EPISODE XIV

All The Same

Laura-Mae's third and final full-on hermit session in camp was much shorter than the ones that preceded it. Only two days passed this time around - two days of dancing with her own inner demon, wrestling to wrest control of her dark and gloomy thoughts. For two days she had ignored the occasional knock on the Travelcraft's side door, only to tuck herself further under her comforter and sink further into her mattress. Two afternoons and two evenings in a row she had been given a mysterious offering of bland, stringy cooked meat on a paper plate left on the Travelcraft's hood. And for two nights she would stare up at her glow-in-the-dark galaxy and just...think.
Much like the big JC man himself, on the third day she emerged from her tin tomb. She, however, had a furry friend at her side, and her signature snaggletoothed smile. She had a plan. But her plan would have to wait. Ringo had business to attend to on the third morning, same as every morning she'd been there, and every morning since she'd been alive. While Ringo lead the way to her favorite spot about a quarter mile away from the Travelcraft, Laura-Mae was filled with a warm and calm stillness. She hadn't spoken a single word since she had woken up bright and early that morning. The only thing her lips had done was hold that soft, sure, determined smile. She was ready.
Each tree that the duo would pass, Laura-Mae would run her fingertips along the prickly bark. The pine scent would fill her lungs and she would hold it there. When she released her breath she would savor the cool breeze it brought against her, twirling up into the wind that sailed past them. Her hair tickled against her cheeks and her smile grew wider. She and Ringo stood steady against the gust, bringing in a comforting chill on its waves. The air would bluster through the branches to create a symphony of serene whooshing. A small songbird flapped and flew away from them, and Laura-Mae admired it. A part of her envied its free and easy way of life, but... Soon enough she would be free too. Just the thought of it made her smile grow.
Laura-Mae paced neatly and purposefully back to her RV. Along the way she made sure to take in every bit of natural, bountiful beauty with which her nearly month-long home had graced her. In truth she had grown fond of the place, in spite of the marred memories and the burned bridges. But there were good memories too - ones that she would always cherish. And she would always miss the friends she had made there, but most of all...
With a brisk sniffle Laura-Mae opened up the side door and let Ringo in. Her calm and steady fingers unclipped the leash from Ringo's collar and untied it from around her waist. She set it neatly atop the dinette table, just next to her inhaler. Ringo paced to her water bowl and drank up a lap or three before flopping down on the cool floor and catching her panting breath. Laura-Mae tiptoed gingerly around her, skirting cautiously past her fluffy tail as she reached up to open the cupboards. After she had plucked a can of green beans and a can of corn she set them onto the counter. Bending over, she rummaged around in the cabinet under the sink for a plastic shopping bag. The bright red "THANK YOU" printed across its front was an appropriate touch, she mused.
Once she'd stuffed the cans into the bag Laura-Mae patted Ringo's head and, without a word, she was out the side door again. Still wearing the same smile she had been for the past hour or so, she set a determined pace across the dirt road and into the foliage. The soles of her feet had since hardened to the usual obstacles along the way. She stepped easily against twigs and pebbles, and shifted with practiced ease around roots and pinecones. At this time of day there would be no calm crackling of a small fire, or the dark of night to hide the sight of her. And so, once she'd gotten close enough to the unlit bunch of kindling, she easily drew the attention of both Dixon brothers.
"Daryl..." she finally spoke, and she smiled warmly at him. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Well if it ain't the girl with the dog," Merle butted in with an agitated glare. "What you got to say to my baby brother you can't say in front o' me?"
Laura-Mae shifted a calculating gaze over to him, but her sweet smile stayed.
"It's no biggie, man," she said. "Won't take long at all. I promise."
Merle blinked over at her, and he studied her for a moment.
"Go on," he spat at Daryl.
Daryl brought his attention away from Merle and gave Laura-Mae a curious glance. Before he had fully stood, she turned and stepped deeper into the woods. Daryl followed near-silently behind her. The only thing that betrayed him was the crunching of his boots on dead leaves. Once the both of them had gotten far enough away from Merle, Laura-Mae spoke.
"Take me to that place..." Her squinting eyes stared down at her feet.
"Where we watched the sun rise," she said.
"Why?" Daryl's question was quick and cautious.
"You'll see..."
Daryl didn't argue. Instead, he took the lead and headed dutifully on to the spot that Laura-Mae had so quickly grown to love. It had been a simple enough request, just as she had planned it to be. After she'd spent two solid days mulling everything over, now it was all falling neatly into place. She stared at Daryl's back as he walked along. His head was hung low, and his shoulders were squared off, but his pace was steady and determined.
Laura-Mae's eyes sparkled with the hint of fresh tears and her smiling lips began to quiver. Dismissing that feeling, reeling it in, she shook her head and sniffled. Daryl slowed just long enough to give her a brief and worried look over his shoulder, but he kept right along. During this trek Laura-Mae didn't take in the sights all around her. Rather, she reflected on the moments she spent with Daryl - her friend. They felt few and far-between now. Unreachable. She hoped that at least...he might remember them as fondly as she would. Even when she had overshared the very first night they had met, and when she had broken down in the Travelcraft, she would always look back on her time with him as something pleasant. Always.
The pair crested the hill and stood together on the rise. It was as picturesque as it had been days before, perhaps even more so cast in the gloomy gray of the dark and heavy clouds rested on the horizon. Only one hawk soared high above the quaking pines this time around, and Laura-Mae's heart and smile both faltered. She shifted her now uneasy eyes over to Daryl. He was standing rigid, his icy sight locked on the forest down below them.
"What d'ya want?" He didn't look over at her when he spoke.
"I'm leaving," she replied calmly.
Daryl shot a stunned look at her.
"Leavin'? What d'ya mean you're leavin'?" His eyebrows furrowed down and the bridge of his nose started to crinkle into a deep-set scowl.
"It's... It's been three weeks...and Marty isn't here yet." Laura-Mae kept her calm smile as she spoke to him evenly.
"That means he needs my help," she said. "And I... I'm gonna go find him, Daryl."
He shook his head and turned his back on her.
"This about Shane?" He tossed the question at her and whipped around to face her before he started to pace back and forth. Laura-Mae's smile faded.
"You can't let him rile you up like that! I told you he's just tryin' to piss you off!"
"No one here is gonna miss me, Daryl."
"That's bullshit!" His voice rose into an angry shout that made Laura-Mae jump in her skin. "You... You gonna get you and that dog o' yours killed!" His pacing became more erratic, and he threw his hands up into the air. "Is that what you want? Huh? You wanna die?"
She said nothing in response, her smile having been almost erased entirely while she watched his building tirade. Her eyes drifted to the ominous, stormy clouds on the horizon. All that was left was for the lightning to strike.
"How can you be so damn stupid?" Daryl shouted at her, his voice cracking. Laura-Mae jumped again, and her lips pulled down into a resolute frown. He bared his teeth at her, his eyes wide with fury.
"And what you tellin' me for, huh? What ya think I care about you? Ya think... Ya think just 'cause ya come give me some big, dumb grin once in a while we're friends?" Towards the end of his harsh monologue the pitch in his voice rose to a miserable falsetto, and he turned his back away from her again.
"Nah... I'm just a good distraction, ain't I?" his voice broke. Then he fell quiet, his hands balled up into shaking fists at his sides.
"No..." Laura-Mae said. "You are not a distraction. We... We are friends, Daryl. At least...I think so." Laura-Mae's voice caught against the knot in her throat. "That's why I had to tell you goodbye. Because... Because I don't want to regret anything. Not in this life."
"Too bad!" Daryl snapped back, not bothering to look over his shoulder at her. "'Cause you're gonna."
"I know... But... I don't want to regret this. Because I... I really am gonna miss you, Daryl..."
"Why me?" His voice cracked again. One hand reached up to rub at his eye.
"I told you... You're my friend. You've done more for me than anyone else here. Just...just because you were there for me. When I really needed it, y'know? And...I'll never forget that. And friends... Friends say goodbye if they get the chance, or they'll regret it."
Laura-Mae looked down at the bag that she was holding down by her knees. She lifted it up and it crinkled under the weight of the cans held within.
"I wanted to give you this. It's not much, but..."
Daryl only shook his head, his back still turned to her.
"It's the least I could do, really. Someone kept giving me squirrel meat, so... I got to save these."
She forced a weak chuckle.
"Please," she said. "If you don't want it, just give it to the others."
A droplet of water fell onto her arm, still outstretched and holding the bag. Another spattered onto the leaves on the forest floor, and then more fell from the sky until both she and Daryl were being soaked by a summer shower. Finally he turned to face her. He looked at the bag, then at her, and his chin trembled while he reached out to take it from her. His arm fell miserably down to his side under the weight as though it were a thousand pounds. His icy eyes stayed on Laura-Mae, half glaring, half sulking.
"Daryl..."
He shook his head and broke his shining eyes away from her.
"When... When are ya leavin'?"
"...Tonight."
Daryl nodded and stared down at his boots. "...Ya gonna look for your family? In Atlanta? ...Or Columbus?"
"No... Maybe... Maybe after, I dunno. But Marty's my top priority." She snickered, gaining Daryl's somber attention once more. "Maybe after I find him we'll come back! Then you guys can swap squirrel recipes!"
Daryl scoffed and smirked and wiped his cheeks in spite of the rain that had drenched them. Georgia's sun still blared on triumphantly, gracing them with its gentle rays.
Laura-Mae scoffed, and she smiled.
"Y'know, I hate to admit it, but Shane was right..." She laughed, an airy, light little laugh. "I wasn't doin' shit around here."
"That ain't true," Daryl said.
"No, it's okay." Laura-Mae gave him a reassuring smile. "I know. Hell, I knew it before he told me. And I mean... He really hit the nail on the head. Camp's gonna keep chuggin' along just fine without me here."
"Folks are gonna wonder where you are," Daryl said.
"No they won't," Laura-Mae grinned.
"They will."
"Then you can tell them where I went! See? Everyone wins."
"Nah," Daryl mumbled. "Not everyone."
"I... I'm sor- I mean, I..." Laura-Mae let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Daryl. But I have to go. I can't just keep...waiting. It's driving me crazy. Besides... I knew you wouldn't try to talk me out of it. So..." She hesitated, and she smiled softly at him.
"Goodbye, Daryl."
His misty eyes shifted up to her and held her there for a moment in silence. He only shook his head, and he paced past her with drooping shoulders. Laura-Mae's heart fell down into her stomach, and she quickly turned to watch him go. Her feet stayed planted where they were, though she felt like an earthquake was begging to uproot her, like she was swaying to and fro under a strong wave. The distance between them grew further and further, Daryl's head falling lower and lower, and he never turned to look back at her. Not once. Soon enough he was gone, and Laura-Mae was left to soak in the somber downpour while an unnerving chill ran through her. This... This had not been part of the plan.
"I've done my thinking," she growled. "Hours and hours and fucking days of thinking. Nothing's changed." The day's smile had now been taken over by a determined, barely-there grimace. Laura-Mae stared defiantly where Daryl had disappeared into the foliage, and her fists clenched.
"If he doesn't wanna say bye to me, that's his problem." Her throat became taut, and her eyes stung. "So why does it make me feel so shitty?"

'Because now you know the truth. Like I've been telling you all along. He never cared about you.'

Thunder boomed all around her, and she jumped and broke her pathetic gaze from the trees and threw it high into the dark sky. Flashes of light flickered and popped up in the bulbous clouds as though they were only barely being contained. With a concentrated effort she brought her shaking legs to a quick gait, stumbling through the wet forest. She would grip soggy tree trunks for support, stopping every once in a while to get her bearings while the rain only grew stronger and stronger. The booms of thunder and crackles of lightning became more steady, and her heart started to beat wildly in her chest.
She'd made it nearly back to her RV - about a quarter mile out before she had to hug onto a tree to steady herself, suddenly overcome with shaking sobs. She would jump and twitch at every pop of lightning, the light shining through her screwed up eyelids.
"Why couldn't everything have just...gone how I planned?" She grasped thick handfuls of her stringy, wet hair. "I thought of...every little detail," she said through clenched teeth. "How... How did it turn into...this?" Laura-Mae coughed back a stubborn sob. "Of all the people that might have cared... I thought maybe..."

'What did I keep telling you? I was only trying to save you the heartbreak of realizing it on your own... No one cares about you. They never will.'

"Shut the fuck up!" Laura-Mae shouted, screamed at the mirror demon inside of her who always spoke with such a sour calm that left her feeling inferior without fail.
"I'm so fucking sick of you! Why won't you just go away! Leave me alone! Leave me the fuck alone!" Her voice was shrill, and her wet and limp body was shaking against a mighty pine. Sobs continued to overtake her, making her whole being rock and quake while the rain stabbed into her skin like cold needles.

'Cry all you want. It's not going to change anything.'

And cry she did. Sinking down into a puddle at her knees, Laura-Mae cried and cried and cried until she could cry no more. Her shoulder leaned against the tree trunk and shook with her unsteady breathing. It came in ragged gasps, and it billowed from her in big, gusting clouds of fog. Her hair was flat and chilly against her scalp and stuck to her puffy cheeks, a few strands poking their way into her gaping lips.
A loud wheeze made itself present in her lungs and spilled out into the air around her. The pace of her breathing quickened, and she could feel her heart beating like a hummingbird's wings in her chest. Laura-Mae turned to brace her back against the pine tree and fought to steady it. Her throat grew taut and her fists ambly grabbed at wet leaves that were gathered around her while cool, crisp rain dropped into her open mouth. The image of a blue inhaler rested on her dinette table flashed briefly into her mind and between desperate breaths she scolded herself. Always, always have a rescue inhaler - the asthmatic's golden rule.
Focusing, Laura-Mae drew in a deep breath. It hitched, a few times at that, but she kept bringing it deep down into her lungs. They expanded, and she held it there, past her thrumming heart and past the tickle in her throat. And then, slow as she could, she released it. With as much focus as she could manage Laura-Mae repeated the process until, finally, her heart had slowed to a semi-normal pace, and her breath came to her a little more easily. Her wheeze was ever-present but, at least she wasn't having a damn asthma attack anymore. At least, she mused while continuing to calm herself, this one had been brought on by a panic attack. That was easy enough to manage...sometimes. Or perhaps this time she just got lucky.
"I can't... I can't die before...I get to see Marty again."
The pine tree's bark scratched at her scalp while she lifted her chin up to look at the dull sky past the branches. Droplets of rain fell down into her open eyes and she blinked and flinched. Above her the clouds started to part and the rain slowed to a near halt. The sun peeked through at her, and she squinted her eyes against its bright rays. Her lips parted into a serene smile.
"Soon..." Laura-Mae let the lingering droplets of rain drip down onto her beaming face, and she relished the cool feeling of them. Once they had slowed to the occasional trickle, she finally stood, and with a newfound determination she made the rest of her trip to the Travelcraft a short one.

Ringo was rolled onto her back on the couch with her hind legs splayed and her front legs curled up against her chest. A gentle snore slipped from her dry nostrils off and on. When the side door creaked open so did her furry eyelids, and she jerked her head over to the sound. Laura-Mae came stepping in with the same smile she had when she'd left, only this time she was soaking wet from head to toe. Ringo rolled over onto her side and thumped her fluffy tail against the couch.
"Hey girl!" Laura-Mae snatched her inhaler from the table, gave it a shake, and took a puff. Her airways opened and her breathing became steady.
"Get some good sleep?" Laura-Mae set the inhaler back down and sniffled.
Ringo sneezed and licked her nose.
"Good! We're headin' out tonight. Think we're ready?"
Ringo whined through a mustached smile and her tail wagged faster.
"Me too," Laura-Mae laughed. "But first I've gotta get out of these clothes! Can't afford gettin' sick out there, y'know? Not like we can just pop on down to the clinic anymore."
On that note she peeled off her cold, dripping shirt and took it to the bathroom to hang over the side of the tub. The rest of her clothes followed suit, and soon after she had donned a set of dry duds.
Ringo scratched at her ear with a hind leg and then looked over at Laura-Mae, a whistling whine begging to creep up from her. Laura-Mae presented her with a bright grin.
"It's okay, girl! We're gonna be outta here in...just a few more hours. Just gotta wait until the time's right. Everything's going according to plan! Well... Almost everything..."
The sight of Daryl's snarling face flashed into her mind and Laura-Mae had to shake her head to clear it. Of all the reactions she had been expecting, rage had not been one of them. Yet... The words she had said to him weeks ago pressed against her recollection.
"Did it ever cross your mind that maybe everybody copes differently?"
Laura-Mae blinked back the tears that were starting to form. Still the sick guilt crawled all over from having snapped at him the way she did. But she had been right...right? Maybe Daryl wasn't one for crying. She recalled him turning around to face her, with a look of anger and shame displayed behind cheeks wet with rain. Maybe Daryl was one of those people that hated crying. Maybe... Maybe anger was his go-to.
Laura-Mae's mind drifted back to the times she had cried, outright sobbed in front of him. Daryl stayed right there until she let it all out, until she was finished. He stayed and he waited and he listened.
"I didn't stay for him," she said sorrowfully.
Ringo dragged herself off the couch and pushed her nose into Laura-Mae's leg. Absently she reached out to rub the soft fur behind her ear between her fingertips.
"I'm not much of a good friend, huh?" Laura-Mae sighed. "It's too late now... I... I already said bye. And...that's it."
After a brisk sniffle she nodded, and patted Ringo's head before she stood. Ringo backed up to make room for her, and Laura-Mae stepped past and looked across her RV.
"Time to get road-ready," she nodded again and swallowed down the lingering sadness that had been prickling into her senses.
For the next several hours Laura-Mae had been going through the checklist she'd written the night before. What little food she had remaining she made sure was stored tidily. She clapped her cupboard and cabinet locks into place, and she directed Ringo to drink a bit more water before she set her bowl in the sink for safe-keeping. Her clothes were packed tightly away in her closet, as well as her hamper and her black messenger bag, her binder tucked neatly into it.
The bed above the cab was made and her lights were put away, save for one she had placed between the driver's and passenger's seats. Her knife was tucked into the glovebox, and finally, all the ammo she had managed to hold onto was gathered into one place safely under the dinette table. Pixie was positioned carefully behind her chair, just within reach, its safety switch in the "on" position.
Wiping the sweat from her brow, Laura-Mae stood with her hands on her hips and did a double and then a triple check. Her eyes studied every inch of the vehicle, and slipped down the crumpled checklist held in her hand. Check after check, she'd gotten it all done. By that time crickets were just beginning to chirp out in the woods, and the bird's choruses had dwindled into pips and peeps here and there. A warm orange painted over everything in the Travelcraft, and as Laura-Mae turned to gaze out of her windshield, she noted darkness beginning to seep into the horizon. It was nearly time.
Ringo was curiously sniffing everything, trotting around the Travelcraft and huffing out a breath through her flared nostrils at every new thing she noticed. Satisfied she'd cleared everything she could, she jumped onto her bed in the back and stretched out to rub her face on the neat sheet. Her claws stretched out and scratched at the fabric, and a grumbling groan rose up from her throat when she rubbed at her eyes with her paws. Laura-Mae had looked over her shoulder to watch her with an amused grin.
"You're the one that's gonna be keeping me safe out there, huh?"
Ringo sneezed and sat up quickly at the sound of Laura-Mae's voice. Her fur was twisted all around her face in disarray, and her dark eyes shifted left and right before settling on her.
"Hey, you ain't got it much better, pal!"
Ringo looked hesitantly up at her as though she were unsure of what to do. Then, after a tiny whine she let out a brisk bark. Laura-Mae laughed and shushed her, pacing over to run her fingers through her messy fur.
"At least we've got each other. And you 'n' me...we're gonna find Marty! Ain't that right?"
Ringo wagged her tail.
"Right! And then we'll come right back. Who knows, maybe he's just on the highway! And we'll be back before nighttime tomorrow! Right, girl?"
Ringo whined again.
"I know, I know... Wishful thinking. But... That's okay. We can do this... Right?" Her smile faded.
Laura-Mae's well-humored and well-intentioned conversation with her canine companion came to a swift and bitter end. Wordlessly she stood and walked to the front of her RV and slumped down into the driver's seat. A heavy sigh escaped her, and she rested her forehead on the steering wheel.
Ringo jumped up into the passenger's seat, and she craned her neck over to sniff at Laura-Mae, crying a little. Laura-Mae sat up and stared blankly out at the dirt road stretching out before them, and she reached over to pet Ringo who accepted it happily.
"Am I just...making a huge mistake here...?" She recalled briefly how quickly chaotic everything had become at the RV park - how what was supposed to be a refreshing afternoon had turned on its head to become a truly terrifying night. The memories of the sick people shambling around, grabbing and eating anyone within their reach... Could she really handle that? All by herself, just her and her pampered pound puppy?
"I've got to try... For Marty..."
The sun had started its slow descent into the treetops. The orange hue from not long before had been replaced with a cool and shadowy blue. Originally she had envisioned herself to be leaving in the dead of night, long after the stars had started to show. Laura-Mae leaned forward and saw one or two starting to twinkle through the dusk sky.
"Not exactly like saying bye to Daryl went according to plan..." Laura-Mae huffed out a sigh. "What's a couple hours difference, huh?"
Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.
"I can't just keep waiting... Not anymore."
Before she had a chance to second-guess herself yet again, Laura-Mae grabbed up her keys from the center console and shoved them into the ignition. She yanked her seatbelt over her pudgy frame and clicked it into place. And then, with furrowed brows and a tight-lipped grimace she revved the engine to life.
"If nobody really cares about me leaving... Why should it matter when I do it?"
She hesitated with her bare foot inches from the gas pedal, her heart starting to beat faster. But she shook her head, took in a breath, and lightly pressed her foot down. The Travelcraft lurched forward and creeped down the road at a snail's pace. Ringo perked up and looked around her at the slowly-moving scenery and then...they were off.

While the Travelcraft moved at a quiet crawl down the dirt road, Laura-Mae's mind wandered far, far away. She took the time to recollect just about every day since the beginning of the end. She couldn't help but wonder - had she changed at all? Had she grown since then, or even since she had left Texas? The thought plagued her. She had thought that she was doing the right thing, leaving Marty behind and facing her shitty past all on her lonesome. But now... Laura-Mae could only wonder if she should have even left at all, let alone if she should still be leaving now.
"I promised him... I told him I'd stay..." Laura-Mae gripped the steering wheel. The same troubling thought that always tried to peek through came knocking at the window of her sanity once again.
"He's not dead," she murmured. "He can't be. He... He needs my help, and that's it. And I'm gonna do my damndest to help him...even if..." Her eyes stared blankly at the road.
"Even if it kills me," she nodded. "Because... That's what he'd do for me."
Tears began to blur her vision and darkness was building all around her. Had Laura-Mae been looking anywhere besides the gloomy road stretched out before them, she might have missed something - someone stumbling out of the forest that hugged around the path. Laura-Mae pressed her foot down on the brakes and Ringo lurched forward, scrabbling her claws against the seat to right herself. Blinking her tears away, Laura-Mae studied the figure while her heart raced. They were doubled over, one free hand rested on their knee, and in their other they held a crossbow.
"...Daryl?"
As he stood he looked as though he was catching his breath. Laura-Mae swung her driver's side door open and dropped down onto the ground to trot to his side.
"Are you oka-"
"Thought ya said you were leavin' tonight!" He snapped at her between breaths. Laura-Mae stood up straight, looking confused and feeling embarrassed.
"Yeah, well... I... I just couldn't wait, I guess," she offered him a nervous laugh.
He shook his head, and rubbed at his eye with the back of his free hand while he stepped closer to her.
"There's... There's nothin' out there," he told her, jerking his head out towards the woods. "Y'all should be...good... Don't know 'bout...any further out though..."
"Wh- You... What, you went out there and...?"
"Had to make sure..." He was still trying to catch his breath. "Had to make sure Ringo'd be alright..." With one eye he winced, but he smirked over at her. "Ain't her fault you're fool enough to take her out there."
Laura-Mae laughed, a delighted little giggle that rose up into the humid air.
Daryl's smirk faded, and as he finally caught his breath he looked down at his boots.
"Y'know you can always come back," he said. "If things get too hairy out there."
"Too hairy? Have you seen my dog?"
His eyes flicked back up to her, and he cracked a smile. "Mhmm. Seen you too."
"Hey!" Laura-Mae feigned an offended tone.
He scoffed and shook his head a little. "I mean it. No one'd be mad at ya...if ya had to come back..."
"Nah. I... I made up my mind, Daryl. I'm gonna find Marty...or die tryin'."
"I figured."
"Yeah... I'm just too stubborn, y'know? Once I've made up my mind...that's it!"
"I know."
"I know you do..." Laura-Mae looked down at her feet now, kicking at a small stone just in front of them. She watched it tumble and roll while a silence grew between them.
"I... I didn't mean what I said," Daryl spoke up. "'Bout you bein'...stupid."
"Oh no, that's okay!" Laura-Mae flashed him a cheesy grin. "I know I'm stupid! I mean I'm always jokin' and kiddin' around, y'know?" She chuckled. "Turns out this whole time I was just kiddin' myself. What a joke!"
Laura-Mae laughed a little harder, and she shook her head and calmed herself, staring down at her wriggling toes.
"And I... I can accept that. And I can do better." Her eyelids squeezed tightly shut.
"I will," she said. "I... I have to. For Marty."
"Marty..." Daryl paused, and he hesitated for a moment before he finished his thought. "He's lucky to have ya."
"What?" Her eyelids fluttered as she became flustered, and the rain was cool against her warm cheeks. "What d'you mean?"
"You're strong... Loyal... You... You're a good person..."
Laura-Mae stood upright, her eyes wide open and her cheeks flushing.
"Nah," she said with a laugh. "Once you meet Marty, you'll see... I'm the lucky one."
"I mean it..." Daryl nodded, perhaps more so to himself than to her. "You'll find him. I know ya will."
"...Thank you." Laura-Mae sniffled and wiped her nose on the back of her hand before crossing her arms over her chest.
And then, suddenly, with a shaky voice Daryl spoke.
"Bye," he said.
She shifted her eyes up to him, and they filled quickly with tears. But her face broke into a smile, and she nodded.
"Daryl... I'll... I'll never forget you, man." Before he could protest she threw her arms around him and pressed her cheek to his chest.
"...Thank you...for everything," she said. Laura-Mae leaned away from him now, still sniffling, and she chuckled at the baffled look on his face.
"Who knows... Maybe I'll see ya around, huh?"
He only nodded, his face made of stone yet somehow still soft.
"Goodbye, Daryl."
Daryl looked after her for a long moment and then nodded once more.
"Bye, Laura-Mae..."
Before she could allow herself to let loose a waterfall of assuredly pathetic tears, Laura-Mae whipped herself around and trotted back over to her RV. She hauled herself into the still-open door and closed it behind her. Gingerly she pressed her foot on the gas and as they passed Daryl, Laura-Mae waved.
Daryl pushed his free hand up into the air for a moment as they drove off. Laura-Mae glanced in her side mirror, watching him as they went further on down the road. He stood there the whole time, and eventually he shrank on the horizon and disappeared. A lump caught in Laura-Mae's throat. And yet she was smiling, absolutely beaming. She rounded the bend and drove on past the quarry. Dale's RV was just barely visible across the vast pit, a dull white against the dark night sky. Once she'd made it past their field of vision and her tires hit the asphalt of the highway, she flicked her lights on and set her eyes on the road. Now, finally, she was free.