We have a freak stomach virus making its gross rounds here at my house. So far I haven't really been hit so please keep your fingers crossed that it skips me! Hope you enjoy this chapter and as always, thanks for reading!
Chapter Fourteen
She had no idea what time it was when she woke up but it wasn't daylight yet. The fire was still burning but it was just low embers with a few hungry flames lapping at the coals. She was about to get up to throw a log on the fire, even though she felt extremely warm. She was about to move when she noticed that she wasn't alone on the couch.
She glanced down and realized why she was so warm. Her legs were draped over Daryl's lap and he must have fallen asleep and moved around to find a more comfortable spot. It was strange, him being so close and her being perfectly okay with it. He was wedged between her and the back of the couch with his head resting on her stomach and his arm draped lazily over her hips. She didn't know why she had the urge to do it but she suddenly ran her fingers through his hair. It was soft under her touch. She suddenly remembered everything he had said to her earlier and she felt a lump form in her throat. She didn't know what to do with his assessment of her because it simply didn't make any sense to her. If she was everything that he said she was then why hadn't she been able to make her marriage work? But she already knew the answer to that. It was because she hadn't married a man at all. She had married a self loathing monster that took his frustrations out on her. Ed was no kind of man.
He stirred, shifting in his sleep. She pulled her hand back quickly. He pulled his legs up onto the couch and moved up, muttering something that she didn't catch. She was forced to roll over onto her side to accommodate him. She didn't mind though. His arm came around her, pulling her closer until her back was pressed firmly against his chest. She waited to feel the paralyzing fear that usually filled her when she would feel Ed's arm go around her like this. But it never came.
Instead she felt something that she hadn't felt in so long that at first she wasn't sure what it was. It took her a few seconds to realize that what she was feeling was... safe. She felt like nothing could hurt her. He wouldn't let anything hurt her. She shouldn't feel that way. She shouldn't trust him, not like this, and she knew it. And even if she did trust him, even if she did feel safe with him, it wasn't smart to let herself start feeling anything for him.
"Daryl?" She whispered.
He huffed, his breath blowing against her neck. She closed her eyes.
"Daryl," she said a little louder.
He stirred and she could tell when he finally came fully awake because he tensed behind her. He moved his arm and sat up, almost knocking her off the couch. He caught her before she could fall and then he quickly crawled over her so he could stand up, careful not to let any part of him touch her. It all happened so fast that all she could do was sit up quickly. He looked down at her, his eyes wide. "Sorry about that. I must have moved around in my sleep."
She offered him a weak smile. "It's okay."
He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the clock that hung on the wall next to the dining room. "Shit. It's only two. I'm gonna go ahead and go on up to bed. A few more logs on that fire and it should hold till mornin'."
"I think I will too," she said, standing up and watching as he threw two logs on the fire. She turned before he could, not knowing what she would end up blurting out if she had to look at him. She heard him on the stairs behind her. "I'll see you in the morning," she said before she slipped into her room.
"Night," was his muttered response as he disappeared through his own doorway.
They had to leave both of their doors open so the heat could get to them and it took her a long time to get to sleep after that. In the silence of the house she could hear him tossing and turning. What was keeping him awake? He seemed a lot more upset than he should have been when he had realized that he had fallen asleep on the couch with her. And he had acted... strange when she had come back downstairs after what had happened in her room.
She was so afraid of messing up that she wasn't sure if anything she was doing was right. It wasn't like with Ed, where she had to live on egg shells for fear of him hurting her. But she was always worried that Daryl would decide that it was too much and tell her that she should find her own place like they had planned on her doing in the first place. She didn't want her own place. She wanted this place. She wanted to be around him because he made her feel like a different person. He made her feel like a better person. A worthy person. She fell asleep with these worries running through her mind but when she dreamed it wasn't of Daryl but Ed.
She woke up to the sound of the shower running and knew that Daryl was getting ready for work. She had meant to get up before him so she could get him fed and caffeinated before he left for the day. She had a lot to do around the house anyway.
Running her fingers through her hair as she hurried down the stairs she nearly tripped over her own feet before she could sweep it back in a ponytail. She already had the coffee pot ready so all she had to do was push the button and get breakfast started. She wasn't sure what time he had to leave this morning so she didn't really know what to make him but that was okay. She would make due.
She jumped when she heard him chuckle behind her. She hadn't even heard him enter the room.
"You coulda stayed in bed, Carol. You ain't gotta do this every mornin'," he said as sat down in the chair, his work boots in hand.
"I have a lot to do today anyway so I may as well get started early. The whole house needs dusted and the bedding needs washed and the floors need scrubbed and-"
"Okay, I get it," he said as he tied his boots. "But just so you know, you don't have to feel like you gotta do it all, alright."
She glanced over her shoulder, a ready smile on her lips. "I know."
He nodded and accepted the cup she offered.
"What time will you be home?" She asked, only hesitating for a moment. She never asked Ed things like this because it was a sure fire way of starting a fight. It wasn't any of her business when he came home.
But Daryl just sighed. "I'm scheduled for doubles for the rest of the week. Should be home around one."
"In the morning?" She asked, not even trying to hide the disappointment she felt.
"Yeah. The schedule was already made before... all this happened. If I back out on the other shifts it'll leave them short handed. I already did that yesterday. I can't do it to them again."
"It was a good day though," she smiled, glancing at him. She sat a plate of pancakes in front of him.
He looked up from under a fringe of hair. "Yeah, it was."
Before he left he reminded her that the phone and gas would be transferred today. He also told her that she wasn't stuck in the house just because she didn't have a car yet. There was a path that led right to the back of the Greene's property and if she got bored she could always go pay Annette a visit. She didn't think she'd have time with everything that needed done around the house but it felt good to know that if she wanted, she could always go over for coffee or lunch.
He ate in silence after that while she threw together some sandwiches and snack foods to toss in a bag for his lunch. When he was done he stood in front of the sink for a few minutes, his eyes far away as he picked at a hang nail on his thumb. His silence was making her nervous but she didn't say anything. Finally he glanced at the clock on the stove and huffed. "Guess it's that time," he said, not sounding like he wanted to go at all. He took the bag she held out for him with a small smile on his face.
She followed him to the living room. He was about to head towards the door but she reached out suddenly, stopping him with a hand on his arm. He turned and looked at her curiously. She chewed her lip for a second, not sure how to word her question but she had to ask it. "We're okay, right? I mean, you aren't thinking that maybe this whole thing is too crazy to work? I mean the whole thing is so-" Her words died in her throat when she felt his hand on the side of her face. She had to will herself not to lean into it. His thumb brushed across the bruise left there on the morning she had left everything she knew.
"No," he said firmly. "It's probably the first damn thing I've done right my whole life. Quit stressin'."
She swallowed hard and nodded. He hesitated a moment and then dropped his hand. "I'll fix you a plate and put it in the fridge so you can heat it up when you get home," she said before he pulled the door open.
He turned, giving her a look. "Or you can let me fend for myself like the grown man I am."
She shoved him gently out the door. "Like I said. Dinner will be in the fridge."
He smiled, took a few steps backwards and then turned and headed for the truck. She leaned into the doorway like a love sick idiot and watched him go.
~H~
Today wasn't going to be one of those days that he had the luxury of sitting around waiting on a phone call from some stranded motorist. The night shift guy, who was less than pleased that he'd had to come in on his day off, handed him the paper as soon as he clocked in.
He glanced at the sheet of paper and then folded it, shoving it into his back pocket. He was thinking about Carol as he pulled out of the lot, unable to help himself. He'd freaked out when he had realized they had fallen asleep on the couch. It freaked him out because it had felt like the most natural thing in the world. He had allowed himself about thirty seconds to just lay there, his arm around her and her body warm against his own. Even her smell was a comfort. In those few seconds his mind had decided if he never touched another woman for the rest of his life, he wouldn't care, as long as he had her there. And that had freaked him the fuck out to the point of panic. Panic because those thoughts were a lot worse than the ones he had had before. Lusting after her was one thing. He was a man and she was a woman and that was a natural reaction. A physical longing to take her was one thing. An emotional attachment to that extreme was goddamn terrifying. And she made it hard. Goddamn hard just by being who she was.
When he pulled up behind the car he was suppose to pull out of the ditch his hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't going to be able to do this.
Ed Peletier looked up as he turned the truck around and parked it at an angle so he could get it hooked up. His friend was with him so he assumed that the two of them were just now making their way back from the city. So he hadn't been home yet. So far all he knew was that Carol hadn't answered the phone. He wasn't one hundred percent positive that she had moved out on him. God what Daryl would do to be a fly on the wall of that house when he came in and realized that his meek little wife had flown the coop.
He expected a confrontation as soon as he hopped down from the tow truck and made his way towards the men. He was more than surprised when neither seemed to recognize him from the mishap at the gas station. They both looked like they had been ridden hard and put up wet and he realized with a grimace that that was likely what had happened to them. So not only was Ed a piece of shit woman beater but he was also someone that would cheat on the wife he beat. Somehow that made him even worse in Daryl's eyes. If Carol was his he'd never even think about looking at another woman like that. Hell, she wasn't his and he still wasn't looking at other women like that.
"Damn it!" Ed cursed as he glared at the cell phone he had just pulled away from his ear. "Battery's dead. What about yours?"
Philip shook his head. "Mine too. I had my hands too full this weekend to worry about charging my phone." He smiled and Daryl wanted to knock his teeth out. This cock sucker knew all about what went on in that house. He could have tried to stop it but he never had. Instead he had been laughing about it in that gas station. Finding a maniacal humor in Carol's humiliation and pain.
Daryl listened closely to the conversation as he readied the car.
"She thinks last time was bad," Ed growled. "That was nothing compared to what's coming to her. She knows to answer my goddamn calls." Philip chuckled as Ed muttered something else that had Daryl's blood freezing. "She's lucky I've had my fill this weekend. I swear to God this time I'd tie her ass to that bed and make it last all day."
Daryl swallowed down the bile that rose to the back of his throat. He willed his heart to calm down and his fists to unclench. He had to have this job. He couldn't go around beating customers in the head with a crowbar, even though that was exactly what he wanted to do. Was that another thing she'd had to endure? He didn't want to think about that. Ever.
"Y'all got a ride comin'?" He asked, his voice shaking with rage that the two men didn't seem to even catch.
Ed shook his head. "Neither one of us have a phone that works right now. You think you can let me borrow yours?"
Daryl shook his head. "Don't have one." An idea occurred to him then. He knew he shouldn't do it but he couldn't resist. "Look, I can just give you a lift to your place. Sounds to me like you got some unfinished business you need to get back to."
"Hey, do I know you?" Philip asked suddenly.
Daryl's eyes cut to him sharply. "Sorry fella. I've heard that pick up line before. My boat don't float that way."
Ed chuckled but Philip looked offended. "Alright then. Appreciate it," Ed said, elbowing Philip on his way past.
Philip didn't look too happy but he seemed like he wasn't willing to stand out in the cold waiting on someone else to happen by. There was plenty of room in the cab of the truck to accommodate the three of them but Daryl felt tainted just from breathing the same air as the two of them. But it would be worth it. He would think of an excuse to get into that house so he could see the look on Ed's face when he realized Carol was gone. He would stomach the drive for that.