Rick and Beth arrived back at the cabin several hours before sundown. Rick wanted to get some proper sleep in a bed and Beth wanted to start on dinner. They brought just enough groceries to last them the next couple of days because Beth had written out a list of all the ingredients she would need for the meals she had planned to make in the cabin and Rick was sure to grab them while out running errands with the other guys last weekend. Tonight, she decided on a meaty dish for the hunters.
Beth smelt the men approaching the cabin before she saw or heard them. Merle was the first to come through the door and Beth wasn't surprised to hear him teasing Daryl about how Daryl apparently missed the shot of the buck. Merle had a smug look on his face and winked again once he and Beth made eye contact. She hoped he would stop doing that before she had to tell him to stop herself. Carl came in after Merle and took off towards the restroom before Beth could get a word in with him.
Finally Daryl came through the door and Beth realized that he was the main source of the stench. He looked like he had been sweating all day and he also had some dead squirrels hanging off of the loop of his pants. She also noticed that Merle carried no squirrels yet held onto a large hunting rifle. She had silently hoped that they didn't plan on asking her to cook the small tree animals. But Beth didn't find a firearm in Daryl's hands. It was then that she noticed a strap on his chest and a large weapon on his back. A crossbow.
Beth realized that she was staring when she finally brought her eyes back to the archer's face. He was giving her his signature squint but for once his expression held no malice in it. He looked like the day of hunting and bickering with his brother had really worn him out.
"Dinner's almost ready. Ya'll should go clean up, you smell really bad." Beth said awkwardly to the brothers in the room with her.. She noticed that she sounded like her mother just then. It made sense, she had taken on the role of housewife/mother ever since she moved in with Rick. Rick was supposed to be taking care of her but she's really been the one taking care of him. But she didn't mind, Rick needed all the help he could get since Lori left.
"Yes ma'am." Merle threw her a sly smile.
After dinner, everyone was too tired to do anything but rest. They decided to call it a day and the members of the group all retired to their assigned sleeping accommodations. But Beth tossed and turned in the small cot for about an hour, unable to fall asleep. She wasn't sure what was keeping her up but assumed it was because she wasn't comfortable in this unfamiliar place. She needed some air. Pulling an oversized cardigan over her tank top, Beth made her way out of the confining bedroom.
As quietly as she could, she closed the bedroom door behind her and risked a glance at the brothers on the couches. Merle looked like he popped several pain killers that he didn't need and was passed out, half of his body nearly falling off the couch. Daryl had an arm thrown over his face, the other hand resting on his stomach. The couches weren't nearly big enough for the men and they didn't look very comfortable. She wondered how they were able to sleep right now.
Finally, Beth successfully made it out onto the front porch of the cabin without waking anyone. She stood for a moment, taking it all in. The moon was full and bright, the stars were endless, and the trees danced in the wind. Beth couldn't remember the last time she had witness something so beautiful or peaceful. She was about to walk down the steps of the porch when she heard the door to the cabin open and close.
Beth didn't have to turn to see who it was. She was getting good at sensing when he was around. Like the way gooseflesh rose on her skin when he watched her, she felt it even if he was just staring at the back of her head. He was doing it now, because she refused to turn around to face him. She had come out here for peace and he was too quick to take that away from her. She heard him drop something onto the floor of the porch before he approached her.
"Did I wake you up?" She asked dryly. She really couldn't care less and made sure that her tone of voice told him so.
"Nah, just wanted to make sure ya weren't stupid enough to step off this porch." Daryl couldn't stop being protective of this girl that wasn't even his responsibility.
"And if I did? If I wanted to go for a walk?" She dared him.
"Guess I'd have to hunt ya down before ya got yourself lost out there. Or before ya got found by the others." Daryl was trying to scare her.
"What others?" She asked, finally turning to face him.
"The other hunters out there." Daryl said with a nod towards the forest around the cabin. "There's tons of other cabins out there full of men who get their kicks by killing for sport. They ain't the kinda men you wanna run into alone at night, trust me."
"You kill for sport." Beth argued. "And you're not that bad." Beth started to think about Merle and how he must be the best example of the men Daryl was talking about. Predatory.
Daryl grabbed Beth by the forearm and roughly pulled her towards him so that his face was inches from hers.
"You got no idea what I'm capable of." He spat out and let his eyes run the length of her body. "I could break you like a twig an' the only reason I don't is for Rick."
Beth would have ran away screaming right then and there if it weren't for the ridiculous amount of tension that now resonated between them. When he looked her body up and down she felt a wave of… something… crash through her stomach and her whole body suddenly felt hot. Daryl kept a tight hold on Beth, only letting go when he noticed her cardigan fall off of her right shoulder, exposing her creamy skin and tank top strap. She shyly pulled the cardigan over her shoulder again and took a step back, but decided not to run even though he was no longer holding her there.
Something in his eyes told her that he wouldn't hurt her, even if she knew he could. She was finally putting the puzzle pieces together. It was like the more time she spent with him, the more things made sense. There was no real depth to his threat.
"You don't get to treat me like crap just because you're afraid." Beth's voice was barely above a whisper.
"I ain't afraid of nothin." Daryl was her in face again.
Beth assumed that the reason behind Daryl's behavior was his fear of letting himself enjoy having a real family, even if it weren't blood. Because that's what they were now, or at least that's what they were on their way to becoming. Beth, Rick, Daryl, and even Carl. They ate dinners together, laughed and spent time together, took trips together… all like a family. Beth was starting to see that Daryl didn't have that, he's never had that. Just by meeting Merle, she got the sense of exactly what kind of family Daryl had and it was the complete opposite of what Beth grew up with, that much was obvious.
"God forbid you ever let anybody get too close." She was louder now, growing angrier by the second.
"Too close, huh? You know all about that. You just lost two parents an' you can't even shed a tear!" He shot back. He was trying to hurt her now, trying to push her away, as far away from him as she can get.
"Screw you. You don't get it." He had no idea how many tears she's shed for her mom and dad.
"No you don't get it! You can't even see past the goddamn bubble you're living in. The world ain't as pretty as you think it is, princess! You think we can all just sit around the campfire singing kumbaya, but that's not what we're doing here!" Suddenly, Daryl had an idea. "Hey, you ever shot a crossbow before? I'm gonna teach ya right now. Come on, it's gonna be fun."
He grabbed his crossbow off of the floor and held it up in his right hand while grabbing Beth by the wrist with his other hand. He dragged her with him down the steps of the porch and through the trees, hoping that she was finally starting to get scared. He needed her to get scared, so scared that she would stay away from him from now on.
"We should stay inside. Daryl, cut it out! DARYL!" She wasn't afraid though, not of him. But she couldn't see two feet in front of herself out here with the trees blocking the light of the moon.
He continued pulling her along with him until they were well into the woods. Daryl was looking around for something to shoot, anything. He caught sight of another squirrel, too distracted by the nut it was eating to notice him load the crossbow. He lifted the crossbow and the squirrel finally took notice of the hunter, but it was too late. Daryl shot an arrow right through the squirrel's tail and into the tree trunk that it tried to run up for safety. It was trapped now, unable to escape.
Daryl reloaded the crossbow.
"You wanna shoot?" He asked but was already pulling Beth's body roughly against his so that her back was to his front and his arm was hooked across her chest.
"I-I don't know how." She stuttered.
"Oh, come on it's easy." He said as he pulled the crossbow up again and letting another arrow fly through the air. This time, the arrow hit the squirrel's leg.
"Let's practice later!" Beth offered. She was feel guilty about the poor squirrel stuck on the tree.
"Come on, it's fun." He reloaded again.
"Just stop it Daryl!" Beth begged.
"Come here!" He said as he grabbed her again and laced his arm across her chest for a second time.
He pulled the trigger again but time, the arrow missed the squirrel by mere centimeters. Daryl was good but not when a teenage girl was struggling to break free from his grasp.
"Just kill it!" She begged. She wanted the poor squirrel to be put out of its misery.
Daryl let Beth free and reloaded. This time the arrow went right through the eye of the animal, killing it instantly.
"What is wrong with you? Don't you feel anythin?" Beth felt like she was on the verge of tears.
She hadn't expected Daryl to do that. Hell, even Daryl was a little surprised at himself. But at least he succeeded, she looked completely terrified. Before he could say anything else, she took off running in the direction that they came.