𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 | 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯 ¹

𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝑬𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

Chapter Forty Eight,
I Hoped

"Motorcycle mechanic," Chloe suggested.

"Huh?" Daryl questioned.

"My guess for what you were doing before everything changed," she told him "Did Zack ever guess that one?"

"It doesn't matter. Hasn't mattered for a long time," he replied.

"People still talk about it, you know, to hold onto a bit of normalcy."

"Yeah, well, normal never sat right with me."

☽

"Found this place with Michonne," Daryl informed Merle.

"I was expecting a liquor store," Beth remarked.

"This is better," Daryl said, opening a door to reveal jars inside.

"What's that?" Chloe inquired.

"Moonshine, baby," Merle chimed in as he carried some into the house.

"Alright, that's some real drink right there," Daryl added, pouring Beth and Chloe a drink. Merle wasted no time gulping from another jar. "What's wrong?" Daryl asked Beth.

"Nothing. It's just... my dad always said bad moonshine can make you go blind," she responded. "Ain't nothing worth seeing out there anymore anyway."

Chloe took a tentative sip. "That's probably the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted," she grimaced.

"Second round's better," Beth suggested, pouring both of them more.

"Easy, now," Daryl cautioned, looking at them.

"I've got one for you," she said, offering him a cup.

"No, I'm good."

"Why?"

"Somebody's gotta keep watch," he explained, eyeing Merle, who was engrossed in his drink and meth.

"So, you're our designated guardian now?" Chloe joked.

"Just remember to hydrate," he retorted, moving away from them.

"Yes, Mr. Dixon."

Daryl worked on securing the windows of the old house, while Merle reclined, observing his brother.

"Why don't you give him a hand?" Chloe asked Merle.

"He's got it."

"Are you drunk?"

"Nah, it takes more than that, sweetheart."

Chloe explored the house, finding a shopping basket shaped like a bra, which prompted a chuckle. "Who walks into a store and comes out with this?" she wondered aloud to Daryl.

"My dad, that's who. Oh, he was a fool. He'd place those on top of the TV set and use them as target practice," he revealed, surprising her with a glimpse into his past.

"He shot things inside the house?" Chloe inquired.

"It was just a bunch of junk anyway. That's how I knew what this place was. That shed out there, my dad had a place just like this. You got your Dumpster chair. That's for sitting in and your drawers all summer drinking. Got your fancy buckets. That's for spitting chaw in after your old lady tells you to stop smoking," he recounted.

Suddenly, a walker's growl emerged from outside. Daryl signalled for Chloe to stay quiet.

"It's just one of them," Merle commented, peering out of the window.