Red River Blue
Chapter 56
"How'd you know about this place?," Daryl asked, "...you used to work here or somethin'?"
Carol sighed. She knew Daryl was aware of her ex husband and how abusive he was. Everyone knew. Ed pretty much put it on display back at the Atlanta camp for all to see. But that didn't mean she wanted to talk about it now.
"It's temporary housing," Carol finally replied, hoping that would stop the conversation before it started.
"It's a women's shelter," Daryl corrected. Carol turned, fixing Daryl with a curious glance.
"How do you know what this place is?," she asked. He shrugged and raised an eyebrow at her. "River?," Carol asked. Daryl nodded his head with a grunt. How did Carol think he knew about this place? It's not like he had a wife he occasionally got drunk and used as a punching bag. That was Merle. Not him. Daryl never had a wife. And if he somehow managed to obtain one, he certainly wouldn't be smacking her around and making her want to live in a shelter.
"I think River made the rounds at every one'a these places," Daryl admitted, "...after Merle broke her nose, Harley made her get a restraining order. She quit moving around after that."
Carol was quiet as they walked through the narrow hallways, checking the place for safety. She wasn't sure if she was going to comment on Merle and River's past relationship. Or if she wanted to. Carol wasn't sure how she felt about it. River was Carol's friend. Maybe the first real one she ever had. And Merle made River happy. But Carol couldn't help but worry that he might snap one day and hurt River. Or her girls. She didn't trust him.
"I could never do what River did," Carol said. Her voice was low but sure. She was perched in the window sill of the cleanest room they could find. There was a set of bunk beds against the wall. Daryl was flopped down on the bottom bunk, his legs hanging off the side.
"What?," he asked, "Strip?"
Carol snorted out a laugh before she could stop herself. She turned from her perch, staring at Daryl with one eyebrow raised.
"No. Not strip," she clarified though she wasn't sure she even wanted to dignify Daryl's suggestion with a response, "...I don't think I could forgive Ed." Even if Ed wasn't dead. And he showed up acting like a whole new man. Even if he apologized for everything and somehow magically became the perfect husband Carol always wished he would be. Carol still wouldn't forgive him. In fact, she would probably stab him to death if she had the chance.
"You would strip then?," Daryl teased, "...cause I bet I could find a dollar 'round here somewhere."
Carol shot Daryl a dirty look. She was doing her best to keep her composure. But finally she gave up and leaned her forehead against the window, letting the laughter roll over her. She was over here contemplating her life choices, trying to have a serious discussion. And Daryl was talking about throwing a dollar at her. He didn't even have a dollar.
Carol crossed the room and flopped down on the bed next to Daryl. She wiggled against the mattress, shoving at the pillow under her head. Her shirt rucked up, exposing a tiny slice of her midriff. Daryl's arm was resting on the bed between them, his other hand was under his head. At first she thought he was just twitching his hand. But after a moment, she realized that what he was doing was deliberate. His pinky was moving slowly back and forth, stroking across the bare slice of skin between the hem of her shirt and her belt. The tiny bit of contact was sending little electric currents of heat racing all over her body. Carol had to fight to control her breathing. She was afraid to turn her head and look at him, so she stayed on her back and stared at the underside of the bunk bed above them.
Carol kept her body as still as possible, trying not to think about the kiss they shared by the car. The heat was pounding between her legs and she tried to remind herself that they were here because Daryl was looking for Beth. He turned his hand, his fingers gripping the edge of her shirt, pulling it up higher and revealing more of her midsection. His fingers slid across her stomach, his touch feather light almost like he was nervous she might not want his hand there. But as he continued, his touch became more pressing and deliberate. His hand skimmed down, rubbing up the inside of her thigh over the thick material of her pants. And then back up, rubbing across her stomach again.
Carol was a petite woman. Even thinner and more muscular now than she was before the turn. But she sucked in her nonexistent gut out of habit when Daryl slid his hand over the part of her that she knew was covered in stretch marks from when she was pregnant with Sophia. Her sudden intake of breath left a gap between her stomach and the waistband of her pants. Daryl used the opportunity to slide his hand into her pants, roughly cupping her mound over her underpants. That snapped Carol out of her trance. She grabbed Daryl's wrist and yanked his hand back out of her pants, tossing it back over onto his chest.
"What do you think you're doing?," Carol asked him, "...I thought we were looking for Beth?"
"Yeah?," Daryl grunted, "So?" He knew Carol was worried about Beth and wanted to find her. But there was nothing they could do right now. It was pitch black outside. They could start up their search again in the morning. "We can start looking again first thing tomorrow," Daryl assured her. Daryl rolled onto his side. He reached for Carol, pulling her into his arms and looking to continue what he started when he kissed her by the car. But instead of wrapping her arms around him like she had then, she braced her hands against his chest, pushing him away from her.
Daryl released her quickly, rolling onto his back again. He sighed in frustration, trying to figure out what he did wrong. He did what River suggested before. He made the first move. Maybe going straight for the pussy was a mistake. Or maybe River was a dingbat that gave terrible relationship advice. Same went for Merle, who gave even worse suggestions. Carol probably didn't even like him like that. He had no idea. But now she was back up sitting on the window sill with her arms crossed again, looking all pissed off. So she definitely didn't like him right now. Daryl scrubbed his face with his hands and swung his legs the rest of the way up onto the bed. He would figure out what was going on with Carol in the morning. For now he was going to get some sleep. Maybe things would seem clearer in the morning.