For whatever reason, Beth chose to break the news to her mother that night. No, not the actual news…not the news that would ruin everything she was working toward. But he idea of extending the trip. To say the least though, Annette had not taken the idea of Beth staying in Florida any longer very well.

But, their family was known to have an argumentative streak. Every single one of them was a bull headed as could be – some of them, a but more than others though. It took just as long as she had guess for Beth to dispute her, very fake case before her mother said she'd think about it, but to Beth that was all she needed for the time being. Not to mention, with a little phone call to Maggie, Annette would certainly cave a whole lot easier the next time she called. It still made her skin crawl, but Beth was definitely getting better at lying and – in that instance – manipulating. Not that it was something she'd ever brag about. In fact, it was something that she knew she'd have to atone for one day.

However, in the meantime, she knew she couldn't think about it for too long. She had to think about work and paying Daryl and paying Jim. Although, the idea of staying another night in the motel, and being charged triple the amount it was worth, was another thing that made her skin crawl. She could be an adult and call Jim out. But, she also could argue with herself that she could be an adult and tell her mother the damn truth.

In her tangled web of a life she'd weaved, nothing was as simple as it seemed anymore.

She needed to clear her head for just a while. At least that's what she thought as she climbed her way off the ridge. Maybe if she got a moments peace, with nothing breathing down her neck, she could be a rational human being for at least a moment.

On the farm, when she needed space, she took off on her horse into the woods. There were plenty of trails for her to take, and Nellie had come to know them so well that it came to a point where she could get lost in her mind without getting lost in the woods. But there wasn't a faithful animal friend laying around anywhere close. There was, however, a wooded area not too far from the ridge that she could see.

Oh, yes, a strange pile of trees that you know nothing about, that's perfectly rational, well done. Beth rolled her eyes at herself. But still, she could help but feel the urge to want to explore it. Everything she was doing was supposed to be an adventure after all. Even if she was the most unprepared girl scout to ever trapes into the woods.

. . .

Daryl sat down on the porch with a huff, then took a swig from his bottle of beer. It was definitely not his first of the evening, and it sure as hell wouldn't be his last. Why was it that everyone seemed to want to drive him to drink? Did they really want to see the "sweet" Dixon to an early grave? If that was the case, it wasn't a very well thought out plan. They were the ones that would have to deal with Merle.

"Stopping in again, are we?" Every single day Daryl had gone to the diner, those where the first words Carol had said to him. Followed by something along the lines of a question concerning Beth. Then she'd laugh at his confusion.

God, she was such a pain in the ass. He didn't understand what was so funny. But, that woman loved nothing more than to endlessly tease Daryl. She enjoyed it almost as much as Merle it. Although, she'd made it very clear how she felt about Merle's treating of Daryl. He guessed it was fair to mention, her teasing was much more nurturing. You could tell she was a mother. Whereas Merle didn't have a maternal bone in his body.

Carol was his friend – and again, one of the only people in town that didn't despise him – but she was added fuel to his fire. He had to get away from everyone before he got seriously pissed. Which is why, he went straight home, instead of to the garage or to Lorrie's. No one was going to bug him there. Mostly because, no one was quite too sure of where it was.

It was too far into the woods for anyone to really care. Merle was the only one that had been there, and every time he had been coming down from a bender. He probably didn't even know what the house looked like; and house was a nice way of putting it.

It was more of a cabin, or a shack. Aside from the spare bedroom Merle never used, there was a basic bathroom, a very small kitchen and barely a living room. He paid for electricity and for water, and that was pretty much it. It was simplistic and – for the most part – peaceful. He could get away from most of his problems there.

"Ow! Shit!"

Or…maybe not. It wasn't that close, but the voice was loud and familiar enough that it made Daryl jerk his head up. It was, of course, Beth. But, the real question was, what was she doing out there?

Daryl wasn't sure was he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to let the blonde wander around until she possibly found her way out and back to town? Or have call her name and have her show up outside his place? Neither of options were too appealing, actually. But the second option was the right one.

He hoped that girl had ears like a hawk, because he wasn't going to repeat himself. Daryl sighed. "Over here."

After a few minutes, he thought maybe he spooked her and she turned the other direction. But soon enough, there she was – in her damn uniform – with her knees covered in mud and a couple little twigs sticking out of her hair. He watched as he eye's shifted back and forth nervously. He guessed she was just as confused as he was about her being there.

"Are you lost?" Daryl asked.

Beth simply nodded her head and reached up to her hair, beginning to fiddle with it. Though, it wasn't long until he fingers grasped onto a twig and she pulled it out with a very sheepish look. "Uhm…do you maybe have a bathroom I could use?"

Daryl was pretty reluctant to let her inside, but this was just as pathetic as seeing the blonde covered in dust and accidently drinking vodka. How was it that one person could be so accident prone? Well, maybe he didn't know if he actually wanted an answer to that question.

"Yeah, come on." Daryl downed the rest of his beer and got up. Beth followed him straight to the door. When he opened it, however, she definitely got more than what she was expecting from the place.

Daryl watched as Beth's eye went very wide. Almost every inch of the place was cover in something – whether it be newspapers from town, or clothing, or something of another nature. Daryl guessed what when he thought of simplistic, he thought of bachelor simplistic. Not the lived in chaos he guessed Beth saw before her eyes.

"It's…a little…" Daryl started, before Beth cut him off.

"Have you ever thought of hiring a live in housekeeper?"