AN: First off I want to apologize for the delay. For those of you that don't know my son broke his wrist this weekend and I've been working OT so it's been busy as hell recently. Not to mention this chapter was insanely emotional because half way through I lost everything because my laptop sucks and resulted in my crying like a baby lol. But Shouts out to Stacey and Carla for bringing me back.
As always, thank you for everyone who reviewed: Cat, Trixieviv, 2carlaa, heartherrk, lauraleeto (who I actually owe two shout outs for besides this one) Kpussyrearranger AKA Kem, DarylDixon'sLover, suzisnowflake, sillymommy2010, rettak8, and ledanna! Wow I knew there were a lot but now that I've listed them all out I'm so humbled you all like this!
Enjoy this bit of fluff before we get down to business. Show business that is!
Chapter 8
Monday morning rolled around without event. Daryl woke at dawn and padded his way around the condo at a loss as to what to do with himself. He decided to spend an hour or so cleaning his crossbow and putting away what few clothes he had. He figured living in a place this nice he might as well act the part. He felt like an idiot just throwing his clothes in a drawer and not on a pile by the bed. By nine o'clock he was restless and wanted nothing more than to go down to the basement and get on his bike and ride.
He was pacing around the living room, going from couch to window like a caged animal when he heard a soft knock at the door. It was too soft to be anyone but her and he suddenly wished he had taken that ride when he had the chance.
He opened the door and saw the small frame with blonde locks flowing down her shoulders and bright blue eyes shining back at him. "Hey." She smiled softly.
"Hey." He didn't know what else to say that wouldn't come off as being a dick.
"You got any plans today? I just thought, since we have two more days before the next gig we could… I don't know." Beth trailed off and looked very nervous. "I just wanna get out of here for a bit. Maggie is being a pain."
Daryl pushed back from the door and moved into the living room. He could hear the soft steps of hers following him. He looked back out the window as he contemplated his next words for a few long moments. She spoke first.
"I should go." He turned to look over his shoulder at her as she turned and walked away.
"I need to go to my brother's place outside of Senoia. Gotta pick up my gun." She stopped and looked back at him, a glint of hope in her eyes.
"You don't mind me taggin' along?" He shook his head. He shrugged.
"Spose not. Ya got a car we can take? I doubt ya wanna ride on the bike." He smirked when her face visibly paled.
"I'll ask Michonne for the keys to the Jeep. When do you want to leave?"
"Ten?" She nodded and walked out of the condo. Daryl was left once again wondering what in the hell he was doing and we he couldn't seem to stay away from this girl.
Ten minutes exactly, Beth was back at his door, only this time he found her standing against the frame, having opened the door without knocking, and holding the keys out to him. "Told her you were taking me to run some errands. We should have a few hours before anyone gets worried about us." Daryl reached out and took the keys from her hand and walked past her.
"Better get a move on then. Gunna take a least an hour and a half to get there and back." Beth reached behind her and locked the door and closed it behind her. She kept up with his long strides with shorter quicker ones and the two approached the elevator wordlessly. They rode down to the garage and walked to the car in much the same way.
"So where are we headed?"
"My brother's place is in Sharpsburg. Headed there." She nodded and got into the passenger side and he pulled out of the garage and made his way to I-85S. They didn't speak the entire way. Beth rolled the window down and let the warm Georgia air fly into the jeep and sung along to a pop station that was preprogrammed on the stereo. Daryl contemplated the aromas that hit his senses every now and then. He wondered if it was a mix of citrus and strawberries for most of the interstate journey.
He pulled the jeep off the interstate at the signs marked Sharpsburg, a small town with a smaller population, and followed several roads until he found a beaten gravel one. Beth looked over at him and smiled and he caught the action out of the corner of his eye. "What?"
"You live off the beaten trail no matter where you live, huh?" He raised his shoulders and continued on to the end of the road a few hundred feet to a beat up dilapidated cabin that looked like it was suffering the after effects of a horrible earthquake. "What happened here?"
"Merle did most of this after I moved out 'bout a year before the bust. He started using more an' destroyed the house in fits of rage an' shit. This is what meth'll do to ya. Let this be a lesson to you Ms. Country Music Star." His words were bitter and held no jest or play. He felt guilty for talking to her the way he did but he knew coming back to this place would stir up a lot of angry memories. And now those memories were reeling their ugly heads. He should have known better than to bring her here.
When she didn't respond he flung open the Jeep's door and stalked up to the condemnable building before him. He climbed the stairs, careful not to step in the wrong place or touch a weak wall that might send the house crumbling down on top of him, and made his way to his destination. He could hear the sound of the door opening and closing and the gravel crunching under her feet as she made her way after him. "Don't come in here, girl. Don't need Michonne after my ass when I let you fall victim to a house." He deadpanned.
"Yes sir, Mr. Dixon." She quipped. Daryl rolled his eyes and headed back to the old bedroom, if you could call it that, and towards the closet. He tried to gently tug on the door to open it but the hinges buckled and groaned against the movement causing said door to fall to the floor and against the wall beside him. Daryl looked over at the holes in the walls between the bedroom and the living room and bathroom that Merle created in a withdrawal fueled rage with a sledge hammer. The holes dripped dust and plaster and the old house seemed to shake around him. Daryl quickly reached into the back of the closet and pulled out a rag wrapped around his Springfield XD and shoved it in the waistband of his pants. He rushed out of the house and down the steps, all the while the house seemed to protest the unwelcomed visitor with more creaks and cracks. Any day now this house would be nothing more than rubble on the ground and nothing more than a memory. He barely gave it, and her, a second glance as he headed back to the Jeep. He could hear her follow him.
"You get what you came for?" He patted his hip and nodded.
"Come on, let's get out of here."
"What now?" She asked as he opened the door and started to get in.
"Gotta get ya home, princess." His tone was gruff.
"Don't you dare do that, Daryl Dixon!" Her voice caught him off guard and his head snapped up to meet her now icy blue stare. She positioned her hands on her hips and squared her shoulders. "Don't you dare talk to me like I am better than you!"
"Aren't ya?" He closed the door and stood in front of her. "Ya need people like me to protect ya because ya live in this closed off world protected by your condo and family. Ya don't belong in places like this an' I was foolish to let ya see this side of life."
"All I see is a rundown cabin in the middle backing up to the woods. Looks peaceful. If I had to guess, you took that crossbow of yours out here and hunted just to get away from your brother." Daryl was taken aback be her mood swings. "You're not like your brother. You're kind and proved that to me by offering to help me, regardless of your own personal motives against Zach." Daryl looked down that the ground as if he'd been caught stealing gum from the corner store when he was a kid. He looked back up to her, determination now plastered on his face.
"Com'on." He hit the lock on the Jeep and walked past the cabin and into the woods. He didn't wait to see if she followed him, he knew she would. They walked together, him in front, her tailing behind, for a few minutes until they came to a clearing in the tree line. He stopped walking and looked back at her, his hands out as is presenting a mediocre gift to a friend.
"This isn't where you take me into the middle of the woods and kill me, is it?" Beth said with a smile in her voice. Daryl smirked and looked around.
"Why I stayed as long as I did. Merle quit huntin' years ago when he got into drugs so when he was shooting up or sellin' I was out here. Spent more time here than in that piece of shit house you saw back there."
"It's beautiful." She murmured as she walked around the tree line to take everything in.
"S'quite. There's a creek a few yards over there. Used to clean up in it. Allowed me to stay out longer." Beth looked back over to him and smiled widely as she sat down and then lay down to look up at the opening in the trees that this little hideaway offered. Daryl couldn't help but think that she was lying in the same spot he slept in for months out of his life. She turned her head to glance at him.
"Thank you for sharing this with me. It's amazing. I used to have a place like this back on daddy's farm. Haven't been there since momma died." Her eyes held a hint of sadness as she looked at him but it was not for him. She saw her past, her innocent childhood. Daryl grunted and sat down a few feet away from her, his arms resting on his knees as he picked up the sound of fast moving water. It must have come from one hell of a rain for it to move like that. He thought, for a moment, about what he was doing out here, why he brought her here, and he couldn't come up with a real answer.
"Don't know why I keep tellin' ya shit about me."
"I've been told I'm easy to talk to." She retorted.
They sat in silence for what felt like hours just listening to the sounds of the world around them. Or rather, a lack there of. The only thing to be heard were the birds, the creek flowing, and the occasional twig snap of a deer moving around them. It was the first time Daryl felt really comfortable since this girl showed up in his life.
Beth's phone chirped and she gave a surprised squeak as she said up and pulled it from her back pocket. "Didn't think I would have service here." She mused. She looked at the screen and frowned. "Maggie needs me to come back. Something about the gig on Wednesday and Glenn needs to talk to us and Michonne." Daryl nodded and stood up offering her a hand to help. She gladly accepted and pulled herself up with a slight hiss.
"Ya'll right?" She nodded and looked down at her hip.
"Waistband musta rubbed against it. It's getting kinda red." She pulled it down to let him look and the unexpected motion caused him to gulp. His eyes traveled down to the area around the tattoo which was in fact red but no more so than he would have expected.
"It's fine. Put some lotion on it when I get ya back." She nodded and released the fabric back to its original spot. "We gotta go." She nodded and followed after him without protest. When they reached the Jeep they both climbed in and made their way back to Atlanta. He only hoped that whatever they needed him for would be solely work related and not about their little fieldtrip to his shit hole past.
AN: I hope it was worth the wait! Please please please tell me what you think! I really love every single review! It makes my day!