Chapter 12 – Lauren
The wind was still howling outside and I could hear the rain hitting against the cabin walls. The weather was still really bad, but I was glad that we had a safe place to wait it out. Daryl had made the right decision to come back to the cabin instead of heading back to our group.
I had dressed in an old pair of black yoga pants I had found and red tank top. I kept my hair loose instead of the usual pony tail I wore. My natural curls sprang up all over my head. I didn't bother putting on shoes before I slowly headed down the stairs towards the kitchen. My stomach was growling, as I tried to figure out where Daryl was. There was no sign of him, so I assumed he was still upstairs.
Out of habit I opened the refrigerator and noticed the cool air that skipped out. "Wow," I thought. "This thing a still on after all this time." The fridge held the usual assortment of condiments, salad dressings and pickles in the shelves on the door. There wasn't anything else in there except two six packs of beer. "Probably left over from Tyler and Jake's last visit," I thought. I couldn't remember the last time I had a beer. I grabbed a bottle, twisted off the cap and took a swig. Even stale beer was good!
I put the beer down on the counter and pulled open the freezer. Mom as usual had left plenty of food in there and it was all still frozen. Real honest to goodness meals! I pulled a container of homemade spaghetti sauce out. I grabbed a pot to heat it with and started defrosting it on the electric stove. Once again I silently thanked my dad for the solar panels. I put a pot of water on to boil to cook the spaghetti I found and a hot Italian meal was in our future.
I quickly finished one beer and started on the second and was swaying to the beat of music I had playing through my head. That's how Daryl found me. One hand was stirring the pasta, the other held my beer and I was dancing to 'Ain't too Proud to Beg' that was running through my head. The Big Chill was always a favorite movie of mine. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned and saw him.
"Well hello Mr. Dixon. I'm making us some dinner, how about joining me in a beer?" Little food and almost two beers had made me much more relaxed. "How about it?"
Daryl's eyes brightened, "Beer? Hell yeah. Look's like you've already had a few."
"This is only my second," I said with a big smile. "Here ya go." I handed Daryl the beer and he took a good long drink from it. "Cold too. Shit, I've missed having a beer. Thanks." He raised his bottle up in a silent salute. My eyes met his cool blue ones and he smiled.
"I like your hair down. It…looks good that way," he says out of the blue.
"Really?" I ask him surprised. "I really can't wear it down, when we are out there every day. It gets in my way too much and I can't see."
He walks up to me and stands closer than usual. "I like it this way. Maybe you can wear it down more often?"
GULP! Words like wow, whoa and oh my god are flying through my head. I can't get a logical thought to come out, until the beer apparently kicked in and I say to him, "Sure Daryl… I will when I can...for you." I give him what I hope is a sexy smile and sauntered back to the stove and dinner.
While my head was slightly freaking out, I stirred both pots giving me something to do. I then finished the rest of the beer before turning to see Daryl still standing there watching me.
A huge grin appeared on my face. "Daryl Dixon, you do really clean up well. Let me check you out."
"Stop Lauren…just stop." Daryl took a long swig of his beer finishing the bottle. I think I embarrassed him. How fun!
"C'mon let me take a look," I begged. "I'm glad you found something to wear. I thought you and Tyler were about the same size and I was right." Daryl had a pair of worn jeans that hung low on his hips and a dark blue shirt that I remember seeing on my brother. "Do you tear off the sleeves on all of your shirts or do they just fly off when they see you?" I started to laugh at my own joke.
"You need to stop drinking."
"Well you need to start! Nah, I'm just having fun with ya. But seriously all your shirts don't have sleeves." I walked over so I stood close right in front of him. I took my fingers and gently moved his bangs out of his eyes. "I don't know how you can ever see with your hair always in your face and… it's a really nice face to see." For a second we looked into each other's eyes and he placed a hand on my arm. My skin tingled from his touch.
Suddenly I remembered the dinner on the stove. "My dinner!" I shouted and ran back over to the stove in the kitchen. Whatever chance I had of that turning into a romantic moment went right out the door. Hell this was Daryl, he probably thought I was just some dumb chick anyway.
Stirring the pot I saw that the pasta had finished cooking. I was starting to assemble the meal, when I noticed that Daryl had cleaned up his jackets, the wet towels and assorted items of discarded clothes that we had dropped when we came in. "You know you don't have to cook for me," he said.
"I know, but we both have to eat, right? This whole day hasn't been about you or me, it's been us working together, so why would I cook just for me? Plus, this is my mom's world famous spaghetti and meatballs. It was meant to be shared." I saw he understood and I know he never liked to be indebted to anyone, but this was just dinner.
I filled two plates with pasta and meatballs and the aroma filing the air made my mouth water. Daryl and I sat down to eat with little fanfare. It was a quiet meal, but I knew that he enjoyed it as he asked if he could have seconds. I was more than happy to feed him. We hadn't had a big meal like this in months.
I quickly washed up the dishes as Daryl worked on cleaning his crossbow and checking his bolts. I plopped down at the other end of the sofa from him. "Hey did you cover this?" I asked.
"Yeah, this way we aren't sittin' on the dust since we you know we showered and everything." He looked pleased that I noticed.
"Great idea. Hey, wanna play some Gin Rummy?" it wasn't time to go to bed yet and I needed something to do.
"You wanna play cards?" he asked.
"Why not? There isn't anything else to do. Best three outta five?" he nodded yes and I walked over to the book case to grab a pack of cards off the shelf that held games, cards and assorted other stuff.
I shuffled the cards and dealt first. I started talking to him during the games. As usual Daryl was very talkative, so I held up the majority of the conversation, but slowly he relaxed and it became two sided. I told him about growing up in Connecticut with my two brothers and that even though I was the oldest, they did their best to annoy their big sister. He heard my vacation stories from time spent here at the cabins and my experience in hunting and fishing with the men of my family.
"I thought you were pretty good with a gun early on," he said laying down a card.
I smiled as I picked up my next card that gave me gin. "I wanted to be included in everything my father and brothers did, so I learned to hunt and fish, but I was never that great at tracking. You on the other hand excel at it."
"I do okay."
"You do way better than okay, Daryl. You are a top notch tracker and hunter. Your skills have helped this family of ours survive out here more than anyone else." I looked him dead in the eyes so he knew I was serious. Carol had told me a little of his background, but not nearly enough to satisfy my curiosity. I knew he came from a rough home life and having met his brother Merle, god knew what his father had been like.
"I do what I gotta do, but Rick's the one that keeps us together." He looked away from me and gazed down to the floor. He didn't take compliments well. I don't think he was used to them.
"Rick does keep us together, but you've been the one hunting for food, tracking the game and tracking to keep us alive from the crazies out there. "
All I got was a "yeah," out of him. Before I could say anything else the sound of the rain hitting the cabin increased to a dull roar along with the wind. A sudden crash of thunder made me jump. With the windows still shuttered closed to the outside world, the flash of lightening barely appeared.
Another boom of thunder came and then another even louder. I felt my palms start to sweat and my heart race. "You okay?" Daryl asked with a concerned look.
"No…yeah… well sorta." I feel so stupid admitting this, but lightning and thunder have always scared me. My parents had hoped that I would have outgrown this stupid phobia, but if anything as I got older it got worse. "I'm such a baby when it comes to storms like this." I sighed with my embarrassing admission. My arms were wrapped around my bent knees and I was rocking back and forth.
Daryl looked at me with concerned eyes. "Fear ain't stupid," he said. "Can I help?"
"No... not really." As soon as I said that another really loud crash of thunder occurred and unconsciously I moved closer to Daryl.
"Come 'ere," he said softly. Without having to think twice I moved into his arms. As I rested my head on his shoulder and my racing heart immediately began to slow down. Daryl instantly made me feel safe and secure. He always did. If he was on any run I was involved in or on a scouting mission, I always felt much more confident with him there then when he wasn't.
As the storm raged around us, we sat quietly together on the oversized sofa. His left arm was wrapped around my shoulders and my head rested against him. I was afraid and happy at the same time. Two emotions I would never have put together, but there they were. He was calming my intense fear just by holding me and that had never happened before. All my life I had never found anything that help would soothe me during a big loud storm like this, except the storm finally being over. Daryl was my answer.
The storm slowly abated, but I did not move from Daryl's embrace. Neither of us spoke as we stayed together in the quiet aftermath of the violent rainstorm. I wondered if we were encountering a hurricane or tropical storm. There was no one left to forecast the weather anymore, so major weather systems would come upon us with out any warning. I felt my eyes growing tired and knew I was about to drift off to sleep. Still in the comfort of Daryl's arm, I heard him whisper as I dozed, "Go to sleep, Lauren. I'll protect you."