It was a couple of days until I saw Daryl next.
When I heard the lyrics flowing through the door I could feel my heart breaking. I stood there until the song finished, debating on whether or not to knock. I wanted to, but I didn't know if I should. I didn't know if Daryl was the kind of person that needed to be alone, or if he was the type that needed you to chase after him. While I was wishing for the latter, I had a feeling he needed his space. Begrudgingly, I turned back and went back to my own apartment, only to bypass everything and drop myself in bed.
As I curled up with my body pillow, I couldn't help but feel the aftereffects of the day wash over me. In the past 24 hours I had broken it off with my abusive boyfriend, found comfort in the arms of my older, mysterious neighbor, had mind blowing sex with said neighbor, and then pissed him off enough to chase him away. I was still wearing Daryl's t-shirt and the smell of him clouded my thoughts. I hadn't meant to upset him, but I wasn't entirely sure that it was all my fault. All I had done was be honest and open with him in attempts of learning more about him. Had that really warranted such a reaction from him? The longer I thought about it, the more tired I became and I eventually drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
Sunday came and went, as did Monday. I spent the majority of my time inside of my apartment when I wasn't at school. I avoided going out into the hallway at all costs. I was so worried about bumping into Daryl, or hearing his voice on the other side of his door that I scurried away from our doors like a nervous mouse. Working at the Nursery on Tuesday had provided some distraction, but not as much as I had hoped for. During lunch, I sat down with Lori and explained what happened the weekend prior, only for her to tell me to give Daryl space. She said that stereotypical line, "if it's meant to be, it'll be" and I wanted to scream. I wanted to talk to him but I couldn't drudge up the courage to do so. I felt like everything had gone back to the way it was before, with him being a complete asshole and me being intimidated by him.
I went on a bike ride after work as I tried to clear my head. I cared about Daryl, there was no getting around that. I liked the time we spent together talking in my apartment drinking sweet tea. I liked when he kissed me with this unbridled lust that I hadn't experienced before. I liked how he spent the night on my couch instead of my bed because I was drunk and he didn't want to look like he was taking advantage of me. There were so many things I had grown to respect and cherish about Daryl and I was afraid that it was all for nothing.
Upon arriving at my building, I noticed that the motorcycle wasn't in its usual parking spot and I could feel my muscles relax. Daryl had told me that lately he preferred riding the bike because of the traffic and parking issues by where he worked, which meant that he was still out. Grabbing my bag from the handlebars, I ran up the three flights of stairs, only to hear Classic Rock music flooding our hall. I knew that meant the the older Dixon brother was definitely home. I almost made it through the door before I heard their door open, but it wasn't Merle. As my eyes followed a scantily clad woman strutting down the hall, I could hear more feminine giggling coming from the apartment. When I turned to face the sound, my eyes were met by familiar bright blue ones and my breath caught in my throat.
"Hey, Daryl" I said softly as I felt my entire body blush. His eyes were locked on and it reminded me of how he'd stared at me in my room. It was almost predatory, but I wasn't put off by it surprisingly. My stomach churned deliciously at the sight of his bare chest through his leather vest. "H-How are you?"
"Fine" he replied, his tone gruff and serious. "You?" The coldness of his voice struck me harder than I thought it would. It felt like he had slapped me across the face, just like Jimmy had.
But before I could answer there was a high-pitched, trailer park giggle coming from behind the door and a woman appeared behind him. She was taller than me and had long, curly red hair. Her jean daisy dukes barely covered anything at all and her bright pink tank top was a couple sizes too small. I normally wouldn't have paid a woman like that much attention, but when I saw her hanging off of him (well trying to between his attempts at shooing her off), I focused on her a bit more. "Daryl baby, who'ya talkin' to?" the tramp asked.
"Carly, this is Beth," he said quickly. "Beth, Carly." I couldn't help but narrow my eyes at him in disgust. I remembered back to the first time I had ever knocked on his door and Merle had answered. He'd mentioned something about Daryl being at some girl's house when i'd asked for him. Was this the girl in question?
"Nice to meet you, Carly" I said politely, trying to bite my tongue in the process. If I would have said anything to her then, I would have been no better than her and her blatant attempts at "claiming her territory" so to speak. I held my hand out to her but she looked at me if I were diseased.
"Yeah...whatever" she replied as she turned her attention back to Daryl. I could feel my fists clenching automatically because of my overwhelming desire to hit this woman before me. How dare she speak to me like that?! Who was she to think she was better than me?! Judging by the way Daryl pushed her off, she meant close to nothing. I had been able to wrap my arms around him. I had dug my fingers into the soft flesh of his back leaving marks in my wake. Or had she done that too? Daryl must have noticed my change in demeanor because he quickly dismissed her back into the apartment.
"Nice girl" I spat as I felt my blood boil. I never would have imagined Daryl to be the kind of man to do this to someone, but I chalked it up to apparently not knowing the real Daryl Dixon. "She's a real keeper, that one."
He started to explain before Merle's voice rang out clear as a bell. "If that's the blonde from 'cross the hall, invite 'er in, baby brother!" he exclaimed, clearly drunk and drugged out on whatever he was able to find that day. He pulled the door wide open and dropped his arm over Daryl's shoulders, which tensed immediately. "Hey, sugartits. Change your mind about partyin' wit us?"
Daryl quickly pushed him away, effectively shutting Merle's mouth for a moment. "Shut it, jackass" he said sternly, which only caused Merle to laugh. "Aww, look at him, Carly! Darlene thinks she's got a pair!" The tramp from before began to laugh at the top of her lungs, emitting a sound that was practically a screech. I watched him hang his head, clearly deciding to fight no more and to just take whatever they doled out. I turned to my door and unlocked it rapidly, only to turn around and grab Daryl by the hand and pulling him into my apartment. He didn't take to that action very well, as I remembered being warned about him and pulling at the bar.
"What the hell was tha' for?" he barked right as I shut the door. "I didn't need yer help."
"I know you didn't! You just didn't deserve that!" I screamed. I was enraged with how Merle had treated his younger brother and I was sickened by the female company they kept. I couldn't understand for the life of me what made them treat him that way. The fact that he had given in upset me even further. "And why'd you just give up?! You're so much stronger than that!"
I could tell that my passion had thrown him for a loop, causing him to back away from me slightly and lean against my breakfast bar. "Why do you care?" he asked, his voice still unwavering. "You're the one who's been avoidin' me the past few days! Not the other way around!"
His response caught me off guard. That was the last argument I expected him to use. He had noticed my cowardice after all, how I have no idea. "If you noticed, why didn't you come to me?" I asked, my voice more restrained and calm. "But no, you avoided me too, didn't you?" His quiet said it all, as it usually did. I chuckled and crossed my arms over my chest, a smirk on my lips. "You're just as afraid of me as I am of you, aren't you?" That explained everything. The fact that he'd run out on me the other day, how he'd only been that way why Merle was gone. The thought almost enraged me. "You have the nerve to blame me without taking an ounce of it yourself? Fuck you."
The air was heavy between us as my harsh words lingered between us. His eyes were transfixed on me and he wasn't moving. He just stood there staring at me. As I was about to speak, he lunged at me, weaving his fingers into my hair and pressing his lips against mine. His lips were frantic against mine, and were filled with a desperation like no other. Before I could understand what was going on, I was kissing him back and his hands drifted to the underside of my thighs. Daryl lifted me and wrapped my legs around his waist and brought me to my kitchen counter, setting me down on the granite countertop. When I was seated, I pulled back a bit and looked at him, trying to understand what he was doing.
"I should'a never left the other night" he breathed as he gripped the side of my face and brought his forehead to mine. His voice was shaky and nervous, but like my breathing. He wrapped his other arm around my waist, clutching me to him. My head was swimming, my blood was pumping, and I couldn't catch my breath. I closed my eyes as I assessed the situation, but Daryl took that as a sign to kiss me again. My legs wrapped around him and held him to me as I gave into our desire to lose ourselves in one another.