AN: Here you go, another chapter.
I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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Merle hadn't really known what to do. He, along with several of the drunks gathered near the pool tables, had lunged for Andrea as soon as they realized what her intent with the broken glass bottle in her hand was.
Merle had felt, for the moment, like he couldn't breathe. They all wanted Ed Peletier dead, or at the very least tucked away safe and sound in a correctional facility with no intention of letting the man go free, but not at the cost of landing Andrea in prison for murder.
Rick Grimes had been watching the commotion before it began, though, and he got Shane over there with him almost as quickly as Andrea got from behind the bar. Rick got his hands on Andrea and got her out the bar, and Merle didn't know what had happened after that.
Shane Walsh had immediately suspected Merle of being involved in the situation, and it was probably a pretty easy jump to make. Merle imagined that by now everyone in Sweet Junction knew about whatever the hell it was that was going on between him and Andrea, and they certainly knew about Daryl and Carol. The connection wouldn't be difficult to make.
So Shane had held everyone in the bar, stepping away only momentarily to stick his head out the door and speak to Rick.
And Merle had cooperated with the man as best he could. He didn't want trouble with him and he certainly didn't want to cause Andrea any more trouble than she may already be dealing with. He wasn't sure what Rick Grimes was going to do with her, but he didn't want to elevate anyone's tempers.
The hardest part had been keeping his cool while sitting around and listening to everyone else speak to Shane.
Their stories were all more or less the same, though. No one had seen much of anything and they hadn't heard a thing out of the ordinary for the Watering Hole. No one knew what had set the woman off…and so most of the drunks had actually been sent home, or at least sent to call whatever rides would come to keep them from filling the Sweet Junction jail for drunk driving, Shane apparently deciding the Watering Hole was closing down early.
And Merle had waited quietly, his jaw set and his eyes trained on Ed Peletier.
To say he hated the man would have been putting things lightly. He hated him for what he'd done to Carol. Merle knew Carol now, and it was bad enough before he knew her to think that Ed was pounding on her. Now that he knew her, though, and he saw how she was with his brother, he was even more pissed to think that she'd been Ed Peletier's personal punching bag.
Merle was still trying to process all that had happened with Andrea. He wasn't even sure where to begin and right about now he was wishing for one of those damn "talks" his brother was so fucking fond of.
He'd heard the rumors…who hadn't? Everyone in town rumored Andrea to be a slut or a whore. There were rumors of broken marriages and broken relationships and apparently she'd had her foot in every damn thing that ever went wrong with any relationship within a two hundred mile radius of the crater that was Sweet Junction.
And Merle had really started to believe that there wasn't one single element of truth in any of it. Andrea hadn't lived a silver spoon life, that much was obvious, and she'd certainly been no saint, but he had begun to doubt that she was even half as promiscuous as the town made her out to be…besides, Merle doubted any human being alive had the stamina or the time to put into fucking as much as the rumor mill said Andrea had fucked.
Besides, it really just didn't seem like Andrea to him. She was a freak sometimes…and she'd certainly taught him more than one or two things that he'd never experienced before meeting her…but she just wasn't like the old road whores that he'd known…and Merle had known more than his share of old road whores before he ever rolled his tires through Sweet Junction.
But Ed Peletier had turned all that on its head for the moment. He'd called her at her game, right in front of Merle. He'd undeniably let it be known that Andrea had and would fuck the likes of him for money.
And Merle couldn't process what he even thought about it…and he certainly wasn't sure how Carol was going to react when and if she found this out…and it was pretty clear she was going to find out after tonight's fiasco.
Still, Merle kept his cool and waited his turn. He listened to Shane's questions…asserted that he wasn't involved in any way with the attempted assault as Ed was calling it, but that he did know what had caused it.
He'd reluctantly told Shane what had happened, and he thought that the man smirked a little at the retelling of the events. In the end, Merle wasn't sure what was going to happen or if anything was going to happen, but it was clear that Ed wasn't going to be considered guilty of a single damn thing.
When Shane finished questioning Merle, and turned his attention to Ed Peletier and to Loretta who was protesting the early clearing out of her bar and her disappeared barmaid, Shane told Merle that he should clear out and get a ride…he didn't need to be around because apparently he was going to be suspect number one if Ed had any trouble.
Merle had chuckled in Shane's face, stared straight at Ed with a smirk, and declared in his most innocent voice that he was sure that Ed wouldn't have a lick of trouble, and if he did…Merle wouldn't know anything about it.
So Merle had called Daryl and asked him to pick him up…and then he'd stepped outside to wait, hoping to find out what had happened to Andrea, but Rick Grimes was gone and Andrea was gone with him.
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"No I ain't heard from her…" Daryl said for the second or third time since his brother had gotten in his truck. He didn't ask Merle where he wanted to go. Instead he was driving him back to his house to sort out whatever the hell was going on. He still wasn't sure that he had any damn clue what that was, though.
Andrea was gone, but Daryl didn't know where she was…and apparently Merle didn't either since he seemed to keep believing that Daryl was going to be able to answer the question for him.
"What the hell happened, brother?" Daryl asked, nipping at his thumb.
Daryl had come home from work, hopped in the shower to wash the smell of cow off of him, and by the time he got out, Carol had supper on the table.
They were trying to eat and juggle the mechanical baby that went through fits of not crying for so long they thought they'd broke it and then went through fits of not shutting up for a single damn thing or shutting up for one thing just to immediately start bawling for another.
Andrea was at work at the Watering Hole…it wasn't anything new and it wasn't anything that raised surprise in the household. She worked most nights at the Watering Hole, whether or not she'd been working the day at the Korean place.
Daryl hadn't known that Merle was down there, but he wouldn't have been surprised one way or the other. Merle had been doing everything in his power to get and keep Andrea's attention lately…apparently with some kind of design to turn his life around and maybe even go after something like a normal life with the woman…and so he often chased her around when she was down at the bar.
He hadn't been expecting to get the call to come pick Merle up, and he really wasn't expecting to pull in there, find Andrea's car in the parking lot, and find Merle waiting outside and wanting to know if she'd called.
"Fuckin' Ed Peletier," Merle growled.
Daryl felt his blood run cold. The mere mention of the man was enough to stop his heart in his tracks. What made the situation worse was that Daryl had foolishly left Carol at the house under the declaration that she'd be fine and it was a short trip to pick up Merle. But now he was suddenly feeling like his chest would cave in and he gave the truck some gas, heading back in the direction of his house.
"Fuckin' Ed's around?" Daryl snarled.
"Cool yaself down," Merle said. "He's with fuckin' Shane Walsh."
Daryl didn't let up on the gas, though. He felt like Ed Peletier had some kind of magical fucking powers to know when and where his ass could be to do the most damage and he felt like the man might just know that he wasn't at home with Carol.
"Fuckin' Ed come inta the bar…was runnin' his damn mouth an' it come out that Andrea whored 'round with him for some dough…she went fuckin' ape shit crazy an' busted a bottle…went after his ass an' Rick Grimes drug her off. Don't know where the fuck she is now," Merle said.
Daryl was a little overwhelmed and not positive he was processing any of the information correctly. He was also beginning to feel that the faster he drove toward his home, the farther away the place got. Finally, though, he turned onto their road and could see no evidence ahead of trouble.
Daryl didn't respond to Merle until he'd pulled into his driveway and let out a sigh because he could see Carol through the kitchen window. He didn't know what she was doing exactly, but she was clearly fine.
Daryl turned to Merle then.
"Fuckin' Ed come inta the bar an' ya ain't done nothin'?" Daryl said.
Merle chuckled.
"What the hell ya want me ta do, lil' brothah?" Merle asked, his voice raising an octave. "Unfortunately ain't no law 'gainst bein' an asshole an' I weren't tryin' ta go ta jail."
Daryl realized that Merle was telling the truth. For all they might hate the man and for all they might want to do to him, there really wasn't anything that they could do. Ed Peletier, son of a bitch that he was, had the law on his side at this point.
Daryl grunted his realization that he'd spoken from frustration and not from good common sense.
"What the fuck ya mean Andrea was whorin' 'round with him?" Daryl asked, slowly starting to pick the thoughts apart.
Merle blew the air he was holding in out through his teeth making a hissing sound.
"Fuck…she was fuckin' him…I reckon," Merle said. He shook his head. "Fucked him for money or somethin'."
Daryl squinted his eyes, processing the information.
"Andrea fucked Ed Peletier? When?" Daryl asked.
Merle shrugged.
"Fuck, Daryl, I don't fuckin' know…ya got cloth for ears? He said she was fuckin' him…I asked her 'bout it…she ain't said nothin' but she ain't had ta say nothin' an' then she went after the fucker with a broken bottle," Merle said.
Daryl chuckled despite the fact that it was inappropriate for the moment.
"Went after him with a busted bottle?" Daryl asked. "Damn…"
Merle chuckled in response and sucked his teeth.
"Damn hell cat," Merle said.
Daryl thought about it again. When had Andrea fucked Ed Peletier? What the hell was going on with her that she would do that? Did Carol know?
"Reckon Carol knows she was fuckin' him?" Daryl asked.
Merle shrugged again.
"Don't know that shit neither…" Merle said. "What the hell I do know is ain't got no fuckin' clue where the hell she is now…might oughta check the jail…"
Daryl didn't know if they'd lock Andrea up for threatening Ed with a broken bottle, but he wouldn't have been entirely surprised.
Daryl opened the truck door, still trying to sort shit out in his mind. This was a big steaming pile that they'd stepped right into and he could tell that Merle wasn't done processing it either…and now they were going to have to tell Carol what was going on.
Except Carol was coming out the carport door as Merle and Daryl made their way up there. She had her hands on her hip.
"What's going on?" She called as they started toward her.
Daryl glanced at Merle but figured he would have more couth when handling the situation, if any amount of couth could save this from being a bad thing.
"Gotta situation…" he started.
"Well is it related to mine?" Carol asked. "Michonne called…Andrea's at Rick Grimes' house."
Daryl stopped and noticed that Merle also stalled his steps. Carol knew something was up, but Daryl didn't know how much of the situation she knew and how much was a mystery to her.
"What she say?" Daryl asked.
He heard Carol audibly sigh as he closed the distance.
"Get the fuck back inside," he said, realizing she wasn't wearing shoes.
Carol turned and went back in the door, but she was waiting just on the other side of it when they came into the house. She kept one hand on her back, but now she'd picked up the kitchen phone, clearly switched off, and was holding it.
"Michonne said Rick called her…wanted to know what to do about Andrea…something happened at Loretta's?" Carol asked, looking at Merle.
Merle glanced at Daryl and Daryl shrugged at his brother. He didn't know what he was supposed to do or say in this situation.
Merle loudly cleared his throat.
"Ed was in the bar," he said.
Daryl watched Carol's face. She didn't look panicked or anything of the like, though. She was still wearing the same questioning face that she had before, not really phased by any mention of the man.
"Ed come up…talkin' shit 'bout Andrea…some shit came out," Merle said.
He loudly cleared his throat again and looked at Daryl. Daryl wasn't used to seeing the expression on Merle's face that was there. His brother was usually one of those assholes that could at least look calm and collected no matter what the hell was going on inside of him, but at the moment he looked a little worried and a little tired.
"Carol…" Merle said.
Daryl sighed, deciding that Carol was going to find out one way or another and he couldn't sit there and watch Merle pick at the edges of the Band-Aid. If she was going to react poorly then she was going to react poorly and they'd deal with it.
"Andrea slept with Ed…" Daryl said. Saying it left a bad taste in his mouth. He wasn't sure exactly which part of it made him want to gag…there was so much there he didn't like having on his tongue.
Carol blinked once or twice and looked at him, her face not changing much from the questioning face that she was wearing earlier. She was still searching for information perhaps, or either her face had become frozen like that. Daryl was hoping for the first.
"For money…" Daryl offered. Now he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say, but apparently he wasn't giving her anything to work with here.
Merle sighed.
"Andrea's a damn whore…an' she was whorin' 'round with Ed…" he said, apparently also a little frustrated by Carol's lack of changing facial expression.
Carol stood in front of them, looking back and forth between them.
"Why is she at Rick Grimes' house and why is Michonne calling us and not Andrea?" Carol asked, her face still confused.
Daryl was struck. That was the question she was waiting to have answered? That was the only question she was asking right now?
Daryl looked at Merle, but Merle had apparently decided this entire situation was too damn much for him because he was speechless and Merle Dixon was rarely rendered speechless.
"Broke a bottle," Daryl offered. "Tried ta go after Ed…Reckon Rick stopped her."
Merle nodded.
"Didn't know where she was," Merle offered. "I got caught up 'cause Shane Walsh thought I was in on the shit."
Carol looked back and forth between them.
"So she's at Rick's house because Rick took her there?" Carol asked.
Daryl and his brother both shrugged.
"And now he's calling Michonne to see if she's going to pick her up…and Michonne's calling us to see if we're going to pick her up…" Carol said.
Now all three of them were standing looking at the others as though someone was going to have the manner to make all of this make perfect sense. Someone was going to be able to say one or two words and restore the harmony and everything else they'd had before all this shit happened…before Ed Peletier happened.
Carol was the first to break the awkward silence.
"I'll get my shoes," she said.
Daryl reached out and caught her by the arm just as she started to turn. Carol turned back and looked at him.
"What?" She asked.
"Why ya gettin' ya shoes?" Daryl asked.
Carol looked at him like he'd just fallen off the turnip truck.
"To go and get her," Carol said, raising her eyebrows.
"Ya ain't pissed?" Daryl asked before he even really thought about the question. He just assumed that Carol might be pissed. She was finding out that Ed had cheated on her…and that he'd cheated on her with Andrea. Furthermore…and Daryl was still working to process this for himself…they were finding out that what they'd always thought was more Sweet Junction fiction than fact might actually be true. Andrea really was a whore.
Carol shook her head.
"Why would I be pissed?" She asked, glancing at Merle for further clarification, the confused look returning to her face.
"Got a pretty good damn idea she was fuckin' ya husband," Merle said.
Daryl almost chuckled at Merle's tone of voice. There was something distinct about the way his brother spoke when he was done dancing around a topic.
Carol smiled, but it wasn't a sincere smile…or at least not really.
"She didn't fuck my husband," Carol said. "I'm not married to Ed."
"But'cha were," Merle said, lowering his voice from what it had been before. Daryl could tell that Merle was tired. It was coming through in his tone.
Carol shrugged a little, chuckling softly.
"And Ed cheated on me from the beginning…" Carol said. "Was that supposed to be my big surprise or is there something more shocking up your sleeve?"
Merle glanced at Daryl again and Daryl chewed at his thumb.
"Ya really don't give a damn she slept with Ed?" Daryl asked.
Carol shook her head, looking at him with the most sincere calm he'd seen in her face for a while. She wasn't lying and she wasn't joking. Carol wasn't phased by this at all. Daryl suddenly felt like he and Merle both were having a harder time processing it than Carol was.
"I've slept with Ed before," Carol said. "In that case, it's Andrea I feel sorry for…"
Carol let her voice break off and she stood there a moment. Finally she sighed and looked back and forth between Daryl and Merle again.
"I'll get my shoes," she said, softening her voice. "Daryl…get the doll. We've got to go and get Andrea."
Carol turned quickly and headed toward the bedroom.
Daryl didn't know what he was supposed to feel about the whole situation and he looked at his brother who couldn't offer him anything more than his own bewildered expression.
Daryl sighed and went to get their mechanical crying nightmare off of the makeshift bed they'd made it on the dining room table. It looked like they'd sort all of this out later…and he had no idea what was going to come of it…but for now Carol had spoken. They were going to get Andrea.