Sorry if this is full of typos! I'm super busy and wanted to get a chapter out so I went over it super fast. Thanks for reading!
Chapter Thirty Three
Carol was seriously about to hyperventilate. Katherine, who probably understood her torment because Katherine was even more of an outsider than Carol was, kept giving her sympathetic looks. Daryl wouldn't even look at her anymore and Sophia took her food and escaped as fast as she could to the loft with the other kids.
Randy and Odin and Merle were discussing how long it would really take to put up a few more shacks on the property and Carol sat there and ate her food in silence. She didn't think she had ever been more embarrassed in her whole life.
She busied herself, focusing on Sam, who had somehow come completely out of her shell. She tagged after the older kids for the most part but none of them seemed to mind. The girl was still pale and still a little weak but she was at least on the mend. There was more talk of leaving the mountain for building supplies but Carol didn't even want to think about that. Not right now.
"It's getting damn late," Odin said, standing up and stretching. "I'm beat."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
June looked over at Katherine and frowned. Carol followed her gaze and noticed how nervous the woman looked. Carol was used to her being quiet but at the moment, she almost looked afraid. "How about since we still have some light left, us girls go down and get cleaned up? I'm filthy," June said with a smile.
Carol cursed under her breath. It had rained so much that she forgot all about the clothes that she washed and hung to dry. The day had been clear and sunny so she just had to hope that she had something down there to put on. Things had been a little distracting lately. On their way down, much to the dismay of all the men, June went out of her way to talk to Katherine. Carol understood then.
"You haven't been around many men that look as rough as our bunch have you?" June asked as they hit the path.
Katherine shook her head. "Is it that obvious?"
Carol gave her a reassuring smile. "I would feel the same way if I hadn't spent so much time with Daryl alone before we got here."
June grinned. "I'm sure."
Carol shook her head, unable to keep from smiling slightly. "That is not what I meant. He just had a little more time to forewarn me about how Merle was."
Katherine glanced at her but then her eyes went back to the path.
"What?" Carol asked, wanting the woman to be more comfortable.
Katherine shook her head. "It's nothing."
"We're all pretty much family now, dear. Speak your mind," June said gently.
Katherine shrugged. "I was just thinking. Out of the two of them, Daryl seems to be the one that is much less... approachable. He's more distant than Merle. I think he may have spoken to me once since we got here and he seems to have a quicker temper."
Carol frowned and then shook her head but before she could say anything June spoke up. "That's true."
Carol scoffed. "That isn't true."
June raised a brow at her. "I've known them both for a long time. Daryl is much more closed off than Merle."
"I don't see it," Carol said, shaking her head. "I mean, I seen it at first but it just takes him a little while to open up."
June laughed. "That's with you. With the rest of the world, my nephew is off limits. He doesn't like people."
Carol shook her head but didn't argue. How could she? June had known him a lot of his life and Carol had only known him a week.
"And I meant it about protecting yourselves," June said, eyeing her.
Carol nodded. "I can't have anymore kids. And we aren't sleeping together."
June nodded. "That's good. And from what I hear, the two of you will be soon enough."
She dropped her eyes to the path. "Aren't we suppose to be reassuring Katherine that there isn't anything to fear from the men back there?"
June grinned. "That's right. They are harmless."
"That isn't true," Carol laughed. "They are absolutely volatile, but only to someone that threatens the rest of us. You'll be fine."
June agreed with a grin.
Katherine smiled slightly. "I'll get used to it. Merle has been nice."
June and Carol shared a look but neither said anything.
~H~
Daryl sat with his back leaning against the shack, his hands deftly moving over the wood he was working on. He had an arsenal of bolts already but he needed to keep his hands and his mind busy. He didn't like the women out there alone, even if they could protect themselves. If he stayed out here then he'd be able to see them as soon as they crested the rise and then he could stop being so fucking nervous.
He couldn't very well just stand there and wait for them though. He'd look like a fucking weirdo. And he didn't want to sit there in the cabin anyway. Odin and Merle had started giving him shit as soon as the women had left.
So he sat there and made bolts and grumbled to himself and kept shooting glances towards the denser part of the woods. Maybe Odin was wrong. Maybe those things could get up here a lot faster than he thought. What if the road wasn't too steep for them? What if...
He looked up sharply when he saw them but then looked back down quickly before they could guess that he had been waiting for them. He didn't know why he was trying to fucking kid himself. He wasn't waiting on them. He knew, deep down that they were fine. He was waiting on her. The thought had him scowling and then he cursed as the knife nicked his finger. His eyes came up as the women drew closer. Carol glanced up then and stumbled slightly when she saw him there. He dipped his head, focusing on the cut on his finger to keep from laughing at her.
He had trouble keeping his eyes down though because he wasn't sure if she was going to come to him or if she would keep on following the other two. The sun was about to set and there was a chill in the air that hadn't been there earlier because of the rain. Maybe she wanted to spend more time up there at the cabin instead of...
"What did you do to your finger?" She asked, worry lacing her voice.
He glanced up and she was standing right in front of him, a frown in place. He held up the finger and then the knife. She hadn't done a very good job drying off and he followed a drop of water that slid down her neck.
"It could get infected," she said, kneeling down in front of him and gripping his hand.
He snorted. "It's a scratch. Trust me, I've had a lot worse and lived to tell about it."
"We have to be more careful out here," she said, focusing on the cut.
He sighed and pulled his hand out of hers, licking the drop of blood and then holding up his hand again. "There. All clean."
She stood up, her hands on her hips. "You won't be saying that when your finger falls off."
He shrugged and went back to work on the bolt he'd nearly screwed up. "I have nine more. I'll be fine."
"It's nice out tonight," she said suddenly.
He glanced around and then looked up. "Yeah, I suppose."
"You wanna walk with me?"
The hand that held the knife stilled and his eyes slid up her body, finally resting on hers. "Be dark soon."
She nodded and the corner of her mouth came up. "I trust that you wouldn't let anything happen. Unless you just don't want to."
He shrugged and then stood up, shoving the knife into the sheath at his hip. "There ain't a whole lot of flat land to walk on."
"Well, show what little flat land you can then. I feel like I've been stuck inside for ever. Other than going to the creek to bathe or do laundry the only time I've been outside is walking from here to the cabin."
"You loaded?" He asked, leading her around the side of the shack towards the back.
She nodded and then patted the pockets of her jeans. "And two spare magazines. I'm good."
"You're learnin'," he said, smiling slightly.
"I have a very impressive teacher."
He snorted, side eyeing her while she wasn't looking. He had to fight back the urge to push her up against a tree and kiss her, which was disconcerting. He'd never wanted to do that before. Not with anyone. But he did now. He wasn't stupid though. He knew that if he did that then things could quickly get out of hand and June had freaked him out over the whole protection talk. He wasn't an idiot. It was too risky and he never thought about stocking up on condoms.
"You're thinking about something awfully hard," she said, bringing him out of his own thoughts.
He shrugged. "Thinkin' about what we need to get the mouth of the drive blocked. It was cut right through the natural gap of the rock face so all we have to do is block the opening." That was an easy lie. That was actually what he should have been thinking about instead of condoms.
"It's a scary thought, knowing they're that close."
He nodded. "Yeah, it is, but I think Odin is right. I think that we have a little time. I just don't wanna wait until the last minute. We need to get down there at first light."
She nodded. "I want to help."
He glanced at her and then hopped over a fallen log, damp and moss covered. "I don't know how much help you'd be. We got this." He gripped her hand and helped her over.
"June and Odin are really great," she said once she was over the log.
He didn't drop her hand and she didn't pull her hand away. They just kept walking. He felt kind of weird, holding a woman's hand while he walked with her through the steadily darkening woods, but it felt good. "Yeah. They're great. She likes you too, so that's a plus."
"She probably thinks I'm a complete idiot. I can't believe Sophia slept on the floor with Damon last night."
He shook his head. "That kid is rough around the edges but believe it or not, he's a damn good boy. He wouldn't try anything with her."
Carol sighed. "I got that vibe from him too but it was still pretty irresponsible."
He nodded. "Yeah, well, last night was a rough one. Can't blame you for that."
"It's getting too dark to see much," she said after a while.
He glanced down and noticed that she was walking a lot closer than she had been before and her grip on his hand had tightened. "You scared of the dark?"
She shook her head and then glanced up, her eyes wide. "I used to not be. It isn't the dark I'm scared of. It's the things that could be in the dark now."
He realized that they were close to the edge of their property anyway so they turned. "You know, the world might be a little different, maybe even seem a lot scarier on the surface, but what I've learned is, there's always been monsters in the dark. You just gotta learn to sense them coming."