Dinner was quiet as usual. Despite it being Christmas Eve, there was nothing Christmasy about the whole thing. Not like it used to be anyway. Beth didn't try to fill the empty air and she didn't expect Daryl too. The tension during meals had never quite subsided. It made Beth's nerves stand on edge. Which is why she didn't realize how stupid she was being when she asked her mom if she could have some wine too. She and Maggie both had glasses to go along with their meals. Why couldn't she? She missed drinking after a long day.

"What?" Her mom looked at her in surprise.

"Just one," Beth replied. "You know, it's legal in some parts of Canada."

"Yes, but we live in the United States." Her mom forced a polite smile. "And I don't want you forming a habit of drinking at dinner."

"What if I already have?" Beth rolled her eyes.

"Have you?" Maggie chimed in.

"You let her drink?" Annette looked at Daryl.

Daryl, who was obviously just trying to eat his food, looked like a deer in headlight. Beth gritted her teeth. She had not meant to drag him into the disagreement. She watched as he tried to figure out how to answer.

"I…uh…don't stop her if she wants to?"

Wrong answer? Beth looked at her mom.

Her mom looked back at her. All three children blinked in surprise as she walked to the kitchen and grabbed a third wine glass. She set the glass down on the table and filled it just as full has hers and Maggie's. "Happy?"

"Yes." Beth nodded as she reached for the glass. That was when her stupid cardigan fell down, again.

"What…is that?" Maggie asked.

"What?" Beth looked down. Her scar. How could she have been so careless? "Oh…this. I cut myself at with a broken plate or something at the Diner I work at. No big deal. An accident."

"An accident?" her mom replied. "That looks like it needed stitches."

"And I got them, Mom." Beth tried to build on her lie as best she could.

"A Diner?" Shawn asked.

"Uh, yeah, Daryl's friend got me a job there," Beth replied. "I really like it. The people are all really nice."

"At you got a massive scar from broken dishes?" Shawn looked over at Daryl, who again was just trying to eat his food.

"Yes Shawn." There was no way he believed her.

"Well then, not that you have your wine, shall we dig in?" her mom tried to derail their conversation. "You two sound awfully busy with your jobs, I'm glad you were able to get time off to be with us!"

"Yes, how lucky are we to have the diner girl and the mechanic in our presence," Shawn muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Beth cranked to neck around to look at Daryl as he spoke. Had Shawn finally pissed him off enough. He looked relatively calm. But he was white-knuckling his fork.

"I mean you seem like such a great influence. Getting Beth a job and all. I even heard you fixed dad's truck."

"He did. It basically runs like new!" Beth was nervous. Where was Shawn going with this?

"Does he know dad was an alcoholic?" Shawn raised his eyebrows at her wine glass. "Does he even know or care that it's a genetic trait that can be passed on?"

"Like you actually care, Shawn." Beth gritted her teeth one more time. "You're going to tell me you don't drink? Why haven't Mom and Maggie stopped if it's such a big deal? God, people can just enjoy things in moderation"

"Beth. Shawn." Their mom warned them. "You're being incredibly rude."

The two siblings sat silently for a very long time. But everyone at the table could feel something was boiling and about to bubble up to the surface. From the moment Beth and Daryl had arrived, Shawn had been nothing by hostile towards them both. Beth was sick of it. She was tired of walking on eggshells.

"So, I think, we might leave on Boxing Day." Beth suddenly said. "To spend the New Year with Daryl's family."

"You're leaving?" Maggie replied. "So soon?"

"I think so." Beth looked over at Daryl.

Daryl was confused. Which was fair, considering she had just decided then and there that she could not stand another week with her brother. They didn't actually have to go home. But she'd rather be anywhere but the farm.

"Well, I didn't think you'd be going so soon but…"

"…this is a fucking joke!" Shawn interrupted him, slamming his hand on the table, and standing up. "You're going to let her go back with him?"

"Shawn!" her mom tried to chastise him. "Sit down!"

"No!" Shawn snapped back. "We all know this is a fucking joke and its absolutely mental that we're pretending otherwise! What? Were we just going to actually hang a stocking with his name on it next to Beth's and pretend everything was alright? Am I the only one that's seeing what's going on here? Does this guy not give anyone else the skivvies!? There is no way that scars it from a fucking dish."

"What? You think I gave it to her?" Daryl practically snarled.

Beth placed her hand on Daryl's knee. "Daryl would never hurt me. He's the one that stitched it up!"

"He what?" Maggie piped.

"I got it stitched." Beth said as she shrugged her shoulders. She knew how bad it looked. "I didn't say I went to the hospital."

"See! We can't let her go with this lunatic!"

Beth shot up from her seat. "And what gives you the goddamn right to say anything about my love life!"

"I am the man of the house." Shawn snapped.

Beth took a deep breath. "As if you became the man of the house when daddy died."

"Oh, you want to talk about dad?" Shawn hissed at her. "Well, let's talk about daddy then!"

Daryl stood up next to Beth. "Let's not."

"No, go head Shawn, say it." Beth narrowed her eyes at her brother.

"Oh, would you two give it up!" Maggie jumped in.

But it was too late.

"You think dad would support this?" Shawn gestured at her a Daryl. "He'd be just as disgusted as any of us!"

"Shawn!" Maggie and her mom yelled.

"Stop acting like she's going to break if you say something to her, " Shawn yelled back. "If she leaves she'd not coming back."

"You're right." Beth raised her voice to match his. "I would never come back if it meant having to deal with your self-righteous ass! Maybe then I can finally fucking breathe!"

"You know." Shawn lowered his voice back down to normal. "Dad's probably rolling in his grave seeing you now."

Beth felt her eyes water and she bit her lip so it wouldn't tremble. Without a second thought, she grabbed that stupid glass of wine a threw it in Shawn's face. Sounds of shock came from her mother and sister and Daryl was maybe yelling her name. She wasn't sure. All should hear was ringing in her ears as her anger washed over her.

"Go to hell." Beth flung the glass into the wall behind her before running off towards the front door.

…

Beth's mom and sister called after her but the blonde had already disappeared out the front door. Daryl followed after her but she was already in the truck by the time he reached her. For fuck sakes. As the tore down the driveway, Daryl tried to chase it. But, Beth's foot was all the way down on the gas and soon her headlights disappeared down the road.

"Dammit, Beth." Daryl huffed as he placed his hands on his knees. What was he supposed to do now and where the hell was she going?

"It might be best to just leave her," Annette called down the driveway. "She always comes back after an hour or two."

"Where's she going!?" Daryl asked frantically and he jogged back towards her.

Annette smiled sadly. "I'm sorry about dinner. I'll talk to Shawn."

That didn't answer his question.

"It…might be best to wait out here though." Annette turned and headed back into the house.

Daryl slumped on to the stairs and stared at his watch. An hour or two?

Daryl sat for much longer than that. For over three hours he had focused only on the road. He also tried to tune out the screaming and shouting going on inside the house. At one point though, Daryl was sure the kid had put his fist through a wall. Probably hoping it was Daryl's face. It was almost midnight by the time they all stopped.

Daryl was confused when Shawn came out of the house, but let the kid sit down beside him anyway. He was really quiet for a long time as he played with something in his hands. But after a while, he handed it off to Daryl. It was a large envelope addressed to Elizabeth Greene. From Georgia State University.

"It's her welcome package," Shawn said. "From September."

"She was supposed to go?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah…" Shawn replied. "Her grades had been shitty and she didn't know if she was going to graduate even. We told her she didn't need to apply to any Ivy League and so long as she applied to a state university or even a community college."

Daryl pressed his lips together. "She must have been excited she got in."

"She was." Shawn let out a gentle laugh. "The day she got the acceptance letter was the first time I saw her smile since dad died."

"So? Why are you showing me this?" Daryl handed the envelope back to Shawn.

"I know it seems like I hate you…and I kinda do…but I have my reasons." Shawn shrugged. "Look, I don't think you hurt her. Mom ad Maggie seem to think you're gentle with her. But, I think being around you is hurting her a lot more than you realize. She had a lot of things planned out before she left.

She wanted to go to Atlanta. She wanted to study music. She was going to make new friends and have a better university experience than she could have ever imagined…and I'm worried she's giving too much and not taking what she wants or needs"

"You think I knew about this?" Daryl asked. "What and asked her not to go?"

"No, I don't think you did." Shawn sighed. "I think she stayed on her own because she loves you. Or at least loves how you make her feel."

"And?"

"There's a power dynamic here…and it has to do with age…let's be real." Shawn said. "Your words hold a lot of weight and I think she's looking for something from you?"

Shit. So, the kid was actually insightful and not just a raging idiot like Merle.

"You think I'm holding her back?" Daryl looked back at the envelope.

"I don't know what to think. But I want my baby sister to be happy."

Could she be happier? Daryl thought.

"By the way…" Shawn stood up to head back into the house. "…she probably still at the bridge.

Daryl stood up to ask him which bridge.

"Down the road a few miles and to the left."

…

A few miles. That kid was a rotten liar. There were no left turns for several miles. But, at least it gave him time to think. God. What was he going to say to her? Had she really missed an entire semester of university for him? Was she skipping out on her life to work at a diner and stay with him? What if in August she'd left? She wouldn't have that horrible scar. She wouldn't be running around with him, in constant danger. When he watched her play the piano and smiled at him, Daryl could see a future with her clear as day. But what was that future going to look like if he was holding her back? Maybe her stupid brother was right. Maybe she would never get to experience everything she had planned so long as she had Daryl.

What was he supposed to do?

Daryl soon spotted the blonde. Lit up by the headlights of the trunk, she was sitting on the edge of the rail. She was humming to herself as she swayed back and forth and took sips from a beer bottle. He went up behind her and cleared his throat. She jumped in surprise and Daryl grabbed on to her arm so she wouldn't fall.

"Jesus, Daryl, you scared me!" Beth jerked her arm out of his hand and took another sip.

"Where'd you get that?" Daryl asked, raising his brow.

"In the truck." Beth's answer was a little sing-song. "I guess Merle left a whole case of them in there."

Great. She was drunk. Beth finished her beer and tossed the bottle off into the darkness and he heard it shatter somewhere on the rocks. As she tossed it she wobbled, but she caught herself. "Oopsie!"

"Beth, you've been gone for hours!" Daryl said. "What the hell have you been doing?"

Beth laughed. "Wanna hear a funny story…my Daddy died on this bridge..."

Daryl rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, hauling her off the railing and placing her feet firmly on the ground. Beth groaned in protest and told him to stop. She even wriggled a bit trying to get free. If his grip was tight she probably would have sent herself over the edge.

"WILL YOU STOP!?" Beth screeched. "…just stop."

She sounded so defeated and lost. Daryl hugged her. "Beth, why didn't you tell me about Georgia State?"

Beth looked up at him in confusion. She was probably wondering who told him. "Because it doesn't matter."

"Of course, it matters, Beth," Daryl said. How could she be so dismissive?

"Why?"

"Because you had your whole life planned…before you got mixed up with me…" Daryl let her go and took a step back.

"Plans change Daryl!" Beth tried to close the space between them again, but Daryl crept further away.

Daryl made his decision then and there.

"Beth." Daryl started. "I think it's time to go home."

"That's fine with me." Beth choked. "We don't even have to back to the farm…I never want to see it again."

There was a long pause as Beth processed what he meant.

"When you say you think it's time to go home?" Beth asked.

Daryl took a deep breath. "I mean I time I go to my home and you go to yours."

"No…? Why…?" Beth's voice cracked. "I want to go home with you!"

"Beth…I'm no good for you." Daryl masked the similar cracks in his voice as best he could. "Just let me drive you home. I can take a train or a bus in the morning."

"Are you seriously…breaking up with me?" Beth stared at him and swallowed.

"Yeah," Daryl replied. "I…guess I am."

Daryl turned to the truck, but Beth was faster. She had beat him to the driver's side and grabbed the key. Everything went black around them. For a second, he considered chasing her around the truck and wrestling them from her. But he wasn't going to play into whatever game she had in mind.

"Beth," Daryl said sternly. "Give me to keys."

"No."

"Give me the keys."

"NO."

As his eyes adjusted, Daryl stalked over to her and put his hand out. She placed hers behind her back. "Beth, you have to go home."

"You are my home, Daryl!" Beth pleaded. "…I…I love you! You can't just leave!"

Daryl looked into her desperate eyes. He wanted to tell her to get in the truck. That he'd take her anywhere if it meant she was safe. If it meant she was happy. But she'd never be safe with him. She would never happy. She couldn't or wouldn't understand that. She refused to. So. He had to make it hurt.

Your words hold a lot of weight.

"Well…I don't love you."

He could hardly see her, but he knew what he had done. For a second, she stopped breathing. Then a sob escaped. "You…you don't mean that…I know you don't."

"I do." Daryl doubled down. "I don't love you the way you want me to."

Beth backed away from him. He could see her silhouette shaking. She was muffling her cries.

"Beth…just let me take you home."

"If you want to leave, just leave." Beth scoffed and for the third time that night Daryl watched her wind up. The keys hit his chest and fell to the asphalt. "The take the stupid truck with you. I don't want it. Consider it your payment."

Daryl picked and the keys and got in the truck. As he started it up he could finally see her. She stood there, a mix of rage and sadness, taking short breathes. He idled. Hoping she'd get in. "Beth…"

"JUST LEAVE ALREADY!" Beth hit the side of the truck with her forearm. "GO! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

Just listen to her. Daryl told himself.

Without another word, Daryl shifted it to drive. She seemed almost surprised but didn't try to stop him as he pulled away. And, soon enough, he disappeared from the rearview mirror.