Red River Blue
Chapter 60
…Daryl slammed the cupboard door shut, rattling the dishes inside. The door slapped against the wooden frame and bounced, flinging back towards him with almost as much force as he used to close it. Daryl caught the door and slammed it again, this time smashing it so hard that it cracked the wood.
"Where's my fuckin' whiskey?," he roared.
"Gone! That's where it is! I dumped every last drop down the fuckin' drain!." Mika screamed. "I'm not just gonna sit back and watch you drink yourself to death!" Daryl turned on the girl, sizing up her angry expression and trying to decide if she was bluffing. Or if she really had disposed of every last bit of liquor in the house. "You're acting like an asshole!," she added, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction.
"I'm yer father!," Daryl hollered. "Don't you talk ta me like that!"
"Maybe you should try acting like it," Henry huffed, rolling his eyes at the man from the position he'd taken up in the kitchen doorway.
Daryl eyed the young man. Taking sass from his own daughter was one thing. But he wasn't going to let this skinny little beanpole tell him how to behave in his own house. Daryl grabbed the glass he just drained off the kitchen table and hurled it across the room. It smashed against the wall about a foot from Henry's head. Mika barely flinched. Henry ducked for cover behind the wall. But Daryl's violent outburst was enough to send Lydia scurrying right out the front door. She left it hanging open behind her as she rushed down the steps and across the front yard, tramping one of Carol's prized rose bushes in her hurry to escape.
"I am not cleaning that up," Mika informed him as she looked down in disgust at the mess he made when he threw the glass.
"I'm sure yer too busy spreadin' yer legs," Daryl hollered back.
Mika moved forward towards him, flipping her middle finger up and thrusting it into his face. Daryl leaned away from hand. But she shadowed his movements, pushing her obscene gesture closer and closer to his face until Daryl slapped her hand away. He knew he pissed Mika off with what he said. And she had every right to be pissed. His comment was rude and unnecessary. But Mika's anger was tempered with the knowledge that her father was hurting inside. Henry was not concerned with such trivialities. He charged forward, shoving Daryl back and away from her.
"Don't you talk to my wife that way. And don't you ever touch her like that again!," he yelled, the color rising in his cheeks.
Daryl balled up his fist. He got one good hit in on the kid before Merle was on him, wrestling him to the kitchen floor and cutting them both up with broken glass. In his whiskey fueled rage, Daryl might have been able to fight his brother off. But Merle wasn't alone. He had Tyreese and Rick with him. And between the three of them, they were able to force Daryl down to the holding cell without anyone else getting hurt.
Daryl was filled with remorse after the first night he spent in that tiny cell. But they left him there for a few more days. Whether it was meant as punishment or just to make sure he sobered all the way up, Daryl wasn't sure. And he never asked. River brought him food. Denise sat outside the bars and tried to get him to talk about his feelings. Father Gabriel came and coaxed Daryl into praying with him. But none of it helped. He sobered up. But he still felt as hopeless as he did when he took to the bottle. Sam was still dead. And Carol was still gone.
When Daryl was finally released from his imprisonment, his and Lydia's things had been moved into River and Merle's house. Mika was gone. Henry took her back to the Kingdom with him. They weren't planning to return anytime soon. That hurt Daryl almost as much as losing Carol. And like her mother, Mika didn't even bother to say goodbye to him before she left…
Daryl called Dog back from the far edge of the dock, sending the animal back up towards the beach as he nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The last thing he needed was for the dog to jump down into the water when the large fishing boat was pulling up to the dock. It was already taking long enough as it was. His anxiety peaked once the boat was docked and people slowly began to dismount. For a moment he was frightened that Carol might never appear. But after a few more tense moments, she finally did.
Daryl could hear his own heartbeat thrumming in his ears as Carol stepped down off the swaying deck of the ship and onto the sturdy wooden dock. Her hair was longer than the last time he'd seen her. Long enough that she had it fastened back away from her face with a clip, revealing her deeply tanned skin and the light in her eyes when she saw him there waiting for her. Dog reached her first, jumping up to greet her even though Daryl had been trying his best to cure the stubborn animal of that habit. Carol ran her hands over Dog's head before she pushed him down and let Daryl sweep her up into his arms. He tucked his face into her neck, anchoring her against his chest and holding her there.
"What ya wanna do?," Daryl asked once he finally loosened his grip on her. "We can do anythin' ya want." He wanted to tell Carol how happy he was to see her. How his life wasn't worth living with her gone. But he held back. He was afraid if he started he might end up on his knees, begging Carol to come back home with him. And the last time he tried that, she went running. Literally.
"I've got an idea," she said, leaning in and pressing a kiss onto the corner of his mouth.
A short walk later and Carol was swinging her leg over Daryl's bike. She scooted close, letting her thighs rest against the outside of his hips as he fired up the bike's engine. Keeping his focus on the road with her pressed up against his back was a challenge. He was glad that he didn't have far to drive.
"I thought we were going hunting," Carol said, stepping into the clearing Daryl led her to and smiling as she looked around.
There was a perimeter of wire rigged up in a rough circle. Within it, there was a tent already set up. And a blanket spread out of the ground, anchored in place with a few rocks. Daryl poked his head into the tent, retrieving a packed picnic basket. It was obvious that Daryl had not only set up his little romantic surprise by himself, he'd also packed their lunch. Because the whole thing was a bit of a mess. He forgot utensils and they had to eat the salad he packed with their fingers. But she wouldn't have it any other way.
Before the fear that drove her away the last time could rear its ugly head, Carol let Daryl pull her into the tent. There was a made up cot inside, complete with one of their quilts from home. Next to it was a small crate that held a mason jar full of wildflowers. Daryl quickly zipped the door behind them, preventing Dog from his attempts to join them inside the tent.
Daryl was quick to shed his shirt and jacket, dropping them to the floor of the tent near his feet. During her extended absence, Carol spent her nights lying along in bed thinking about him. And in her loneliness, she'd nearly convinced herself that there was no way he was as attractive as she remembered. But seeing him in person again, it was impossible for her to deny it. She raked her eyes over the defined muscles in his arms and his broad shoulders. The old faded tattoo on his chest and the small trail of hair that started below his belly button and led down into the waistline of his pants, it was like she was seeing all of it for the first time again. The heat was already pooling in the pit of her stomach when he pulled her against his chest and kissed her.
They pulled at each other's clothes as they kissed, their movements sloppy and almost frenzied in their hurry to consummate their reunion. The feeling of his bare skin against hers was like heaven as he lowered himself down onto the cot and pulled her into his lap. She was facing him with her slim thighs already spread wide. If asked beforehand, it was not the position she would have chosen for him to take her in. Mostly because she knew neither of them would last long with her on top rocking her hips into him. And she wanted to make the moment last as long as she could, unsure of when or if it would happen again.
Carol always prepared herself for the worst. When she stepped off the boat, she already convinced herself that Daryl wouldn't be there waiting. That he'd found someone else. Someone younger and prettier. Someone that wasn't irreparably damaged and unable to love Daryl the way he deserved to be loved.
But those fears disappeared the moment she saw Daryl waiting on the dock for her. And now there was only the feeling of his body intertwined with hers. He gripped her hips, lifting her up enough to line the head of his dick up with her eager opening. And when he lowered her down, she felt her insides convulse as they stretched to accommodate his thick length. She gripped his shoulders as she bucked into him. His hands were still on her hips, adding extra force to her thrusts.
Carol could feel the heat building. Her thighs tightened and she dug her fingers into his flesh. And then she came, moaning Daryl's name as she felt him throbbing inside her. Her orgasm was so intense that for a moment, there was nothing else in the world besides the waves of pleasure that were rolling over her. When she regained her senses, she was lying on the cot and Daryl was pulling the quilt up to cover their naked bodies.
They lay together as their bodies slowly relaxed. Carol was resting on her side with one arm tucked under her head. Daryl's arms were around her, his face buried in the soft pillow of her breasts. His calloused fingers were stroking slowly up and down the curve of her spine.
"What's it like out there?," he asked, his breath ghosting over her sensitive skin. Carol sighed. A soft sad noise. She knew this discussion was inevitable. She just hoped she might get a few more moments of bliss before it came.
"I work until I feel like my back is gonna break. And then I work some more. And when I finally lay down to sleep I'm so exhausted that the dreams don't come."
"Sounds terrible," Daryl teased, peppering her cleavage with soft kisses. "I guess I might letcha come home. If ya ask me real nice…"
Carol smiled. And for a moment she even felt like she might laugh. She could barely even remember how it felt to laugh. Or to be anything other than miserable and tired.
"Why don't you come with me?," she asked.
"Already did that," he told her with a low grumbling chuckle, flicking his tongue across one of her softening nipples before he sucked it into a hard point. She hummed, her back arching as the low throb started back up between her legs.
"I mean it," Carol said, her words coming out in a soft pant. "Come with me. Let's run away together."
Daryl didn't respond to her offer. Instead, he turned his head slightly and sucked her other nipple into his mouth. Flicking his tongue over her small hardened bud, his hand moved down to grip her ass. She gasped when his finger slid between her cheeks, teasing her sensitive back entrance. That was new. It made her slightly nervous for what he might try next. And Carol secretly hoped Daryl had not been taking sex advice from his disgusting brother again. Because the last time Daryl thought it would be a good idea to try one of Merle's lewd suggestions on her, he ripped down the shower curtain and sprained his wrist.
Letting her nipple slide from his mouth, Daryl began to kiss and lick his way down her body. He rolled her onto her back and kissed along the inside of her hip. The position of his hand changed from between her cheeks to between her thighs. But he continued his gentle exploration of her ass. The entire area was slick from their combined fluids. And instead of cringing away from the contact, she slowly found herself relaxing into his touch as he rimmed her tight little rosebud with his fingers. Her thighs were spread wide as his other hand joined the first, his fingers spreading her slicked lips open to reveal her slit and the small little bundle of nerves above it. She could still feel his fluids slowly leaking out of her as he leaned in and flicked his tongue across her clit. She moaned, rocking her hips into his face. He used the opportunity to slip the tips of his fingers into her ass. The unfamiliar sensation made her insides clench, which increased the pleasure she was getting out of his tongue running back and forth and sideways over her clit. He pulled his fingers out only to jam them back in again. And on the third thrust, she came on his face with her hands buried in his hair.
"Like that?," he teased as he slid back up her body and wrapped his arms around her. Carol nodded her head and snuggled into his chest. Daryl's strong arms circled her. And he clutched her against his chest, his embrace suddenly more possessive than affectionate.
"Come home with me," he said. This time it wasn't a pleading request like the times before. It was an order. And Carol wondered what would happen if she refused him. Would Daryl drag her back to their house like a caveman to a cave? The thought wasn't totally unappealing. Maybe that's what she really wanted all along and just didn't know it. Carol looked up at the sky through the mesh windows of the tent, her body going rigid with fear. Sensing her sudden tension, Daryl's body also went rigid as he lifted his head and shoulders up off the cot.
"There," she said, pointing at the giant flaming streak in the sky. Daryl rolled, his eyes widening as he watched the giant ball of fire streak closer and closer to the treeline. It didn't fall close enough to them to be an immediate danger. But it was close enough that they felt the impact when the fallen satellite hit the earth. Dog started barking up a storm. And without any further discussion, both Carol and Daryl jumped up and started tugging on their clothes.