AN: And it's onward we go. I'll try to get another chapter out (maybe) later…real life and all that jazz. LOL
Sorry, this chapter is not Caryl-centric, but as you know, those things happen from time to time.
Regardless, I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!
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Merle had acquired one of the bowls of extremely stale peanuts that stayed on the corner of the bar at the Watering Hole. Only an idiot would have ever eaten any of them beyond the first taste that typically signaled that someone was new to the four star location. They didn't exactly change out the peanuts for fresh ones on a regular basis and Merle had seen more than a few dirty hands go into the bowls, not to mention the one or two times drinks had gotten spilled into them. They were really more for decoration than for eating.
But Merle had drug one of the bowls over to his space at the bar and he was sitting with it right in front of him. He might not want to eat the nuts, but he was amusing himself with them because they were annoying the shit out of Andrea. He was perfecting his aim and throwing them at her every time she came into his range. At first she'd been picking the things out of her hair or clothes and he knew how good his aim was by where she swatted when it made contact, but now she was seeming less bothered by them.
Andrea was ignoring him, acting like he didn't even exist, and Merle thought that was bullshit. Ever since the damn pumpkin festival shit that had taken place he'd been trying to talk to her ass and find out who the fucker was that she was messing around with, but she kept ignoring him.
To make matters worse, the skinny little fucker with his stupid ass mustache came in damn near every night and sat all the way across the bar and grinned at Andrea like a damn mule eating briars. Merle didn't have a real damn reason to want to do it, but for some reason he really wanted to punch the goofy motherfucker in the mouth.
And Andrea was being a first class cunt. On top of flat out ignoring his ass…because even though she couldn't ignore a bra full of stale peanuts, she could ignore him…she was rubbing extra hard on the skinny little dickhead and kissing all over him between hustling trays of cheap ass beer to the bar patrons.
"Andrea…Andrea…damn it bitch, you hear me!" Merle said as Andrea passed by him again, tray in hand. He pelted her with a couple more peanuts and she turned her head a second before setting up the tray, still ignoring him. Her little boyfriend wasn't in there yet, but Merle was sure he was coming. "What'cha doin' fuckin' that skinny little asshole? Hmmm? That damn desperate without ole Merle in ya life? Hmmm…" Merle was hoping she'd at least say something, though he really wasn't sure what he expected her to say. "He can't have a dick no bigger than that," Merle said, holding up his pinky finger in Andrea's direction. "Can't be satisfyin' ya…'member Andrea…I know what kinda person ya is…"
Andrea didn't respond, but the look on her face let Merle know he was getting to her. She was at least annoyed if nothing else and her motions were jerky. She snatched up the tray and started around him again, still ignoring him, and he sent a couple of peanuts flying after her with a chuckle.
Merle turned around, after watching Andrea walk off to deliver the drinks, and put his elbows on the bar. As he swung his head back around his eyes immediately focused on Carol who was standing directly across the bar from him, her arms folded tightly across her chest, staring at him.
"Leave Andrea alone, Merle," Carol said in a low growl. "What are you messing with her for anyway? What do you care if she's with Axel or sleeping with everyone in Georgia?"
Merle smirked.
"Hot damn…you're gettin' right ballsy Mouse…shit don't look good on ya. Why don't'cha go yank my brother's chain a lil' longer an' leave me the hell alone?" Merle said. He turned around, spotting Andrea at one of the pool table and turned back, expecting Carol to have scurried her little ass away somewhere, but she was still standing there in the same position except now her eyes were narrower than they were before.
Merle sucked his teeth and shook his head.
"Fuck ya want?" He asked, pouring himself another drink. Carol reached over and snatched the bottle away from him before he could snatch it back from her. "Gimme that shit back, I ain't done."
"I'm cutting you off," she said.
Merle chuckled.
"Can't do that," he said.
"I sure as hell can," Carol responded, putting the bottle under the bar. "We've got a right to cut off anyone that we think has had enough. Or did you want me to call Rick Grimes and have him come up here and confirm that you're sufficiently drunk for the evening?"
Merle growled at her. The bitch had the police officers in the sweet little town of Sweet Junction in her back pocket it seemed. Rick Grimes and Shane Walsh both frequented the establishment to keep "control" as they put it, but seldom did either of them take part in the libations. Typically they held down the corner booth and watched the drunks to make sure that there wasn't anyone getting ready to start a fight over one stupid thing or another and break a few of the quality chairs that Loretta drug in from whatever second hand shop supplied the seedy bar.
Merle glanced around behind him and noticed that the booth typically reserved for the men was empty at the moment. No one was in there to keep peace any damn way, but he didn't doubt that Carol would call one of them if he tried to get the bottle back from her.
"Fuck you…" Merle growled, not really having any other recourse at the moment. "Ya wanna be queen of this damn garbage heap? Well go ahead then."
He rested his elbows on the bar again and waited. Eventually she'd have to go serve some tables and he'd reach over and pluck the bottle back out from under the bar. He was in here so damn often that Loretta damn near considered him a manager of the fucking dump. He helped himself and dropped some bills in the register from time to time to keep the ample breasted proprietor satisfied.
"Leave Andrea alone," Carol repeated. "You've ignored her for this long, what's got you so riled up? Can't stand to see her with someone else? It's one of those things Merle…and I'm going to put this into your language so that you can wrap your head around it…you've got to either shit or get off the pot."
Merle raised his eyebrows at Carol. She didn't usually talk to him like this…or to anyone like this for that matter. He wasn't sure what she'd eaten that day but apparently she was trying to tap into her inner hell cat with all her might at the moment.
"What the hell you know about it?" Merle asked, a little annoyed at being challenged by the woman. "Take ya chunky ass on and work on gettin' ya fuckin' tips outta these drunk motherfuckers. What I do don't concern ya in the least bit."
Carol didn't move…didn't even budge except for to lean a little closer to Merle.
"Axel is good to Andrea," Carol said. "He treats her with respect. He treats her with kindness. He doesn't call her whore, or slut, or anything else. He calls her Andrea. He treats her like she's worth it. She's worth his respect, his time, and his money. If you're not prepared to offer her the same damn thing, then be a man for once Merle and walk away gracefully."
Merle raised his eyes at her.
"Fuck ya say ta me, Mouse?" Merle asked. "I'm a fuckin' man, so don't'cha get in my face an' say I ain't. I ain't my brothah an' I ain't gon' let'cha mouth ya ass off ta me."
Merle knew his threat was idle. He wasn't actually going to do anything at all to the woman. He didn't believe in laying his hands on a woman unless she had hers on him, and Carol didn't have the balls to take a swing at him. Andrea might have, but Carol wouldn't. Besides, for as much trouble as she caused him, Daryl was damn fond of the mousy little woman in front of him and he'd have come out of hiding to go a few a rounds with Merle if so much as looked at the little bitch harder than she thought was OK.
"You're not acting like a man, Merle," Carol said. "You're the one acting like a mouse. It's killing you that Andrea's found someone that's good for her and moved on from you. Either step up and learn how to be a real man or back off. She deserves a hell of a lot better than you."
"I'm serious," Merle said, starting to get really annoyed at Carol's new found attitude, wherever it was coming from. "Back up, Mouse. I ain't playin' with ya no more."
He swallowed and set his jaw, tipping his head to the side and hoping it was enough to make her think that he meant what he said and he might actually clock her one if she didn't step back and leave him alone.
Carol growled at him and held her stance another minute before snatching up one of the trays that was stacked nearby and starting around him to help serve the other people in the bar.
Once she was gone, Merle chuckled to himself and watched her storming away. He reached over the bar and plucked the bottle out again, fixing himself another drink.
He watched her serving some of the others, across the room from Andrea. She kept shooting him looks over her shoulder and he puckered and kissed at her which made her look all that much more annoyed.
The Mouse was getting some fire from somewhere…more than she used to have back when she'd damn near go through the roof just from catching a glimpse of her own shadow on the floor. Merle could somewhat see what might be the appeal there for Daryl, physically, in the woman, although she was chunking up a good bit more than she used to be, but he was still trying to wrap his mind around why his brother seemed so hellfire determined to be domestic with the bitch.
As Merle was contemplating this thought, he saw the skinny little twit that Andrea was seeing…Axel…come through the door into the smoky bar. The man stopped, as he typically did, at the old jukebox and stood there a minute choosing some out of date damn songs to play over the loud din of the other drinkers. Then he shuffled along a moment, walking right to where Andrea was leaning over a table, and Merle saw him reach out and pat the small of her back.
Andrea turned and looked over her shoulder at the physical contact and smiled at the man who returned the smile. He walked on toward the bar area, stopping a moment to shoot the shit with some drunk in plaid shirt that Merle didn't know, and finally made it to the other end of the bar, saddling up on one of the stools and peeling off the poor quality brown leather jacket that he was wearing, resting it on the empty stool next to him.
Carol came around a moment later, shooting Merle a look over her shoulder which he responded to with another air kiss and chuckled when her glare hardened a little more. She fixed a beer and took it to the man, sitting it down.
"How are things at the mill today?" Merle heard Carol ask.
Axel bobbed his head, taking a drink of the beer that coated his mustache in foam. He swiped at it with the sleeve of his shirt.
"Can't complain too damn much," Axel said. "Took Juny for a walk and swung by your house. Let Lincoln go with her."
"Thank you!" Carol said, her voice pleasant and sing songy...quite unlike the voice she'd been using with Merle earlier.
"Not a problem. I think Juny likes the company," Axel said. "What time ya get off tonight?"
"I'm closing down with Andrea," Carol responded. "She said I could leave earlier, but Loretta's off tonight and I don't like Andrea closing the bar down on her own."
Axel bobbed his head again.
"Yep…yep…better not to be out alone that late. I could hang 'round if you want. Don't got anything else to do," Axel said.
Carol shot Merle a quick look over her shoulder and turned back to Axel. She was aware that Merle was listening to the conversation, he knew that much.
"You don't have to do that," Carol said. "We'll be fine on our own. Rick's going to swing by at closing time and clear the place out after last call. Then we gotta clean up. You'd just be bored holding down a bar stool for all that time. Unless you wanted to take Andrea somewhere…leave early?"
Axel chuckled.
"Now if Andrea ain't fit to be closing down on her own," Axel said, "what makes you think I'm going to leave you here by yourself? Nah…rough side of town…it's better if you both stay put. I'll hang out, though, at least until Rick gets here."
Carol smiled and nodded.
"Just let me know if you need anything," she said. "We could throw something on to cook in the back if you're hungry."
Axel shook his head.
"Had leftovers from that chili Andrea made. Damn good shit but I'm about as full as a tick right now," Axel said.
Carol laughed and Merle thought it was pretty damn fake. Nothing the man said was that fucking funny. She patted Axel on the arm and turned around, fiddling with some shit behind the bar before walking back past him, shooting Merle another look.
Merle watched the skinny man a moment. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what the hell Andrea would be doing with the likes of him. The man slid off the stool again and walked over to the table where he'd spoken to the other guy in plaid and stood there, nursing his beer and talking to the man, his eyes on Andrea half the time as she bustled about.
Merle knew what the hell kind of woman Andrea was and she wasn't the kind of woman that would like this bland as fuck dumbass. Merle watched her as she headed back toward the bar. She circled around him once more like he didn't even exist and went digging through her pockets to deposit the dirty, sweaty money into the tip jars they kept tucked behind the bar.
"So ya decided now that'cha wanta play house with this fucker or what?" Merle asked. He glanced over at the skinny little asshole who wasn't paying them any attention for the conversation he was having. "Don't fuckin' ignore me, Andrea. I'm twice as big as ya fuckin' lil' boyfriend…I know ya can see my ass."
For the first time since the damn pumpkin fiasco, Andrea looked dead at him, her eyes focusing in on his. She walked over then, leaning across the bar and looking at him.
"Stop slinging fucking peanuts at me," Andrea growled. "And stopped making faces at Axel. Fuck you, Merle. You said you don't give one hot damn about me, so stop giving a damn now. I'm not your problem, remember? Axel likes me being his damn problem…so you should be happy. You've got what the hell you want now."
Merle reached across the bar and caught Andrea's arm, leaning in toward her.
"Ya tryin' ta tell me that this guy…that skinny little pussy lights you up?" Merle asked. "He know what kinda damn freak ya are?"
Andrea smirked.
"It's fucking killing you, isn't it?" She asked.
"Fuck ya talkin' 'bout?" Merle growled.
Andrea chuckled.
"It's killing you, Merle. You can't stand the fact that Axel actually likes me," Andrea said. "You did this to yourself, Merle. I offered you exactly the same package that I've offered Axel…more, actually…and you turned it down. This isn't kindergarten, Merle. You can't get pissed off because you put a toy down and someone else picked it up."
"Fuck you," Merle said. "I ain't no damn kid…an' just sos ya know, ya pussy ain't made a' gold or nothin'."
Andrea smiled softly at him.
"See, Merle? I can't even tell you that you could have the toy back if you acted like a big boy…because you haven't learned yet how to act like a big boy…and I don't have time anymore to play with toddlers," Andrea said.
Merle growled at her. He wasn't sure what the hell he wanted out of her, but it wasn't the smug ass attitude that she had right now. He didn't know what the fuck was in the water around this place but he thought it'd be a good damn idea not to drink any of it. It had people feeling far too damn big for their britches.
Andrea hooked her fingers under his and Merle felt her pry her way out of his grasp. She smiled again and took up a glass, filling it with beer. Merle threw back another shot and grit his teeth at her. As she circled around him again, she patted him on the shoulder.
Merle sat there for another few minutes. He wasn't sure why the hell this bothered him. He didn't need any damn body in his life and he certainly didn't need some nagging hell cat of a road whore like Andrea. He didn't need some woman thinking she had control of him…thinking she was going to turn him into some kind of pussy like the Axel fellow. He didn't need some woman thinking she had him trapped forever and had her damn claws sunk in for good, like Carol thought she was with Daryl. Merle didn't need that shit in his life. No damn woman was that special or that important that Merle Dixon was going to hand his balls over to her.
No, Merle didn't want to be a pussy like his little brother had turned into and he didn't want to hand his balls over to any damn woman. None of them were worth that shit.
He watched as Andrea walked over, interrupting the conversation between Axel and the other man for a moment to ask him something obviously. Axel nodded at her and their conversation went on for a second before she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, speaking to the other man before starting back on her rounds.
Merle Dixon wasn't built like that. He wasn't built to be that kind of damn man. It didn't appeal to him in the slightest.
Except for just a moment he wondered what the hell it might be like. He wondered how fucking far he'd actually have to go. He wasn't ever going to be no damn "welcome home dear" kind of asshole…but he wondered, if some woman actually was interesting enough to hold his attention for a long damn time, exactly how fucking far would he have to go?
Merle growled at himself, shoving the bottle in front of him toward the back of the bar for someone to put away. He stood up and thumbed out a couple of bills, dropping them in his spot as a tip. He'd tally up the rest of what the hell he owed with Loretta later. The damn whiskey was going to his fucking head and had him thinking some pretty stupid shit…had him thinking damn pussy thoughts like his fucking baby brother would have thought about. He was done with that shit for the night. He'd walk his ass down to the corner store and buy some cigarettes and then he was going back to his fucking apartment where he didn't have to see this shit and have this probably spoiled ask whiskey making him think about shit like that.
Merle grabbed his jacket off the empty stool beside where he'd been sitting and stomped out of the bar, casting one last glance in the direction of Andrea as he slipped through the heavy wooden door and out into the streets of Sweet Junction.