A Secret

Chapter 6

A/N: This is going up really late because I'm really lazy and decided to start writing at 3 in the morning. I would've written sooner, but I kind of woke up at 5 in the afternoon and had to be somewhere two hours later. So I had to quickly eat supper and go. Then the interwebs and Melissa McBride distracted me. Anyway, have fun reading!
McBrideReedusLover.~

Carol ran inside when she heard the phone ring. The caller ID said Lori Grimes. Was Sophia ready to be picked up? "Hello?" Carol answered.

"Oh, you're alone." Carol could just tell Lori was smirking.

"Of course I'm alone. Who would be here?" Carol asked, leaning against the table.

"Well, I thought maybe you'd have some, company over, if you know what I mean." What in the world was Lori talking about? Why would she have... Oh.

"Before you even say it, no, Daryl is not here." Lori had been pestering her about Daryl since that barbecue. "I haven't talked to him, or seen him, since Sophia's birthday."

"Seems more like it was a date for you two." If Carol had a drink, this would be where she spit it out all over the place. A date? How in the world would it be a date? "I overheard Sophia talking to Carl. So, Daryl gave you a stuffed animal from the fair, hm?" Lori chuckled. "And then you kissed him."

Carol's face went red. "I... I did not kiss him."

"Your daughter says different." Lori grinned.

"Okay, first of all, you can't consider what I did a real kiss. It is not at all in the way you are thinking. It was just a simple peck on the cheek to show my appreciation-" She was cut off by Lori.

"Appreciation for his hot body? His good looks?" Lori snickered.

"I will not hesitate to hang up this phone." Carol said, unamused.

"Okay, sorry." Lori laughed. "But hey, he's single, if you want it, go and get it. I would not at all blame you." Lori paused. "You have another five months to be free Carol. I suggest you do what you have to. Maybe you'll find you have the strength to leave his sorry ass. I bet you'd be really happy with Daryl." Carol sighed. Lori had to bring that up. "Anyway, I just had to see if it was true. I told the kids I'd take them for ice cream and then drop Sophia off. Talk to you later."

"Bye Lori." Carol hung up the phone. She wanted nothing more than to have the strength to leave Ed. Dating Daryl wouldn't change that, it would just make her unfaithful. She'd be cheating. Even if Ed had cheated on her many times, and she knew he did, she just couldn't bring herself to do the same thing. It was against what she believed in. Even though Daryl was very good looking, she just couldn't. No way. Right? Would it really be cheating if she technically left him? Or was going to leave him? It's not like he cared about her anyway... What was she thinking? Daryl didn't even remotely like her in that way, and here she was figuring she'd go out with him. "Bad Carol..." She whispered to herself, and headed back outside. The flowers needed watering.

"Mom?" Sophia walked into the living room. Carol glanced over at Sophia before muting the television. "In a few weeks Carl and his mom and dad are going to stay at a fancy hotel. Carl said that his mom said we could go with them. Can we? I've never stayed in a hotel before."

Carol thought about it for a minute. She knew they'd never get the chance to go to a hotel again, since she didn't have a whole lot of money, and Ed would never allow her to leave the house unless it was to get groceries. "I guess we can." Carol smiled at her daughter.

"Awesome!" Sophia grinned. "And I may or may not have invited Daryl and he may or may not be staying in the same room with us anyway gotta go bye!" Sophia said that sentence so fast Carol almost didn't catch what she said.

"Hold it right there Sophia!" Carol called after her. "What do you mean you invited Daryl to stay in the same room as us?" How uncomfortable would that be for her! For him! For the both of them!

"Well... We saw him earlier and I sort of asked him... He said okay. So don't worry about it." Sophia bolted after that. Carol stared after her for a moment. Wonderful. It will be a grand time at the hotel.

"Get your nice clothes on, we're going to the bar!" Lori smiled at Carol. Carol heard the doorbell, and when she opened the door, thats how she was greeted.

"What do you mean? Why are we going to a bar? And what about Sophia?" Carol crossed her arms.

"I mean we're going to a bar. And we're going because Maggie's sister is performing there, and she wanted us to go. It will be me, Rick, Andrea, Shane, you, Glenn, and Maggie." Carol almost sighed a relief. "And Daryl." Lori smirked. "And as for the kids, we're leaving them with Hershel. Now hurry up."

"Is this just an attempt to get me drunk and force me to sleep with Daryl?" Carol glared at Lori. She figured that wasn't the case, but she might as well make sure.

"No don't be crazy!" Lori shook her head. "Now go get Sophia and go get ready! Rick is waiting in the car!"

They happened the arrive at the same time as Daryl. Shane's car was already there, and so was Maggies, meaning Andrea and Glenn were also already in the bar. Carol stepped out of the car and stretched her arms. She immediately placed her arms back at her side when she felt the cool breeze on her stomach. "Note to self, don't stretch in this shirt." She said quietly to herself.

"Maybe you should stetch in that shirt, a certain someone took notice of it." Carol nearly had a heart attack. Lori had been standing behind her the entire time.

"Lori!" Carol turned around and glared at her. "What the hell?" She rarely ever used language like that.

"All I'm saying is he never failed to notice you. The way he tried to cover up the fact he noticed you was quite amusing." Lori giggled. "Anyway, enough about that. Let's get inside before the show starts." Carol just nodded, and followed Lori. She glanced at Daryl, who was looking in every direction but hers. She tried to stop the smile that spread across her face. She entered the bar, and followed Lori to the table. Rick had gone up to the counter to get them a drink. She wouldn't be having any drinks tonight. She pondered on where to sit. The booth was bigger than the other ones, and was round. Maggie and Glenn were at one end. Then it was Shane beside Glenn, and Andrea beside him. Lori was next to Andrea. Carol figured Rick would want to sit beside Lori. That left her to sit beside Rick, and the only person left was Daryl. He'd sit beside her.

"Are you going to sit down Carol?" Maggie asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, I'm waiting for Daryl." No. Why did she just say that? That was not what she told her brain to say. It just slipped out. The grin on Lori's face made her feel even more embarressed.

"Oh, alright. I didn't know you and Daryl were together."

"Yeah Carol, I didn't know that either." Lori's grin spread more when she spoke. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Lori." Carol glared. "Maggie, we're not together."

"I've got drinks!" Carol was glad Rick came when he did. The drinks distracted them from the topic, and that made her happy. Rick slid into the booth and sat beside his wife. Carol looked toward the door as Daryl walked in. She decided now would be a good time to sit down. She moved over a bit once Daryl arrived at the table. He had two beers. She thought they were both for him, but she was wrong. He placed one infront of her and then sat down. She told herself she wasn't going to drink tonight. But she didn't want to be rude, he was nice enough to get her a drink. Then she started to wonder, why did he get just her a drink?

"Saw everyone else had a drink, thought ya might want one." It was almost as if he was reading her mind.

"Oh, well thanks." She gave him a small smile, and took a sip. She hadn't had a beer since she was eighteen. Ed never allowed her to drink, yet he could get wasted whenever he wanted to. She never understood why he could do everything and she could do nothing. She wished she could stop thinking about all the things Ed did to her, but she just couldn't.

"So Carol, Sophia told you about the hotel, right?" Lori asked.

"Oh, yes she did." Carol smiled. "When exactly is it?"

"Well we had to move it to July 10th. That's when Rick is off." Lori moved her hair back. "You're not doing anything right?"

"Nope, we're free." Carol nodded. "Sophia is pretty excited." She remember the look on Sophia's face when she told her about the hotel. Then she remembered something else. Sophia asked Daryl to tag along.

"Got that right." Daryl said quietly. No one else had paid attention to what Daryl said, as they were busy having their own conversations, but Carol heard him.

"She told me she asked you. You know, if you don't want to go with us, you don't have to. I know Sophia sort of forces things on people." Carol didn't want him to feel like he had to just because of Sophia.

"Nah, it's fine. Don't got nothin' better to do." Daryl shrugged.

"Okay guys, Beth is about to come on." Maggie smiled. She was so proud of her little sister. Everyone turned to look at the stage. Carol had never met Maggie's sister. A blonde girl walked out on stage. Carol noticed she was quite young. Probably no older than eighteen. She was quite pretty, but she looked quiet. She did a mic check, and then the band started playing. Beth started to sing, and Carol was amazed. She had a wonderful voice. Carol could tell, she would be very successful. She didn't do very many songs, because there were other bands that had to go on. After her last song was done, everyone cheered. Maggie whistled, and then waved her little sister over. "You did great Beth!" She smiled and hugged her sister.

"Thanks." Beth smiled shyly. "Well I have to go help put everything back in the bands van."

"Alright, come back to the table when you're finished." Maggie waved to her sister and sat back down. "I told you guys she was great."

"She really was." Andrea smiled.

"Yeah Maggie, you gotta be proud of your sister, she's pretty damn talented." Shane nodded, and put his arm around Andrea.

"I am proud of her." Maggie smiled.

"How old is Beth?" Carol asked.

"She's eighteen." Maggie replied. "I know she's not old enough to be in a bar yet, but she wouldn't be drinking. Cause if she does I'm going to kill her." Maggie chuckled.

Once again, everyone started their own conversation. Carol sat there silently, playing with the empty beer bottle. She didn't really have anything to add to the conversation. She didn't really know Maggie or Glenn, she'd only met them at Lori's wedding and a few times after that. She knew Andrea, but she didn't talk to her much, mainly because of Shane. She never really liked Shane. She saw the way he looked at Lori. She couldn't bring it up to anyone, because that would just cause a lot of drama that no one needed, so she kept her mouth shut. He was Rick's best friend after all. "I'm gonna get another beer." Daryl stated, looking at her. "Ya want another one?"

"Well... I didn't bring any money." Carol didn't want him to pay for another drink.

"S'fine. Don't worry 'bout it." Daryl stood up and walked over to the counter. A few minutes later, he returned with two more beers.

"Thanks." Carol took the beer from him. She pretty much threw the no drinking out the window. Hopefully she wouldn't have more than this, because it had been so long since she had alcohol, and she was already feeling the effects of the alcohol. She took a sip from the bottle, and had to admit, the taste was growing on her.

"Ya want me to take ya home or somethin'?" Daryl asked. Carol was looking a little wasted. And by a little, he meant a lot. She only had four beers, no one gets that wasted in four beers. Hell, he had five, and he was fine.

"Psh, no." Carol hit his shoulder. "I'm perfectly fine." Yeah right.

"Ya sure?" Daryl thought he might have to drag her drunk ass home. He would if he had to, because there was no way he'd let her stay here any longer. He had to admit, she was quite funny when she was drunk. Literally everything made her laugh. He ran his hand through his hair, and she nearly cried.

"I told you Daryl, I'm fine. I don't need to be taken home." He sighed, and there she started with the laughing again.

"Alright, I'm takin' ya home regardless of what ya say." He stood up and took her arm. "Guys, I'm gonna take her home. See ya later."

"Good idea Daryl." Lori nodded. She hadn't seen Carol drunk in a very long time. Obviously she couldn't handle her alcohol. "We'll see you again." She waved. Daryl nodded, and dragged Carol out of the building.

"You didn't have to do that. I could've walked myself." Carol moved away from him, and tried walking. She nearly fell.

"Jesus woman." Daryl caught her. "Ya sure get drunk fast." He grabbed her arm and put it around his shoulders. "Hell, ya can't even walk without leanin' on me."

"So not true." Carol glared up at him. Daryl just rolled his eyes, and walked her to his truck. He opened the door for her. She climbed in, with trouble, but managed to get buckled in. He shook his head, and walked around to the drivers side. "So, you're taking me back to my place you said?" She looked at him.

"Yeah, thats what I said." Daryl started the truck.

"You're not just saying that but really you're going to take me back to your place?" Daryl turned his head. What the fuck? Why on gods green earth would she say something like that? Of course he wasn't going to take her back to his place. They were just friends. Not friends with benefits.

"Hell no I ain't takin' ya back to my place." Daryl growled, and drove out of the parking lot.

"Shame." She said. Daryl looked at her again, but she had passed out right after she spoke. He was mentally freaking out. Why the hell would she say it was a shame he wasn't? He was confused right now. He knew she was drunk as fuck, but still, why say something like that? It's not like she liked him, right? They were just friends, nothing else. And even if they were something more than that, he wouldn't take her back to his place when she was drunk. He wouldn't take advantage of her like that. He was about to pull into her driveway when she nearly jumped out of her seat. "Sophia! We have to get Sophia!"

"Jesus woman! Calm the fuck down!" Daryl nearly had a heart attack at her sudden outburst.

"Well we have to get Sophia. She's at Hershel's right now."

"Well fuck, why didn't ya say that sooner?" Daryl sighed. "Look, ya need some water before ya go anywhere." He got out of the truck and walked over to her side. "Now get out, and we'll get ya some water." This time, she obeyed and got out of the truck. He helped her over to the door. She couldn't open the door, so he took the keys from her and unlocked the door. They walked inside, and he immediately went to the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and handed it to her. "Drink, now." He ordered. She took off the cap and downed the entire bottle. She already seemed less drunk than before. Maybe it was just overwhelming all the alcohol she had at once. "How ya feelin'?"

"My head hurts." Carol sighed. "Now let's go get Sophia."

"Mom got drunk?" Sophia asked, looking at Daryl. She had to go in through the drivers side because Carol had passed out again.

"Kinda..." Daryl said, glancing at Carol. "Guess she couldn't handle her drinks."

"I didn't even know mom drank at all! This is a shocker!" Sophia looked at her mom. Daryl didn't like the wicked grin that formed on Sophia's face. "Daryl, do you have a pen? Or better yet, a marker?"

"Uhm... Why?" Daryl asked.

"No reason. But do you?"

"Might be one in the glove box." Daryl said. Sophia opened it and smiled when she saw one. He saw her mouth the word perfect. "What are ya doin'?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the road now.

"Nothing." Sophia giggled, and took off the cap. She reached over and drew a mustache on Carol. She burst out laughing, and Carol started to stir. She quickly put the marker back and tried to look as innocent as possible.

"What?" Carol said tiredly, and sat up straight. Sophia put both hands over her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing. "What are you laughing at?" Carol asked. Daryl looked over at stopped the truck. He started laughing, and then Sophia couldn't hold it in anymore. Both of them were laughing very hard, Sophia was even tearing up. "What is so funny?" Carol glared at the both of them. It only caused them to laugh more. Carol sighed in frustration and pulled down the mirror. She was horrified. "Sophia!" While she was passed out, Sophia must have drawn a mustache on her.

"Okay, okay." Daryl tried to calm himself down. He took one look at Carol, and started laughing again. At this rate, they would never make it back to Carol's house.

"I will kill the both of you, and I'll make it look like an accident!" Carol crossed her arms. It wouldn't have been as bad if Daryl wasn't there. She was very embarressed right now. The fact that he couldn't stop laughing made it worse. "I hate you both." Carol muttered, and turned away from them.

"You end up getting that mustache off your face?" Carol read the text from Daryl.

"Yes. Now shut up." Carol replied. A few minutes later, another text message popped up.

"Last night, you said something to me 'bout taking you back to my place. I told you no, and then you said 'Shame'. What did you mean by that?" It took Daryl a lot of courage to ask her that. As Carol read the text, she started to freak out. She said that? She must've been really drunk if she said something that extreme.

"I don't know why I said something like that. I didn't mean it at all. I did not want you to take me back to your place. I was completely drunk. I did not at all want to go back to your place and have sex. And I never would say that." She was rambling on now. She couldn't believe she said that. Why, just why. Why would she even think that? They were only friends, they weren't anything else. They would never be anything else. No matter what Lori said, they would never be anything more than friends. Ever.

"Alright, I thought it was the alcohol talking." He sent back. She sighed in relief, and she was glad he didn't take her back to his place. That would have been such a disaster. She'd never be able to live with herself if that happened. She put her cell phone on the table and leaned back against the couch. She should've just refused the beer he offered her. None of this would've happened. Now she would be so embarressed whenever she went near him. Things would be so awkward now, and it was her fault. How would she be able to sleep in the same room with him without thinking about that?

"Damn it." She sighed, and stood up. She had to make lunch, or else Sophia would have a fit. Speaking of Sophia, she still had to punish her for drawing that mustache on her face. She figured the usual grounding for a week would do just fine, seeing as Sophia was always busy during the summer time. That's what she'd do, ground her. "Thats what you get for embarressing me Sophia." She said to herself, and walked towards the kitchen.

A/N: Drunk Carol. I like that. Lol. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this. R&R lovelies!
McBrideReedusLover.~