Things are finally going to start getting exciting! I would have posted this much earlier but I fell asleep, like a pansy, and just woke up in time to go over this once and then post it. If you see a butt ton of mess ups then forgive me! I went over it bleary eyed and un-caffeinated! Thank you for taking time out of your extended weekend to read! I hope this chapter makes it worth it =) Enjoy the rest of your weekend and please be safe!
Chapter 12
Carol didn't think she had ever been so bored. Shane was a really nice guy but all he wanted to talk about was himself. She was losing interest in this 'non' date really quick. They were at the only Italian restaurant in town, and it was only called 'Italian' because they had spaghetti on the menu, which they both ordered.
"So, you grew up in Savannah?" He asked.
"Atlanta, actually." She said, smiling politely.
He nodded. "Me and a buddy of mine used to go down there a lot..."
She tuned him out. Whenever she had meals with Daryl and Merle she had to listen to Merle talk about himself but Merle was pretty hilarious. And it helped to have Daryl there, even though the weekend had been spent giving him the cold shoulder, it was still nice to have someone there to roll her eyes with when Merle got a little too animated... or graphic, with one of his stories. Shane wasn't very interesting. Not as interesting as the men she had at home anyway.
She took a sip of her coke and then excused herself. She thought maybe she had just cut him off mid sentence but she didn't really care. He just smiled so she hurried off towards the bathroom, digging her phone out of her bag on the way there.
Merle answered on the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Merle? Where's your brother?" She asked as she went into the empty bathroom.
"Carol? Oh, hey. He just took a couple ladies up to his room. Want me to have him call ya when they're finished with him?"
Her heart sank. He had women over? Now?
"Goddamn it Merle," She heard Daryl's annoyed voice and then she heard a slight scuffle as they must have been fighting for the phone and then she finally heard Daryl's very winded voice..
"Carol?"
"Daryl, who do you have in your room?" She asked, sounding almost angry.
"What? Nobody. Merle's just bein'... Merle."
"Oh." She muttered, feeling pretty stupid for believing Merle to begin with.
"Is everything all right? Why ya callin' home if you're suppose to be on a date?" He asked.
She sighed. "He's boring me to death. What are you two doing?" She leaned against the sink and smiled.
"Merle tried to cook. Fucker nearly burned the kitchen down." He laughed and then grunted. Merle must not have liked that.
"Carol?" She heard Merle ask into the phone.
"Merle, what did you do to your brother?" She asked as she tried to hide her own laughter.
"He'll be alright. Hey, can you bring home some beer?"
"Sure, Merle. Put your brother back on the phone."
"Yeah, just a second." He was the one that grunted this time. "Hey, you wont believe some of the shit I taught Daryl today. You're gonna be climbin' the walls." he laughed and then she heard a banging sound.
"Hello?" She asked, almost worried. She hoped they weren't tearing the house apart.
"Alright, I'm back." Daryl huffed.
"Are you two fighting?" She asked.
"Nope. Not at all. Do you want me to come get ya or somethin'? Is he really that bad?" She thought she could hear a little smugness in his tone.
"No, but I'm going to try to cut this short. I wanna come home."
"Alright."
She ended the call and couldn't help but smile at the thought of Merle trying to cook something. He had lived without her for thirty two years but she wasn't really sure how. Neither of them seemed to know their way around a kitchen.
Shane was talking up a waitress when she returned to their table. The girl looked a lot more interested in him than she was, that was for sure. When he spotted her coming towards the table he went ahead and stood up. "I thought we could go ahead and go. I only have about another two hours before I gotta be at the station."
She nodded.
"What?" He asked.
She frowned in confusion. "I didn't say anything." She said as they made their way out to the sidewalk.
"You were smilin'. It's the first real one I seen on your face all night." he grinned and then opened up the car door for her.
"Oh. I didn't realize I was smiling at all." She said as she plastered on a fake one just to be polite. Had she really been smiling? It didn't surprise her any. That short phone conversation was the best thing about the entire night so far. She suddenly couldn't wait to get home and see Daryl. And Merle. She added mentally. Merle was really growing on her. He was such a riot most of the time. He was always making her laugh, especially after Daryl would get a call from Amy and she would start feeling really down.
God she was really glad that her and Daryl had worked all of that out. She had missed him like crazy. Merle was funny and he made her feel better when she was upset but he wasn't his brother. It was so strange that she could feel so much for two people that she had only known for a few days. But she did. She could not deny the fact that she was completely head over heels for the Dixon's. Particularly the youngest.
"You want to stop anywhere on the way?" Shane asked without looking over at her.
"I told Merle I would pick him up some beer on the way home." She sighed. She wouldn't mind a beer herself at the moment.
"So those rumors are true? You moved the Dixon's in?" He asked, a note of disbelief in his voice.
"Yes. I did." She said, knowing her tone had dropped a few degrees but not really caring.
"And that's working out okay for you?" He asked.
"Yes."
He didn't say anything else until they pulled into the parking lot to the liquor store closest to her neighborhood. Which still wasn't all that close. She gave him a tight smile as she got out of the car and headed for the door. Right before she opened it, though, she thought she heard something from around the side of the building. She frowned. It had almost sounded like an injured animal.
She thought of her dog and then blocked the image from her thoughts. She didn't want to think about that. But if there was some other animal in pain, she couldn't simply walk away and leave it to suffer. Even if it was probably wild. They got a lot of racoons and opossums at her house so that was most likely what it was.
She walked past the doors and around the corner. This side of the building was pretty dark so she let her eyes adjust and then walked a little further. She heard a strange gurgling sound that had her pausing and tilting her head to figure out where it was coming from. She took a few more steps, letting her eyes adjust.
Just then someone pulled into the parking lot behind her, the cars headlights illuminating the side of the building. She instantly let out a terrified scream before her brain fully processed what it was she was looking at. A woman lying on her side. Dark hair. Dark eyes staring wide. It looked as though she had been sliced from her neck all the way down to her midsection. Three long gashes so deep that her entrails were lying next to her body. A shining mess against the blacktop.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and she spun around, ready to bolt. Shane was standing there his face full of concern.
"Carol, what the hell..." His voice died when he looked past her at the body on the ground. She wouldn't look at it again. She couldn't look at it again. Had she really just seen what she thought she had seen? There was no way. None!
She felt Shane's arms go around her waist and she let him hurry her away. She was distantly aware of him making calls as he paced back and forth in front of her as she leaned against the hood of his car. After a while there was a flurry of activity around her but she was having trouble registering anything that was happening. Flashing lights and a lot of men were meandering around. Several, including Rick Grimes, tried to get her to tell them what she had seen. She wasn't even sure what she had said to them.
She felt very cold and very alone. She wanted to go home. She wanted Daryl.
Suddenly there was a cell phone shoved into her face. She looked up and saw that it was Shane standing there, still looking at her with eyes full of concern. "Here, Carol." He said gently.
She took the phone and put it to her ear. "H-hello?" She muttered, her voice trembled dangerously.
"Carol. What the fuck's goin' on? You alright?" Daryl asked, his voice bordering on panic.
"Daryl?" She croaked. As soon as she heard his voice she started shaking all over. She happened to glance up just as some of the men were pushing a gurney towards an ambulance and the memory of that poor woman's dead eyes staring at her came rushing back. "I need you. I need you to come get me." She nearly sobbed as she turned away. She could feel Shane's hand on her back.
"Where are you?" He growled into the phone, "Give the phone back to Shane."
She did as he said. Shane listened for a few seconds, assured Daryl that she really was fine, said the name of the liquor store and then he ended the call.
There were so many people walking around everywhere that she was afraid to move. She just wanted to go home. She didn't want to get in anybodies way but she didn't want to stay here anymore. She felt like she had been standing there for hours, freezing.
"Fuck you and your stupid hat, asshole! It was another cop that called and told me to come here!"
Daryl.
Her head shot up at the sound of his enraged voice.
"Shit." Shane muttered. "Stay right here, okay? I'll bring him around. You can't leave yet though, alright." He said quickly and then he jogged past one of the ambulances that was parked next to the car she was now leaning against.
She stayed very still, her arms wrapped around herself and waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to get to her. When she finally saw him she felt her eyes finally well up with tears. She was still shaking and she thought maybe she was still too shocked to fully understand what was going on around her but it felt like as long as he was there then maybe she would be okay.
He looked nervous as he followed Shane to the car. He was chewing his nail like he always did when he was uncomfortable. When Shane pointed towards her he looked over and she could see him blow out a heavy breath. He stopped listening to Shane and walked towards her, stopping a few feet away, unsure what he was suppose to do.
"You alright?" He asked, his voice almost too quiet to hear.
She nodded and then basically threw herself at him. He grunted when she crashed into him but his arms instantly wrapped around her and then she was sobbing into his chest as his arms tightened.
"What the fuck happened?" He muttered into her ear.
She just shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it and she didn't want to think about it. She just wanted to go home. He held her there for a long time, until she was finally able to speak at all. "Where's Merle?" She hiccuped.
He snorted. "Tryin' to figure out the code I had to put on the T.V."
This was normal. Normal was good. She could have a conversation like this. "What?" She lifted her head and looked at him questioningly. "We have parental controls on the T.V.?"
He nodded, running his thumbs across her cheekbones to wipe away tears. "If not then he'd keep it on skin flicks. I had no choice."
"My God, Daryl. He really is like a child." She shook her head and then let it drop back to his chest.
"Yep."
He didn't ask her about what had happened again. He knew she didn't want to talk about it. She knew that someone else was coming towards them by the way his body tensed around her.
"Carol, they're gonna need a statement from you." Shane said softly.
She knew she needed to give them what they needed so she could go but she didn't want to. She felt herself start to shake again as she remembered the dead girls eyes.
"Why don't you leave her the fuck alone, Shane. She look like she wants to fuckin' talk about it?"
Uh oh. If he thought for a minute that Shane was making her uncomfortable she was sure there would be a fight and she couldn't have him going to jail for assaulting a police officer, even an off duty one. She'd never be able to get him out. And then she would be stuck raising Merle all on her own. This thought caused laughter to bubble up from her throat. It sounded a bit hysterical. Good God, they were going to think she'd lost her mind.
She lifted her head and wiped her eyes. When she looked at his face he was glaring at Shane but when he looked down at her the look softened. "You ain't gotta do shit." He said quietly.
"Look, I saw pretty much the same thing you did. I just need you to answer a few question's for Rick, okay? Then I can write the statement and you sign it." Shane muttered. "Then he can take you home."
She nodded and then turned so her back was pressed against Daryl's chest. Him being there really did make her feel better. She was finally starting to feel warm again.
She related everything she had heard and seen to Rick and then waited for Shane to bring her the statement to sign. She barely glanced over it. Hell, for all she knew she was signing a confession. They were about to walk away when she stopped, grabbing Daryl's hand to halt him too.
"Rick." She called and he hurried over to her. She was speaking in a hushed tone before he could even ask her what she'd wanted. "The way that girl was... cut. It was almost just like my dog. Do you think...?"
"That's what we're going to try to figure out." He said. "You go on home. Keep your doors locked and your guard up, Carol. At least until we figure this out anyway." He gave Daryl a nod before he turned and hurried away.
He kept a firm grip on her hand as they made their way to the truck. She opted to not used the seat belt so she could slide across the seat and sit next to him.
"Y'all can't think that this is Ed. From what Shane told me there ain't no way. He ain't got it in him to do some shit like that. Maybe to a dog but not to a woman." Daryl said quietly.
She laid her head on his shoulder and then absently traced the line running down her stomach with her finger. She wasn't as sure as Daryl was. She had lived with Ed. She knew how cruel he was and she knew that he was a coward but he was also sadistic. She wouldn't put anything past him. Especially id there was alcohol involved.
"You sure your alright? You ain't gonna start freakin' out on me are ya?" He asked as he glanced at her.
She shook her head and then closed her eyes just to snap them right back open when she saw that woman in her minds eye. "I'll be fine."
They drove the rest of the way in silence and once they were inside she double checked the locks on the doors. Merle was where she expected him to be, sprawled out on the couch watching television. She was beyond ready to go to bed. She felt exhausted and she was planning on getting up with Daryl in the morning. If she didn't she knew he wouldn't eat anything and she wasn't about to send him off half starved. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was already after nine. She told them both goodnight then went up the stairs, feeling their eyes on her as she walked away.
She was more thankful than ever that they were here. She just hoped their presence was enough to keep any nightmares away. She changed into a plain white tank top and short cotton shorts that she only wore to bed. She fell asleep much faster than she thought she would. Too bad she wasn't going to be able to stay that way.
~H~
Daryl couldn't sleep. He knew that he needed too but there was no turning off his mind. When she had called tonight while she was out with that prick cop, to talk to him, he wasn't sure what to think. He was glad she had called. But it still just fucked with his head. He didn't think it was normal for a woman to be so damn hot and cold. He never knew what she wanted from him. And then when Shane called him, explaining what had happened and then told him that any time anyone tried to talk to her that she had just asked for him he'd been even more confused. Not that he realized that at the time. At the time he had damn near had a fucking heart attack. Shane hadn't been real clear on the details and he had hung up before Daryl could ask any questions. He'd only known that she had needed him.
And so now here he lay, staring up at the ceiling with his arms folded behind his head. He'd fallen asleep a few times but he'd wake right back up with another question running through his head. He had heard Merle going to his room a few hours ago. He was nearly out of drugs, Daryl could tell by the way he had started acting earlier. He was getting itchy. This was where things were going to get ugly. But Merle was more than willing to try Carol's idea of weening him off the stuff.
His head turned sharply when he heard a soft tap at his door. He knew it wasn't Merle. Merle never knocked on doors. A few seconds later he watched as Carol slipped in. He could see pretty good since he had been staring up at the ceiling for so long, his eyes were adjusted to the dark. She was wearing all white, just a shirt that was so thin he could almost see right through it. No bra. He swallowed hard and watched as she hesitated by the door. The shorts she was wearing were short enough that he knew that if she turned around he'd get a decent show of her ass.
Jesus, how the fuck could he be thinking about shit like that after what she'd been through tonight?
He heard her sigh and then turn to leave the room again.
"What's wrong?" He whispered and watched as she froze with her hand on the doorknob.
She turned around and tucked her hair behind her ears and then crossed her arms over her chest, probably realizing that she may as well have came into his room topless. "Did I wake you up?" She whispered.
He shook his head and kept his eyes on her. She seemed to still be hesitating but then finally came to a decision and she hurried over to the bed and slid in under the blanket before he could say anything.
Fuck.
He didn't sleep in anything but his boxers and if she came any closer she was probably going to discover exactly what kind of reaction he was having to her barely there night clothes. God, why'd this have to happen to him now?
She scooted closer and put her head on his shoulder. "I keep dreaming about that woman." She whispered. Her breath hit his neck, more blood rushed south.
Mother fucker!
He moved one arm out from under his head and wrapped it around her shoulders. Jesus, of she looked down she would be able to see it like a flashing neon sign. "I'm sorry." He croaked and then cleared his throat.
"Can I sleep with you? Or is that too weird?" She asked as she put her hand on his chest. His heart was hammering there and he knew that she would be able to feel it. He was okay with that as long as she didn't look down.
"Ain't no more weird than anything else we've done so far." He managed.
"I guess not." she mumbled as she flexed her fingers so her nails were raking slightly across his chest. He concentrated on keeping his breathing even. "I wanna forget about what I saw."
He nodded. "You will."
"I'm glad you're here." she whispered.
He nodded. "Me too." He whispered back. He wished she would stop moving her fingers like that. He drew his other arm from under his head and laced his fingers through hers to still them.
"I wanna forget now." She said after a while. She raised her head and looked him him with wide eyes, biting her lip. "I want you to help me forget."
He frowned. "Okay."
"You promise you wont freak out?" she raised up on her elbow so now he could see her more clearly. Her eyes were large and intense and was watching him intently.
He swallowed and nodded and then he felt his own eyes grow wide when she brought her face down and brushed her lips across his so lightly he barely felt it. But it was enough. When she moved her head back his hand was already in her hair, bring her face back to his making sure this time when their lips met he was ready.
He'd kissed girls before. It had been a while. Back when he was in school it was a way for girls to rebel. Make out with the forbidden Dixon boy. Hell, he hadn't cared. Sometimes he was even able to cop a feel. But he hadn't ever been kissed by a girl like this. Not so slow, like she was trying to prolong every second. He'd never kissed a girl that he couldn't go a few minutes throughout the whole day without thinking about. He felt her lips part under his own, the tip of her tongue gliding across his bottom lip. He figured then that it was a good time to finally do what he had been wanting to do ever since the first time he saw her do it, he caught her bottom lip between his teeth and bit down lightly.
The small sound she made had him reeling and he grasped her hip tightly, and then groaned when his hand slid down and made contact with the bare skin of her thigh. Her tongue fought his for dominance, neither one willing to relent to the other. She was moving closer now, her bare leg barely brushing his. Was this the real reason she had came to his room?
He nearly growled at her in frustration when she pulled her face away from him. Her breath was coming out in shallow gasps. "I'm sorry." She breathed.
He blew out a breath and then let his head fall back onto his pillow. "You should be." He said with mock outrage.
He saw her eyes grow even more wide. "I should?" She sounded winded. That was a good thing. Right? Fuck, he didn't know.
"Yeah, don't you know that the last thing a man wants is for a half naked woman to crawl in his bed and kiss him like that? The hells wrong with you, Carol?"
It took her a second but she finally smiled and then she dropped her head back to his shoulder. "Go to sleep Daryl."
"Go to hell Carol." He grumbled. Why the hell had she stopped? Maybe it was better that she had. Things were weird enough and they were about to get pretty bad now. He had to keep his focus on Merle, not on kissing her.
That was going to be hard though. Especially now that he knew what it was like to kiss her. Before, he'd catch himself thinking about what it would be like, now he had to look at her knowing how fucking good it was. And knowing that she'd probably only came to him because she was freaked out over what she had seen and her only options were him or Merle. He found himself chuckling at that. Merle. He couldn't see that at all.
"What are you laughing at?" She asked.
He shrugged. "I feel kind of bad for ya."
She lifted her head and looked down at him. "Why?"
He shook his head smiling. "That when ya find yourself in need of some company, your only options are Merle and me."
"You really think I'm just in here because I think it's better than my other option?" She asked, and she sounded genuinely curious. Like this surprised her or something.
"Why else would you be in here?" He asked bluntly.
He grunted when suddenly she was on top of him. She was fucking fast. And then her mouth was assaulting his relentlessly again. If she didn't know how much he was enjoying himself before, she definitely did now, since she was right on top of it.
He had always been proud of the fact that he was the type of man that was usually in control. He stepped up and fought against odds that would crush men twice his age. He was strong. And that was why he felt more than disoriented now. Now he felt completely crushed under the weight of the power this one small woman held over him. He carried the world on his shoulders. At least his small part of it. And sometimes he thought that maybe he really was unbreakable, since nothing had broken him yet. Not Buck, not Merle's addiction, not the hate he felt from the people around him. But right now he felt like glass. He felt like if she made one wrong move he would surely shatter and suddenly he was very afraid. If she dropped him it was over.
"Don't you ever think that you're just a convenience to me. There isn't anybody else I'd rather be here with right now." She said in his ear when she finally broke the kiss, and to him she sounded a little pissed.
He wished he knew what the fuck she meant by that. But he didn't know. He cupped her face in his hands and brought her mouth back down to his. Who would have thought that she would turn out to be so ballsy? And who would have thought that he would be so fucking eager? He felt like he was living in the Twilight Zone.
"Daryl." She whispered against his lips.
"Hmmm."
"I think we should stop."
"Mmm hmm." He couldn't really form a coherent thought anymore because she was starting to move her hips and once she started doing that he found his hands urging her to move faster.
"Maybe we shouldn't do it like this." She whispered again.
He rolled over, pressing her into the mattress. "Okay. We can do it like this." He whispered back.
She laughed against his mouth again. "I meant that maybe we shouldn't do it at all."
He lifted his head. "At all?" He croaked. Son of a bitch! She couldn't be serious. Hadn't she just said that there wasn't anybody else she'd rather be with? She was really trying to kill him.
"No! Just... not yet." she pulled his face down and kissed him again, running her hands down his back.
Okay. He could live with that. Maybe. He lifted himself up, bracing himself on his arms so he wouldn't be tempted to sink back into it. "Alright. But next time, make sure you think of this before you climb on top of me."
She laughed quietly. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize how eager you already were."
He growled and then rolled off of her and onto his back once more. "Go to sleep, Carol." There was no way he was going to sleep now. How the hell was he suppose to go to sleep with her right there?
"Are you mad?" She asked as she took her spot once more, laying her head on his shoulder.
"No." He shook his head but his voice was gruff.
"Do you need to... go take care of that?" She giggled.
He turned his head slowly, glaring at her in the dark. "Are you really gonna make fun of me now? You did this. You're an evil witch, you know that? I should kick your teasin' ass right outta my bed."
"You'd never do that to me." She whispered.
"No. I wouldn't." He huffed and then drew her closer.
"Cause you're too sweet." She laughed low in her throat.
"Cause I'm a goddamn pushover." he closed his eyes and started thinking of things that would maybe make his problem go away. After a while, when he knew she had fallen asleep, he grinned sleepily.
It seemed like things were going to get even more interesting around here. It was easy to be brave when you were shit faced or when the lights were out. She was going to be red faced and stuttering for the next couple of days. He hoped she didn't change her mind. He had a feeling that that would be a very hard thing to get over.
