Ch.19

Daryl held Beth for what seemed like hours. The footsteps he had heard coming up the stairs had been Maggie. She had come to check on Beth and help her get cleaned up only to find Beth wailing on the ground and curled up into Daryl's embrace with his jacket still covering her half-naked torso. When she saw the scene playing out before her she didn't even raise an eyebrow. She just stared at Daryl, concern written all over her face, but she didn't ask any questions, and for that Daryl was thankful. After staring at them for a few minutes she had quietly walked out of the room, and Daryl was certain that Beth hadn't even noticed her sister's presence.

When Beth finally calmed down, Daryl carried her to the bed. She was exhausted. He could tell by the way her head rested heavily against his chest. He knew by her heavy and drooping eyelids with dark shades of purple painted under her eyes. She needed sleep, and he needed to do something that he was dreading.

Maggie was sitting with Glenn on the couch, their hands entwined. They were speaking lowly to each other, and Daryl knew that the topic of conversation was Beth. Rick was rocking Judith to sleep, Carl standing next him holding her bottle. It didn't seem that any of them had noticed Daryl standing there, and for a moment he thought about retreating back upstairs. He knew that what he had to say would change everything. He took a deep breath, the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach like never before.

"Maggie, Rick, can I talk to you real quick." They both looked to him. "In private; it's important."

They were motionless for a moment, trying to figure out what was so important that it had to be said in private, and why only the two of them were needed. Rick handed Judith to Carl, and Maggie gave Glenn a quick kiss on the lips. Daryl led them to the nearest bedroom, and Daryl started to close the door behind them, leaving it cracked just a little. Maggie sat down on the bed, Rick standing a few feet from her. Daryl stood all the way across the room. He hated what he was about to do.

"What is it?" Rick asked.

Daryl didn't say anything. He was trying to convince himself that what he was doing was the right thing, but another part of him was trying to convince him that he needed to keep his promise.

"Daryl, you ok?" Rick asked.

"I wasn't completely honest when I told you about that group we ran in to." He ran his shaky fingers through his hair, and then rubbed his neck, trying to figure out what to say next. "It wasn't an easy escape, they didn't just let us go." He paused a moment, taking a deep breath and looking at Maggie. "They surrounded us, grabbed Beth and held a knife to her neck. They knocked me out before I could do anything else." He turned his attention to the ground, wanting so much to avoid telling them his next words, but he knew that he had to. "When I woke up my hands were tied behind my back, and I heard screaming. I couldn't see Beth. And then I realized the screams were hers. They raped her."

The room was silent, and he managed to look up to gauge their reactions. They looked stunned. Maggie looked as if someone had just ripped her heart right from her chest; her face was five shades paler and he couldn't tell if she was breathing. Rick rubbed his face, something he did when he got bad news or wasn't sure what to do.

"I would have told you guys sooner, but she made me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone. And then I saw what she did today and how she was upstairs, and I knew that I had to tell."

He looked at them again. He would have tried to avoid Maggie's eyes, but there was a distance in them that made him wonder if she was even really here with them, if she had even heard what he had said. The normally confident and put together Rick looked more defeated than he had ever seen him; his posture slightly slouched.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of blond hair through the crack in the door. He heard the shuffle of running feet and the front door slam shut. He instantly knew that it was Beth. She had heard everything.

Without thinking he rushed out of the room and onto the front porch. He saw Beth speed walking, and Daryl ran to catch up to her. He was yelling her name, but she wasn't turning around. He reached out and snatched her wrist, giving it a little tug that turned her to face him; she flinched when she felt another person grabbing her. She was crying. And then she was trying to break free of his grasp, but he was stronger than her, and he wasn't going to let her go. He needed to explain himself.

"Beth, Beth, calm down."

"How could you? You promised, Daryl; you promised you wouldn't tell anyone!" She was yelling, and he was sure everyone could hear them. "Just let me go," she yelled again.

She struggled against his hold, but it was a weak fight, her body still exhausted from the events of the day. Then she stopped. She looked Daryl directly in the eye; blue eyes meeting blue eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time. But something about this time was different. Her eyes were different. Through the tear-brimmed eyes he saw what he knew would happen.

"I hate you," she whispered in a voice that was so deadly quiet and disconnected from her that he wasn't even sure the words had come from her mouth.

But they had. She had said those three words, and she wasn't lying. Every inch of her being hated Daryl, and he knew that she had every right to hate him. But this knowledge didn't make it any easier. Those words stung worse than anything else he had experienced in his life, and his heart broke.

She tried to push away from him again, but Daryl pulled her to his chest. "I know; I know you hate me. But you know I had to. They needed to know Beth, we couldn't just keep this between us anymore."

And for the second time that day she broke. But this time was different. She wasn't just crying because of what had happened to her, she was crying because the one person she had trusted had betrayed her. Daryl rested his chin on her head, and he didn't even try to stop the tears that began to flow from his eyes.

Author's Note: So the secret is out...Daryl finally told them the truth about what happened. He didn't want to, but he finally realized that he had no other choice. And Beth ended up hearing the whole thing! She knows that Maggie and Rick know what happened, and she knows that Daryl broke the promise he made her. She's hurt, and she hates Daryl for what he did. And Daryl hates himself for what he had to do. I wasn't sure if I was going to have Daryl cry or not, but when I was writing the chapter it just felt right.

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