Soulmates

Chapter Three

"That redneck? Are you fu.. Are you serious, Bethy? Him?" Jimmy said, pacing back and forth the Greene kitchen.

Beth gingerly rubbed her face. "We both knew we weren't soulmates, Jimmy. Not with all my marks. It's not like I expected him to pop up out of the blue on my front yard, for Pete's sake."

"Are you just leaving me for him, then?" Jimmy blurted out, face red with embarrassment.

"Jimmy—no!" Beth said. "No, it's not like that with Mister—with Daryl. We don't even know each other. I just.. I think it's best if we cool things down. That's all." After the night before, sitting with each other in her bedroom after her attempt, she wasn't sure where she stood on whether to call him Mr. Dixon or Daryl.

"And now they got some kid, tied up in the barn, and you know what your man is doing to him?" Jimmy spat, pacing.

"Jimmy!" Beth exclaimed, never seeing him act this way.

"He's beating him for information. Who knows what that prick is capable of. I don't trust him, Beth. And after all he's put you through, you shouldn't either." Jimmy headed out of the door. "Just thought you should know your soulmate is a lowlife thug."

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Daryl rubbed his raw knuckles, alone at the camp. He had beaten that boy down pretty damn badly to get what they needed. His stomach was in knots, thinking about how old the kid was. He was just a kid.

But no one was safe anymore, not in this world, not with the men that Randall kid was describing. And no one else had the stomach to get the information out of the kid, so they all looked to Daryl, because, face it, they knew he'd do the dirty work.

"Daryl?" Her soft voice called across the way, causing Daryl to squint up. Daryl had already felt her coming the moment she stepped out the front door.

"Brought you some lemonade." She said, a glass in her hand and a bundle of a towel in the other. He grunted, taking it from her, looking down, somehow hoping she didn't know what he had done. But they all knew. Most of them wanted it done, but that didn't change Daryl's paranoia that he was still the bad guy in the situation.

"And.. Some ice. For your hands. Felt'm inside the house." She said, voice quieter this time. There was a long silence before Beth sat down, cross legged, holding the ice in her lap.

"If you're here to give me some sorta speech about what I did, I ain't about to here it." Daryl snarled. "So why don't you go be sweet on everyone else and give lemonade to someone who wants to talk." Dale had already tried to head-shrink Daryl earlier and all it did was piss him off more.

"Ain't here to talk about nothin'. Just wanna get away from everyone, same as you." Was all she said.

Daryl scoffed. "What, life isn't all you dreamed of on the prairie?"

To his surprised, she laughed. "Not since y'all showed up. Just tryna get acclimated to it still is all."

"Acclimated," Daryl repeated with a tiny chuckle. "Hell, that's one way to put it."

"Before.. The barn." Beth said slowly. "I shot a gun for the first time. Better late than never. Could use some work still, you know. In case anything happens."

"Pretty sure your paw is gonna kick us out soon anyway. You'll be back to keepin' them geeks in the barn." He muttered, taking a drink of the sweet lemonade.

What he said struck Beth and he bit his tongue back to apologize.

"I should get back inside. Daddy wants me on bed rest after yesterday. Just wanted to.. Say hi." She stood up and dusted off her pants with her free hand, ice still in the other. She placed it beside him.