The old house made many peculiar sounds as night descended upon the fading structure. The walls creaked with age and exposure, and the floorboards groaned beneath every step that was taken. But the most ominous of sounds wasn't even a sound at all. The silence, it rattled within the small space. Seeming to echo with a voice of the sad history within the worn down walls.
The house brought up memories for Daryl Dixon that he tried his best not to think of anymore, but it was inevitable. The shack that provided you and Beth and even Daryl himself with a roof for the night, stirred up reminders of his life before all of this and where he came from. Things he hated to be reminded of.
If the situation you were all in wasn't enough, this place was sure to trigger him to a breaking point. And you had been right.
"Do you think daddy would've liked you being with Daryl? In the way that you two are?"
Beth's soft voice breaks you of your thoughts, and soon you refocus your eyes on your younger sister who sits across the coffee table from you.
Daryl had long ago went out back for a smoke. And you knew he needed the time and the space to cool down.
You smile faintly to yourself, "I don't think daddy would've liked me being with any man the way that I am with Daryl."
Beth smiled softly your way, and even as her yellow shirt is barely yellow anymore, it somehow still manages to highlight the brightness within her young soul.
"Do you ever wish you had told him?"
Beth's tone is gentle and almost cautious, as if wanting to know the answer but not wanting to stir up any unnecessary or painful feelings around the subject. But even as she tries, you feel the tight sensation of guilt constricting your chest.
"In the beginning," You swallow deeply as you look to your little sister. Her eyes watching you closely yet with loving compassion reflecting back. "No. When Daryl and I started whatever it is that we have right now, I didn't want daddy to know. I knew he wouldn't understand or that he wouldn't support what it was that I saw in Daryl."
Your father was never cruel hearted, and he cared for all people. Even Daryl Dixon. But knowing his daughter was in love with the roguish redneck, that was a different story. You were still his responsibility in his eyes, and he would never stop protecting you.
"But now," You shake your head, and your head drops. Your eyes looking to your hands that sit in your lap, unable to continue looking at Beth. "I can't help feeling guilty. Guilty that I lied to him, all the way up to the day he died. I never told him the truth, and now I'll never get the chance."
"Maggie didn't tell daddy when she started having feelings for Glenn." Beth reminds you and slowly, your head raises back up to look her way. "We all keep secrets, its human. You can't let it eat you up, because it will."
How was it, that this young, blue eyed, blonde haired sweet girl, could speak the deepest out of everyone you had ever met in your life? She knew how to get to the core of things and see things in a light that not everyone could view the world with. But Beth had that gift.
"I think he would've been happy for you." Beth tells you with a smile that brightens the dark and musty room.
You raise an eyebrow as a soft hum escapes you, "And why is that?"
Beth laughs a soft sweet laugh, and her sing song voice rings throughout the worn down cabin. "Because he would've been happy seeing you happy."
You look to your little sister, with her wide beautiful smile against her tanned skin, and can't help but smile back. It was infectious, her smile and her bright outlook. It was a cure for the darkness that threatened to destroy every single one of you.
