The outline I have made for this story shows that the drama between Beth and Daryl will begin in chapter seventeen.

…

Chapter Fifteen.

He was late. By nearly nine minutes. And she knew this because she was watching the clock as much as she was the front door. Her stomach was in a series of knots and she felt like she was going to throw up even though there wasn't that much in her stomach at the moment. She felt like she couldn't breathe and her lungs were hurting with the effort.

When she had left the garage after the work day, she had smiled at Daryl and told him to come by around six. And he had grunted as he nodded his head and she had just assumed that that meant he would be coming. But maybe he wasn't. Maybe she had just assumed that he was. Yesterday, in the bathroom after their kiss, she had asked and he had agreed but she had noticed that almost immediately after, he had acted distant from her; almost like how he used to act when she had first started working at the garage. She wondered what had happened. Had she done something? Should she not have invited him to her house this evening? Should she not have kissed him? But he had kissed her back – rather enthusiastically – and even nearly thirty-six hours later, her lips still trembled when she thought about it.

And she was always thinking about it.

She felt the burning of tears forming in her eyes but she forced herself to let none fall as the grandfather's clock behind her chimed. He was now fifteen minutes late and she felt her stomach drop with the clock's bong. He wasn't coming. She knew it. And everything in her body twisted and ached and she didn't understand what had happened because she had thought everything between Daryl and herself was going great. She wasn't exactly sure what it actually was between them but whatever it was, she had been so happy with their budding whatever and had wanted more.

And now, crushed with disappointment, she felt like an idiot.

She heard footsteps behind her and she looked over her shoulder to see Maggie coming down the front stairs. She stopped herself on the second to last one and looked at Beth for a moment. Beth knew she probably didn't mean to but she hated the look of pity in Maggie's eyes. It was the only way Maggie looked at her now. With pity or with anger and she couldn't even really remember how it was between the two of them before her mom died and before she got sick. Beth knew it was never going to be like that between them again.

Beth turned her head and looked back out the front screen door though there was no reason. No pickup truck. No roar of a motorcycle. The evening was quiet except for a few chirping birds in the trees and cicadas.

"I'm sorry, Bethy," Maggie said from behind her and the words made her feel cold, goosebumps fleshing across her skin.

Beth didn't say anything, not trusting her voice to speak without shaking. So instead, she just nodded her head once and stepped outside. Her throat scratched and the tears were burning and brimming and she knew she had to get away from there before she completely fell apart.

Disappointment and anger and hurt crushed around her all at once and she felt her head spinning as she managed to walk down the porch steps. She couldn't believe Daryl would do this. She had thought… he cared about her, didn't he? She thought of all of the little gifts he gave her and the motorcycle rides and the time spent together in his trailer. It all had to mean something, didn't it? Or had she just built it up and created something entirely fictional in her mind?

She wore the small compass he had given her around her neck and her fingers clasped around it now as she began walking. She didn't dare walk in the direction of his trailer. Instead, she faced the completely opposite direction and started that way. She just needed to get away; maybe just keep walking and walking and not stopping until she was far away from here.

She never should have come back. Her brother and sister didn't need her. Not even her daddy needed her because even with just one leg now, he was still as capable as ever. She thought of her little apartment in Atlanta that she had shared with her roommate, Rosita – a girl she had met in one of the recovery clinics, Rosita recovering from cutting. The two had met and had bonded instantly and when they were both released, they had decided to become roommates, knowing they could help one another stay on the right path. Rosita had been disappointed when Beth had to move back home and Beth wondered if she had found another roommate or if Beth was still able to move back.

She hadn't talked to Rosita in weeks and she now felt immensely guilty for that. But everything with Daryl – this newfound happiness – it had taken over her mind, it seemed, and now Beth hated herself a little for letting it do so.

The tears began to fall though she did her hardest to stop them and they streamed down her cheeks. Why had she allowed herself to get close to Daryl? She should have just kept her distance and watched him from afar as she had been doing. But there was just something about him that pulled her in. He didn't treat her like glass. Isn't that how she kept explaining it to herself? But now, she saw the truth. He didn't treat her like anything. He was obviously sorry he had kissed her if he had blown her off tonight after saying he would come and everything that had happened before – the gifts and the dinners and asking her out on a date – maybe he had just been bored or he wanted to show the guys at the garage that he could get something the others couldn't get close to.

None of that felt right though. It didn't make any sense. And she couldn't believe that Daryl had done any of those things over the past few weeks just because he had been bored. She was still getting to know him but it just didn't seem like him at all.

Just as she had stepped into the woods, she heard it and her ears perked up as if she was a dog perking up at the slightest sound. A motorcycle. A familiar motorcycle. She nearly gasped and she instantly turned around. She squinted her eyes in the fading sunlight and sure enough, coming down the dirt drive, still a bit in the distance, was a bike. She didn't have to see who it was to know it was Daryl. Daryl had come. He hadn't blown her off. He was here.

She wanted to laugh and burst into song and dance and her heart began fluttering as she began walking quickly back across the field, not quite running but walking so fast, her feet would skip together every few steps. Daryl must have spotted her because once he was closer, he began to slow down and his bike stopped just outside the front gates. She didn't stop and came hurrying right to him. She wiped at her cheeks and gave him a smile and he looked at her, not taking his eyes from her as he climbed off his bike. He was wearing jeans – no holes, she noted – and a clean flannel shirt. Without a word, she went right up to him and standing on her toes, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him.

He hesitated only a moment before she felt his hands – one at her elbow and one on her back and his scruffy cheek was against her temple.

"Hey," he greeted and his voice rumbled against her. "'m sorry I'm late."

And Beth felt like crying again but for a whole other reason but she made sure to stop herself before she could. She didn't want to cry in front of Daryl for any reason. She never wanted to appear weak in front of him. More than enough people already saw her as nothing but.

"It's alright," she said, pulling back from him, her arms falling down to her sides. "I'm glad you're here. I thought…" she trailed off and he looked into her red eyes and it was pretty obvious what she had thought.

He shook his head a little. "I had stayed late at the garage," he said. "And by the time I got out of there… I couldn' come covered in grease and oil," he explained and Beth felt her lips turning upwards in a smile. He looked down to what she was wearing and her own eyes fell down to her appearance. A simple black lace dress but she had made sure it wasn't too fancy and had put her Converse sneakers on her feet. "I didn' know if you wanted me wearin' a tie," he then mumbled.

"No," Beth finally found her voice to speak again. "Definitely not. That's not you."

"Didn' bring you flowers either," he said and she noticed he had a hard time keeping contact with her eyes all of a sudden.

"Why would you bring me flowers?" She asked, truly perplexed and not hiding it.

He shrugged and swallowed, looking back towards his bike. "I did bring somethin'…" he said, trailing off as he walked to the bag at the side.

She couldn't see what it was as he dug around for it but when he turned back towards her and she saw the Hershey chocolate bar in his hand, she burst into a smile. Without a word, he handed it to her and she took it, clutching it in both hands and hugging it to her chest. She beamed at him and he smiled a little, too.

"Daryl, I love it," she smiled. "Thank you. So much better than flowers."

The tips of his ears turned red and she was clearly embarrassing him but she didn't care because he had come and he was still looking at her and she stepped forward, her arms sliding around his waist this time as she hugged him.

She felt like she could breathe again.

…

Daryl was a quiet man but that didn't seem to bother Hershel as he took over most of the conversation at the dinner table, telling stories about church and the farm and stories of Beth when she was younger that had her blushing and telling her daddy to stop. Of course, that only encouraged him more and Shawn joined in. Hershel sat at the head of the table in the dining room as Beth and Daryl sat on one side and Maggie and Shawn sat on the other. They had roasted chicken and potatoes and fresh green beans from the garden and Beth looked at Daryl every time he answered one of Hershel's questions – usually about the garage or cars in general or hunting. She wondered if Daryl was puzzled about Hershel knowing he hunted. Beth wasn't going to tell him that she had told her daddy all about him already.

"Get enough to eat, son?" Hershel asked as the meal neared the end.

"More than enough. Thank you, sir," Daryl said.

"Hershel," he reminded him for the fifth time that evening. "And what about you, Beth?" Her daddy turned his eyes on her.

Beth gave a small smile and nodded. "Yes. I'm comfortably full."

"Good," Hershel reached over and patted her hand. He then looked to Maggie. "I do believe we have dessert?"

Maggie, who had been silent the entire meal, sighed and looked to Shawn, who was grinning beside her, before looking back to Hershel. "We did have dessert. Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, daddy. Your favorite. But then someone helped himself to the whole dozen."

"In my defense," Shawn spoke up. "Otis helped me."

"How is that a defense?" Maggie frowned at him.

"Well, I figured, you all were tired of the I'm-just-an-idiot defense," Shawn said and from the corner of her eye, Beth could see Daryl smirk a little at that. "And what about you?" Shawn frowned back to Maggie. "Who leaves cookies just sitting on the counter like that?"

"They were cooling, you idiot," Maggie said, standing up and taking hers and Hershel's plates. "You could have at least saved one for Beth."

And there it was. Beth felt terrible for being a little grateful that her sister hadn't said a word during dinner, not wanting her eating habits on full display in front of Daryl, knowing that Daryl was reminded enough about them every day. But with one comment – a seemingly innocent comment – Beth felt the back of her neck prick with hot pokers and she suppressed a sigh.

"Why for me?" Beth asked, trying to sound light. "They're daddy's favorite cookies."

Maggie just blinked at her as if she didn't understand what Beth had said. "You know why," Maggie said.

Beth sighed softly but didn't say anything.

"I brought Beth a chocolate bar," Daryl suddenly spoke up and Beth couldn't help but look at Daryl with surprise in her eyes. "Maybe you can sit and watch her eat that if you want," he shrugged.

And suddenly, she wanted to just grab him and kiss him and she had to remind herself that she couldn't do that in front of her daddy. But she felt a warmth start in the center of her chest that spread throughout her entire body within seconds.

She looked back to Maggie and saw her sister visibly stiffen, her fingers tightening around the plates she held in her hands.

"What do you know about it?" Maggie said, clearing ready for a fight.

"Maggie, stop," Hershel jumped in. "Daryl is our guest."

Maggie snorted but didn't say anything and she spun on her heel, going into the kitchen. A second later, they heard the dishes clang in the sink.

"Beth," Hershel said, his voice gentle. "Why don't you take Daryl outside? Show him some of the farm?"

Beth nodded, instantly getting to her feet, and Daryl followed. She tried not to make it obvious that she was hurrying from the house even though she just wanted to take Daryl's hand and run out the front door. Out on the front porch, she stopped and looked at him and Daryl stood there, his hands in his jean pockets and he looked at her in return, not saying anything.

"Thank you for doing that," she said softly.

"Didn' do nothin'," he shrugged and she took a step towards him.

"Yes, you did, and thank you," she said again, tilting her chin and looking up at him.

"Tired of how she's always suffocatin' you and I ain't even around for most of it," he then said gruffly.

Beth wasn't too sure what to say to that. Her first instinct was to stick up for and defend Maggie but it was true. She did suffocate her and everyone knew it. She knew that if Maggie could forcibly shove food down her throat, she would.

"You should come stay with me," he said suddenly, blurting it out, and Beth felt her eyes instantly widen at the suggestion.

And he seemed to be just as surprised and stunned by his own words because he stared at her with slightly wide eyes.

A part of Beth told herself to just ignore what he had just said but how on earth could she just pretend that he hadn't said what he had just said? She felt her heart race up a bit as she continued looking at him. He didn't mean it. She told herself that there was no way he meant it and yet, he wasn't taking it back. Why wasn't he telling her to just forget it; that he didn't mean it or something along those lines?

"Stay with you?" She asked barely above a whisper and she sounded breathless for some reason.

He shrugged, glancing at her before looking away. "Just for a few days. Just so you can breathe easier. 's just an idea."

"It's a really good idea," Beth was quick to say and her heart was beating even faster.

She didn't know what else to say because suddenly, staying with Daryl for a few days was the best thing she had ever heard. Being in his trailer in the middle of the woods with no one else around except just the two of them sounded as close to Heaven as she had imagined it would be on this earth. To not have to think about her eating or be so conscious of everything she was putting in her mouth or worry about upsetting or angering Maggie, it all sounded almost too good to be true. And being alone with Daryl… that was what really was making her heart fly and her stomach flutter. Just her and Daryl. And she wasn't even imagining anything between them. Just the idea of being with him and spending time with him, she almost felt herself suddenly ache, she wanted that so badly.

There was no way her daddy would ever let her go. Stay with a man she wasn't married to? No way was Hershel going to give her permission. But then again, did she really need it? She would like it yes, but she technically was an adult and again, technically, she could do anything she wanted.

"Daryl," she said softly and he finally, slowly, moved his eyes back to her. "I…" she shook her head slightly. "You don't have to save me. You don't… you don't have to feel any sort of obligation towards me."

The words felt thick in her throat and she did her past to swallow past them. She was tired of so many people in her life thinking she wasn't capable of anything and though she knew that Daryl didn't look to her as if she was his responsibility, still, it was something she worried about. She supposed she would worry about that if it was anyone offering to open their home to her but with Daryl, it was different. Everything with him was different because he was different.

Daryl frowned a little as he looked at her. "I know you can take care of yourself, Beth... And I'm not lookin' to do that for you. I jus'…" he trailed off because already, he had said so many words and Daryl definitely wasn't a big talker like this. She didn't push him to say more and watched as he shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I'm jus' lookin' to help if you let me."

Beth looked at him. She didn't see a white knight in shining armor. She just saw a man who seemed to genuinely like her. And he was giving her place where she could just be. With him.

She said his name softly, as if saying it in a prayer, and Daryl looked at her again. She didn't say anything else and he had already said more than enough. She rested her hands on his shoulders, stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his.

…

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