I thought I posted this yesterday so, sorry about that! Things have been a bit of a blur around here lately and I see no end in sight but you can still expect at least two updates a week. So far that's all I can manage! Much love to you and thanks for reading! =)
Chapter Thirty Two
Carol nervously watched as the men went outside to investigate. She jumped when she felt a hand on her arm. She looked over and June was there, looking out the window with her.
"You all seem to have really made a home up here," she said, her eyes on the men that were walking towards the drive.
"We haven't really had much choice. We're just lucky things worked out the way they did. I've never been so grateful for a fender bender in my life," she smiled.
June's brows furrowed. "Fender bender?"
Carol laughed and then crossed her arms over her chest. "I had been heading to the school to pick Sophia up once they issued the evacuation. I ran a stop sign and Daryl hit me. I had no choice but to go with him. He swore that he knew his brother would head here and they would help me find my daughter after we got here and got his brother."
"And you all found her? That's incredible," June said, her dark eyes wide.
Carol shook her head and laughed, delighted to be able to share this strange news with the woman. There was something about her that drew Carol to her and she didn't even know what it was. "No, the incredible thing is what happened next. Daryl and I finally got here, and Sophia was already here. Apparently your son had saved her from being trampled in the hallway during the chaos at the school. He talked her into coming with him and him and Piper took a bus and drove out here."
June blinked. "So around the same time my nephew was crashing into your car, and undoubtedly being rude to you about it, my son was stealing a school bus with your daughter, miles away?"
Carol nodded.
June shook her head. "You know, Odin laughs at me and calls me superstitious but if that isn't divine intervention, I'm not sure what is. Our families were meant to find one another."
"It is strange how that all worked out," Carol said with a nod.
"Strange indeed," June muttered absently. "So, I have to ask, what have you done to my nephew?"
Carol flushed from her neck to her hairline. "What?"
June glanced at her and smiled. "He's different. I can't put my finger on it. I think it's the way he looks at you. And how he lets you get so close. He doesn't do that. Ever. It's nice seeing him softening up."
Carol snorted. "It's really nothing. We went through a lot together that first night. Neither of us knew if any of our loved ones had made it. When they started bombing Atlanta it felt like we were the only two people in the whole world. Like it was just us, watching humanity fall. It was terrifying. We became friends quickly after that."
June smiled slightly. "You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. Now, introduce me to your daughter, and the other woman."
Carol nodded and they walked away from the window. She tried not to let June's words take root in her mind. She was trying extremely hard to convince herself that her and Daryl were simply friends. Friends that had an unspoken agreement to mess around when the time was right, but still only friends. He didn't have feelings for her. She didn't have feelings for him. Not anything beyond the bond of friendship that they shared... and maybe some minor sexual tension. Whatever.
~H~
They were gone. Everyone had been distracted and Richard and the boy had taken off. They had probably been listening to them as they discussed what to do with them earlier and realized that they were pretty much going to be prisoners on the mountain.
"If they go down on the same road we went up, it won't be pretty," Randy said as he leaned against the wall. "There was a herd of those things coming out of the trees, making their way across the valley towards the road. Had to have been at least fifty. If they're in the road when them two hit the bottoms then they won't be able to drive through them."
Daryl saw Carol's head snap up, her eyes wide. "Do you think they could make it up here?"
Merle shrugged. "It's damn steep and those things ain't too agile. If they get up here the only way they can get to us is if they take the driveway, and that's if they can make it up that road."
Katherine spoke up then, surprising everyone. "Do we have anything we can use to block the driveway? It's narrow enough and well hidden as it is, I remember,when we first came up here, that it seems to be cut right into the mountainside."
Daryl and Merle looked at Odin who was stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I'm guessin' that's somethin' we'll need to get on soon. Right now I believe we'll be okay. I wanna eat and get some damn sleep. It's been a long week not knowin' if any of you all made it. It's hell down there, boys."
Daryl saw Katherine and Carol both make a move towards the pantry but June beat them both to it. He would have laughed but he was too nervous. Richard and his boy were gone. There was a herd of walking dead at the foot of the mountain, possibly making their slow way towards them. The world was total shit outside their own little oasis and it was only getting worse by the day.
He ran a hand through his hair and sat down at the table in the seat June had vacated. Randy's son had fit right in and now the four teenagers had escaped to the loft, talking about shoving the bed as far back as they could to make enough room up there to play a game of poker. Apparently, Sophia sucked at the game. Piper, Damon and Eli had all giving Sophia and the little girl pointers.
It was getting late and they needed to figure out sleeping arrangements. It would probably do them all some good to try to hit up some lumber yards down the mountain, or at least set up another shack or two. They were going to be piled up like sardines in the cabin. Well, he wouldn't...
Carol's hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up. He was still pissed off at her. She never should have thought anything like that about him. He'd never been so goddamn offended in his life. "You're still mad?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Maybe." He actually wasn't exactly mad at her. It mostly bothered him that she would think him capable of using her. Because he wouldn't do that. Not to her, not in a million years. He wished she could somehow understand that she was different. She was more and he couldn't think of a way to tell her.
She sighed. "Well, I hope you get over it soon," she said as her hand slid from his shoulder and she sat down next to him.
He glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to them but the others were all gathered next to the window, not paying any attention to the two of them and the kids were in the loft. "I might, eventually. I ain't mad, alright. Maybe it just stung to know you think so little of me, you ever think of that?" His tone was almost teasing but he hoped she could see that he was being sincere.
She held his gaze for longer than necessary and he thought that he could see the realization in her eyes. She understood that he meant the words. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." Just like he had she kept her tone light but she was serious and he appreciated it.
He snorted and shook his head. "You're still an asshole."
"Would you honestly want me any other way?" she grinned.
He shook his head. "I think we both know I'd want you any way I could get you but yeah, I kinda like it when you're an asshole. Keeps me on my toes," he said, keeping his voice too low to carry to anyone else.
"That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."
He jumped when he felt her hand high on his thigh. His eyes flitted around the room again to make sure everyone was still preoccupied before they settled on her. Instantly his mind drifted back to what he had done this morning. If it happened, if he was actually going to be with her, and at this point there was no use in denying that it was going to happen, it was going to be fucking mind blowing and he knew it. His mouth was suddenly filled with saliva and he had to swallow.
"I shouldn't have thought that about you," she said, keeping her eyes on his as her hand moved up just an inch.
"No you shouldn't have," he agreed. His voice was rough and he saw her eyes grow darker.
"You're a good man and I should have realized that you aren't that kind of person." Her hand moved up again.
He narrowed his eyes on her but she just smiled sweetly. This was awfully fucking bold of her but if she wanted to play, she picked the wrong one. He reached down, gripped her hand and slid it the rest of the way up. There really wasn't any sense in being shy about it. She'd had it in her mouth already.
Her eyes went wide but her fingers played over the length of him. He bit his lip hard when she ran the palm of her hand over him. He struggled to keep his breathing under control but he was seriously close to dragging her out of the cabin and back down to the shack. He was also surprised by another fact...
He desperately wanted to kiss her. Which was weird. Weird for him anyway. But he wanted too. As though she read his thoughts she licked her lips and he felt that pull that she had over him worsen.
"What the fuck? Have you heard a single thing I've said?"
Merle's booming voice had them both jumping. Her hand slid away from his crotch and they sat up straight. He hadn't realized how close their heads had moved until he looked up and saw that five pairs of eyes were regarding them. He felt his face flame and he slid down a little in his seat. He had been just a few second away from kissing the woman right there in front of all of them.
"What?" Daryl muttered, meeting his brother's eyes briefly.
Merle shook his head. "Never mind. You two need to get the hell back down to that shack of yours before you set this cabin on fire."
Carol cleared her throat but he refused to look at her. He needed to keep his damn head straight and that was hard to do while she was feeling on his junk while everyone else was right there. Of course, he was the one that had moved her hand there in the first place, but still. She had been working her way to it on her own. He had simply done them both a favor by speeding up the process.
The two of them sat there for another few minutes before Odin spoke up. "So what the hell are the sleepin' arrangements around here? Cause I'm takin' my room back, boy. I'm the one that built the damn thing. You want your own room then you can build it."
Merle grumbled but didn't argue with the man. He had a point. Daryl had built the shack on his own. Odin had added the bedroom years ago. It looked like Merle was out on his ass. "I guess I'm out here on the floor with the rest of these assholes."
"Now I guess I'm stuck down here too," Damon muttered.
June turned from the fireplace, a frown in place. "Where have you been sleeping?"
Damon grinned. "On the floor of the loft with Sophia."
Carol's mouth dropped open and June's eyes grew wide. It was June that spoke before Carol had a chance. "Merle Dixon! Why on earth would you let two teenagers sleep together?"
Carol spoke up then. "Damon, you were suppose to sleep in the bed while the girls shared the floor!"
Sophia, wide eyed, looked between the two angry mothers. "Piper fell asleep in the bed. I had my own blanket, I swear!"
Damon nodded. "I didn't touch her... much."
Merle laughed but it was silenced by one look from June.
Sophia shook her head. "You didn't touch me at all!"
June stood up, a pot in her hands. "Okay, Merle. Since you think it's so funny, maybe Damon and Sophia can sleep on the floor and Piper can share the bed with Eli. Sound fair?"
Merle grew pale and his eyes landed on his daughter, who was in the middle of a conversation with the boy in question. "What! No!"
Carol shook her head. "The only reason Damon was up there was because I asked him to stay close to the girls. That boy, Brody, was dangerous and I knew Damon wouldn't let anything happen to them. I didn't mean that the two of you were allowed to get cozy on the floor!"
"No one was getting cozy!" Sophia cried, clearly embarrassed.
Merle shrugged. "The only people been getting cozy around here are those two." He pointed to Daryl and Carol.
June sat the pot down in the center of the table and then looked at Daryl pointedly. "Well, are you at least using protection? I can't imagine what it would be like to give birth in a world this insane."
He ran a hand through his hair. "We ain't... I mean. Goddamn, can't you people fuck with the kids or somethin'? They're the ones you gotta worry about. We ain't done that!" Which was a good goddamn thing because he would have done exactly that this morning without even thinking about it. What the hell was wrong with him? He'd never even thought about sleeping with a woman without using something.
Damon snorted. "Dude, I heard her this morning. If Merle hadn't sent me down there when he did, you two woulda still been getting it on."
"Oh my God," Carol groaned.
"Would you shut the fuck up!" Daryl barked.
Damon raised his hands. "Hey, man. You told me not to tell Merle and I didn't. You told everybody earlier when you two were arguing. We walk in and you talking about having your face-"
"I don't want to hear about it again!" Sophia yelled.
"Oh my God," Carol said again. If she scooted down any further in her seat she was going to be hiding under the table, which sounded really good at the moment. What in the hell was wrong with his family?
Eli grinned and leaned back on his arms. "This place is fucking awesome."
Damon nodded. "You have no idea, man. Shoulda been here last night."
Eli grinned. "That when you got busted up?"
Piper elbowed Sophia. "That's nothin'. This guy," she nodded towards Damon, "He snapped this kids arm like a twig. No lie. We heard it."
Sophia grimaced. "We did. I've never heard someone scream like that before."
Eli shook his head slowly, smiling like that was the coolest thing he'd ever heard in his life. Daryl had a feeling this kid was going to fit in a lot better than the last one. Merle was gonna have his hands full.