Angel

Chapter Thirty-Four: Daryl

I was about to head out of the mansion when I heard a lot of noise coming from the kitchen. Pots were being banged down and cabinets were slammed closed. My curiosity got the better of me so I headed there and leaned against the doorframe. Carol was in rare form. She grabbed some carrots off the counter and was chopping them so violently I thought she was gonna take off a finger too.

"What's up?" I asked.

Her eyes were angry as she looked up at me. "We have a problem," she stated as she pointed her knife at me. "You need to have a talk with that girlfriend of yours."

Shit. I shoulda just kept on heading out. I wasn't in the mood to deal with this bullshit.

"What happened now?" What was it with her and Angel?

Carol proceeded to tell me that she went to apologized to Angel for upsetting her and Angel threw it back in her face. The whole time she's accentuating her words with the knife. These two were like oil and water. "Put the fuckin' knife down. If you point it at me again, you better plan on usin' it. You pissed her of talkin' about us that first night. You ain't got a right to do that. Don't question why I'm with her, I just am. You hit a big nerve today. Angel can't have kids and don't you fuckin' ever tell her I told you that. Got it?"

"Fine. She thinks that I'm jealous of her, which is so not true. We've always been friends and I am just concerned about you. That's all. It's never been more than that."

"I seem to remember that first night at the prison you asking me to 'screw' around." Did she forget that?

She laughed at me. "I was only kidding. Geez. You're like a brother to me."

That's what she says, but I remember the look she gave me that night and that wasn't too brotherly. I never saw her as anything but a friend...a good friend, but nuthin' more. The second I laid my eyes on Angel, I knew otherwise. I never wanted a woman like I wanted her. And that ain't gone away a bit.

"Yeah, well Angel knows about that. Fuck, she knows everything about me. Shit that no one else knows, even you. You two don't have to be best friends, but you gotta get along." The frown on Carol's face told me she didn't agree. "Listen, Carol, she saved me when I was ready to die. Not only was I bleeding out, I was ready to give up. I had it with everything. Thinking you all were dead all those months had me living a life I didn't want. She changed that and me. We're a package deal, so I need you to be nice to her."

"Daryl, I tried and she threw it in my face. Why am I the wrong one here and not her?" Carol was wrong, but Angel I don't think helped the situation either.

"Angel...I mean Jessie didn't start this. You did, but I will talk to her. I need you two to get along. This mess is fuckin' stupid. I'll try to get her to forgive you, and you need to watch your mouth. Okay?"

"Fine. But I did try. She didn't." Carol always had to get the last word. Damn annoying.

I gave her one of my looks. They used to scare people, but lately, it does shit. Carol walked around the counter and put a hand on my arm. "Daryl, I've known you for a very long time. I don't want her to come between us. I will try, but Jessie needs to too. You're different now. I'm still trying to get used to it."

"Only thing different about me is I got a reason to live now. I lost that for a long time. Jessie's a good person, but she won't take shit from anyone. She was on her own, too just like me. She's in my life and she's not going anywhere." I couldn't help but smile at Carol. "I got me a girlfriend."

"Get out of here," Carol laughed as she gave me a push toward the door. "I don't know who you are, but you're not the Daryl I used to know."

I was still smiling as I bounded down the mansions front steps heading off to find Angel. She had been too hard on Carol and that wasn't fair. I needed them to find a way to exist together. As I got closer to our trailer I saw her sitting on a picnic table talking to Michonne, so I headed over there.