Author's Note: Hey everyone. It occurred to me I didn't do an author's note last chapter so I wanted to fill you in. For those of you who were tracking, I am now the proud mommy of a sweet baby boy. He was born in January and I couldn't be more in love. Since I have been on leave, I have had time to write again, so here is the next chapter. I didn't want to leave you hanging too long after their first kiss last chapter. Fair warning, I may not update again for a little while as I am nearing the end of my maternity leave and trying to get my little man on a schedule. But I will be working on the next chapter as soon as I can. Please let me know what you all think. I love reading your comments and I apprecaite all the love and support.
We didn't talk the whole way back. We didn't talk all afternoon. We didn't talk in the evening or when we laid down to go to sleep. We didn't talk this morning. Or now on our way on this run with Maggie and Glenn. Anytime Daryl sees me, he looks away. Anytime I talk, he is sure to be talking to someone else. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe kissing him screwed things up between us. Maybe Daryl is just being Daryl and ignoring the truth about this whole situation. The truth is he leaned first. If he didn't like it, and doesn't want things to change between us, then he needs to say so, instead of avoiding me. Cause the longer he doesn't talk to me or even acknowledge my presence, the more pissed off I get at him. Maybe it was a mistake, but I don't regret it. I always wondered what kissing Daryl would be like. He certainly did not disappoint. It was the best kiss I have ever had. But it if wasn't for him, that's okay. As much as I want us to be more, I don't want us to stop being friends and lose hi over something so stupid.
While we were gone yesterday, Abraham found a car parked in the barn behind the cabin. He worked on it all yesterday and finally this afternoon got it to start. With a working car, it was decided that a run should be made to look for more supplies and any other vehicles we could find. Maggie and Glenn volunteered for the run and Rick asked Daryl and I to tag along. I could tell Daryl wasn't happy about it, but he didn't argue. Maggie, however, did argue. She immediately was against the idea stating it was "too dangerous" for me to come along. Rick and I assured her I had been on runs before and that I would be fine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daryl tense and glare at Maggie. I could tell he was biting his tongue. If he cared enough to get mad at that, then why didn't he care enough to talk to me about yesterday?
Maggie and I are sitting in the backseat in silence. She is still sour about losing the argument from earlier. Glen and Daryl, on the other hand, are just a talking away in the front seat. I am so annoyed with everyone and everything. I know that I need to put these feelings away. As angry as I am with Maggie and Daryl, I need to forget it for the time being. Focusing on the run is what is most important right now. If I am not focused, then I could make a mistake. Mistakes are deadly now a days. I close my eyes and clear my head. I'll be damned if I let this whole thing get the better of me. After about twenty minutes, we come upon a small town and I am much more at ease. We park in front of the movie theater and decide the guys should venture out to find a vehicle or two while Maggie and I hit some of the smaller shops around the theater. In an hour, we all are to meet up at the car and then hit a local grocery store just down the road.
Maggie and I sit on the hood of the car while we wait for the guys. It took us about 45 minutes to hit the stores surrounding the movie theater. At first, we only spoke when necessary. But our moods gradually improved with each passing store. We haven't spoken much but the silence has become more comfortable now than when we first started. I glance to her beside me and bust out laughing when I see what she is reading.
"What?" She grins at me knowingly.
"Where did you find that?" I nod at the Cosmopolitan magazine in her hand.
"The pharmacy… I saw it and thought I'd catch up on some light reading." She looks at me and we both giggle. "I've already read how to get a beach bod in two weeks and now I am reading eight tricks that will drive my man crazy." She raises her eyebrows suggestively causing me to laugh even harder. When I catch my breath and look back at her, I notice she is no longer laughing. She has a sad look on her face. "I've missed this."
I sigh, "Me too."
Her shoulders slump. "I want you to know that I am trying. Everyone keeps telling me how different you are now. How strong and capable you are. And I am trying to see it, I am. But the other night, when Carol told me the story about how you and Noah saved her and Daryl from the van on the bridge… that is all it was to me, a story. It was like she was talking about someone else. When I look at you, I still see my little sister who use to follow me around and cry when she got the smallest bump or bruise. But I want you to know I really am trying. It's just hard."
"I know you are… but thanks."
"Y'know I am kinda glad Rick asked you and Daryl to come along, because I will get to see for myself what a badass you are now."
Not sure what to say, I just smile at her. Then finally reply with, "I love you Mags."
"I love you too." She opens her arms and pulls me into a hug.
After a few minutes of letting her hold me, I pull away. "So, what else does Cosmo say?"
"Well…" she says saucily, "here is an article about Ryan Reynolds."
"That is something I wonder about…"
"What?"
"Celebrity walkers." I admit. She laughs, and I join in. I feel like for the first time in a long time we are on the same page again. It's a good feeling to have my sister back. With our giggle boxes turned over we dismiss the guys as they walk up to the car.
"What's so funny?" Glenn inquires as he approaches.
"Beth and I were just discussing celebrity walkers." Glenn just shakes his head and Daryl scoffs.
"We did pretty good. What about y'all? Did you find any cars?" I ask.
"Yeah, we found a van and parked it outside the grocery store. Hop in, we will drive over there." Maggie and I hop off the hood and get in the sedan.
The grocery store wasn't very big, but big enough we have to split off into pairs in order to cover the whole store quickly and safely. Maggie and Glenn take the entrance doors while Daryl and I take the exit doors. When we walk inside we are directly in front of eight registers. To our left are the books and to our right is the floral desk and slightly behind us was the customer service area. We see Glenn and Maggie on our right as well just past the floral section in what appears to be the produce area of the store.
I grab a cart and Daryl and I make quick work of the middle aisles without speaking a word. We had one this countless times before, but it was always that comfortable silence we typically share. This… this is just awkward. On top of that, it appears everything worth taking was already gone. We did find some batteries and a couple of canned goods that were left behind, but that was all. Daryl mumbled something about us checking the stock room. I quietly follow him to the back of the store, pissed he couldn't just get over himself enough to act normal with me. We are on a run, we don't have time for him to be acting like a stupid boy who thinks all girls have cooties.
The whole back wall is full of refrigerators and freezers. We see Maggie and Glenn on the other side of the store. "Anything?" Glenn yells at us.
"Naw, not much. Gonna check the stock room." Daryl calls back.
"Sounds like a plan. We will too."
Daryl nods at Glenn. He barely glances at me and jerks his head to the door to our left. As we approach it, I stop at the sound of growling. Daryl must hear them too because halts his movements. Before we can warn Maggie and Glenn, a whole herd comes pouring out the door. "SHIT! RUN!" Glenn yells behind us. We all sprint towards the front of the store. Daryl and I head down the center aisle. We reach the registers only to be cut off by walkers on our left. I can tell we won't make it to our exit in time. Maggie and Glenn are close their entrance with walkers trailing behind them. Daryl and I can't get out that way either.
Glenn stops in front of the doors and looks at us with sad eyes. "Jus' go! We'll find a way out!" Daryl yells at him. Daryl and I draw our crossbows and stand back to back surveying our surroundings. "There!" He yells and points at a door next to the customer service area. On the other side of the door is a mirror reflecting the cash registers and the horde of walkers quickly closing in on us. I shoot the nearest walker and run at the door. Daryl gets there first and discovers it's locked. "Cover me!" He pulls out his swiss army knife and starts picking the lock. I turn and shoot a walker that is too close for comfort.
"Just bust the door in!" I yell shooting another walker right through the eye.
"Can't. We don't know what is on the other side. If I do, then we may not have something to block the door with and then we'd be screwed." I reload and shoot another.
"We're screwed either way if you don't get that damn door open." The walkers are getting closer and I am running out of ammo.
"Got it." I hear the door open behind me. I sling my crossbow and hit the nearest walker in the jaw. I see Maggie and Glenn, out the corner of my eye, leave the building as Daryl grabs my arm and throws me through the door. He quickly shuts it and we are standing in a narrow hallway. There are two doors in the hallway. One on our left, further down the hall, that I believe heads to the customer service counter. The one to our right, closest to us, reads 'Office.' Daryl tries that door and it opens with ease. "In here."
The office is simple. It has one desk with some file cabinets behind it. Two chairs facing the desk, some bookcases along the walls, and a big window which would be looking out over the registers but instead all I see are walkers. As I look out the window, I become confused, the walkers don't seem to see us. Then I remember the mirror.
"There." Daryl says as he finishes barricading the door with a bookshelf. I glance over at him and watch as he looks around. "Two-way mirror." He notes aloud. He looks at me as I plop myself in the desk chair. Sure, now you look at me. Now that we are safe, that anger towards him begins to creep back to the surface. I roll my eyes at him as he sits down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. He rubs his chin and then looks in my direction again. After a few minutes, he clears his throat, "We should be fine in here for a while. Glenn and I have been in this kind of situation 'fore. All we have ta do is wait. Either he'll figure out some way to distract 'em or they will clear out enough for us ta get out of here, so don't get too comfortable."
I don't look at him as he speaks or acknowledge that he has spoken to me. I simply doodle on a notepad that I have picked up. "Ya hear me?" He asks forcefully. I just nod and continue doodling. He huffs loudly, clearly annoyed. Good now you know how it feels. I know it's rude and childish, but I don't care. I am done being nice. I'm just treating him the way he has been treating me. "Ya ignoring me or somethin'?" His sneers.
That is it. The final straw. My eyes snap to his and I glare at him. "What, now you're talking to me all the sudden?"
He growls and anger flashes through his eyes. A long time ago, that look use to scare me, but now I just stare back at him with equal intensity. "Dammit Beth. We ain't got time for this shit."
"Oh really? Well it looks to me like we got nothing, but time. In case you haven't noticed we are stuck here. Just me and you. No one else to overhear. We might as well talk about the elephant in the room. If you ask me, it is the perfect time." I hiss.
He stands, his body is rigid. "What the hell do you want from me?"
"What do I want from you?!" My voice rises, and I stand too. "What do I want from you? I want you to stop acting like a dick and quit ignoring me. I want you to talk to me. Hell, I want you to look at me because you haven't in two days. I want you to get your head out of your ass, be a man and admit that we kissed. I want to know you felt about it. Say something. Anything. Did you like it? Did you hate it? Did you think it was a huge mistake and you want us to go back to being just friends?" I take a deep breath and am running out of steam. I try to keep my voice steady, but it falters. "I want to know what I mean to you, Daryl… because I am done trying to figure it out."
I watch him closely and can see the internal war play on his face. He finally has a look of defeat when he says, "You know I ain't good at this shit…"
"You don't have to be good at it. You just have to tell me how you feel." He just stares at me. The room is filled with that weird, awkward silence again. I can hear the walkers pound on the hallway door. It sounds like they are easing up some now that we are out of sight and our scent is dissipating. Daryl, though stays frozen in front of me. I get frustrated again. "Dammit Daryl, just tell me how you feel." Once again, I am met with silence. I wait for a few more minutes. I look at him, begging with him with my eyes to just say something. But he doesn't. I look away and sigh, "Just forget it. I don't know why-"
All the sudden, he takes two big strides and his lips are on mine cutting me off mid-sentence. He kisses me hard and presses his body against mine. I feel the need in his kiss, the want. My mind goes blank and I am consumed with all things Daryl. The way his lips and tongue feel as they dance with mine. The way his strong hands are holding me to him. One hand cupping my face and the other gripping my waist. The way he smells, filling my nose with the scent of leather and tobacco. When he pulls away, we are both breathless. When he speaks his voice is husky, "I didn't hate it."