Carol felt like she'd just been slapped. No, worse than slapped. This was nothing compared to being slapped, and lord knows she's familiar with the feeling. Daryl had hurt her in a way that no one had ever accomplished before, not even Ed. Ed had hurt her in almost every Carol could ever imagine, but this was a whole new level. She felt the tears stinging her eyes and the ache in her chest made it impossible to breath as she watched Daryl walk away from her. She instinctively crossed her arms, whether she was protecting herself, or keeping herself from falling into pieces before him, she didn't know. She only knew that she hurt.
Daryl stopped and said a few quick words to Rick before storming outside. Carol stood in the same spot, willing the tears to pour down her face as she slowly crumbled to the ground. She pulled her knees to her chest and focused on breathing. Rick came up the stairs and paused seeing her.
"Carol?" Rick's voice seemed distant, even as he stood only feet from her. She didn't look at him, she didn't really look at anything. Just stared straight ahead. Rick knelt in front of her, putting a hand on her arm. She tried to jerk away, but couldn't will her body to move. Why was she like this? Why did this hurt so bad? Rick's eyes grew concerned and he turned and hurried back down the stairs. She watched him go silently.
Carol softly touched the bracelet on her arm, running her fingers over the cool metal. She finally peeled her eyes from the stairs where Rick and Daryl disappeared, looking down at the bright blue gem. She felt a sob somewhere inside her and she fought to choke it back. She felt a rage inside of her suddenly. An anger towards Daryl that she hadn't really felt before. He'd always been her friend, and even before that he'd never done anything to make her this upset. He was someone she could look to, for everything. The person she trusted most to keep her safe and alive, but also not to hurt her, but he'd just hurt her, right? Not physically, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.
A frustrated sigh escaped her lips at the realization that she wasn't really mad at him, she was mad at herself. She let herself believe for a second that maybe her and Daryl were something other than friends, she felt so stupid. She'd forgive him though, she knew that to be true. He could hurt her a thousand times over, and she'd forgive him each time. Only because she knew that's how he was. Unlike Ed, Daryl didn't hurt her for his own personal gain or enjoyment. Nor did her even really want to hurt her to start with, things just happened. Carol knew eventually that Daryl would come to his senses and remember who she was. Of course he was regretting kissing her, why would he find any remote interest in her? She was just plain old Carol.
"Carol?" His voice had her eyes snap back to the stairs as he slowly ascended them. She couldn't find the words to scream at him, like her mind was telling her to. Yell at him, make him hurt the way you do, but she couldn't. Another part of her wanted to hug him, hold him. She needed to feel the comfort that only he could provide, even if he was the one who hurt her to start with.
Carol slowly rose to her feet. She couldn't help the anger that bubbled inside her, along with the need to cling to him. Her face was obviously mixed with emotion as well, because Daryl looked unsure of her next move. She even surprised herself when she swung her arm and pounded her fist into his chest. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but enough to show how she was feeling. She hit him again with her other hand, and repeated. She hit him six or seven times before finally losing her composer and falling into his arms, crying again.
"I'm sorry." He said softly to her. She shook her head against his chest.
"I'm sorry." She said between cries, which were slowly calming. "I didn't mean for this to happen." He didn't reply, just squeezed his arms around her tighter. Any other time, she probably would've been afraid he'd leave bruises from the force of his hold, but right then she didn't really care. They stood like that until Carol calmed her breathing. Finally Daryl loosened his grip and she pulled back to look at him. He reached up with one hand and wiped the tears from her soaked cheeks.
"Are you okay?" He asked. She gave him a nod and a smile. Not a happy smile, but not a fake smile either, just one that confirmed that she was indeed fine. "We should rest." He said. "Big day tomorrow." She knew this was his way of asking her to forget what happened. Forget the argument and the tears and move on. That was one thing she could always count on Daryl for. He didn't hold the past with him, not with her. He let the hurt go and could move on. He wasn't like that with Merle, or his father, or Rick or anyone else, but her. He'd always forgiven her, and forgot the anger.
"Forgive and forget." She muttered, acknowledging that she was alright with leaving their relationship at it's current standpoint. He gave her a small, crooked smile before gently placing his lips on her forehead. Carol closed her eyes and smiled, relishing the moment until he pulled away. They both laid down at his perch and fell asleep together, just as they'd always done.