slow but things will start to pick up afterward. Chapter 11 is looking to be a hot mess. I'm not sure if that's good or bad at this point.
Daryl cursed under his breath which made Beth's eyes snap open. It took her a minute to realize where she was. Once her memory caught up with her, she panicked. She was still lying on top of Daryl and they had both apparently dozed off.
Beth felt her face burning once again as she slightly shifted, carefully moving so that her hips steered clear of his. If there was such a thing as dying from embarrassment, Beth was certain that she would have dropped dead by now. She couldn't believe she had actually been the one to start all of that and that Daryl went along with it.
As Beth situated herself on the seat and glanced back at Daryl, he was rubbing his eyes. But she caught a glimpse of what looked like some kind of scar peeking out from under his shirt since the top few buttons were undone. It looked as though it went at a slight downward angle towards his chest just under his right collarbone. Beth knew that whatever happened to cause that kind of a scar wasn't an accident—it had been done on purpose, thus adding even more pieces to the puzzle of understanding Daryl.
"That wasn't… exactly how I thought things would go," Daryl admitted aloud as he sat up. "I didn't mean to—I wasn't tryin' to—"
"It's okay. It's my fault for kind of pursuing it." Beth smiled at him but he quickly looked away and got out of his truck. Her smile faded just as fast as he left the cab. Was it something she said?
Beth watched as he walked around the front of his truck and headed for the driver's side where she was currently seated after their little session. She sat back as he opened the door, staring down at him as he was waiting for her to move over. But she stayed put.
"You mind movin' so we can get outta here?" Daryl folded his arms across his chest.
"Talk to me. You said you didn't expect all of this to happen. So what then?" Beth tried. She still felt like he wasn't exactly the same Daryl she had met that first day outside the bar. He still had a bit of aggression pent up inside him, his body language and tone of voice being a dead giveaway. She didn't want to push his buttons too much but she wanted to actually try and talk to him.
"You don't weigh nothin'. I could just throw ya outta my truck," Daryl warned.
"But you're not going to." Beth challenged him, folding her arms in return. She felt like she was on the verge of pouting but really she was just trying to mimic Daryl. He wouldn't toss her out on some old country dirt road. After all, he did sort of come to her rescue inside the bar.
Daryl sighed as he leaned against the open driver's side door, the hinges creaking due to his added weight. "'So what then'?" He repeated her words back to her.
"Do you just beat up guys like that on a daily basis? And your brother? What was all of that?—I mean, I know it was a stupid move with me going in there but I—"
"Yeah, it was a stupid move," Daryl cut her off. "Look, there's a lot about me that you don't know and we ain't goin' there. Not now, not ever."
Beth was a little taken aback by his choice of words. It was one thing to agree with her that it was indeed a stupid move, but for him to just blatantly state it? She narrowed her eyes at him, "And why not?"
"Because I said so. My past is of my concern and my concern only."
Something must have clicked in her brain because she was suddenly coming to the conclusion that maybe there was something wrong with him. Not wrong but… damaged. He seemed okay when it didn't involve talking and now that she was trying to get him to say something, he was completely shutting her down. "Have you ever really been in an actual relationship?"
Daryl shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His facial expression appeared to soften just slightly before he returned back to a scowl. "What's that have to do with anything?"
"If you've ever been in an actual relationship that means it requires talking. And since you're lacking in that ability it has me wondering if you've ever—"
Beth was cut short again but this time it was from Daryl forcing his way back into his truck. He dug one arm behind her back and the other under her knees, practically tossing her over to the other side.
"What the hell was that for!" Beth shrieked.
"Conversation's over," Daryl stated as he sat down behind the wheel and shut his door.
Beth remained quiet the whole way back into town. The more time stretched out, the less angry she felt about Daryl's actions. Maybe it was just a touchy subject for him. If that was the case, she couldn't blame him. Apparently being direct wasn't the way to go about things with Daryl. Or at least with some things it wasn't.
The sun was fairly low in the sky now as eight o'clock was approaching. Beth didn't bother to pick up her purse until the Sable was in view, still parked right where she left it. Daryl parked his truck next to the Sable where it had been originally and shut the engine off.
"I'm sorry for prying. I just thought that maybe we could talk and it might make you feel better. And I'm sorry for being stupid and going into the bar." Beth clutched her purse to her chest as she tried one last time to talk to him before parting ways. She chanced a glance over at him and found him chewing on the side of his mouth staring down at the seat between them.
When Daryl remained silent, Beth took that as a good-bye and reached for the door handle. She had just propped the door open a crack before Daryl finally spoke.
"You're not stupid," he paused. "I should be the one apologizing, not you."
Beth forced a smile and shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you have your reasons." She had to keep reminding herself that there was more to him than just anger. He was a completely different person before his brother got out of jail—just like Jesse had said. Daryl was turning out to be a pretty complicated guy but Beth was beginning to find herself up for the challenge.
"You shouldn't just shrug that off." Daryl was staring back at her now.
"I am this time. But don't consider yourself so lucky if it happens again," Beth smiled. "I'll kick your ass if you want to go all antisocial on me. Throwing me across the cab of your truck." She tried to joke and lighten the mood which received a faint smile from Daryl. All this time she had been so nervous to be alone with him but truth be told, it felt like things were going fine—other than a few bumps along the way. She was being herself around him and he seemed perfectly okay with that. He stopped when she made it known that she was uncomfortable and that provided her with the knowledge that he wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her.
Beth quickly dug through her purse and came back with a pen. She clicked it open and looked back at Daryl. He didn't say anything in response so she moved closer to him and grabbed his wrist. She glanced back up at him again, locking eyes this time, but he still didn't say a word. Beth turned back to his hand and flipped it over to where she could see his palm. She smiled to herself as she wrote her cell phone number on his hand.
Beth closed his hand into a fist and rested her hand over his for a moment before leaning back enough to be able to see his face. "So you can get a hold of me and we can stop meeting up by chance," she explained. She tried to resist the urge but lost the short-lived internal war as she cautiously reached up and kissed him on the lips.
Having said and done everything she possibly could for one day, Beth threw her pen back in her purse and climbed out of the truck. She grabbed her car keys and unlocked the Sable before hopping into the driver's seat. Daryl hadn't said anything before she really left and a part of her was almost waiting for him to come running to her window and apologize for his actions and swoop her off her feet. But she was well aware that this was the real world and not some made up fairytale. If she wanted real results, she was just going to have to work on it.
The minute Beth returned home, she was greeted by her parents, Shawn, and Maggie. Though none of them looked too happy.
"Where the hell have you been?" Maggie was the first to ask. "Did you forget how a cell phone works?"
Her cell phone. She completely forgot to turn the volume back on once she got out of school. But she was a little occupied and she couldn't imagine her phone going off while she was lip locked with Daryl in his truck.
"Maggie," Hershel warned her for her choice of language.
"I told dad I would be home later. Doesn't now constitute as later?" Beth bit her tongue from saying any more and tried to head for her room.
"Elizabeth Anne, we are not finished talking here," Annette called out to her.
"I'm sorry and I'll call to check in next time. Won't happen again," Beth began to ascend the stairs.
"If you keep this up, there may not be a next time," she heard her mom continue just before she entered her room and shut her door. Apparently she should have started to rebel at a younger age. Then everyone would be off her back about being out a little late. And besides, it was only a little past eight. That was still early.
Beth tossed her purse on the floor and lay down on her bed with a sigh. She wanted to tell Haley what happened but she didn't want to risk calling her and having someone listening in from out in the hall. She slid her phone open to expose the keyboard and contemplated texting Haley instead. But she found herself staring at her phone's screen almost lost in thought. She gave Daryl her number. That meant that he could call or text her at any point in time. Now she was going to go crazy just thinking about it. She didn't want to turn into some obsessive stalker, constantly checking her phone to see if he tried to contact her.
Beth sighed out of frustration and slid her phone shut, setting it beside her. Maybe she shouldn't have given him her number. Maybe that was childish. How was she supposed to know what to do and how to really act around him? She was being herself but she didn't want to seem like she was immature. There was a pretty good age gap between them and she was well aware that they most likely had nothing much in common. But that still didn't change her mind any.
There was a light knock on Beth's bedroom door and before she could say anything, the door creaked open to reveal Maggie standing in her doorway. She crossed her arms as Beth sat up on her bed and looked over at her.
"What? I said I'm sorry and I'll call next time," Beth explained.
Maggie glanced down at the floor a moment before she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. She walked over and sat beside Beth. "I get it, okay? I'm sorry for yelling at you the minute you walked through that door. But we were worried since you're not usually out and about like that. Come to think of it, you've been 'out and about' quite a bit here lately…"
"I'm not allowed to hang out with friends?" Beth lied but kept a straight face. No matter how much she may or may not have sucked at lying, she knew Maggie could see right through her. Because her older sister smiled.
"You know I'm always here for you. Just don't come home crying and telling me we have to go to some abortion clinic or something. This isn't some Lifetime movie. Mistakes happen. Just... don't let some boy get into your head. Alright?"
Beth forced a weak smile, "Alright."
I've been motivated by all the reviews here lately so that explains the frequent updates. Thank you guys so much!