The Baker and the Butcher

Chapter 6

He noticed it pretty quickly.
People always told him he was perceptive , ain't had a clue what it meant till he rented a dictionary at the library.
But he noticed her. Everything about her. How she doubled up her socks when it got cold , how she'd always sneak two cookies into the bags of the little ones, how she loved to use cinnamon in almost everything she baked and how she always fiddled with the dark bracelets on her wrist.
So it wasn't a surprise when he noticed the dark circles under her eyes hardly concealed by makeup, or the scratchy quality of her throat when she talked to her customers.
Beth Greene was tired.
No not just tired, she was exhausted ,and sad. She had the look he would see on his mama when she came home from a lunch date and daddy would be wailing on him with the belt.
And yeah those things bothered him, but absolutely nothing bothered him more than when he started noticing the dark purple bruises covering her collar bone and fingerprint sized marks on her left wrist.
He knew those bruises , knew what they felt like , knew what they did to you inside and out.
He wouldn't let her sink, not with him around to stop it.
She was closing the bakery down when he cornered her, he hadn't even changed from his bloody apron.
She jumped back offering a tired half smile. " goodness Daryl you scared me Half to death, what are you doin' here you were supposed to clock out half an hour ago"
Taking a deep breath he started " you ain't gotta stay with him Beth, you just gotta gimme his name and I'll make sure he never comes close enough to breathe in your space again."
She stiffened "I ..I don't know what you're talkin' about"
He grabbed her wrist gently "I know these bruises beth I know he's hurtin' you, ain't no one gets to hurt you not anymore, not ever again."
"This ain't got nothin' to do with you Daryl Dixon."
"This has everything to do with me!"
"How?!"
Daryl froze. what could he say to that? Because the thought of anyone touching you like that makes me wanna take my crossbow and shoot an arrow through there head? Or what about I don't like people touching the things I care about. No he couldn't say any of that so he settled with
" just because"
Smooth
Her lip started to quiver and she said through shaky breathes " I can't go nowhere Daryl, he'll kill me he'll kill everyone I care about."
He reached for her pulling her to his chest bloody apron and all.
"You're safe, Beth no ones gunna hurt you, I promise."
He didn't know who was doing this , but you can bet your ass he was about to find out.