Chapter Six
"ACHOO!" Annette jumped at the sound of her daughter's sneeze from the front porch, Hershel chuckling at her reaction to their daughter's sneeze from the front porch.
"That poor child." Annette said as she poured sweet tea into four mason jars, handing one to Hershel after dropping a slice of lemon into it, "I guess we can do grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch today. The rain's makin' it chilly for a summer day and Beth needs a lil' somethin' to make her feel better."
"Go fish!" Beth shouted and Hershel leaned back in his seat, looking through the front screen door where Beth and Daryl sat on the front porch playing cards, hearing her laugh as she teased him with a card.
"Do we really gotta play Go Fish?" he heard Daryl ask.
"Yes, we do."
"Why don' ya pick another card game?"
"It's the only one I know..." Beth answered shyly and Hershel saw Daryl just hang his head, Beth blushing and chuckling behind her cards.
"I'm gonna have to teach you some more games." he grumbled. Hershel sat back up and snagged a couple of chips from the bowl that sat on the counter between him and Annette. His wife smiled and picked up the other two mason jars, taking them outside and handing them to the two.
"Thank you, mama." Beth said and Annette leaned down, kissing the top of her head and patting Daryl's shoulder as she walked back into the house.
Annette sat back down on a barstool at the island across from her husband, Hershel reaching and taking her hand in his. She smiled and listened to Beth's laughter as she and Daryl spoke, looking over at her husband and laughing softly.
"I think our lil' Bethy has a crush." she said softly and Hershel smiled, taking another sip of his wife's sweet tea.
"I don't think she's the only one. They're always with each other when he's not workin' or she's not helpin' at the clinic, and he don't seem to mind too awful much."
"I don't want her getting' hurt." Annette said and Hershel patted her hand gently.
"I'll talk to her afterwhile, love. Don't go getting' worked up." Hershel reassured his wife and Annette smiled. They looked up at the sound of Maggie's car coming up the drive, watching her pull into her usual parking spot and hurry up to the back screen door to get out of the rain, "Hey, sweetie."
"Hey, guys." Maggie said as she came in and slid her shoes off at the back door, "When's this rain supposed to end? It's been going for almost two days now."
"This storm'll pass by the end of this week I'm hopin' but until then it'll be off an on showers." Hershel said as Annette stood and grabbed another jar from the cabinet and filled it with ice and sweet tea.
"Oh thank you." Maggie said and took it eagerly from her step mom before hearing Beth sneeze from the front porch, "Well, she sounds like she's feelin' a lil' better. Be right back." Maggie headed out the front door, seeing Daryl and Beth sitting across from each other with two glasses of ice cold sweet tea and a bunch of playing cards between them.
"Hey, Mags! Wanna play?" Beth asked and held up her stack of cards which was significantly larger than Daryl's.
"I think Daryl's having way too much fun playin' your endless rounds of Go Fish." Maggie said as she knelt down next to them, peeking over at Daryl's cards he held, then at Beth's, "So I have a question. This rain's supposed to end at the end of this week, so why don't we go to our swimmin' hole on Saturday since the river will be high again. We haven't had much of a chance to go."
"I'll have to go get a new bathin' suit but yeah that sounds like fun!" Beth said with a wide smile and Maggie grinned too.
"I'll take ya tomorrow and we'll pick one up. I'm gonna invite Glenn to come with us. You should come too." Maggie said and looked over at Daryl who looked up from his glass of tea. Both sisters were watching him and waiting for an answer.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have too much to catch up on here thanks to all this damn rain." Daryl said and saw Beth's smile fall slightly. At that moment he wanted to say fuck it with the work and go so she'd smile, but he had a promise to Hershel to uphold and well, he hated breaking promises.
"It's okay, I'll still go with ya, Mags." Beth said and her smile returned, Maggie nodding and playfully pinching her cheek.
"Okay, I'm gonna go call Glenn back. Daryl?"
"Yeah?"
"Queen of Hearts." Maggie said with a smile and a wink before heading back inside.
"Hey! Cheater!" Beth called after her sister and Daryl smiled, holding his hand out to her.
"Hand it over, Goldilocks." he said and she scowled, but handed the card over with a smirk.
"Alright, Cowboy. Let's see if you can beat me this time." she said and held her cards back up in front of her face.
"Beth, hunny, can I talk to you?" Hershel asked as they all stood up from the table, Daryl taking the stack plates from her hand and offering to take her place helping to clean up after dinner.
"Sure, Daddy." she said and he placed his hand on her shoulder, walking her down to his office. They stepped on and he flipped on the light, shutting the door and sitting down on the loveseat in his office. He patted the spot next to him and Beth sat down, folding her hands in her lap and looking up at her father.
"Did I do somethin' wrong?"
"No, hunny, you did nothin' wrong. I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. I noticed you and Daryl are getting' along really well and spendin' a lot of time together." he said and she smiled, looking down at her hands and feeling her blush started to creep across her cheek.
"Yeah, I really enjoy bein' his friend." she said softly and Hershel smiled, patting her back.
"Beth, love, are you interested in Daryl?"
"Daddy, he's sixteen years older than me."
"I didn't ask you for his age, Bethy." Hershel asked with a soft laugh and Beth looked up at him, wringing her hands in her lap before looking back down.
"Yeah? Maybe? I dunno, daddy. I really like bein' friends with him though."
"And that's all fine and well. Your mama and I just don't want you to get hurt is all. We know that some older men can take advantage of younger women such as yourself-."
"Daddy, Daryl isn't like that!" she was quick to defend and Hershel squeezed her shoulder slightly and held up his hand.
"Easy, hunny. I'm not accusin' Daryl of bein' like anythin', in fact he's proven hisself to bein' a very responsible and reliable young man. I like Daryl, I think he's a good fella, I just want you to be careful okay? Your mama is almost twenty years younger than me, and her daddy had the same talk with her, but he was against us bein' together at first."
"If...If Daryl and I were more than just friends...if Daryl was interested in me or vice versa..."
"Then I'd be okay with it, Beth." She smiled and Hershel stood, helping her off the couch.
"Are you sure?"
"Beth, you're a beautiful young woman, but you're also my baby girl and I want you to be with who you want to be with. But I also want you to be careful, okay? You're my little girl and you will always be my little girl, I don't care how old you are." he said and she hugged his neck tightly.
"Thank you, daddy." she said and he hugged her in return, patting her back and squeezing her tight.
Daryl stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel, rubbing down his body before wrapping it around his waist and wiping off the bathroom mirror. After brushing his teeth and shaking the water out of his hair he walked back to his room, hanging his towel on the doorknob and feeling the cool air in the house hit is bare skin. He grabbed a pair of clean boxers from a pile of clothes on top of his dresser and flopped back on his bed after he slid them on. He slid his arms behind his bed, closing his eyes and was almost asleep when a light passed across his bedroom window.
"The hell?" he murmured and looked over at his clock, seeing that it was almost one in the morning. Thinking it may be an intruder he jerked his red plaid flannel pajama pants on and pulled a black wife beater on before grabbing his large hunting knife. He slid his boots on and hurried to his front door, cracking it open slowly and peeking out at the farmhouse. He saw the flashlight pointed towards the ground, the bright moonlight illuminating the yard and a figure heading towards the barn. He squinted his eyes, thankful the rain had stopped and stepped out onto his porch, seeing bright hair glow almost white in the moon.
"The hell you doin', Beth?" he murmured and saw her slip inside the barn. Worried something may be wrong with the animals he took off in a jog across the lawn, feeling the mud underneath his boots give way to his weight. He slid in the barn as well but the horses were calm and mostly sleeping in their stalls. He heard rustling above his head in the hay loft and walked to the ladder, looking up and seeing the light from Beth's flashlight dancing along the roof of the barn. It stopped after a few seconds and disappeared with the click of her flashlight. He heard the loft doors swing open and moonlight filled the loft. Then her singing, soft and tender, met his ears and he felt goosebumps crawl across his skin. He crawled up the ladder slowly, her singing getting slightly louder. When he made it to the top he stood there quietly and watched her. She was sitting on a large quilt leaned up against the frame of the loft door, looking up at the almost full moon. Her hair was down and lay over her shoulders like a cascade of shimmering gold in the pale light, her skin like porcelain had a soft glow to it. She wore a light black jacket and soft pink pajama shorts that exposed her legs to his gaze. Her flip flops were tossed to the side of the quilt with her flashlight and her cell phone. She didn't hear him, only sang softly and stared at the moon. He felt the heat spreading across his face and creeping slowly down his neck, chewing on his thumbnail as he contemplated standing there on the ladder watching her or making his presence known. He decided for the latter and cleared his throat softly, Beth gasping and turning to see him.
"Daryl? What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same." he said with a smirk and she smiled, laughing softly and patting the quilt as an invitation for him to join her. He accepted her invitation and finished climbing the ladder to join her, sitting opposite her and leaning against the other side of the frame.
"Maggie and I used to sneak up here all the time to talk and gossip so our parents wouldn't hear us and tell us to go to sleep." Beth said quietly as she looked out over the farm.
"It's quiet up here." Daryl said as his gaze followed Beth's and looked over the farm. He saw the cows sleeping out in the field, the chicken coop was quiet for the night. The scarecrow stood guard in the large garden that he found Beth tending to everyday, and if she wasn't there she was usually in the flower beds. She glanced over at him and felt her heart almost trip over itself. His exposed arms were a deep tan from hours working in the sun, the skin pulled taught over firm muscle. His beard was freshly trimmed and suddenly she had the urge to feel the roughness against the soft skin of her neck and tangle her fingers in his damp hair.
Was she interested in him like her father asked?
"You, ah, you should let me cut your hair for you. It's getting pretty long." Beth suggested softly and Daryl looked over at her and ran his fingers through his hair, Beth feeling the blush spread in her cheeks as his arm muscles flexed at the motion.
"Snap out of it, Greene. You're acting like a fourteen year old gushing over a celebrity." She thought to herself, clearing her throat.
"I dunno. I'm getting' used to it bein' a lil' long." he said and she laughed softly.
"How 'bout a trim, then?"
"Yeah I could go for that." he answered without giving it a second thought, "So, how are we supposed to do this friend thing?"
"Well, how about you share somethin' then I'll share somethin'." she said and saw his look of doubt on her face, "Or...I'll share somethin' then you can share somethin' after. Or you can ask a question, I'll answer, and then I'll ask you a question."
"Hm, alright. You goin' to college?" he asked as he slowly scratched his chin.
"Yeah, I'll be starting near mid-August at the community college."
"What for?"
"One at a time, Mr. Dixon." she teased softly and saw him roll his eyes with a smile, "Did you go to college?"
"Nah. Dropped outta high school and started runnin' around with Merle more than I did before. Now, what for?"
"At this moment? Photography." She answered and sat up, crossing her legs and questionung his doubtful look, "What?"
"You gonna take pretty pictures for a livin'?" he asked with an amused smirk and she felt embarassment creep over her.
"Well, I know it ain't gonna make me much money, and neither is singin', but I love to do 'em both. I'll probably take on another major, but for right now, I really want to take photography classes and do something I love." She was confident in her answer and in herself and Daryl respected that. He respected her though, and had for a while now, especially after the way she stood up against Merle and against him. Normally, he'd tear into someone talking smack about his brother, but then again to him, Beth Greene wasn't normal.
"So, that's what you wanna be when you grow up?"
"Yes, what about you? What did you wanna be when you grew up?"
"Free." His answer was short, quiet, and pulled at her heart as she watched him look away from her, "I wanted to be free from my family, to the shithole I was raised in. I was tired of the arguin', the fussin' and fightin'. I was tired of bein' kicked around like a damn dog no one wanted." She could hear the anger starting to churn in his voice and she felt the urge to reach out and calm him, "Ya know, I hated runnin' into people like you, hated goin' to school with kids like you."
"Like me?" she asked in confusion.
"Yeah, like you. And Maggie. You guys have had it good since the day you two was born. It's obvious your daddy never used you as a punchin' bag or an ashtray. God, now I sound like a fuckin' whiny ass." he said as he pushed himself to his feet, pacing the quilt.
"Daryl, I'm sorry..." she said softly and he scoffed, looking down at her and crossing his arms.
"Heard that one before, ain't nobody ever meant it though."
"I mean it."
"Don't be offended that I don't believe ya." he said and she stood, reaching for his arm but he jerked away, "All the apologies in the world don't take away the scars, the memories, the nightmares every night as a lil' boy. Merle left me with that asshole and his stupid bitch wife, abandoned me like he always does when things get tough but I can't help but stick with him whenever he comes back. I'm a fuckin' idiot."
"He's your family, Daryl and your a loyal person." Beth said softly and he could only snort with laughter.
"Family don't mean a damn thing. My daddy, my mama, they used to drink their damn problems away and tried to forget I ever fuckin' existed. And God forbid they remembered I was actually there. I hoped every damn night they'd forget about me. At least I'd get sleep, at least I'd have one night where I didn't get my ass handed to me."
"Daryl..."
"I wished so many damn times I had never been born, and there's times I still look in the mirror and wonder why the fuck I'm still here." he said and she moved to him, placing her hands on his neck gently and placing her thumbs against his jaw, tilting his head so she could look at him. His eyes, his soft green eyes were full of pain, sorrow, anger. She never saw this side of him, only the violent pent up anger against Merle back at the ice cream shop. But this, this was thirty four years of built up pain and sadness leaking out of the tough guy armor that he was expressing to her.
"Daryl," Her voice was a whisper, a soft gentle whisper that slid right out from between her lips, "I'm so glad you are here on this Earth. I'm sorry about the horrible things that happened to you. Your parents are supposed to protect you and love you, but you were the unfortunate one. But they're not here, and they can't control your life anymore. You are free, Daryl." He watched her eyes, listened to her words and felt his arms relax some. He grabbed the sides of her jacket and pulled her hard against him, wrapping his strong arms tight against her and holding her to him. She felt the air rush out of her lungs as she hit his hard chest but she wrapped her arms around him and felt his grip on her tighten.
"I don't usually sound like a whiny bitch, I'm sorry..."
"Don't ever apologize for tellin' anyone, especially me, how you feel or what's botherin' you." she whispered softly and felt his hand move to cradle the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her long hair, "I'm here for you Daryl, that's what friends do. I'm here for you, and I always will be. I ain't gonna go anywhere, and I ain't gonna abandon you either." He loosened his grip and pulled back slightly, looking down at her and moving a hand to her face. He touched it gently, cupping her cheek in his rough hand and hearing her breath catch slightly.
"I promise, Daryl." He didn't know what came over him, what possessed him to do so but one second he was studying her face, the next he was closing the gap between their lips with his own. His arm slid around her and she gasped against his lips.
The hug was a little surprising, but the kiss was a complete shock to her system and she felt her body wanting to freeze up.
"Pull it together, Greene." she coached herself and slid her hands up to hold the back of his neck, closing her eyes and letting her body relax against his. His lips were cool and rough, hers warm and smooth and it made her body start aching for need. His kiss was urgent, a little rough and when he pulled his lips from hers to get a breath she felt them tingling slightly.
"Daryl?" she asked, searching his eyes which showed just as much shock as her own did.
"I'm...sorry..." he said as his hands started to fall.