Chapter Text
“Beth don’t.” Daryl’s voice is firm and it catches me off guard. He grabs her arm, pulling her into his chest like he’s trying to shield her from Dawn’s glare. They look at each other for a while before he leans down and whispers something into her ear. I can’t quite make it out, but it seems to make Beth calm down slightly. And I can see she’s finally letting herself feel more comfortable. She casts one final glance at Noah as we turn to leave, her eyes asking for his forgiveness. Noah nods, because he knows she’s with her family now, even if she treats us like she barely remembers us. But I can’t find it in myself to blame her.
Back at the prison Beth was like a daughter to me, but after the months apart it feels like I don’t even know her anymore. The innocence she once carried with her is gone. She’s no longer the girl who sings. But really, I don’t know why I expected her to be.
She gravitates towards Daryl as we walk back down the long hallway and down a flight of stairs to the exit. Her and Daryl linger behind the group, whispering to each other secrets I couldn’t even begin to guess. I glance back at them, more often than I should, because before the prison fell they’d only spoken a handful of words to each other. Something changed when they got out together. And I remember seeing how worn Daryl looked after he lost her. When Terminus was still the light at the end of the tunnel.
They weren’t lovers, no, I could tell that much by the hesitant way their hands brush against one another. But they were something. They were a hell of a lot more than I assumed.