The Spare Room

Summary: The bills keep piling up and if Daryl Dixon has any hope of improving his life, he and his brother are going to have to find someone to fill their spare room. The problem is that while he can't stand his new roommate, he finds himself falling for his roommate's girlfriend. Caryl. AU.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you recognize from the Walking Dead.

Chapter 6

"What the hell?" Ed demanded again, taking a step towards Carol, towering over her where she sat in the lawn chair. Carol could see the tension in his face, the way his jaw tensed and the dangerous flash in his eyes.

"Ed, I was-"

"The fuck you doin'?" he yelled at her, "You hittin' on him? YOU ARE MINE!"

He bent over her, his face close to hers. She could smell the whiskey on his breath. In the next instant, Ed was pulled away from her.

"Back off, Man!" Daryl snapped at Ed, who then lunged for Daryl, grabbing at the front of his shirt.

"You hittin' on her? You tryin' to snake my woman from me? Huh?"

"Ed, stop-" Carol's plea was drowned out by Daryl's angry shout.

"Get the fuck off me!" Daryl yelled, fighting against his hold in the same way an animal might fight if it was caught in a trap.

"I'll let go of you when I'm damn good and ready, ya little sh-OOF!" Ed was cut off when Daryl punched him in the gut. Ed released Daryl to double over in pain, but it didn't last long. Ed stumbled forward again and punched Daryl in the face. The momentum took Ed forward, sending both men to the ground, Ed on top of a struggling Daryl.

"Get off me!" Daryl cried out, flailing beneath Ed.

"You go anywhere near my girl again and I'm gonna-"

"Get the fuck off of me or I'm gonna-"

"ENOUGH!" Merle shouted, grabbing Ed by the collar and hauling him up. Daryl jumped to his feet, hate in his eyes as he started towards Ed. Merle stopped him with his other hand. He stood between the men, forcing them apart, his muscles straining as he did so. It was the first time Carol had ever seen either Dixon look so angry. They looked dangerous, far more dangerous than Ed, but in this situation, she figured that they had a right to be. It was all a misunderstanding and now, Daryl was sporting a black eye.

"I want-"

"ENOUGH!" Merle shouted again, drowning out whatever his brother was going to say, "Let's all calm the fuck down and figure out what the fuck's goin' on!"

"He's tryin' to steal my woman!" Ed yelled, struggling against Merle's firm hold.

"Weren't doin' nothing! If she had any sense at all, she'd dump ya ass!" Daryl ejected, also struggling against his brother.

"ENOUGH!" Merle bellowed a third time, pushing Daryl back against the house while forcing Ed into a lawn chair, "Now instead of bein' damn children here, we're gonna talk shit through-"

"Bit rich comin' from you, ain't it?" Daryl shot at him.

"Don't you sass me, Boy!" Merle scolded before he looked over at Ed, "Now, Ed, if my brother says nothin' happened, I believe him. He ain't the kind to snake another man's woman away. He's more the sweet one, my baby brother."

Ed said nothing, simply glaring over at Daryl, who glowered right back.

Merle rolled his eyes and looked to Carol, "What happened here, Darlin'?"

"I…I…" Carol stammered, not knowing what to say. Everything had escalated so fast and she was so confused and horrified by what had gone down. Merle approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, there, Lil' Mouse. Ain't no big thing," he assured her in a soft, gentle voice that was so different from the one he had used with Ed and Daryl before.

"We…we were just talking and…and a girl I work with wanted to know if Daryl was single so I asked and then…" she trailed off, feeling ready to cry.

"Now see?" Merle said to the two men, "It's all just a big misunderstandin'. Ain't nothin' to get ya shorts all bunched up over. Now let's open a damn beer and forget this shit ever happened."

Looking at Ed and Daryl, Carol knew that that would be easier said than done. They both looked murderous and Carol was overcome with the knowledge that she had caused it all. She had caused this rift by thoughtlessly running her mouth. She shook her head. She needed to escape.

"I…I have to go," she whimpered, fleeing through the patio door before anyone could say a word. She was almost to the front door when Ed called out to her.

"Carol! Carol! Wait!"

She stopped short and turned around, looking back at Ed who looked panicked.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry-"

"Ed, you hit him!" Carol cried, "You accused him of all those things!"

"I got crazy, Carol Ann," Ed told her, "Seein' you out there with him…talkin' like that…Baby, I thought the worst and I can't lose you."

"Ed, you hurt him!"

"Darlin', it was all a misunderstandin'," Ed said, shaking his head, "I got no beef with Daryl. Just lost my mind there for a minute. Don't you understand how crazy you make me? Thought of you with another guy just makes me lose my damn mind."

He reached out to touch her shoulder and Daryl's words from the yard echoed in her head.

"If she had any sense at all, she'd dump ya ass!"

Was Daryl right or were those words spoken out of anger? What was she doing with a man who accused her of such things and hitting men who had been nothing but kind to her? She shook her head.

"Ed, I don't know if I can do this," she cried, the tears slipping down her cheeks.

Ed shook his head, his expression pained, "Now Carol Ann, Sweetheart, don't you say that. It was all a misunderstandin'. Darlin', I love you."

Carol let out a sob and said, "I love you too, but…but I don't know if I can be with someone who doesn't trust me."

She turned then and walked out the door, running to her car and ignoring as he called after her.

0-TSR-0

"I want him out!" Daryl snarled, pacing the yard like a caged lion, "I want him gone!"

"Easy there, Lil' Brother," Merle said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture, "We need him to help out-"

"Fuck it!" Daryl snapped, "Don't want his fuckin' money!"

"Daryl, it was just a mistake-"

"He hit me!" Daryl reminded him, pointing up to his face. His eye was swelling up quickly and Merle cringed a little.

"He didn't mean that shit-"

"Stop fuckin' defending him!" Daryl shouted, "Ain't ya the one always goin' on 'bout blood and loyalty and shit? Or is that only the fuckin' case when ya want ME to do somethin'?"

Merle cursed and snapped at his brother, "Now, Daryl, that's enough! Told ya we need him to help out with rent and there ain't no way we findin' another roommate before next month. Was just a mistake, so let it go, Boy!"

Daryl glared at him, looking supremely betrayed by his brother's words. Merle sighed guiltily, "Brother-"

"Fuck you!" Daryl snapped, turning on his heel and heading for the back gate.

"The hell ya goin'?" Merle demanded.

"Anywhere but fuckin' here!" Daryl called back, taking off for the grove of trees that he liked to disappear into.

Merle sucked in a bit of air through his teeth. He felt like he was between a rock and a hard place. While he was watching Ed swing at his brother, Merle wanted to break the fucker's jaw. At the same time, though, he knew that he couldn't if he wanted to keep Ed around to cover rent. It pissed Merle off. He didn't want to have to choose between his brother and money.

A few moments later, the money part of that coin slinked outside. Merle turned to look at his roommate, who looked so damn fucking lost that it was almost sad. Ed looked up at Merle with a pained expression.

"She's gone," he said.

"Ain't fuckin' surprised," Merle told him coldly.

"I screwed up," Ed said hollowly, "Why…why…"

"Because ya was an asshole," Merle snapped, too irritated to give Ed sympathy.

"I've gotta make it right," Ed declared pathetically, "I can't lose her, Man."

Merle looked unimpressed and strolled across the yard, leaning on the back fence and eyeing the thick brush and trees, looking for any sign of his brother, but knowing that Daryl would likely remain out there until dark. Maybe even longer. Wouldn't be the first time his brother spent a night out there and with the way Daryl had stormed off, Merle figured that the boy wouldn't be too damn inclined to come back home. His brother's betrayed expression came to mind and Merle cursed.

Maybe Ed wasn't the only asshole in the house at the moment.

0-TSR-0

"And then I just…ran out of there," Carol finished relaying the tale of her evening to her sister, who was cuddled up in Carol's arms on Carol's bed.

"That sounds crazy," Catherine declared, "And you really broke up with him?"

"I guess," Carol said lamely, "I dunno. It was hard…I didn't think I was doing anything wrong and then he just…flipped."

"It sounds like he was jealous of this Daryl guy," Catherine observed, glancing upwards at Carol, who pushed back a strand of Catherine's blond hair.

Carol rolled her eyes, "Thank you, Miss State-the-Obvious," then she sighed, "I don't even know why. I would never, ever cheat on Ed. He should know that."

"Maybe he trusts you, but doesn't trust that Daryl guy," Catherine supplied with a shrug.

"Maybe," Carol allowed, "but Daryl's not like that either."

"And you know that from the three times you've met him?" Catherine quipped.

Carol fixed her sister with a look and insisted, "He's a decent man, Catherine. He's a little shy and quiet, but he's not like that."

"It's the quiet ones that you've gotta watch out for," Catherine said, flipping over onto her belly so she could look her sister in the eyes, "He's not from around here, either. For all you know, he could be an axe murderer or something."

"He's not," Carol said firmly, "and what happened tonight wasn't his fault. Ed was the one who overreacted."

"It sounds like both of you did," Catherine observed.

"What do you mean by that?" Carol asked defensively.

"You ran out…barely gave him time to explain anything," Catherine said, "You aren't giving him much of a chance…I mean, I thought you were going to marry the guy. You did…uh…you know…with him."

Carol sighed and leaned back against the headboard. Catherine did have a point. Carol had given herself to Ed, something that couldn't be taken back now. She did say to herself that one day, she would be Mrs. Ed Peletier. Was she giving up on that all too soon? Was she wrong to just throw it all away just because of one fight? And yet…

"If she had any sense at all, she'd dump ya ass!"

Why had Daryl said that? Was it anger? Or did he know something she didn't?

And why was she putting so much stock in his words? He was just an acquaintance. Carol had only met him three times. She had been with Ed for almost a year. It didn't make sense for her to put his views on the matter to the forefront of her mind. It didn't make sense for her to trust him over Ed.

And yet, she did.

Every one of her instincts told her that he was a good man. She could see it in his shy smiles, the soft way he spoke around her, the way he thanked her for dinner, his invitation to her in afternoon, and in the way that he had pulled Ed away from her. Carol didn't know what to make of it. She didn't know why she felt this connection with a stranger, but for some reason, she did feel a connection to Daryl, one that made her feel indignant on his behalf when Ed, her boyfriend of almost a year, hit him.

And that only confused her more. As Ed's girlfriend, she was supposed to take Ed's side of things. She was supposed to be dutiful and supportive of him. That was what her mother had always encouraged her to be whenever she found the man that she would marry. Did siding with Daryl make her disloyal to Ed? Did it even matter now that she had told Ed that she didn't know if she could be with him? Surely, Ed could find another girl to take her place. He was good-looking, charming, and he had a decent job. It wouldn't be hard for him to move on.

But for Carol…well, Ed was the first boy to pay attention to her and he always said that he was the only one who would ever love her as much as he did.

For the first time, Carol felt a flicker of fear. She had disregarded all of her mother's teachings when it came to Ed. Was this her punishment for that? Would she wind up alone after all, just like her mother had always told her would happen if she did not act with propriety?

And then she heard a tapping noise at her window.

TBC

AN: And there's another cliffhanger. I'm a bit evil. This plays on Carol's fears of being alone, something she alluded to in Indifference.

Please let me know what you think so far! Thank you for all of the wonderful and kind support!