Daryl walked into the Greene's house. Nobody heard him knock but the door was unlocked. He was looking for Beth and couldn't find her anywhere. He decided to take the stairs, he really needed to find her, but still felt like an intruder. He quietly took a peek in each room, trying to figure out which one was hers. In the last one down the hall, he found her, her back facing him. He suddenly felt nervous and forgot what he wanted to say to her. He watched her closely, while she was putting on her coat. She turned around and saw him standing in the doorway.
"Jesus! You scared me…"
"Where ya goin'?"
"Out."
"Smart ass…" He entered the room. He did not look happy.
"I'm going out…with Tom. For a walk. Not much to do around here, so…"
"No, ya ain't."
"Excuse me?"
"Ya ain't goin' out. Ya can't. "
"Why not?!"
"Cause you're mine..."
"Wha…"
"You're mine to protect. To look out for. I don't trust that guy. "
"You don't trust anyone, Daryl...and whatever this is, between us, is not working for you. So where does that leave me? Nowhere. I have no time for nowhere. Not in this world. Not anymore."
She walked passed him as she was leaving but he grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Let me go! What's wrong with you?" He realized he might be hurting her and he didn't want that. Far from it. He let go and turned his back to her. He was facing her bedroom wall and punched his fist in it.
"Daryl…" She waited for him to say something. Out of breath, he didn't say anything, didn't move, his fist still against the wall. She lost hope and turned her back to him as well.
"Don't go" he pleaded, in what was almost a whisper.
"Why not?" She asked again, slowly this time.
She waited for an answer that didn't come, so she left the room. She heard him hit or kick something else in the room when she was getting downstairs. She wasn't leaving because she was afraid of him. But because she was angry with him.
"What was that about?" Maggie asked before Beth reached the front door.
"Nothing."
She slammed the door behind her. Maggie was going to check on him upstairs, but saw him taking the stairs before she started going up.
"What did you do?" Maggie asked, already accusing him.
"Nothin'."
"Well maybe that's the problem!" Her answer stopped him. He turned around to look at her. He was looking for the right words to say. He suddenly looked sad and it made Maggie regret her accusing tone. She took a step towards him, softened her voice and spoke again.
"Do you have any idea whatcha doin', Daryl?"
He looked down and shook his head.
"People think I don't give shit…"
"Tell me about it."
He asked her what she meant by that only with the look he gave her.
"You two only had each other for a while…when you lost her, you lost everything. When I didn't know if I was ever going to find Glenn, I wanted to die. Couldn't stand the idea of losing him. "
"It ain't the same. You n' Glenn…"
"Let me finish."
"A'right…"
"Nothing could get in my way, keep me from trying. Now that we're together again, it seems too good to be true. I'm afraid it will all fade away, disappear, as if it wasn't real after all. I need to keep reminding myself that it is real. I don't know why, it freaks me out. It's stupid and ironic, I should be enjoying it. But I'm a sceptical person, Daryl. And I think you are too. You're just protecting yourself. But by doing that…you're pushing her away."
He considered what she said. He gave her a nod and turned around to get the door. He stopped himself just before turning the knob.
"How…how do ya' do it?" he shyly asked, still facing the door.
"What?"
"Keep 'im close."
"I let myself get burned. But it's worth it."