I wake up and stretch out my legs hearing my ankles pop and crack. I sit up and look around. Something is wrong. I groan realizing that Daryl must have left me while I slept. Why did I expect any different? Wait. I close my eyes and hear another sound; the shower. I swing my legs out of bed and move into the hallway. I tiptoe towards the closed bathroom door and press my ear to it. He didn't leave; he's just showering.
I smile to myself and sigh. He didn't leave. I blush as I start to imagine his naked, wet body on the other side of the door. My teeth pinch my bottom lip as I force myself to go downstairs. I can't be falling for him; can I be? He's kind of a jerk. Although he has stayed with me the past few nights. My hands grip the kitchen counter as I ponder this. Why has he stayed? He honestly could have gone to wherever his house is easily. I laugh to myself. Daryl couldn't like me.
I go to the cabinet and grab the box of Cheerios. Even though they are obviously stale, the subtle crunches bring me peace. As if the world wasn't falling down around us. Something moves out of the corner of my eye and I jump almost spilling my breakfast.
Daryl chuckles to himself as he walks into the kitchen wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist. My eyes glide to his toned abs and muscular chest. His body is scarred, but that's bound to happen nowadays. I catch myself staring with my mouth open, so I quickly clear my throat and focus on my cereal.
"How the hell have you lived this long?" He jokes walking over to me. "Fucking jump at everything."
"I do not," I mumble popping a Cheerio into my mouth.
His hand reaches into the box and pulls out a handful of cereal. "You can't even sleep without holding a pillow to your chest."
"I used to cuddle with my dog, but when he died, I started cuddling with my old stuffed bear." I shut the box of Cheerios and put it back. "Unfortunately, I left him behind."
Daryl pauses, staring at me like he has been for the past couple days. "How old are you?"
I scowl at him. "I'm twenty-five."
His eyes glance me up and down. "You look like you're twelve."
"You know," I say crossing my arms and stepping into his personal space. "It's much easier to be around you, now that you don't smell like shit."
His mouth turns into a smirk as he looks down at me. "We are going on a run soon."
I raise an eyebrow. "Did Rick say we needed something?"
"Ha," he says lamely. "Just be ready in ten minutes or I'm leaving without you."
I roll my eyes and leave the kitchen as my heart pounds heavily in my chest. My feet feel like rocks as I trudge up the steps. When did I get so bold? I smile to myself and shrug. I need to be braver. If I can flirt with a guy like Daryl, I should be able to kill walkers no problem. I change my clothes into some clean ones from the dresser; shorts and a white tee shirt. I might as well just wear what I wore yesterday. I grab my bag and a picture of my niece. I smile at the cute silly face she made.
Daryl and I begin walking towards the gate when we hear someone call out to us. We both turn around to see this older woman with short gray hair waving to us. She calls out my name and I look to Daryl for some context, but he nods for me to go see what she wants.
"Hello," I say walking up to her.
"I'm Carol," she says with a bright smile.
I laugh. "That's funny. Because Carol…and Daryl…"
She cocks her head slightly. "Because they rhyme?"
I clear my throat and look down. "Yeah." I look back up at her. "So, what's up?"
She holds her finger up to Daryl to tell him to give us a minute. Carol tells me that she has something that we could use on our run, but it's in her house. I give Daryl a little shrug as I follow the lady down the street to her house. Turns out she and I are neighbors. We walk into the house and the smell of cookies wafts around us. Carol brings me into her kitchen and hands me a small container of cookies. I smile at her and thank her.
"It's not a problem," she says crossing her arms. "So, I noticed Daryl has been staying with you since you got here." She smirks at me. "Is something going on between you two?"
I shake my head. "Honestly, I don't think I'm his type or…anyone's really."
She gives me a fake look of concern. "Why is that?"
Oh no, here comes more blabbing about my past. Why can't I control myself? "I've never been in a relationship before…or really have um…"
Carol scoffs. "A girl like you?" I can't tell if she knows how fake she sounds. "You must have had at least one boyfriend."
I shake my head again. "I thought I did, for like a split second. My friend got really drunk and I was bringing him home. I parked the car and he asked me to be his girlfriend. I told him no, because he was drunk. He went to kiss me, but then he realized what I said and slapped me."
Carol's mouth opens slightly, but she shakes her head. "Well, he sounds like an ass."
I laugh a little. "Yeah, he was."
"Just promise me one thing," she puts her hand on my arm and squeezes a little too tight. "If you're lying about you and Daryl, you will wake up in a car, miles from here…surrounded by walkers. And if you tell Daryl…well…"
My eyes widen and my heart sinks into my chest. Did she really just say that to me? The skin around her eyes wrinkle as she smiles at me. Her hand releases my arm and back out of the kitchen. I open the front door and see Daryl smoking over by the cars. What just happened? I stumble down the stairs and fast walk to him. He sees my worried face and puts out his cigarette on the ground. His eyes look behind me towards the houses, but I shake my head at him. He quickly gets on his motorcycle and tells me to get on.
We speed out of the gate and down the street. My arms hold him tightly as I process what Carol said to me. Why did I believe this place would be any safer than being on my own? People want to kill people just as much as walkers do. I have to leave. Carol could probably kill me in my sleep and Daryl won't stay with me forever, right? Would he even believe me over Carol? I wrap myself around his body tighter. One of Daryl's hands touch arms gently as if to tell me everything will be alright.
Daryl begins to slow to a complete stop about a half hour from Alexandria. I get off the bike and cross my arms, hoping he doesn't ask about what happened. He pushes the motorcycle off the road and hides it under some broken branches. Without a word, he spins his crossbow around from his chest to his back and walks into the woods. I quickly scurry to follow him closely. As we travel deeper into the woods, I start to recognize the area. We are going back to my house?
"Daryl?" I say quietly.
He holds up a hand to me. "Hush."
We come to the clearing at is my backyard and walk around the house to the front door. My walkers are laying on the ground where Rick and the others left them to rot further. Daryl opens the door silently and steps inside. I roll my eyes and follow him. I plop myself down on the couch and sigh. There's obviously no one staying here, but he checks the rooms anyhow.
"Here," he says throwing something at me suddenly.
I grab the stuffed bear from the air and laugh. "Are you serious? We came here, for this?"
"What did Carol do?"
My eyes close so that I can't see him as I say, "Nothing."
"Bullshit."
"I'm not going back with you," I whisper.
"Did she tell you not to come back?" He starts to pace a little bit as he gets frustrated with my lack of answers.
"No," I open my eyes and hold my bear in my hands. "I can't tell you what she said."
He pauses and walks to me. "Did she threaten you?"
I swallow the anxiety and nod. "I…she said that…you and I…can't um…"
Daryl stares at me trying to figure out what I mean, but suddenly kicks the small side table by the couch. I flinch as it shatters against the wall. He curses as he paces.
"It's not like I even thought we could be together or anything. She just…told me we couldn't be."
He shakes his head. "You come into Alexandria and play this weak princess shit! As if I would want to be with you!"
The tears spring into my eyes as I realize why he's mad. He doesn't believe me. I stand up and throw my bear to the ground.
"I'm not acting!" My lips quiver as I talk. "You know what, just go. I can't go back to a place where my neighbor wants to kill me!"
"You think Carol would-" he pauses and looks away as if in thought.
"Yeah, I do." I say wiping the tears from my eyes. I turn and show him the bruises on my arm from her tight grip. "This was her."
Daryl's eyes go from anger to sadness quickly. His shoulders slump as he takes his crossbow off and places it on the floor. He moves towards me until our bodies are only inches apart. He takes my arm gently and brushes in finger over the marks. His eyes meet mine, making my heart pound and face flush. I close the space between us as I reach up with my other hand to his face. The feeling of his stubble under my hand gives me goosebumps. My eyes land on his lips as his hands go to my waist, holding me close.
He moves one of his hands up my body and reaches for my face. Suddenly, I get the same feeling as when my friend slapped me. I pull away hastily and fall back onto the floor, landing on my ass. I start breathing deeply trying to slow my heart down. Daryl's arms flop to his sides and he grabs his crossbow.
"The hell was that? Is this because of Carol?"
"No!" I say a little too fast. I grab my bear. "Let's just go."
