Chapter 9
All Daryl could think about on the ride home was Beth. She didn't know him, yet offered him a place to stay until he could get money for his own place. He didn't want to use Merle's money until he knew if he could pay to get his brother out. Normally Daryl would not accept any help from anyone but he knew that if he didn't he would be on the street. With how Bo was doing, he didn't believe he would be safe out on the street. So he accepted the offer but knew it was just temporary.
Beth was a shock to him. When he first met her, he thought she was just like all the other girls he had met. The kind who look down their noses at everyone else and only do something if they would be getting something in return. The kind who never got their hands dirty but would rather sit back and watch someone else do all the work. Boy had he been wrong. When she came flying out of the car, looking like an avenging angel, hell bent on getting in between Shane and himself, he knew she was something different. Not only had she stuck up for him, she stopped him from hitting Shane and getting arrested.
As Daryl thought back through the conversation between Shane and Beth, he realized that Beth had never outright told Shane that they weren't together. Shane had assumed that she was messing around with Daryl, but instead of setting him straight, she stuck up for Daryl and made sure Shane understood exactly what she thought of him. No one had ever stood up for him before, not even Merle. Merle didn't care what people said unless it was in regards to him. Then here comes this girl with the brightest eyes and the prettiest smile, doesn't know him very well, and she tells off a cop for him. This foreign feeling was creeping in on him and he didn't know what it was and he surely didn't like it.
As he looked back at the truck, he saw Beth gesturing wildly trying to get his attention. He signaled and pulled onto the shoulder of the road. Beth pulled up next to him
"We still need to go back to the clinic. I need to check the results of his tests. If you want to head back to the house you can, I can give you my key. I'll give you yours tomorrow." Beth yelled out of the open window.
"If it's all right with you, I would rather come with ya. That way I can stand outside with the stuff while you run in." Daryl hollered back at her. Beth nodded and started heading towards the clinic with Daryl in tow.
When they arrived, Beth hurried inside with Bo on her heels. Daryl shook his head while he leaned on the side of his motorcycle. Bo was really taken with Beth and Daryl could see why. She treated him like Daryl did and acted like he was another person, not just another animal. Beth came running out of the building with Bo and a bag in her hands.
"Bo has a heart condition like I believed. There isn't much we can do other than put him on some medicine that will help keep it in check. I have the medicine here in the bag and I will help you get him started on it tonight. It takes a bit before the medicine will kick in so he will need some time to get adjusted and will need to be watched for any kind of adverse reaction to it." Beth explained to Daryl while patting Bo on the head.
"Ok. That actually doesn't sound too hard. I think it's doable." Daryl said as he got back on the bike to follow Beth.
Beth smiled at Bo when she got back in the truck. She was happy that he wasn't extremely sick and the medicine should take care of him. She had a fondness for him and didn't want him going anywhere. She may not have known Bo for very long, but she knew a good dog and he was definitely one. Just like Bo was growing on her, so was Daryl. Beth was very happy that he took her offer to stay with her. She thought he would have turned her down or told her that she was an idiot. She wouldn't have offered that to anybody else but for some unknown reason she trusted him and wanted him to stay there with her.
Part of the reason may have been that he reminded her a lot of her brother Shawn. He had a rough time after what Shane had done to him. He was kicked out of the house because her pa hadn't wanted drugs in the house. He didn't have anywhere to go and no one would give him a job. After a few weeks, he came home and packed his things and left. When the family found out what really happened, they couldn't get ahold of him to apologize. After a year, he called to let them know he was ok and he would be coming by for a visit if he was welcome. Daryl seemed like he had been through a lot and had seen more than she could imagine.
Another part was truly since she was lonely. Beth hadn't realized how nice company was until she was sitting across the table at breakfast with him. He made the house not seem so empty. With just her in the house, she a heard every creak and sound it made at night. For the first bit, she didn't sleep more than a few hours a night until she grew more accustomed to it.
When they pulled up to her house, Beth hopped out of the truck and unlocked the front door. She also opened the garage for Daryl to put his motorcycle in. After closing the garage door, she started grabbing some of the stuff Daryl had put in the truck and carried it up to the room he had been in the night before. After a few trips, they had piled all the boxes and containers near the wall. Beth then grabbed some trash bags from the kitchen and emptied out the last few things Shawn had left in the drawers and closet.
"You are more than welcome to put everything away where you would like. There are plenty hangers in the closet and there should be ample room for stuff also in the dresser. There is a cable to connect your TV to on top of the dresser across from the bed, so you can plug it in if you want. Anything you need, just let me know. What's mine is now yours so don't be afraid to ask or to use anything." Beth said to Daryl while gesturing around the room. Daryl nodded in response and started to pull clothing out of the boxes. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No, I should be fine. It may take me a bit, but I'll have it all put away soon." Daryl shook his head as he started pulling hangers out to place the clothes on. Beth stepped out of the room to give him some privacy.
Beth decided to jump into the shower while he was busy. As she was washing up, she realized she had forgotten to grab clean clothes to put on after her shower. She cursed as she had to decide between putting her dirty clothes back on or running to her room in her towel. She didn't want to put her dirty clothes on after she was clean so she decided to dash towards her room quickly. Daryl said that it would take him awhile so he should still be putting his stuff away.
Beth jumped out of the shower and covered herself in the biggest towel she could find. She peeked her head out of the bathroom to look and see if the coast was clear. The door to Daryl ' s room was closed so she quickly ran out of the bathroom while keeping an eye on his door. Since she wasn't watching in front of her she didn't notice that Daryl was walking towards her. As she slammed into solid muscle, she felt her feet start to go out from under her. As she cried out, she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her back up and towards his chest. Beth placed her hand on his chest to steady herself and took a deep breath, scared to meet his eye. When she finally mustered the courage to look into his eyes she found that his dark blue eyes were staring right back at her.