28-year-old Daryl pulled into the parking lot reserved for the single building housing what he considered to be luxury apartments and easily found a space big enough for his truck. He checked the time on the radio and saw that it was 11:30 PM. He got off work two hours ago, went home to change and shower, then went grocery shopping at the late-night convenience store a few blocks from here. Zayla loved that little store because it had all of the snacks she liked and healthy kibble for the cats she fed somewhere out in the parking lot. Last he heard, she was trying to adopt one of them, but she didn't want the kitten to feel like it was being abducted, so she was going to wait until she was sure one of them trusted her before trying to make a move. She hasn't had a cat since she graduated high school and he wasn't sure what happened to that one, but he knew she's wanted another since.
He pulled his keys out of the ignition and grabbed the two bags of groceries, kicking the door shut before going up to the third floor of flats. He traveled down the hall and around the corner, stopping at the door labeled C-303. He managed to lean the bags against his chest while he pressed them against the door to dig out the key from his pocket and unlock all three of the latches keeping the door shut. Once inside, all was quiet and there were a few lights on in the living room, but he didn't spot a redhead yet.
Daryl traveled to the open kitchen and set the bags on the breakfast bar before opening the fridge. He found some takeout boxes littering the icebox and empty bottles of booze, but none of it looked to be good anymore, so he grabbed everything inside and dumped it in the trash. He still hasn't heard anything inside the apartment, so he searched the living room, but didn't find Zayla on the couch. He went to her bedroom and flicked the light on.
"Turn off that fucking light." He heard her growl as soon as the switch flicked up, so he cut the lights again, but looked to the corner where her voice came from.
From the light coming in from the hallway, he could see Zayla's shadowy figure slumped against the wall and she had the curtain pulled to look out the window overlooking the garden behind the building. He was unsure if she was wearing a hoodie or if she decided that it was time to chop her hair off again, but what he did know was that her entire room was humid and smelled way too much like onions for his liking.
"When's the last time you showered?" He asked because honestly, he hoped he couldn't smell her stink throughout the house, but he had a bad feeling that's what it was.
"What's today?"
"Thursday the 16th."
She shrugged. "Honestly, I dunno and I really don't care."
"You serious?"
"No, I'm just fuckin' around."
"That's gross and you stink."
"Thanks, Daryl. That's just what a girl needs to hear." She rolled her eyes at him, but he didn't care.
"You're gonna wash your ass today and eat somethin' solid that's not takeout. You need to lay off the booze too, gonna get sick."
"Pretty sure my best friend just died, Daryl." She grimly reminded him.
"Don't start with that shit." He heard her mock his works and he narrowed his eyes at her sass, but didn't respond to it.
"My brothers sent me another letter." She spoke up as she finally got out of that gross blanket and stood, letting it fall off her body onto the floor. She was coming out of her bedroom, so he grabbed the blanket and came back into the kitchen to toss it on the washing machine to be cleaned. He was going to wash all her smelly clothes and strip the mattress once she was settled in the bathroom, but for now, he settled on gathering the clothes thrown around the room to load the washer. She sat at the breakfast bar and rummaged through the bags of groceries, but didn't pick anything from the bags. "According to themselves and their bank statements, they're doing pretty good for themselves down in Cali. Hell, Danny even mentioned something about Desmond being a sponsor in some Big Brother organization that helps at-risk teens."
"So they're gonna come visit more often?"
"They don't wanna come visit anymore, don't wanna live so far from their little baby sister." Daryl stopped collecting her clothes when she said that, knowing what it meant.
"You're movin' to California?"
"I dunno if you've noticed, but things haven't been too good for me since high school. I lost my Mom, then Skylar goes and…" She admitted, but he could see the tears beginning to fill her eyes just thinking about Skylar and Daryl knew just how important the guy was to her. Hell, next to himself, Skylar basically grew up with Zayla from 6th grade to graduation and beyond that, they moved in together. "I don't think I wanna be here anymore, Daryl. It doesn't really seem like I should be, so maybe it's time to move on."
Daryl meditatively thought about what he wanted to do next and summoned the courage to do what he was thinking. Slowly, he grabbed her by the forearms and pulled her in for a hug. He was damn right when he said she smelled like a garbage can, but for the moment, he didn't mind.
"I thought you said I reek and needed a bath." She mumbled into his vest as she nuzzled her head into his neck.
He huffed at her and gave her a little shove to detach from their hug. "You do."
"So charming." She almost smirked at him before she began pulling her socks off. "Why don't you get started on that bath, Mr. Bossy Boots? Unless you wanna peel the clothes off my sweaty, rancid skin."
"Gross."
Zayla began to disrobe in her room and grabs a towel to wrap herself in, then goes to the bathroom to find that Daryl ran her water like she asked. She gets in before he comes back and asks him to stay with her, so he sits on the floor next to the tub. He was thankful that the bubbles were covering her naked form because it would've been hard for him to contrate if they weren't.
"Are you gonna go?" He asked her softly, unknowing of her intentions.
"Would you be mad at me if I did?"
"I understand why you'd wanna...can't be mad at that." He shrugged. The girl had a lot dumped on her shoulders with her Mom passing when she was 15, then her best friend going and committing just a few months a go. If he were in her shoes, he'd probably have an itch to pack up and leave everything in Georgia for a fresh start someplace new without such painful memories. "...it's just gonna be really different without you around. Ain't somethin' I'm gonna get used to overnight and I don't really know how I'm gonna...adjust to life with you to life with you gone."
"What if I wanted you to come with me?"
"Never left Georgia…" He thought out loud and boy, was it something to think about. Sure, he and his brother have moved around the state before, but they've never taken a vacation or trip like that outside of Georgia because nothing pulled them elsewhere. Merle may have gone on an overnight ride to different counties, but he was pretty sure he and his motorcycle gang stayed within state lines too. Leaving the heat and all the peaches he could eat? He hasn't thought about it since he was a kid and wanted to be as far away from his old man as possible. "Why do you want me to go with you?"
"Because I don't wanna know what it's like to lose you." She quickly admitted and Daryl thought she was going to look away from him, but she didn't and he saw the blush creep up on her cheeks that almost made him smile. She loved to put him on the spot when it came to feelings and expressing them, but here she was acting shy now. He did watch herbrows knit together before she lightly shook her head, some strands of her hair flowing with her movement. "I can't take that, not now after all this mess...and I know that's selfish of me to ask you to be away from your brother because he's all the family you have, but-"
"Merle was born in Georgia and he's gonna die in Georgia. He ain't goin' nowhere." He snorted, knowing his brother.
"I know I've been a walking pile of grumpy shit the past few weeks." She admitted.
He frowned at her words. "You're mourning, Zayla. This ain't supposed to be fun."
"I know...but you've been here...just like always. I just wanna take care of you for once, Daryl. Since we were kids, you've been my rock and I didn't know I needed one and you've always been honest and you keep me leveled and I can always come to you for help."
"That's 'cause you taught me how to be a good friend, I didn't just know what to do." He reminded her, thinking about all the times he realized he could be of use to someone and found validation in her friendship. "You've done a lot for me too, Zayla. Even before I knew your name, you were nice to me and you kept trying even when I wasn't kind or acceptin' of you."
"How the hell did we end up stuck together?" She asked with a smile, making him smirk too.
"Alright." He agreed and she looked at him confused. "You wanna move to California with your brothers and you want me to come...alright."
"What about Merle?"
"Merle's been thinkin' I was gonna run off since I was fourteen, says he's just been waitin' for the day he comes home and I'm gone. Not gonna just leave him like that, he'll get himself killed." He shook his head at the thought. "I'm gonna tell him just what you told me and he shouldn't have a problem with that. I ain't writin' no damn letters, but I'll make sure I call him a few times a week to make sure he's still kickin'."
"Are you serious?"
"No, I'm just fuckin' around." He parroted her earlier catchphrase. "I dunno what I'm gonna do over there 'cause I'm not just gonna sit on my ass while you provide for the both of us."
He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen the expression on her face before, but he was going to stash the mental portrait in his brain vault for safekeeping. He could see the happiness in her eyes, but there was also disbelief and a bit of dumbfoundedness. This entire night took him by surprise because he thought he was just going to drop off groceries for the week and do a general wellness check on Zayla because she knew things were rough for her at the moment. He really didn't think that she'd offer him a chance at a new life on the west coast where it'd be the two of them.
She's asked him before if he wanted to move in with her before, but he was always too reluctant to live without his brother out of habit and the absolute last thing he was going to try to compromise was having his brother and a woman living under the same roof. This proposition was completely different and he knew that Merle wouldn't be upset with them leaving. If anything, he had a feeling that his big brother would be happy for them and encourage them to get going as soon as they could, likely thinking they were running off to get hitched.
Daryl never entertained the accusations Merle had about the relationship between his baby brother and Zayla Krest because he didn't want to add fuel to the fire. He also didn't know what the hell he was doing with her either. He knew they were good friends and had a tight bond, but what about something else? What about all the times they kissed as teenagers, the drunken nights out that led to dazed mornings after with him waking up in her bed, tangled in her arms and sheets?