I know everyone is really sick of Ed! Just hang in there! He is serving a purpose I promise. And I wont need him for long. Thank you for reading! =)
Chapter Two
Carol scrubbed the pants she held in her hands vigorously on the washboard. Back home she had enjoyed the laundry. People thought she was insane but there was something relaxing about mundane chores. This on the other hand was not relaxing or mundane. She wasn't even sure who the pants belonged too. All she knew was that they somehow ended up in a hamper and now she was determined to get the filthy things clean. Her hands were red but she fought with the pants anyway.
Ed was behind her, sitting on a rock watching every move she made like he usually did. The other women kept their mouths shut, for her sake, while they went about their own washing. Rick and Shane were down the bank a ways with Sophia and Lori and Ricks son Carl. She was happy to see Sophia smiling as the men tried to show the children how to spear a fish.
"The hell you keep on washin' the same pair of pants for?" Ed called from behind her and she felt her whole body stiffen at the sound of his voice.
She opted to ignore him, knowing the chances of paying for that later were high but she didn't care at the moment. If he wasn't going to give her hell for this he would give her hell for some other reason. She wrung out the pants and put them with the rest of the semi clean clothes.
"Hey, Carol."
Carol looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun and smiled. "Hi, Lori."
"Have you seen Carl? I haven't been able to find him anywhere at camp and I was hoping he was with Sophia." Lori said, a little breathless.
Carol pointed further down without saying anything to the woman.
Lori let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I swear I just can't keep that boy in one place."
Carol just smiled at her and picked up the now heavy basket of wet clothes. She walked over to where Ed sat. "Ed, would you mind running these to camp for me and bringing back the other basket of linens?" She asked, knowing he would say no.
"I ain't doin' your damn chores. Go on and do it yourself." He pointed towards the path.
She turned around with her heavy burden and smiled. She knew the only way she could keep him from following her around was to ask him to do her a favor. She didn't mind that the basket felt as though it would pull her shoulders out of their sockets, so long as it gave her a few minutes away from him. She was about a quarter of the way up the side when she nearly ran into someone coming around the curve.
"Shit." Carol huffed as she skidded to a halt and then she flushed.
Daryl stopped just before he ran right into her. Their eyes locked for just a brief moment and then he looked away and stepped around her.
"Sorry. I should have been watching where I was going." She mumbled as he passed her on the path. She heard his feet on the gravel for a few steps but then they stopped.
She turned around and watched him. He just stood there for a few seconds and she was about to turn around and head up to camp without waiting on him to say anything because her arms were killing her. But then he spun around and grabbed the basket from her, lifting it easily.
"Daryl, you don't have to do that. That basket weighs a ton." She fussed as he passed her and headed back towards camp.
He turned his head towards her and looked at her like she was dumb so she stopped fussing and gave him a smile.
"Thank you, again. You know, if you aren't careful I'm going to start thinking you might be a nice guy."
He grunted in response but she noticed that the corner of his mouth lifted slightly right before he slipped that angry mask back into place.
"So, do you ever talk anymore?" She asked, honestly curious. "I've heard you talk to your brother. I heard you yell at Rick and Shane. I think I even heard you call Lori a whore before, but I haven't heard you say a word since you got back from Atlanta." She couldn't keep the worry out of her tone.
"I ain't mute." He muttered.
"That's good." She said, hiding a smile of her own.
He sat the basket down next to the clothesline where she hung her laundry. She expected him to run off as soon as she started hanging the clothes but he didn't. Instead he leaned against the tree and watched her. She didn't mind. He wasn't staring at her the way Ed did. Like he was waiting to criticize her for something. She wasn't sure exactly why he was looking at her but for some reason it felt nice.
Dale and Glen were sitting on top of the R.V. looking down at them curiously.
"So, are you planning on staying with us? I know Rick and Shane were talking about heading out some time soon." She spared him a look.
He just looked up and shrugged.
She continued on with the clothes but she did spare him one more glance before she said anything else. He was chewing his thumb nail and looking off into the trees. "For what its worth." She picked up the dirty laundry basket and then faced him, "I really do hope you stay with us."
His blue eyes flicked over towards her and held hers for a moment, causing her to feel like maybe her words had came out all wrong.
"I mean, you know. Strength in numbers and all." She smiled feeling her face flush and then wondering why on earth she was blushing.
He turned without a word and stalked off towards the path. She watched him silently until he was out of sight. She waited a few more minutes before she walked in the same direction, not wanting Ed to see her arriving at the same time Daryl did. She glanced up at Dale and Glen and gave a small wave. They both waved back and looked away.
~H~
Daryl stalked down the path, making more noise than usual but not caring at the moment. He didn't know why he had done that. Helped her carry laundry like some dumb ass. But that basket did look heavy, for her anyway, and he thought it was stupid to make her carry it all the way up to camp when it was much easier for him to just do it himself. God, Merle would have given him shit for days over a dumb ass move like that. And then he didn't just pack the basket for her, he had stood there like an idiot while she hung up the clothes. He knew that nosy old man and the Chinese guy were watching him but he hadn't really cared. Not at the moment. He cared now though. They were probably talking about it right now.
He blew out a breath and then he stopped in the middle of the path when he realized something. He had no idea why he had been headed down in the first place. And she was up there somewhere heading down herself with more clothes to wash. He kept on walking. He wasn't about to make himself look even more stupid by passing her on the path again. He'd find something to do down by the water. He'd figure out what once he got down there.
He started thinking about what she had said. That she hoped he stayed on with the group. Why the hell would she say that?
"Hey, you see my wife up there anywhere?" Ed called as soon as he came around the bend.
He ignored the man. There wasn't a damn thing that he had to say to him. He spotted the cops and the two kids down the bank a ways and started heading towards them. Maybe ask where they planned on heading and then if it sounded good enough he would think about going with them.
"Hey, I asked you a question boy. You deaf or somethin'?" Ed called as he stood up from the rock he had been sitting on.
Daryl froze and then turned around slowly.
Ed was making his way towards him, cigarette hanging from his fat lips. Daryl's hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"Ed! That's enough!" Andrea ran to stand in front of Ed when he was about twenty feet away from Daryl.
Daryl narrowed his eyes. The last thing he wanted was for this dumb bitch to get in his business. He wanted Ed to try some shit with him. Ed was bigger which was probably the only reason he thought he could mess with Daryl to begin with but Daryl knew he could take him. He had been fighting since he was a kid and Ed was big but he was soft. Any man that liked to put his hands on women and kids wasn't tough in Daryl's book.
He tore his eyes away from Ed just in time to see Carol. She was holding the basket in both hands and she froze at the sight before her. Andrea was still lecturing Ed, who looked close to hitting her. Daryl realized that his hands were still clenched and he let them relax.
"Whats wrong?" Carol asked, a hint of fear creeping into her voice.
"Did I ask you to open your mouth?" Ed spun around and took a few steps towards the woman who looked really scared now.
Her eyes met his and then she looked back at the advancing Ed. Daryl didn't realize he had decided to act until his feet were moving.
Carol's eyes shot up and went wide. "Daryl, don't." She breathed but he wasn't listening anymore.
If Ed wanted a fight then that's what Daryl would give him. He wasn't going to lay a hand on the woman. Not in front of him anyway. Merle wasn't here to tell him what to do anymore. No one was. So he was going to start doing whatever the hell he wanted to do. And he was going to start with Ed.
Ed turned around and sneered at Daryl. But Daryl didn't give him a chance to say a word. He hit Ed one time and then Ed hit the ground. It hadn't been long since Shane had beaten the hell out of the man so Daryl couldn't take all the credit. He was sure Ed's face was still pretty sore from the other day.
Carol rushed over to him and knelt down by his head. When she looked up at Daryl there were tears on her face. He felt sick. This woman was crazy. Batshit crazy. The man had beaten her half stupid and she was going to cry over him?
"What's going on?" Rick asked, a little breathless as he ran towards them.
"Ed." Andrea spat. "He came at Daryl. And this time Daryl wasn't the one that started anything."
Shane was right behind Rick, peering down over Ricks shoulder. He glanced towards Daryl and gave a nod.
Daryl ignored him. He gave Carol one last disgusted look and then turned and walked away. He would never understand why women would put up with men like Ed. Not women like her who was suppose to be smart. She should have more respect for herself than that. He remembered thinking about how he didn't like her. But really he just didn't understand her. He probably never would.
He needed to just stay away from her. She was too nice and it was getting into his head. He knew that she probably just pitied him. Like he was some orphaned dog on the side of the road. He didn't need that from her. Or anybody else in this group for that matter.
"I really hope you stay..." Her voice sounded in his head as he stormed up the path. He shook his head. And here he thought that with Merle being gone his life was going to be less complicated. He blew out a breath and kicked at the loose rocks in front of him.