The walk of shame had never felt so good. Lizzie smiled to herself as she made her way back to the farm; feeling more relaxed than she had done since she'd arrived there… Even though her place on the farm was in jeopardy, she had finally laid the ghosts of her family to rest- although she expected it would still take time for her to completely come to terms with it –and she had spent the night with Daryl.
Normally that sort of thing wouldn't have added to her good mood too much- she wouldn't say that she slept around in the past but she'd had her fun, no strings attached- but there was something different about Daryl.
She thought it might have something to do with his proper redneck, no-nonsense attitude- he was a real man who didn't go for all that lovey-dovey bullshit… But she seemed to have done something to him, melted away that hard exterior somehow and begun to chip into him, getting closer to bringing him out of his shell.
She wasn't sure why she felt so drawn to him, maybe it was because every girl loves a badass, regardless of whether they're good for them or not. Hell, she wasn't sure why he seemed to be just as drawn to her, she wouldn't have pegged him as someone who kept an eye out for a…
For a what? She thought to herself, girlfriend? Let's not get ahead of ourselves girl, take it nice an' easy an' as it comes, no need to put a label on things now, right?
She pulled a face as she neared the farm, knowing that she was heading back to reality. She would be expected to explain herself for her sudden disappearance and share where she had gone and what she had done. Then there was Hershel's disappearance and Beth's collapse that she needed to enquire about.
Never mind sortin' through all this shit in your bag, she thought, rolling her eyes, gotta make sure none of its gone, you bought it for a reason remember?
She made a mental note to herself that, if it all got a bit heavy, she was going to go straight back to Daryl's tent and spend the afternoon getting hot and horny with him.
As she neared the farm, she saw Lori standing on the porch, gazing towards the driveway anxiously. Lizzie frowned to herself, sighing deeply because she knew she was about to throw herself headlong into whatever drama she'd left behind the day before.
"Hey," she called, waving as she approached, "you don't look so good!"
"Lizzie?" Lori seemed confused by her sudden appearance, "Thank God you're okay, no one knew where you'd gone!"
"I hadda few things to clear up," she shrugged, quickly changing the subject, "what're you doin' out here?"
"Hershel disappeared yesterday and Rick took off with Glenn to find him," she looked towards the road again, "they've been gone all night, I tried to find them but I had an accident and…"
"Jesus Lori," Lizzie breathed, frowning at the woman, "are you okay? Is the baby okay?"
"How do you know about the baby?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I overheard Rick telling Hershel," she shrugged, "I haven't said anything to anyone else if that's what you're worried about."
"Don't worry about that," she sighed, "Shane already gave it away."
"What an ass," Lizzie snorted, "what fuckin' business is it of his? It's not like he's the fuckin' dad or anythin', right?"
When an uneasy silence followed her comment and Lori looked away guiltily, not being able to meet Lizzie's eyes, she realized she'd put her foot in it. Her mouth dropped as her eyes widened and she struggled to get her features under control before Lori saw the look of absolute shock on her face.
"Fuck," she muttered, shaking her head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anythin' by that an' I certainly didn't expect that…"
"It was a long time ago," Lori said quietly, still not looking at her, "and it's over now, he has no reason to be so concerned."
"Does Rick know?" She asked, feeling some sort of loyalty towards the man who'd promised he'd got her back and been nothing short of a friend to her since he arrived.
"That's not really your business," Lori snapped suddenly, turning and glaring at Lizzie. When Lizzie looked away sheepishly, Lori sighed, "look, I'm sorry, it's been a hard night and…"
"It's okay," she shrugged, "I get it," she smiled, "I gotta few things to sort out but let me know if they come back."
Lori nodded and watched as Lizzie walked into the house.
"Lizzie!" Maggie shouted as she saw her friend walk through the door. She moved towards her and pulled her into a tight embrace, "I thought you'd really left, I'm so glad you decided to come back!"
"Yeah, well," she shrugged, squeezing her friend back, "couldn't leave you on your own now, could I?"
As Maggie released her, she studied her for a second, frowning before a look of surprise broke out on her face.
"You've had sex," she said suddenly, a grin beginning to form on her mouth, "it's written all over your face!"
Lizzie frowned, opening her mouth to rubbish Maggie's claims but when her mind flashed back to the previous night and she remembered the feel of Daryl inside her as she'd ridden him her face crimsoned. Thinking about how he'd took her on all fours not even an hour before closed her mouth and she could only stand there and hope she didn't look too sheepish.
"Oh my God, you dirty whore, you have!" Maggie laughed, her mouth dropped open again, "It was Daryl, wasn't it? You an' Daryl!"
"There ain't a right answer to this, huh?" Lizzie asked with a little sigh, she grinned as Maggie continued to laugh, "anyways, I heard about Beth an'…"
"Oh Lord," Maggie breathed, suddenly calming down after her shock, "I dunno what's wrong with her, she just fell and she won't wake up," she frowned deeply, "it's almost like a coma or somethin', I dunno what to do."
"No sign of your dad yet?" She asked, following Maggie to Beth's room.
"I found an empty bottle on his bed, he's taken to drinkin' again," she clearly seemed upset, "Rick an' Glenn went into town to find him, he'll have gone back to his favorite drinkin' house," she stopped in the doorway and motioned Lizzie through first, "I jus' hope they bring him back in time."
Lizzie walked in and frowned as she saw Beth lying there in the bed. She looked like a little china doll, just lying there, staring straight up at the ceiling, pretty as a picture.
"She's been like this all night?" She asked, crouching down next to the bed and taking Beth's hand.
"She hasn't moved," Maggie sighed, "or drank anything or eaten anything since…"
"Since the barn, right?" She asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Yeah," she replied, "since the barn."
"It's too much for her," Lizzie said quietly as she diverted her attention back to the young girl, "she can't take in all that death, she just needs a timeout an' she'll be right back with us."
"I hope you're right," Maggie whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without her…"
"Don't even think about it," she said as she stood again, turning to face Maggie, "tempts fate, y'know?"
"I guess so," she shrugged, pointing to Lizzie's shoulder, "got your things back?"
"Yeah, a few," she shrugged, patting the bag, "gonna be funny to see what I decided to pack in my panic back in Florida," she grinned, "think I went from sentimental to all out mental."
"If it makes you feel better…" She began but Lizzie cut her off.
"It did, at the time anyways," she sighed deeply, "gonna go have a quick root through for anything useful."
With that, she took her leave, leaving the two sisters alone together again. She didn't like the fact that she'd been away when this had happened, she felt like she should have been there for her friend but she couldn't change it now, all she could do was try to make up for her absence.
As she entered her little room, throwing her bag onto the bed, she'd already decided that, after checking the contents quickly, she would go out and help find the missing men.
She tipped her backpack upside down, watching as a stream of clothing fell out, and she began to rummage through to see what she could find.
She'd packed her Converse even though they were coming towards the end of their lives, she'd loved these trainers and almost worn them out completely but she'd vowed that as long as they had a sole and laces, she'd tie them to her feet until there was nothing left of them.
The clothes were mostly an assortment of whatever she'd got her hands on when she ripped the drawers open in her apartment- an extra pair of jeans, half a dozen shirts including a couple of her favorites and, surprisingly, a scrunched up summer dress.
"What the fuck was I thinkin'?" She muttered to herself as she held it up, frowning at her bizarre choice, "Packed a fuckin' dress an' still forgot my underwear."
She dropped the dress onto the bed and sorted through the other items she'd collected- her bunch of keys that would have given her access to everything she owned, the photograph she'd taken from her parents house along with another photograph of her and Brad, her long time friend and business partner.
She laughed to herself as she held up a bottle of Jaegermeister, not remembering throwing that amongst her belongings but the laugh quickly caught in her throat as she looked down at the final item on the bed.
She extended her fingers, running them across the deep purple velvet of the small box that sat there. As she looked at it, she remembered the moment that she had run into the office at the bar, frantically digging through the desk drawers to find it before she followed her colleagues, her staff, down to the basement door to get out unnoticed.
She dropped the bottle of Jaeger onto the bed, surprised to feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she reached for the box. She held it in front of her for a few moments, trying to get her breathing in check, before she carefully lifted the lid.
She remembered the first time she'd seen the ring and how she'd gone absolutely spare.
"The fuck are you doin' spendin' our good, hard earned money on shit like this for?" She'd shouted, not knowing what had possessed him to buy her an engagement ring.
As her eyes travelled over it again now, she felt her lip beginning to wobble. It was beautiful- a simple white-gold band that held a precisely cut diamond (she'd never asked how much it was worth, she hadn't wanted to know) and an engraving inside the band.
"Brad," she whispered to herself as she closed the box, shutting her eyes and shaking her head, "you were such a fuckin' idiot."
She sniffed, grateful that no tears had escaped her eyes and reached for the bag, burying the velvety box as far down as she could and stuffing an assortment of clothes on top of it, hiding it from view.
She stood there for a few seconds, staring at the bag, not sure why she'd kept the ring- she could just throw it out, get rid of it and all the memories it held for her… But she didn't want to, she wasn't ready to.
"For fucks sake." She muttered, rubbing her face with her hands and letting out a loud sigh.
The sound of an approaching engine pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up. When she heard Maggie calling her name from downstairs, she ran out the door, heading straight for the stairs.
As soon as she ran outside, she saw a vehicle approaching. When it stopped, Glenn and Rick got out, followed by Hershel. They all looked tired but they were all in one piece.
When they moved to the back of the truck and began to pull something out, Lizzie frowned. She realized there was another person with them. Glenn and Rick lifted him, trying to carry him towards the house and she saw the blood caking his leg.
"What the hell happened?" She asked as they neared.
"He fell off a roof and impaled his leg," Rick answered quickly, stepping past her, "there were walkers everywhere, I couldn't just leave him."
They disappeared inside and Hershel followed them quickly, taking a moment to stop and look at Lizzie as he passed her.
"Welcome home." She muttered, nodding politely, not sure how he was going to react to her being here.
Luckily, he didn't say anything, merely looking at her and nodding at her welcome. She stood there on the porch, once again feeling like a gooseberry.
"I need to tell him about Beth." Maggie said from besides her, watching as her father disappeared into the house.
"I think he's got other things on his mind right now," Lizzie shrugged, "maybe wait 'til he's… Done whatever it is he's gonna do with that guy?"
"One minute he's creating about too many people being on the farm, then he's bringing more people on himself," she sighed, moving towards the door, "think it's a midlife crisis?"
"I think it's the end of the world." Lizzie grinned, stepping down from the porch.
"Where're you off to?" Maggie asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Shit's getting' a bit heavy round here, figured I'd go an' let Daryl know an'…" She shrugged, trying to play it cool.
"Slut," Maggie grinned, shaking her head, "don't forget to use protection."
"Fuck off," she grinned back, waving, "seeya later."
When she reached Daryl's camp again she saw him sitting there, sharpening arrows for his bow. He looked up and frowned when he saw her.
"Fuck are you doin' back here so quick?" He asked, going back to his work.
"I was gonna go out an' find the boys but they came back," she shrugged, taking a seat on the ground opposite him; "they bought someone else in too."
"What?" He asked, dropping the arrow he was working on into his lap.
"They pulled some guy outta the back of their truck, Rick said somethin' about him gettin' his leg fucked up so they bought him back here." She explained, aware that she didn't really have too much information for him.
"So what're you doin' back here?" He asked, "Don'tcha have somethin' to do up there?"
"I guess I jus' can't be fucked to deal with it at the moment," she sighed, looking up at him, "let 'em have their own fuckin' problems, I sure don't want 'em too."
"You're startin' to sound like me," he muttered as he went back to his arrows, "I don't want you to start pushin' yourself out coz…"
"I ain't pushin' myself out, I'm jus' takin' a break," she said, cutting him off, "everyone seems pretty busy, I don't really have anythin' better to do so…"
"So you came to bother me coz you don't have anythin' better to do?" He asked, the offence clear in his voice.
"That came out worse than I meant it," she said quickly, trying to back track, "I either sit up there alone, bein' useless, or I sit down here with you… Still bein' useless but not so alone."
"You can sharpen up some arrows for me," he shrugged, "if you do enough I'll show you how to use my bow."
"I'll help," she said quickly, reaching her hands out for some wood, "not too sure about the whole learnin' to shoot thing though."
"You don't know how to use a gun," he said as he handed her some wood and a spare knife from his pack, "you gotta learn somethin' ranged, you can't rely on your axe."
"Why not? Served me fine so far." She asked with a frown, not liking his implications.
"What if I'm not around to cover you? You jus' gonna run right out into the middle of a herd an' cut 'em down?" He asked, stopping to look at her. She rolled her eyes at him and looked away, staring to whittle the wood into a point. He sighed, "I'm jus' tryin' to…"
"I know," she said quietly, looking up at him, "you don't hafta say it, I know."
"Thank fuck for that," he sighed, sitting back again, "don't want you thinkin' I'm a complete fuckin' pussy."
"Not a chance," she replied, "I already know you are," he glared at her, "your secret's safe with me."
"Shut the fuck up an' get on with it," he mumbled, shaking his head, "before I decide to use you for target practice."
She laughed and went back to whittling. He looked up at her and watched as she continued to sharpen the flat tips into points. He wondered if she realized how intimate this was for him- letting someone else, especially a damn girl, help him add to his inventory.
When she looked up at him, her big green eyes catching the light, and gave him a small knowing smile, he knew that he didn't need to tell her what this meant, she already knew.