Love after War

Carol winced as she carefully applied the concealer to her dark eye. Ed had hit her again after another drunken rant about how she 'don't appreciate him busting his ass at work all day' Carol sighed tiredly Ed was a fucking idiot, she stared painfully at her short silver hair in the mirror and closed her eyes remembering Ed's strong hands gripping her by her curls and snipping away with the scissors she missed her hair more than anything, she evoked how she had to lie to Lori and Andrea about what really happened to her hair, having to lie saying she was 'just getting bored of her curls'

She sighed again applying the last little bit of concealer over her black eye, the only bit of makeup Ed would allow her to buy so people wouldn't know the truth about what went on behind their closed doors. Carol glanced up at herself properly in the mirror; everything was completely covered up and hidden away from people's suspicions. She carefully opened the old bathroom door and moved steadily into the living room.

"Ed, I'm just gonna drop Sophia off at school" she called out nervously.

Ed casually sat up in his old dirty chair, "You better hurry the hell up, this house is a damn mess and it aint my job to clean it" he growled

"Yes sweetie" she swallowed the word sweetie made her stomach turn, "I understand, I'll get back as soon as possible" she squeaked her eyes carefully searching the room for Sophia.

"Good" he mumbled lying backwards like an old bear in his chair.

Carol sighed and delicately leaned herself against the kitchen counter waiting for Sophia to leave her bedroom, she silently shut her eyes and breathed carefully.

"Just a friendly reminder from Channel 5, remember to stay indoors tonight and make sure you have supplies as we all know tonight is the going to be on record the worst storm we've had in 5 years. Stay safe everybody!" Smiled the woman from the old television set

Carol glanced at the television screen she envied the beautiful woman on the news, she couldn't remember the last time she'd properly felt beautiful not since she'd married Ed at least.

"Mommy?"

Carol turned her head sharply to see Sophia standing by the door patiently with her pink school bag hanging on her shoulder resting underneath her short blonde hair,

"Ready to go?" Carol smiled softly

As Carol opened the front door to their house she suddenly heard the loud voice of Merle Dixon yelling across the road, another one of Ed's obnoxious friends Carol thought to herself annoyed, suddenly another man came into view as Merle's back left the view of her eyes. A younger man, with dirty chestnut hair and deep blue eyes which seemed to squint every time another word came from Merle's mouth. His face was hard with a messy stubble; Carol was completely fascinated with this man's face it had struck her so quickly. He slowly glanced at her but suddenly moved his eyes to focus back at Merle.

"Mommy, who is that?" asked Sophia

"I…I don't know sweetheart one of daddy's friends I think"

"Why is he yelling at him?"

"I don't know sweetie, come on we should leave before you're late to school" squeaked Carol wrapping her left arm around Sophia's shoulder guiding her away from the view of the two men.

….

Carol kneeled in front of Sophia delicately, "As soon as the bell goes come straight outside I'll be here waiting for you, like I always am okay sweetheart?" smiled Carol weakly

"Okay" mumbled Sophia wrapping her small slender arms around Carol before darting towards the classrooms.

"Have a good day!" waved Carol as she stood in the middle of the schoolyard.

As soon as the wave of children disappeared from the schoolyard Carol's stomach began to squeeze as she thought about going home. Sometimes she wish she could just run away with Sophia but she knew what would happen if she even tried to run, Ed would kill her. She closed her eyes softly trying not to think about it.

"Carol!" called a voice

Carol turned to see Lori approaching her along with Andrea, Carol faked a small smile.

"Carol, how are you? It's been a while since we've seen each other sometimes I have to wonder if you're a ghost" laughed Lori sweetly.

"Oh you know I've been….busy" she lied hesitantly

She glanced down at the silver watch on Andrea's wrist, she needed to leave now. Andrea smiled as she watched Carol staring down at her wrist.

"Oh you like it? Dale gave it to me last night as a 'gesture of love' as he says" she laughed

"That's nice…" Carol squeaked, she continued to look at the time on her wrist "You know I've really got to be going I've got work to do…"

Lori frowned, "You've only just got here Carol, come on Andrea and me are going back to my house for lunch you should join us. It's Rick's day off so he offered to cook" smiled Lori

Huh Ed's never done that for me Carol thought jealously, but she shook her head again

"I really need to go maybe another time" She squeaked beginning to turn her back on the two women.

"Carol wait!" called Andrea grabbing onto her arm softly.

Carol let out a small yelp of pain and quickly moved her other hand to cover the bruise on her arm, Andrea silently narrowed her eyes down at Carol's bruise.

"Where'd you get that Carol?" she asked her voice suddenly sounding serious.

She lowered her head in shame, her voice suddenly felt uncomfortably dry and her heart was beginning to hammer in her chest, she could still feel Andrea's soft grip on her.

"I…I hit it on the door last night I must've tripped…" she peeped calmly

She couldn't look up at Lori or Andrea she knew they both knew the truth and she was true embarrassed to face it properly. Andrea's hand lost its grip on Carol and slowly limped back to her side.

"It was Ed wasn't it?"

Carol kept her head low trying to pretend she couldn't hear Andrea's accusations, she turned her body away from the two of them gracefully and began to pace away from them quickly,

"I'll see you later I need to prepare for the storm" she mumbled she was sure they could hear her, but even if they couldn't she didn't care.

…..

Carol breaths began to quicken as she sprinted up the street hoping to get home quick enough, away from people's questions. Come on Carol only a few more blocks you can get there she thought to herself motivationally. Suddenly she felt something big and hard bump into her, she fell to the ground sharply and looked up to see Merle Dixon grinning down at her.

"Well hello lil darlin'

Carol smiled softly at him; she wished he would just leave her alone. Merle was a man just like Ed and she despised him he made her feel uncomfortable every time he came into contact with her. She remembered one summer when Merle had come over and had insulted her over and over saying her place was 'In the kitchen' and Ed had laughed with him. She wished she could have stood up for herself.

"Aint you talkin'?"

Carol remained silent

"Huh, so you a mouse today? Should probably look where you goin' sugar tits"

Carol's stomach began to turn again.

Sugar Tits

Merle suddenly stuck one dirty hand down to her; she stared at the hand confused

"What you gon' stay down there all day or what?"

Carol carefully gripped Merle's hand and pulled herself up,

"Thank you" she mumbled

Merle smirked and wrapped his arm around her waist sharply, Oh God Carol thought to herself disgustedly

"So you seen Ed?"

Carol shook her head, "I'm just going home to meet him now"

"Well if you see him tell him poker's at my place tonight"

"Poker?"

Carol detached herself from Merle carefully,

"What about the storm tonight?"
"What about the storm?" Merle growled his voice changing from his original friendly tone

"Will you be safe?" asked Carol shakily changing the original sentence she had planned to say.

Merle chuckled brightly and placed his hand around Carol's slender waist again, "Don't you worry lil darlin' I got what I need, food, beer, guns you name it" he smirked

Carol nodded silently, trying to casually remove Merle's dirty hand from around her waist.

"Hey Kenny!" roared Merle quickly removing his hand from Carol's waist.

He sprinted across the street smiling at the older gentleman, "You up for poker tonight!?"

Carol let out a small sigh of relief and quickly paced towards her house, trying to avoid looking back at Merle. Carol carefully slid her keys into the door and pushed it open silently praying Ed was asleep or at least out of the house. She crept through the dark living room, the woman on the news was still reading out the headlines and Ed was perched in his dirty old chair. She sighed with relief.

"What the hell took you so long?" mumbled Ed sloppily

Carol immediately stopped in her tracks,

"I was speaking to some friends…" Carol said swallowing

"Friends? You aint got time for friends"

Carol nodded, "I know Ed I'm sorry"

"Should be cookin' and cleanin' like a good wife" he snapped

Carol jumped at the sudden raise in Ed's voice, she quickly scrambled towards the kitchen,

"I'm Sorry I'll start cleaning" she murmured grabbing the cleaning liquid sitting next to the sink

"Good" hissed Ed grabbing the bottle of beer sitting next to his chair, he shook it and quickly dropped it back to the ground, "Carol grab me another beer from the fridge will ya?"

Carol quickly dropped the plate and sprinted towards the fridge,

"Come on! Hurry your ass up!" he barked

Carol grabbed the cold beer from the fridge and hastily ran towards Ed with it, he snatched it from her sharply and shoved it in his dirty mouth. Carol looked away disgusted.

"You know I saw Merle Dixon outside" she said hesitantly as she walked back towards the kitchen.

Ed sat up groggily, "You aint messin' with Dixon are ya?" he growled

Carol shook her head, "Of course not he just told me to tell you poker is at his house tonight" she muttered

Ed chuckled and dropped his beer down to the ground, Carol swallowed softly and turned back to look at him,

"You leaving me alone in the storm tonight?" she asked hesitantly.

She shouldn't have asked; but she had just let it slip out.

"Yeah you got a problem with that?" he snarled

"No not at all!" she rushed, "I just want to make sure you're safe tonight"

Ed chuckled again and walked over to Carol calmly,

"I'm a grown ass man, I'm always fine" he smirked

Carol lowered her head focusing on the dishes in the sink again,

"I know Ed" she murmured softly.

Ed smirked and suddenly Carol felt his immense grimy hands grab her by the waist, he roughly pulled her petite slender figure close into his and kissed her unflatteringly. She could feel his disgusting stubble brushing against her jaw and she hated it. She hated it when Ed treated her like this, she didn't feel good, she felt weak and under his power. She wasn't his wife she was his toy with breasts. Finally he let go of her wiping his mouth.

"I'm goin' out for a few hours, house better be clean by the time I get back"

Carol nodded silently as she watched Ed grab his coat and leave the house, as soon as the door slammed shut she began to wipe her mouth vigorously.

Ed was a fucking idiot. And so was she.

She sighed gloomily and moved sluggishly to the sink again, Carol carefully turned towards the radio on the counter and switched it on, this was the only time of day she could do this while Ed was gone. He hated her taste in music saying it was shitty music but after all what does he expect marrying a 'Dumb bitch like Carol'. The music boomed out of the radio swiftly,

'Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones and I will try to fix you' the soothing voices suddenly made tears begin to stream down her face. But she quickly wiped them away and began to hum to the music, as she cleaned the dishes softly.

"You lost the money!?" screeched a loud voice

Carol glanced up in the window to see the young man again, this time being yelled at by another man, a lot smaller than Merle.

"So what huh? Aint my fault" snapped the younger man gruffly

"You're a worthless piece of shit you know that?!" growled the other man

Carol lowered her head and closed the blinds she didn't want to hear that, she'd heard that enough already from her husband. Carol miserably switched the radio off, she wasn't in the mood for music anymore.

…..

Carol flung herself onto the couch exhausted the whole damn house was finally clean, she glanced over on the kitchen counter and noticed one of the bottles of wine Lori and Rick had given her for her birthday. She quickly slid herself off the chair and snatched the bottle bringing it back over to the couch, suddenly the bottle was at her lips and she began drinking down nearly the whole bottle her stomach was beginning to turn again but she didn't care. She stared down at the bruise on her arm and then the belt scars on her other arm.

Tears began flooding from her eyes, she shut them tightly and hurled herself onto the couch sobbing into the cushions. This damn life. This damn life she had trapped herself in. Her knees soon began curling up into her arms and she felt herself letting everything out all over again. Her hands clutched her short grey hair as she sobbed herself into a deep sleep…

…

Carol felt awful her head ached, her stomach felt like it was doing backflips and her heart was still racing. After she had woken up from her slightly drunken sleep she had to rush out of the house not having time to fix herself up to pick up Sophia. She wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone right now especially Merle or Ed.

"Hey Carol!" called Lori

Carol sighed remembering their encounter earlier, she turned around forcing a smile at Lori and her husband Rick. Suddenly she noticed the expression on their faces change,

"Carol are you okay? You seem tense" asked Rick hesitantly.

"I'm fine…why do you ask?" she asked.

"What happened to your eye?" he asked stepping closer to her.

Carol immediately put her slender fingers to her eye, The Concealer was damp and smudged on her finger, oh God she thought to herself sickly.

"I uh I walked into a door at home I tripped over one of Sophia's toys"

Rick paused for a few seconds staring at her she knew he knew what had really happened he was a cop after all it was their job to be observant of these kind of things. She clutched her arm nervously hoping he wouldn't notice the bruise either.

"How's Ed Carol?" he asked finally speaking again

"He…He's fine" Carol squeaked,

Lori's soft hand suddenly rested on Carol's shoulder,

"You know if there's anything wrong Carol you can tell-"

"Mom" smiled Sophia emerging from the school Carol took a small breath of relief as she watched her pace over to them.

"I'm sorry Lori, I've really got to go the house isn't completely ready for the storm and I have to prepare" Carol said rushing off clutching Sophia's hand.

She didn't need any more questions about Ed, she was done with all the attention all she needed was to be alone for a few hours everything was just suddenly becoming overwhelming for her around her friends, she didn't want to leave them but she didn't want to get on the bad side of Ed again not after yesterday at least.

"Come on Sophia, we should go home so we can keep your daddy happy" Carol uttered quietly.

….

'Remember to stay safe tonight, don't go outside unless you really have to and make sure you have supplies it's gonna be a long night!' Smiled the newsreader on the television.

Sophia glanced up at Carol worriedly, she was curled up close to Carol clutching her arm as she usually did.

"Mom?" she whispered

Carol looked down at her, smiling warmly

"It's gonna be okay tonight sweetheart I'm here with you, as long as I'm here you're safe from any danger" she spoke her voice as sweet as honey.

The sound of keys suddenly could be here jangling in the door and Sophia's grip on Carol's arm rapidly grew tighter, Carol moved her soft hand to stroke Sophia's silky hair.

"It's okay baby" she whispered calmly

Ed stomped through the door bearlike, his eyes searched around the room until he found Carol on the couch,

"Go out to the store now" he snapped,

"Why? I've already bought food from the store for you" She replied carefully sitting up on the couch,

Ed took a sudden step forward,

"You Questionin' me?!" he barked

Carol swallowed lowering her head delicately,

"Of course not…I'll go out and get what you want just let me tuck Sophia in bed first please…" she murmured

"Fine just hurry your lazy ass up" snapped Ed throwing himself into his ancient dirty chair.

"Come on sweetheart off to bed" she breathed putting her slender arm around Sophia,

"Sophia!" snapped Ed

Sophia turned around immediately,

"Yes, Daddy?" she asked nervously.

"Why don't ya kiss your daddy goodnight huh?" he murmured

Carol's hand suddenly gripped tighter on her daughter's small shoulder,

"She needs to sleep Ed" she whispered

"Jus' get out of here then" he growled perching himself in his seat, crossing his arms over his enormous chest.

"Come on baby" Carol sighed guiding Sophia up the stairs.

…

Carol picked up the remaining cans of beer and dumped them into the basket with the rest of the food and beer Ed had ordered her to pick up.

Crash!

The storm was already beginning to start up and she was stuck in a store almost 2 blocks away from her home, she quickly paced over to the cashier, the lines weren't long considering everyone smart was still inside their homes staying out of the storm, she sighed as she moved her basket over for the cashier to scan them.

"Honey, what are you doing out here in the storm?" asked the Cashier, her tag had the name Jacqui written in bold.

Carol smiled softly, "I'm just stocking up for my husband"

Jacqui scanned the first few cans of beer swiftly,

"Is he the one that gave you that black eye?" she asked concerned

Carol lowered her head trying to hide her eye from the woman's view,

"No…no it was an accident I walked into a door…" she breathed

"I've heard that lie a million times and they all come back with fresh bruises" the woman said watching Carol sideways

"C…Can I just pay please?" she stuttered

"Sure honey"

Carol clumsily began searching through her purse for the money she had taken out of her drawer, she carefully slapped the money on the counter and grabbed the bags to avoid any further questions.

"And Honey!" called Jacqui

Carol sighed as she turned back to look at the woman at the counter,

"If he tries to hit you again, knock him out with a frying pan for me"

Carol warmed the woman with a small smile mouthing the words, 'Thank you' before she turned to leave the empty store into the beginning of a storm. Everything was beginning to dampen on, her clothes stuck to her like glue, she shuddered coldly as she walked through the town.

"You think you can fuck with us!?" Roared a voice,

Carol quickly turned to suddenly see a wave of men burst out of 'the Red Deer' bar,

"You think you can punch us in the mouths and get the fuck away with it!?" Yelled another man

She recognized one of the men, it was the man she had seen earlier speaking to Merle Dixon, she stood staring not knowing what to do.

Suddenly she heard a glass break as one of the men broke it on his head and kicked him to the ground,

"Aint so tough now are ya!" bellowed another man now knocking him to the ground.

The younger man looked up at them, his breaths were getting heavier and she could see the blood dripping from his mouth,

"That…That all you got!?" breathed the man gruffly.

Carol stood staring and terrified, should she help him? The storm was beginning to get worse and she didn't have time for a fight with possibly Ed's friends.

"Nah Man" chuckled one of the men, holding a heavy metal rod tightly in his hands.

The man swung and hit the younger man on his back, completely knocking him down all over again, this time he wasn't getting up, he lay there silently.

Is he dead? Thought Carol shakily.

"C'mon man leave this asshole out here, he deserves it" barked one of the other men.

The main man in their group nodded dropping the heavy metal rod back onto the ground with a thud, as soon as the crowd cleared up, Carol sprinted over to the young man lying on the ground, she couldn't leave him alone to die.

"Are you okay?" she whispered clasping his hand.

The younger man groaned holding on tightly to her soft hand,

"Can you speak?" she asked moving her hand to support his head slightly.

The man slowly moved lowered his head to the ground and closed his eyes, suddenly she began to panic moving her ear to his strong chest.

Two heart beats

"Okay" Carol whispered staring down at him, "I'll…I'll bring you somewhere safe"

She stared at his large, strong body planted on the ground,

But how the hell do I move you?

…..

Carol carefully laid the young man down on the couch, it had taken a whole half of an hour to walk him home with him resting most of his weight onto her through the rain, but she was glad to be finally home. She stared at him as he slept, she did have to admit he was handsome. Carol shook her head vigorously and quickly rushed to the kitchen cabinet to search for pain killers and bandages. Some of his wounds were bad. She carefully began binding the bruises around his arms, his mouth suddenly began to tremble, she noticed more blood beginning to drip from around his mouth, she wiped it carefully as she moved one of the pillows above his head to keep it level.

He probably needs water Carol thought to herself, hurrying herself to the fridge.

Crash

The storm began to crack above her house; it was beginning to get worse.

"Where….Where the hell am I?"

Carol turned around sharply to see the man now sitting up tiredly on her couch, she paced forwards hesitantly.

"My home, I found you passed out in the streets and brought you back here, and I cleaned your wounds for you" she squeaked nervously

"Why the hell did you do that?" he grunted

"You looked like you needed help and I didn't feel right leaving you..."

The man nodded while dragging himself up to sit up properly on the soft couch,

"You want something to drink or eat?" she asked walking towards the kitchen again

"Starvin'"

"I got some pie and water if you want that?" she called out

"Sure" he called back moving his eyes to search around the room

Carol moved back into the living room with a small slice of Cherry pie and a glass of water, she handed it to the man carefully as she sat down on the coffee table. He stared at her curiously his blue eyes shining,

"Don't I recognise you?" he asked gruffly

"I..I don't know"

"You're Ed Peletier's wife aint you?" he asked shoving a forkful of pie into his mouth

Carol nodded silently; she hated being only known as Ed Peletier's wife, the redneck's woman.

"You look different" he said his words muffled with the piece of pie in his mouth.

"I cut my hair a few months back…got sick of it…" she murmured

He nodded stuffing another part of the pie into his mouth,

"I've seen you with Merle Dixon"

"He's my brother"

Carol was immediately taken back,

"Brother? I didn't know he had a brother how come you're never with him?" she asked slightly leaning in forward to listen to him.

The man narrowed his eyes up at her and carefully put the plate on the ground, throwing his feet onto the couch swiftly,

"Aint got time for his crap" he said huskily

Carol nodded staring down at her small hands sitting in her lap,

"Where's your man?" he asked roughly

"With your brother I think…"

The man nodded again, "I better leave I think you patched me up"

Carol suddenly felt her hand touch the man's shoulder bringing him back to the couch,

"You should stay for the night, the storm seems pretty bad you know"

Why the hell was she insisting he stayed? She hardly knew him right now she could just let him leave and never see him again but something about him just made her want him to stay and she couldn't understand what the hell it was.

"I'm fine on my own" he grumbled again trying to stand up,

"You're an idiot then if you think you'll be okay out there, its suicide"

"Suicide?"

"Yes, you never know you could walk out that door and get smacked in the face with a stop sign" smiled Carol,

The man smirked back at her beginning to settle himself back onto the warm couch,

"Okay I'll stay then"

"I've got a spare room upstairs if you want to stay in it"

The man nodded and began to stand up his legs shaking, suddenly he lost his balance and began falling backwards onto the couch, Carol quickly reached her hand out to grab him by the shirt,

"I've got you" she smiled

The man nodded again and laid himself down on the couch,

"Maybe you should stay down here, I'll bring a blanket down for you if you like"

"Thanks" he mumbled staring at her,

Carol quickly gave him a small nod and sprinted up the dark stairs up to the spare bedroom, she switched on the light and began searching for a blanket around the room with her eyes, why the hell was she suddenly so excited? Was it the thrill of hiding someone behind Ed's back or was it simply just because there was a male she'd had a real conversation without questions or orders. She grinned to herself as she snatched up the blanket from underneath the cabinet, she raced downstairs but suddenly stopped in her tracks as she noticed Sophia sitting on the coffee table, tears falling from her eyes, the man was now sitting up and speaking to her.

"Sophia?" she called out

Sophia and the man both turned to look at her,

"Get to back to bed Sophia, okay?"

"Yes mommy" she whispered running back up the steps,

Carol walked over to the front of the man and passed him the blanket as she sat herself down on the coffee table,

"Your little girl was afraid of the storm, I told her there was nothin' to worry about, told her storms don't mess with Dixons, as long as I'm here she's okay" he said gruffly

Carol smiled warmly, "That's sweet"

The man shrugged again laying himself down properly on the couch, he stared up at her his arms crossed beneath his head,

"Will your man mind me stayin' here?" he asked

"I don't care, I can't stand him" she snapped sharply, the words had almost come out immediately.

The man began to look at her sideways, his eyes shining as he focused on her sudden serious expression, "Why's that?" he asked roughly wiping his wet hair out of his face

Carol sighed closing her eyes tightly, "It doesn't matter"

The man sat up abruptly, "It matters to me I need to know a little about the woman taking care of me so it don't end up like Misery" he said dryly.

Carol opened her eyes delicately and giggled quietly, it had been a while since anybody had properly made her giggle it almost came as a surprise to her,

"Okay" she said clearing her throat, "Ed treats me like trash" she said calmly still staring up at him.

The man blinked surprised, "A lady like you?" he asked in shock.

Carol immediately felt her cheeks go bright red, the last time a man had ever made her blush was when she first started dating Ed, this felt like a new feeling all over again.

"Yes" she said hoping her cheeks hadn't gone too brightly red.

The man looked up at her concerned, "What the hell does he do?" he snapped the gruffness in his voice getting stronger.

Carol's voice suddenly started to disappear inside of her, her fingers began fidgeting with each other and her head was beginning to lower itself. There was a long silence.

"He beats you don't he?" he said sounding quiet for the first time in the conversation

Carol gave a small nod trying to avoid looking the man in the eyes again,

"Why don't you leave his sorry ass then?" he snapped huskily

Carol sighed softly shaking her head sadly, "I've got Sophia and Ed's got so many friends around town they'd help him track us down and he'd kill me"

"Not if you went far enough" he mumbled resting his leg on the coffee table.

Carol sighed and turned to look at the door, just to make sure Ed wasn't coming back anytime soon. She suddenly smiled as she noticed the bottle of wine sitting on the counter.

"I've got wine over there, you want a drink?" she asked half leaning into the man.

The man shrugged tiredly, "Why not?" he smirked

Carol swiftly got up and began strolling towards the kitchen, she carefully grabbed the large bottle of wine and two glasses which had hardly been used, since Ed was mainly a fan of cheap beers from the store.

"I hope you like it" Carol smiled as she sat herself back down on the table.

The man returned the smile as she poured the ruby liquid into his glass, he raised it above his head,

"Cheers" he said sluggishly as he clinked his glass with Carol's.

The two sat in the warm room staring at each other as they both sipped their scarlet drinks until something hit Carol, how did he know about the beatings so quickly?

"Why did you assume he hit me so quickly?" asked Carol taking another sip of her drink.

The man didn't respond he just continued to sit there drinking, this time taking a large gulp as he watched her,

"Why were you out in that storm? Seems kind of dangerous for a lady" he breathed finally breaking the long silence

Carol grinned at him softly, "I can handle it" she said taking another large sip, "Well…Ed forced me out to buy him a couple of beers and food" she said quietly.

The man's grip on the glass suddenly grew tighter as he thumped it down sharply on the table, Carol could immediately see the anger rising in his eyes, she recognized the symptoms from Ed.

"He made you leave your little girl in the house jus' so you could buy him a couple of damn beers!?" he snapped gruffly.

Carol's whole body jumped at the sudden sharpness of the stranger's voice, she swallowed nervously as she nodded her head.

"Asshole" he mumbled angrily.

Carol turned her head carefully to look at the clock,

11:30pm

"It's late you should sleep, you need it" smiled Carol warmly

"Yeah" mumbled the man turning to rest his feet on the couch again,

Carol slowly put her glass on the coffee table and began making her way up the stairs calmly,

"Sleep well" she called out

The man sat up slowly, "Hey!"

Carol turned around to look at the man, "hmm?"

"Daryl by the way" he said laying himself down onto the couch,

Carol smiled, "Carol, goodnight Daryl" she called out before walking back up through the dark hallway leading to her bedroom, she slowly tip-toed through the corridors and quickly moved her head around Sophia's door.

She was asleep.

Carol smiled as she shut the door again, thinking of Daryl's reassuring words to help her daughter it was more than Ed had ever done for her in her whole life. Carol silently opened her bedroom door, she quietly slid into her large bed clutching the covers to her tightly. This was the first time Carol had gone to bed in an actual good mood knowing she was safe physically and mentally from Ed. Carol turned over in her bed and stared at her door leading down the stairs, she smiled again it had been a while since she'd felt this good or since she'd laughed properly and meant it. She had thrill inside of her, and this time it was a good thrill.

…..

She woke up the next morning to something which had surprised her, her face was pressed down in her pillow but she could smell it. The sizzling smell of bacon creeping into her bedroom, who the hell was cooking it? It couldn't be Ed, Ed's the one who usually forced her to do all the cooking. Maybe after a night of drinking he'd seen a new light and decided to act like a loving husband. But what were the chances of that?

Carol groggily pushed herself out of bed and grabbed her night gown hanging on the door, she tiredly dragged her feet along the now bright hallway and down the stairs, Daryl was no longer on the couch, she carefully moved her head to search around the living room and to her surprise, breakfast was being cook for her.

"Morning" Carol smiled sleepily her arms folded across her chest,

Daryl turned around to look at her as he balanced the frying pan over the cooker, his cigarette was balanced in the corner of his mouth "Mornin'"

"What are…" She couldn't get the words out she was too surprised, "What are you doing?" she asked calmly

Daryl moved the hot pan over to the counter, "What do you think I'm doin'? I'm cooking y'all breakfast" he said scooping a piece of bacon onto one of the plates.

Carol slightly tilted her head confused, "Why?"

Daryl turned to her as he scooped another piece of bacon onto one of the smaller pink plates, "It's the least I could do, don't Ed ever cook you breakfast?" he asked beginning to fill a glass with orange juice.

Carol shook her head, "I usually do the cooking for him" she said calmly, suddenly her heart stopped, "D…Did he come home last night?" she asked nervously.

Daryl shook his head, "Nah, must be with Merle hung over as hell" he chuckled

Carol stood silently for a second, Daryl carefully handed her, her plate.

"I'll be gone before he gets back"

Carol stared at him her mouth open ready to apologise, "Oh no I didn't mean-"

"I know" he said interrupting her as he grabbed another plate of food, "Where's your little girl?" he asked holding the plate carefully in his hands.

"She must still be in bed, she sleeps a lot more these days" Carol said yawning.

"You mind if I bring up breakfast for her? A girl's gotta eat" he said balancing the small plate and orange juice.

"Go ahead" Carol said rubbing her eyes lightly,

Before disappearing upstairs Daryl flashed her a quick smile as he slid past her, "Start without me" he mouthed dropping his cigarette into the trash.

Carol nodded tiredly and sloppily walked towards the dining table before lugging herself onto the chair and resting her head on the table, she closed her eyes lightly still tired from the night before.

What the hell was he doing here? It must still be a dream, she knew the second she opened her eyes she'd open them to Ed standing over her ordering her to start cooking. No one was gonna be cooking for her, she wasn't worth it. Suddenly she heard Daryl's heavy footsteps rush down the steps again, she wearily lifted her head up again and delicately opened her eyes to see Daryl sitting in front of her, his trousers falling down to his hips carefully. She smiled up at him calmly

"Thanks for lettin' me stay on your couch, I was really fucked up las' night" he said shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth.

Carol gently slid her fork into her bacon, "You're welcome and thank you for breakfast I appreciate it" she smiled taking a bite out of her food, "Got anything planned for later?" she asked taking a sip of her drink.

"Nah, not much might go huntin' for a bit, you?" he asked gulping down his drink.

Carol sighed disappointed, "Probably cooking and cleaning again for when Ed gets back" she said sadly.

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, probably dinner too" she said tenderly.

Daryl chuckled, "Nah, I mean I could take you out to dinner"

Carol's food suddenly got lodged in her throat as she tried to speak, "What?" she said coughing.

"I could take you out for somethin' to eat" he smirked chewing on another piece of bacon.

What the hell was he doing? She wasn't anything special or at least she didn't think she was.

"I couldn't I'm married" she coughed taking a sip of her drink to calm herself down.

"Jus' for an hour"

"I have a family"

"Ed wouldn't find out" he smiled staring directly into her eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous he's got friends everywhere" she said mortified

"Not if I take you far, Atlanta aint far from here" he said now sitting back in his seat.

"What about Sophia? Ed's here all the time I really couldn't…" she said protesting

"You got friends you could leave her with?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"I suppose…but what about…what about Ed?" she asked nervously, her heart was beginning to pound she knew what would happen if he found out she was out with another man.

"My asshole brother probably lost all his money, he'll want to win it back" smiled Daryl.

"I…I don't know.." she said hesitantly.

Daryl's hand suddenly reached across and touched hers softly, "Don't worry about it, I'll make sure we don't get caught"

Carol slid her slender hands away from Daryl's, "Why?" she asked staring at him sideways.

"Why what?" he asked huskily.

"Why would you want to take someone like me to dinner?"

"It's like a thanks for savin' my ass and cause you're a fine lady…" he said lowering his head to look down at his food, this had been the first time she'd seen him get slightly shy. She smiled as she could suddenly feel her cheeks go crimson, he was beginning to win her over.

"That a yes?" he asked cautiously.

"Tonight's fine" she said trying to now keep a straight face, "But only for an hour" she quickly added on, glancing up at him.

Daryl half smiled as he put his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a small crumpled white flower and delicately put it into the palm of her hand.

"What's this?" she asked staring down at its beauty.

"Cherokee Rose" he said proudly.

"Why are you giving me this?" she asked gently putting it down on the table.

"I found it before those assholes beat the shit out of me, you could wear that tonight if you want" he smiled grabbing the two plates on the table.

"Do you always keep random flowers in your pocket?" she asked jokingly.

"Only the ones with stories" he said dropping the two plates into the sink carefully.

Suddenly Carol felt Daryl's wet lips kiss the top of her short silver hair, "See ya tonight" he murmured grabbing his jacket.

Before Carol could open her mouth to respond to the kiss, the door slammed shut. She sat there motionless for a few seconds listening to the sound of the tap dripping. Her cheeks were getting redder and redder she thought they'd suddenly catch fire. She had no idea how to respond she hadn't felt affection like that in years and she'd only just met him.

The door re-opened abruptly, she turned her eyes to look at the door expecting it to be Daryl again saying he'd forgotten something. She smiled but that smile quickly turned to a frown.

"What the fuck? Why the hell isn't the house clean? Were you sittin' on your ass all night?!" snapped Ed heatedly.

Carol quickly snatched up the rose and immediately shoved it into her robe, "I…I'm sorry Ed I got so caught up in the storm last night-"

Ed sharply grabbed Carol by the wrist and shoved her into the kitchen knocking her into the counter, Carol let out a small breath of pain as she leaned against the counter helping herself up.

"Get cleanin'!" he snapped.

"I'm sorry" she whispered grabbing the dishes in the sink, she was already beginning to miss Daryl and his comfort. She swallowed lightly, "Did…Did you have a good time last night?" she asked shakily.

Ed laughed loudly, "Won a bunch of Cash and drank so hard with Dixon last night" he said proudly as he flung himself into his chair, "Goin' back tonight though Merle don't let shit go"

'My asshole brother probably lost all his money'

Carol grinned down at the damp plates in her hands trying her hardest not to let out a laugh, she knew it would just piss Ed off if she looked like she was having a good time, it always did.

"Okay honey, I'll make sure everything is clean for you this time" she grinned her voice cracking from restraining her laughs.

"Good…lazy ass bitch" he mumbled laying himself down in his chair.

Carol continued to scrub the dishes roughly, hoping to get enough time to prepare for her 'dinner' with Daryl, "Ed do you mind if I go see Lori? Sophia wants to see Carl and-"

"Whatever I couldn't give two shits, I'm goin' to sleep don't you disturb me" he snapped groggily.

"Okay Ed I won't" grinned Carol

…..

"Carol how are you? You left so quickly yesterday" said Lori calmly as she carried the tea into the living room.

Carol smiled softly trying to contain her excitement but it just wasn't possible, "I need to talk to you" she said coolly.

"What's on your mind?"

Carol took a small deep breath, "I need to borrow a dress" she said moving to look at Lori properly, she felt stupid saying this, it was rare for her to be seen in a dress, Ed didn't let her.

Lori's eyes slightly widened, she didn't blame her the only clothes she'd ever seen her in were plain trousers with a plain top, nothing colourful nothing that made Carol feel good at all.

"I haven't seen you wear a dress in years" Lori said shocked

"It's a…special occasion" Carol said trying not to give herself away.

"Are you going out with Ed?" she asked suspiciously

"No it's another friend…"

Lori's head tilted slightly as she watched Carol, "Is Ed okay with that? I mean I remember what happened with Rick when you two started talking-"

"We don't need to get into that again…please I'm sure he's fine with it" Carol begged lowering her head in shame.

Lori sighed steadily, "Okay I've got a red dress upstairs you can borrow and a matching pair of shoes in the closet"

Carol immediately stood up, "Thank you" she smiled evenly, before she left to try on the dress she turned around again to look at Lori, "Lori do you mind if Sophia stays tonight? She has been asking me for a while about seeing Carl" she said hesitantly.

Lori grinned, "Sure Carol, have a good time for me okay?" she said taking a sip from her cup.

"Thank you" Carol repeated again before dashing out of the living room door.

….

Carol stared at herself, this had been the first time in a long time that she had actually felt beautiful, Carol stroked the silky scarlet dress softly, she stared down at her legs they looked suddenly a lot longer in the short dress. It strangely made her feel good. She couldn't help but smile as she watched her every movement in the dress, Ed never let her wear nice things. Carol suddenly smiled even brighter as she remembered one thing which was missing from the dress, she quickly sprinted up the steps, her heels banging on the hard floor, and grabbed her silver robe and pulled out the small rose Daryl had given her. She delicately pressed it onto her dress making her feel complete.

She slowly moved back down the steps and threw herself onto the couch, waiting.

Tick Toc

2 minutes passed

Carol sat there beginning to play with her fingers, she stared up at the clock again.

Another 2 minutes passed

Where the hell was he? He's probably not coming Carol thought to herself miserably, maybe he'd only asked because he felt he had to or it was just a plan to see how faithful Carol was and Ed would walk through that door any minute screaming at her. The possibilities jumped around in Carol's head.

The back door abruptly began to knock, Carol turned her head around sharply and raced towards it trying not to trip over in her heels, she carefully opened the door to see Daryl, he grinned at her softly.

"If I knew you were gonna dress up, I would've cleaned myself up a lil bit" he said chuckling

"Why didn't you just use the front door?" asked Carol crossing her arms over her chest.

"I told ya, I'm makin' sure you don't get caught"

Carol smiled warmly and stared up at him looking directly into his deep blue eyes, Daryl slightly coughed nervously.

"You uh…look foxy tonight…" he knew he had used the wrong damn word, "I mean-"

"It's fine Daryl" Carol giggled moving her hand to touch his chest,

Daryl narrowed his eyes down at her dress, "I told ya the flower would suit you" he smirked.

Carol smiled again but turned her eyes softly to look back at the clock, "We'll only be an hour won't we?" asked Carol nervously.

Daryl chuckled, "Don't worry I'll get Ed's lady back before midnight" he said moving his arm to lean on the wall. "You know I should probably hold onto that rose for ya" he said beginning to walk away from the house.

"Why?" she asked shutting the door.

Daryl let out a small snicker, "You'll see"

Carol's eyes widened to the sight of the motorcycle at the back of the house, Daryl climbed onto it swiftly, "Hop on" he said gruffly as he held on tightly. Was he insane?

"There is no way I'm climbing onto that thing!" declared Carol her eyes widening in fear.

"Why not?"

Carol's mouth opened wider, "Do I look like someone who rides one of those things?" she exclaimed

Daryl shrugged, Carol sighed deciding to give in, "Fine." She uttered unimpressed.

"All you have to do is hold on tightly aint that hard, I'll give you my helmet if it makes you feel better" he said removing his black helmet carefully.

"I don't know…" Carol said clutching the helmet in her hands.

"We'll be in Atlanta in no time, it won't last long" he said gruffly.

"Okay" Carol mumbled

"Give me your flower so I can keep it safe for ya" he said huskily.

Carol nodded slipping the small flower into his jacket pocket, she cautiously sat on the motorcycle placing the large helmet on her head, the engines roared as Daryl began to power up the motorcycle, Carol's arms immediately wrapped around his waist, her face was buried in his back and she was sure she could faintly hear Daryl chuckling.

"This isn't funny" she said her words muffled in his jacket.

"Jus' hold on" he said roughly before taking off down the street.

….

Carol's grip tightened around Daryl's waist as the motorcycle stopped,

"Are we there?" she whispered

"Yea we're here" he said turning the engines off.

Carol shakily lifted the helmet off of her head and passed it straight over to Daryl without hesitation, her face as pale, if there was one thing Carol could confirm after that experience it would be that's she was traumatized.

"You okay?" asked Daryl watching her shake

"I'm fine" said Carol trying to balance herself.

"Driving weren't that bad was it?" he smirked proud of himself

Carol narrowed her eyes up at him darkly, "I'd still rather take a cab home" she said trying not to vomit.

Daryl laughed quietly to himself, "Anywhere you want to eat?" he asked dryly

"I don't mind" she said smiling shyly.

"Pizza it is" he said stretching as began to walk away

Carol stared at him her mouth half open and her eyes slightly wide, was he joking?

"You dragged me all the way to Atlanta for pizza?" called out Carol

"Uh yeah" he called back a small smirk on his face.

Carol frowned as she paced to catch up to him, Daryl glanced down at her and noticed her frown he carefully put his large arm around her, "Don't get your panties in a bunch I got this all planned out" he beamed.

Daryl pushed the door to Doc's Pizza, Carol slowly walked in behind him wondering what the hell he could be planning?

A young man lifted his head up lazily from the counter, his name tag read Glenn

"How can I help you?" he said yawning.

"One Pepperoni to go" said Daryl tossing some cash on the counter.

Glenn turned around sharply and repeated Daryl's order, suddenly something caught his eye he narrowed his eyes behind Daryl to see Carol, he looked back at Daryl sideways

"You brought your date to a crappy pizza place? What a cheap date" he said frowning.

"Got somethin' else planned too, so watch it sunshine" he snapped huskily.

"Whatever man" he groaned moving his head back down to the counter.

…

Daryl wrapped one of his arms around Carol as he grabbed the pizza from Glenn,

"Have a good one" called out Glenn sleepily.

"Hold this for one second" said Daryl as he shoved his hand back into his pocket, in his palm was the rose he had given Carol before, his rough fingers brushed through her short hair as he slipped it in, he stared at her as if he was satisfied with his work.

"Looks a lot better up there" smiled Daryl taking the pizza box from Carol.

"So…where are we going now?" asked Carol trying to hide her crimson cheeks.

"It aint far jus' wait okay? Supposed to be my plan for you" he smirked his hand keeping a firm grip on her slender waist.

Carol glanced up at Daryl casually she wondered what was going through his head, all of this seemed suspicious, what the hell could he be planning? She slowly shook her head giving up on trying to figure out what he was doing. Suddenly her eyes widened to the sight of a large park in front of her, the stars shined above the park as if it was placed there just to make it more perfect.

"There's a lake inside ya know" mumbled Daryl.

Carol smiled brightly, "This is amazing"

"I thought you'd like it" he smirked, now moving his hand to hold on to hers, "C'mon we aint got all night" he said gruffly before pulling her with him into the park.

The two sat down on the bench, Carol stared at the perfect setting Daryl had brought her to, the lake was calm and the air was cool, her eyes gleamed as she stared up at the stars in the sky. Everything just felt amazing. Carol could feel Daryl watching her as she stared up in awe of the setting.

"Thank you" Carol smiled as she grabbed a small slice of the pizza, "It's a really beautiful night"

"Welcome" Daryl said, shoving a slice of pizza into his mouth.

"You know I've been meaning to ask, what happened inside that bar before I found you?" she asked taking a small bite.

Daryl let out a small laugh, "I was tryin' to win my dad's money back and they wouldn't give it to me so I fought them" he said casually.

"Seems like the smartest thing to do" giggled Carol,

"Heat of the moment" Daryl mumbled.

"Idiot" Carol teased moving her hand to touch his, he turned his eyes to look at her properly he smiled.

"So, how'd you end up with an asshole like Ed?" he asked now turning his whole body to look at her, Carol mimicked him staring at him.

She sighed sadly, "In high school he was my…'sweetheart'" The word sweetheart made her stomach ache, "He was charming to me and I fell for him, he proposed and then things got bad as he showed his true colours" Carol said lowering her head, her eyes began to close at the memories. She hated remembering them.

"You okay?" Daryl asked moving his hand to her shoulder.

Carol opened her eyes carefully and flashed a smile at him trying not to ruin the date, "I'm fine…why did you really ask me to dinner?" she asked curiously.

"Already told you why" he said leaning back into the bench.

"I know but you said you were thanking me…you already thanked me enough" she said calmly.

"Look you seem like a great lady and…you're kind of beautiful.." Daryl said huskily, he immediately regretted saying that, he felt like a pussy.

Carol's cheeks immediately went ruby, "I'm still a married woman you know" she purred moving her body slightly closer to Daryl's.

"I know" he smirked

"Ed would…kill me if he knew where I was" she said now bowing her head, showing off her silver head in the bright starlight.

Daryl brushed his fingers through Carol's hair softly, "I'd stomp his ass if he touched you again" he mumbled letting his fingers explore her.

"Thank you" Carol breathed looking back up at him,

Daryl delicately moved his hands back to his sides, "Welcome….maybe I could see you again.." he said huskily.

"I…I don't know we might be pushing our luck…" Carol said softly.

"Anything goes wrong I'll be there protecting you" he said gruffly.

Carol smiled softly, "Well I would want to see you again…" Carol said staring at Daryl,

Daryl half returned the smile, "Does Ed Kiss you?" he asked curiously.

Carol lowered her head again trying to avoid looking Daryl in the eyes she felt suddenly weak and powerless, "He does…" she took a small deep breath, "But I don't like it, it doesn't feel good he doesn't treat me like he wants me…" Carol sighed trying to hold back a tear.

She felt ridiculous bothering him with her issues, after this date he'd just leave and never speak to her again she was almost certain of it.

"How long since you properly kissed someone?" asked Daryl now moistening his lips slightly.

"A..A while…" she breathed

Daryl blinked at her surprised, he carefully dropped the pizza on the ground and stood up from the bench reaching one hand out to her, "c'mon lets ditch the pizza we should get back to the bike" he said gruffly.

Carol took his hand and followed him through the park, she didn't feel so great anymore, even when Ed wasn't with her he had to ruin her fun. And she let him. She sighed sadly. Daryl narrowed his eyes down at her and he began to wrap his arm around her pulling him closer to her as they walked back to the bike.

"Should I grab your helmet then?" asked Carol moodily.

"Nah jus' close ya eyes" he said huskily.

Carol shut her eyes softly, what could he be planning now? She'd already had enough and was ready to go home, she already knew none of this was going to last so why add anything else on?

Daryl delicately placed his hands on her hips, his lips now moistened pressed against hers softly, he immediately felt her eyes flash open but he kept his closed, he'd been waiting all night to kiss her. The roughness of his stubble tickled Carol softly, and his hands began to wrap around her back slowly, Carol silently pulled away from him moving her hands to his shoulders. She stared at him her sapphire eyes gleaming.

"We…We should get back" said Daryl beginning to stutter, "I'll-"

Before Daryl could continue speaking, Carol's lips were already pressing roughly against his her arms pulled him closer to her, she could feel his belt brush against her hips as she pulled him closer but she didn't care she needed this badly. Her stomach was soon full of butterflies and she immediately let go inhaling deeply.

Daryl pinched his lips staring down at the small woman, "Must've been a long while" he joked,

"Maybe you could stay a little bit longer when we get back" Carol breathed trying to get her breath back.

"Sounds like a plan" breathed Daryl, he quickly hopped on the motorcycle along with Carol, "You want my helmet?" he asked as the engines began to roar.

"I think I'm good this time" she smiled wrapping her arms around Daryl's waist.

"Then lets go" chuckled Daryl before speeding away.

….

Carol breathed heavily as Daryl's bare chest rest on top of her, he could feel his warm breath against her as they kissed. Her soft silky bra smoothened underneath his large body,

"You sure wanna do this?" hummed Daryl kissing the corner of her mouth softly, his hand worked its way down her warm thigh.

"Mhmm" Carol murmured guiding his hand towards her ass.

She let out a small moan as Daryl began to kiss her neck passionately he breathed in taking in her sweet scent and his hands began working their way through her silver hair.

God she needed this.

" Daryl" she moaned softly.

Just as Daryl was about to undo his belt buckle, the sound of keys jangled in the door, the noise echoing through the empty house.

"I think Ed's home" Whispered Carol clinging onto Daryl tightly, her legs were already wrapped around his waist,

Daryl quickly helped Carol gather her clothes, he held her body close to his.

"Where the hell do I go?" he hissed

"Into the bathroom" she hissed back.

Before Carol could make another sound, Daryl raced into the bathroom with Carol still clutching onto his body, he shut the door lightly and the two of them sat in the bath silently. Carol closed her eyes worryingly, Ed was going to find them and kill them. Daryl's arms wrapped around Carol softly trying to reassure her, he could see the tension in her eyes.

Suddenly the door slammed shut again, both of them let out a small sigh of relief.

"He must've come back for money to bet with" Carol breathed.

"Must've lost to Merle" Daryl murmured not loosening his arms around Carol,

Carol and Daryl exchanged looks and burst out laughing, he pushed her chest backwards bringing her closer to him, his lips softly kissed her head.

"I told ya I'd make sure we didn't get caught" he smiled.

Carol sighed softly kissing his hand, "This is what I meant…" she breathed closing her eyes.

"When can I see ya again?" he asked hugging her closer

"I…I don't know it's risky" she whispered calmly.

Daryl carefully removed his arms from around Carol and moved his hand to turn her face to look at him, he softly pressed his lips against hers as he slipped his shirt back on.

"I'll see you again soon" he said roughly.

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah really soon" he smirked moving one leg out of the bathroom window,

Just before he crept out of the window, Carol held onto his arm her nails slightly digging into his skin, but it didn't seem to bother him.

"Daryl…Can you promise me things will be okay if I keep seeing you?" she whispered.

Daryl's other hand rested on top of her hand, he squeezed it gently, "Aint nothin' gonna go wrong, I'll protect you" he said roughly.

"Promise?"

"Promise" he replied kissing her hand, before slipping out of the window.

Carol slid herself down the bath keeping her knees beneath her arms, she closed her eyes tightly.

She prayed he was right.