"Uh… Rick here?" Daryl wasn't even trying to hide the confusion on his face or in his tone of voice.
"He's sleeping." She replied just as confused. Maybe he's a friend of Rick's she thought to herself.
"Can I come in?" He asked politely even though he had no idea who this little blonde girl was. Maybe she's Carl's friend he thought to himself, though that wouldn't explain why she was here this early and looked like she had just been sleeping. There is no way that Rick would let Carl have a girlfriend stay the night.
Beth didn't reply. Instead, she opened the door wider and allowed him inside then shut it again once he was already making his way up the stairs. She shrugged to herself and decided to go clean herself up since apparently they had company over now.
When Daryl made it to Rick's bedroom door, he didn't even bother knocking. He had questions and needed answers.
"Rick!" He said loudly so that the sleeping man would wake up without Daryl having to awkwardly shake him out of his slumber.
Rick woke up with a start, quickly reaching for his gun that he kept on the bedside table.
"Woah, man. It's just me." Daryl said quickly with his hands lazily thrown half up in the air.
"Sorry. What are you doing here?" Rick asked as he dragged his hands down his face in an attempt to rub the sleepiness from his tired eyes.
"Just got back in town. Who's the blonde chick downstairs?" Daryl asked as he looked around the room for evidence that the girl had been sleeping in this room with his friend. He didn't want to pass judgement because Daryl was definitely no saint but he didn't know how he would feel if he found out that Rick was sleeping with someone who looked old enough to be his son's girlfriend.
"Oh. That's Beth, Hershel's daughter. A lot has happened since you left... Hershel passed away." Rick explained sadly, still sitting up in the bed with the blankets around his waist but not making a move to get up considering he was only in his underwear.
"Oh shit. I'm sorry man." Daryl knew that Hershel and Rick were close, especially after Lori left him. Rick needed the old man's wise words to get him through the very rough time.
"So she's staying here with you now?" Daryl just wanted to clarify.
"Yeah." Rick answered.
"Well get dressed an' meet me downstairs." With that, Daryl turned and walked out of the room closing the door to give him some privacy. He hoped the girl had put some clothes on because he felt kind of uncomfortable with her creamy long legs on display for the men in the house. It's what gave him the wrong impression to begin with.
Sure enough, he found Beth in the kitchen making what he hoped was breakfast for everyone because he hadn't eaten since the day before. She now had her curly blonde hair up in a lazy pony tail with a small braid and a sweater over her tank top but she was still wearing the shorts. Daryl silently wondered how Rick was handling having this girl living in his home. He hoped she wore more clothes around him than what Daryl was seeing right now because Rick may be a good man, but he's still a man nonetheless. Daryl knew that if this girl had been staying with him and walking around his apartment like this, he wouldn't be able to keep control of his thoughts.
Daryl hadn't noticed but he was standing in the entryway of the kitchen just staring at Beth while she gathered ingredients from the fridge and placed them on the counter. It wasn't until she turned around and jumped at the sight of him that he realized that he had been silently staring, which just confirmed his theory about not being able to control his own thoughts. He quickly pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on to stand up straight but kept his arms crossed.
"I didn't hear you come down. You scared me." She explained almost breathless.
"Sorry." Daryl was used to being silent. He was a hunter, after all. He realized that he was still staring when Beth didn't break eye contact and waited for him to explain who he was and why he was in her house. He moved his eyes to the floor and walked towards the island in the kitchen to grab an apple that was in a bowl with several other different fruits.
"I'm Daryl, Rick's friend." He explained before taking a large bite of the juicy red apple.
"Yeah, I figured. I'm Beth, a friend of Rick's too I guess." She felt pretty awkward. How was she supposed to explain to this stranger her relationship with Rick? It wasn't like he wanted to hear her pathetic life story about everything that had happened this past year that landed her here in Rick's home.
Daryl grunted in response and turned his attention back to the apple. The girl made Daryl feel small despite being half his size. Maybe it was the way she looked at him like she didn't understand why the hell he was in her precious presence. Or maybe Daryl was overthinking it. He always got self-conscious around women, that's why he built walls upon walls around his heart. Daryl grew up with his big brother Merle telling him that pretty girls don't want rednecks like them. He eventually believed it to be true, he was trash and it was best to stay away from women.
Daryl stopped glaring at Beth when he noticed Rick walk into the kitchen.
"Morning, Beth." He said with a small smile.
"Morning." She returned the smile then went back to work on the breakfast she was preparing.
"We got enough to feed this freeloader too?" Daryl let out scoff at Rick's choice of words to describe him.
Beth just smiled and nodded her head at the men. She liked seeing this friendly side of Rick. He usually stayed quiet and kept a serious expression on his face unless Carl was around.
"So how was your trip?" Rick asked as the men took their seats at the breakfast table.
"Ya act like I was on vacation or somethin. I wouldn't call driving a big rig across the country a trip." Daryl scoffed.
Beth hummed a song quietly to herself as she listen to the men chat. She wasn't technically eavesdropping, since they sat a few feet away from her and spoke freely knowing she was in hearing distance. But she was taking notes in her head about the rough-looking man in her kitchen. He's a truck driver. That explains why he hasn't been over to the house since she moved in two weeks ago. He was driving his truck across country, he said. It also explains why he looks like he's in desperate need of a shower.
The men continued their conversation as Beth worked on the meal. She was making bacon, eggs, and biscuits with gravy. It was her dad's favorite breakfast meal. Her heart ached at the thought of her dad but she didn't cry anymore. She couldn't. When she finished the meal, she brought over three plates to the table along with three napkins, three forks, and three empty glasses. Next she brought a gallon of milk and a jug of orange juice. Then finally, she brought the food and placed it in the middle of the table for the men to make their plates.
Daryl was surprised at how good the food was. He couldn't remember the last time he had a home cooked meal like this one. He spent most of his time at diners on the road and he definitely didn't get this kind of treatment from his mother or father when he was a kid. Daryl finished his second plate and listened to Beth and Rick talk about something he couldn't care less about when he decided that now would be a good time to step out for a smoke.
Beth broke eye contact with Rick when she realized that Daryl had opened one of the glass doors that led to the back yard and stepped out to light a cigarette. Her eyes then landed to the dirty plate that was left on the table where Daryl had just been sitting.
"I'll get it." Rick said as if he read her mind. He grabbed Daryl's empty plate and placed it on top of his own as he got up to put the dirty dishes in the sink. "Lori invited him over for dinner once and she swore she'd never do it again. He's got the worst manners." Rick said with a chuckle. Beth was glad to see that he could still smile at the thought of his unfaithful wife.
"I can see that." Beth said without a hint of bitterness in her tone. She didn't care if the gruff man couldn't say thanks or put up his dishes. She was just glad that Rick had a smile on his face this morning. And if Beth was being honest with herself, she didn't mind Daryl at all. He seemed decent enough and she found it pretty amusing the way he practically inhaled all of the food he stacked up on his plate.
"Got any plans for the day?" Rick asked right as Daryl was coming back inside.
She could smell the lingering cigarette smoke odor from across the room and instantly thought about getting some fresh air. "I'm gonna go visit my mom and dad today then finish my make-up assignments for school. What about ya'll?" She asked in return.
"I think we're going to the range today. We'll be back for dinner." Rick said as he looked over to see Daryl nod at him.