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 18

The entire atmosphere of the kitchen changed when Ed walked into it. Carol already felt out of sorts from being so close to Daryl after their kiss the previous night, but when Ed walked into the room, she felt tense. She remembered what Ed had done and she didn't know how to act. She had never been in that situation before and she didn't know what to expect from him or herself.

But Ed strolled into the kitchen like he owned it. He looked worse for wear on account of his bleary eyes and messy hair. He came right up to her and raised his hand to her cheek, caressing her skin. His hand felt too smooth. Wrong somehow.

"Good morning, Beautiful," he said before he leaned into to kiss her. She froze up when she felt his lips on hers, but before she could register what was happening, he pulled away and then reached over to pull her tight to his body, "Whatcha makin', Sweetheart?"

"P-pancakes," Carol stammered, "For Catherine."

"So generous," Ed commented, planting a lingering kiss to the side of her head. Carol's eyes sought out Daryl. His jaw was tightly clenched and he had a white-knuckle grip on the handle of the frying pan he was holding. Other than that and the dangerous flash that crossed his eyes, there was no indication that he objected to Ed's actions. Ed was saying, "You know, Baby, I'm really lookin' forward to you movin' in here and cookin' like this every day."

The entire kitchen froze. Merle was holding a piece of bacon half-way up to his mouth. Catherine's eyes were wide. Daryl paused in his cooking and stared right at her, like he was trying to pull her thoughts from her mind and into his.

"Ed, I don't know-" Carol started.

"Now, Darlin', we talked about this last night," Ed reminded her, "You don't have no freedom at your parents place and it's inevitable that we're gonna live together at some point. Why wait?"

"Uh…uh…" Carol was at a loss of what to say. What could she say? She was in the middle of the kitchen with three sets of eyes on her and Ed. How could she object when everyone present, excluding Daryl, thought that she wanted to marry Ed one day?

"Ain't got no room," Daryl ejected and Carol felt relief, "Only got three rooms."

"Well, I'm pretty sure she can fit in her boyfriend's room," Merle pointed out, recovering from his shock over Ed's announcement, "Might easier splittin' rent four ways instead of three. Only be two-hundred each then."

"Are you serious?" Ed objected, scowling, "You're gonna make my girl pay rent? We're together! We're savin' up. Gotta pay for a weddin' and a house. Be easier on us if we left shit the same."

"Ain't no two-for-one deal. Daryl and I both pay the damn lion's share of rent," Merle reminded Ed, "We're payin' almost five-hundred fifty dollars. Can't be doin' that no more. I'm outta work for a long while 'cause of this," he said, gesturing to his injured arm with his good one, "Can't be affordin' that shit no more. 'Sides, another person means more water, gas, and electricity is used. Ain't cheap. Money we save on rent can go to other shit."

Ed huffed a sigh, "Fine. Dammit."

Carol could feel Ed's annoyance with Merle's terms in the way that his arm tightened around her. He had evidently been hoping that they could stay here for cheap. Her mind flashed back to the previous night and she shuddered, stepping out of his embrace and saying, "I need to go to the bathroom."

She moved down the hall in a rush and shut the door. It felt like there was something heavy sitting on her chest, like the entire weight of the world was bearing down on her and she couldn't escape. She didn't want to move in with Ed. She didn't want to share a room with him. Not after what had happened last night. What if Ed got drunk again? What if he hurt her again? That wasn't the way a man was supposed to treat a woman. Her daddy never hurt her mama. It made Carol not want to marry Ed.

That thought in itself was frightening.

Her entire world had been built about marrying Ed Peletier. It was built on moving into a nice house, getting married in a big white wedding, and then having his children. It was supposed to be like she had imagined when she was a child. It was supposed to be like the pictures Ed had painted in her mind that night they had first laid together.

And now…now those images were cracking and crumbling in front of her. Ed was not the man she had thought that he was. She used to believe that he would never hurt her, but last night, he had proven her wrong. He had become a man that she did not want to spend her life with.

But how could she tell him that? He clearly didn't remember what he had done last night with the way he was acting. And how could she break her promise to him? How could she go back on her word when he really didn't know what he had done wrong?

She had hitched her wagon to Ed Peletiers horse and now…well, now she was so, so tempted to sever the rope holding them together, but what would happen to her after? Ed was the only man she had ever been with. She didn't know if she would ever find another who would want to marry her, especially now that she had given herself away to Ed.

Daryl Dixon, that voice in her mind said, effectively reminding her of the handsome redneck who had made his feelings plain the night before.

Carol looked at her reflection in the mirror as she brought her hands up to her lips. They did not tingle with the memory of Ed's kiss from the kitchen. Her mind didn't linger on Ed, not the way it did with Daryl.

It was unsettling.

She felt so lost and so very, very confused.

0-TSR-0

Daryl wanted nothing more than to go after Carol. He wasn't arrogant enough to presume that he knew what she was thinking, but the look on her face when she fled the room spoke volumes. It was too much for her. She and Ed were clearly having problems, even if her dipshit boyfriend was oblivious to it, and she didn't know what to do. It occurred to Daryl that she probably didn't know how to get out of the train-wreck of a relationship she was in. Carol wasn't the type to voice her opinions or to knowingly do something that would hurt another. From the first time he met her, Daryl had quickly learned that she would gladly put everyone else's happiness ahead of her own. She had a big heart and unfortunately, Ed Peletier was taking advantage of it.

The bacon was suffering on account of Daryl's annoyance over the fact that he had zero control of anything that was happening in his house at the moment. Merle was so damn concerned with saving a buck that he was willing to crowd their house, regardless of Daryl's feelings about the matter. Ed was up to something with his sudden declaration that Carol was moving in. It had come out of nowhere and Daryl wondered if Ol' Ed suspected that something had happened last night. He wondered what Ed was trying to pull.

"I didn't know my sister was planning on moving in here," Catherine spoke, sitting on the chair so that her knees were drawn up to her chest.

"We discussed in last night," Ed said dismissively, sitting down at the table and shovelling some bacon onto his plate, "and sit proper."

"I dunno if my parents will like that," Catherine said, untangling herself so that she was sitting 'proper'.

"No offence, but they have no say in the matter," Ed said waspishly.

"Ya think they would," Daryl spoke up in a sneer, "seein' as ya plan on marryin' their daughter. Would be the proper thing to go to her daddy. Ask for his blessin'."

Ed let out a derisive snort, "This ain't eighteen-ninety-five, Dixon. Don't need nobody's permission."

Daryl abandoned the new batch of bacon and turned around so that he was glaring at Ed, "Ya need Carol's. Did ya even ask her if she wanted to hitch her damn wagon to ya or did ya just tell her that's what she was doin' whether she liked it or not?"

"Daryl!" Merle barked out a warning, but it was too late. Ed got to his feet and stalked up to Daryl.

"You got a problem, Dixon?" he demanded.

"Don't wanna see a good woman like that wastin' her damn time with an asshole like you," Daryl spat, taking a step forward into Ed's space. He was looking for a fight. He was looking for an excuse to knock Ed Peletier on his ass.

"Daryl!" Merle scolded again, struggling to get to his feet. Ed was smirking.

"Jealous, Dixon?" Ed taunted.

"Pfft," Daryl snorted, "Believe me, I wouldn't wanna be you for even a second."

Ed smirked, but backed off. That annoyed Daryl to no end.

Then Carol was re-entering the kitchen, coming up beside Daryl at the stove. She didn't say a word, but she really didn't have to. It didn't take a fool to see that her mind was working a mile a minute. She was troubled…unsure. It was plain to see. She focused on her cooking and Daryl watched as she flipped the pancakes and tried to salvage what was left of the bacon.

"Like it crispy, huh?" Carol said softly, glancing down at the pan.

"Nah," Daryl said in a low voice that only she could hear, "Ya boyfriend pissed me off and the bacon suffered for it."

Carol's eyes snapped to Daryl, wide and unsure. She opened her mouth to say something, but Ed interrupted her.

"Carol Ann, can you get me more juice? I'm a bit parched," Ed called.

"Get off your ass and get it yourself," Daryl snapped, "She ain't your slave."

Ed smirked at Daryl and got to his feet to fetch himself some juice. That seemed too easy. What was Peletier playing at?

"That's right," Ed said brightly, grabbing the carton from the fridge, "She's my fiancé. In fact, Darlin', I picked you up something in Atlanta. Let me go get it."

Daryl watched as Ed went to the front hallway to rummage around in his jacket. He pulled out something from the pocket. Daryl's heartbeat sped up as he realized that whatever the object was, it was small enough to fit into Ed's meaty fist. Then Ed came to a stop in front of Carol and grabbed her left hand. Daryl's heart suddenly lurched to a halt.

"I was getting sick of people getting' confused 'bout us, so I figured it was high time we show 'em that you're gonna be Mrs. Ed Peletier," Ed said to a wide-eyed Carol as he pushed a ring onto her ring finger. Carol didn't object. She just stood there, staring at the ring on her hand in shock. Daryl opened his mouth to say something, but then he felt Merle's hand on his shoulder, squeezing tightly in a warning for Daryl to keep his silence.

"It's a lil' tight, but we can get it sized," Ed was saying. Carol's head snapped up at this and her eyes locked with Daryl's. He saw that same look he had seen before when Ed had declared that she was moving in. It was the same look an animal got when it was caught in a trap: scared and panicked. Carol didn't want this, Daryl realized. She didn't want to marry Ed, let alone move in with him, but she couldn't say it. Daryl made to move forward, but Merle's hand clamped down on his shoulder like a vice to the point where it sort of hurt. Then Daryl watched as Ed pulled Carol close and kissed her, the lingering kind. Carol didn't return the kiss, but she didn't reject it either, accepting her fate without objection. There was no love in that kiss. No passion.

Ed pulled back and then turned, flashing a grin at Daryl as he did so.

"Congratulations," Merle grunted out, "Now let's eat."

0-TSR-0

Carol sat in the middle seat of Daryl's truck while Ed drove and Catherine sat in the passenger side. The remainder of breakfast had been tense to say the least, filled with small talk courtesy of Merle, Catherine, and Ed. Daryl opted to eat standing by the counter after Merle and Ed hijacked the remaining chairs. He had stood behind her so that she couldn't see him, but she could feel the weight of his gaze on her back.

She couldn't begin to imagine what he thought of her now.

Her eyes were drawn to the ring, a gold band with a diamond in the middle, on her left ring finger. It sat just above the lower knuckle on account of how tight it was. Carol had always imagined that this moment would feel different. She had thought that her fiancé would get down on bended knee and declare his love for her before asking for her hand. She had thought that she would be filled with overwhelming love for the man that she was to marry and she had thought that her ring would fit right. She had never anticipated that when that engagement ring was slid onto her finger, she would feel trapped.

And at this moment, she felt that way. She was trapped.

She was supposed to marry Ed. She was supposed to love him. She had laid with him the way that a wife was to lay with her husband and therefore she had to marry him. If she didn't, then it would be a sin.

If she was honest with herself, she would this wasn't what she wanted.

But sometimes you just can't get what you want. Sometimes obligation was greater. Sometimes you had to bit your lip and fulfill your promises…even if the idea shook you to your core. She had to marry Ed. She sinned with him. She couldn't say 'no'. Not now.

She felt like crying.

Catherine reached over and twined her fingers with Carol, holding her big sister's hand as a comforting gesture. It did little to help calm the sick feeling brewing within Carol's stomach as the truck got closer and closer to her house. She would have to tell her parents. She would have to pack her things. If she didn't…

If she didn't, they would know.

They would know that she didn't want to marry Ed. They would know that she wanted to turn her back on everything she had ever known and that she was a sinner.

Ed pulled up to the house and everyone got out of the truck to face the Taylor parents. Catherine had opted to wear Daryl's clothes home. There was no way that she was willing to wear the dress she had worn to the party in front of her mother. Carol had changed into her clothes from the day before, but she didn't feel comfortable in them. It was like they didn't fit right anymore…or maybe it was just because Carol felt like she wasn't who she was last night. So much had changed, from Ed's drunken treatment of her to Daryl's kiss to Ed's proposal this morning. Everything was so messed up…so jumbled.

Carol's parents met them before they stepped foot on the porch, both of them looking supremely annoyed. Both were in their church clothes, reminding Carol that with everything going on this morning, she had missed the Sunday service.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Daddy," Catherine greeted, offering up a sweet little grin.

"Upstairs, Catherine," George barked to his youngest child.

"Daddy-"

"Now," George snapped in a tone that left no room for argument. Catherine offered Carol a sheepish, yet supportive little smile before she moved to obey her father, moving into the house. Carol doubted that Catherine had gone upstairs. She was more than likely hidden behind the front door, listening in on whatever was about to transpire. Ed reached over and draped his thick arm over Carol's shoulder.

"Morning, George. Rose," he greeted Carol's parents. Rose's severe look of displeasure deepened and Carol cringed inwardly. This was definitely not going to be pleasant. She watched as her father took a step towards them.

"Your mother and I have discussed matters," George said to Carol, "We recognize that you are an adult now, but this is still our home and while you are under our roof, you will follow our rules."

"Then it's a good thing that she's moving in with me," Ed announced, pulling Carol tighter to his body.

"Carol Ann!" Rose ejected, disapproval dripping from her tone.

"It only makes sense," Ed continued on, "After all, we are to be married soon," he said, reaching over to raise Carol's left hand to show off the ring that he had placed there. Carol watched as her father placed a hand on her mother's shoulder in the same manner that Merle had put his hand on Daryl's.

"Congratulations," George said stiffly and not at all sincerely.

"I suppose that we ought to get your things, Sweetheart," Ed said to Carol, moving her towards the house.

"George!" Carol heard her mother protest

"This is Carol's path, Rose," Carol's father said, "Marriage is the best thing for her now."

Carol heard the disappointment and resignation in his tone. She heard the words he didn't say: 'now that she is sinning with this man.'

Some irrational part of her had thought that her mother and father would protest, seeing that they had previously disliked Ed, but then Carol realized that she was doing what they had always wanted her to: get married and be a proper wife.

A proper wife stood by her husband…or husband to be.

That was what they had taught her. That was what they were demonstrating to her at this moment. Carol's mother clearly wanted to object, but she held her tongue in deference to her husband.

A proper wife didn't argue or contradict her husband in front of others.

"We'll get your things," Ed told Carol as they stepped into the house, "Then you can follow me back to the house in your car.

0-TSR-0

Daryl needed to keep himself busy. He needed to get his mind off of what happened and so, he went through his usual Sunday cleaning ritual, though today, he did it a lot faster and a lot angrier. He was frustrated. He hated Ed Peletier more than ever and he hated what the bastard was doing to Carol. Ed was trapping her, just like how Daryl's father had trapped his mother. This wasn't what Carol wanted. It's what she thought she should want. She responded to Daryl's kiss the night before; she didn't respond to any of Ed's kisses this morning. That had to mean something. Daryl just needed to show her that she could say 'no'. He needed to tell her that if she wasn't happy with Ed, then she had the right to say so. Daryl didn't care that they were 'engaged'. In his eyes, that was nothing more than Ed trying to rub Daryl's nose in the fact that for now, Carol was tied to Ed. Merle saw it differently.

"So Ed and Mouse are makin' it official," Merle said offhandedly as he watched Daryl do the dishes in the sink, "She's off limits."

Daryl snorted, "She ain't said 'yes'."

Merle's eyes narrowed at his brother, "She's got the rock, Brother."

"Pfft. Only 'cause that bastard shoved it onto her hand," Daryl replied, setting a plate on the counter a little harder than necessary. Merle let out a huff of air and shook his head.

"Dammit, Daryl. This has gotta stop," he chided his brother, "The girl is spoken for. She ain't on the market and you sniffin' at her skirts is bound to piss off the boyfriend that's helpin' to pay or rent."

Daryl said nothing, clamping his mouth shut as he slammed another plate down onto the counter.

"If ya want a woman, there's a bar full of 'em just a few blocks over," Merle continued, "Why don't ya pick one of 'em?"

"They ain't her," Daryl ejected before he could stop himself.

Merle scoffed, "What's so damn special about the Mouse, Boy? She ain't worth all this pinin' shit that ya doin'."

"You wouldn't understand," Daryl snapped back. And he was sure that Merle wouldn't. Merle's only interactions with the opposite sex involved the exchange of something, be it food, drugs, or body fluids. He wouldn't understand that Daryl didn't just want sex from Carol. No, this went deeper than that. Yes, Carol Taylor was an attractive woman, but there was so much more to it. She was funny and kind. She was the most genuine and honest person that Daryl had ever met. She cared about Daryl in ways that he had never been cared for before. She pulled him out of his shell and made him step out of his comfort zone. Before Carol, he never would've had the nerve to outright kiss a woman like that, but with her, he felt like he was better than what he had always told himself that he was. He felt safe with her, to the point that he was able to tell her anything. This connection between Daryl and Carol went way beyond the physical. It was something more and it was something that Daryl had never, ever had before with another person. It made him want to hold onto it. It made it special.

"Here's what I understand, Brother," Merle was saying, "I understand that that lil' woman is marryin' another man. Don't know whether she said 'yes' or not, but that was always her damn plan and she sure didn't object when Eddie was slippin' the ring on her finger. I understand that she ain't yours and she don't wanna be yours-"

"Well she should be!" Daryl ejected, whirling around to face his brother, abandoning the dishes.

"But she ain't!" Merle reminded him, stalking up into Daryl's space, "She belongs to Ed! Not you! Ya can't keep doin' this! Ya only gonna end up either with a black eye or ya gonna be cryin' over this broad!"

"You don't know shit!" Daryl spat, shoving past his brother and fleeing for the patio door. He needed out. He needed to think. He wanted to go to the woods.

Before he left, he heard his brother say, "I know more'n ya think, Baby Brother, and ya gonna get hurt."

Daryl ignored it.

0-TSR-0

Merle watched as Ed lugged Carol's suitcase to his room and as Carol set down a box near the front entryway, hovering nervously as if she wasn't sure what to do now.

"Got everythin'?" Merle asked in an attempt to make conversation with the woman that his brother seemed to think was perfect.

"I think so," Carol said in a soft voice, "This…this is different. Moving into a house. Before it was just a dorm room."

"Ain't much different," Merle shrugged, "We're all in our own lil' rooms."

Carol nodded her head, but Merle noticed the way her eyes sought out Daryl's door. He frowned. That frown deepened when she asked, "Is Daryl…is he okay with this?"

"He'll be fine," Merle said gruffly, "He's out walkin'."

"Okay," Carol said awkwardly, tearing her eyes off of the door. Merle didn't like this at all. He could see trouble in her eyes.

"Congratulations, Mouse," he told her before walking away from her, "Ed will make ya a good husband."

Even though it was a lie, Merle figured it was enough to let her know where he stood. He'd rather see her with a bastard like Ed than see her fuck with his baby brother.

TBC

AN: Okay, so before you all go wanting the throttle me, consider for a moment, what type of girl Carol is here. She is a young woman who was brought up in a strict, religious, and old-fashioned household. She was brought up to believe that a woman should follow and support her man and that she shouldn't question him, especially in front of others. She was also raised to believe that sex was something that only happened between married people, so she had justified the premarital relations that she and Ed have had by saying that she is going to marry him and that she has to love him for that reason. She's at a point in this story where she is questioning that decision, but to openly say that she will not marry him will put her at odds with her values. As human beings, it is hard for us to act against what we believe in and when we do, we are put into a bit of an identity crisis. Right now, Carol is trying to avoid that by following the plan that she set out for herself. Even though that isn't what she wants, she's passively accepting it because it is familiar. Still, the fact that she's acknowledging that she's not happy in this situation is a huge step for her and she's on the path to shedding those values that have put her into this position and adopting stronger ones. It will take time. This isn't something that happens over night and it will be a journey for her. The caryl moments will come, but first, Carol has to fix what's wrong in her life. Daryl can't do it for her.

In regards to Ed, I know that most people are chanting for his death or removal. To me, right now, that would be a cop out. An easy fix and one that's been done to death. The thing with Ed is that he's a great tool for moving the plot along. He's the antagonist and without him, Carol and Daryl wouldn't be pushed together as strongly as they are. He will be around for a while more, but he will get what's coming to him.

In regards to Merle's feelings about Caryl, he is first and foremost looking out for his brother. He doesn't want Daryl to get hurt and he figures that that is exactly what will happen if Daryl continues to try for this unattainable woman.

Please let me know what you think so far!