Whatever Happened To Normal?

Chapter 31:

Drinking a beer alone in a bar, Daryl puts his feelings on the back burning like always. This fight with Beth will be the last fight with anyone ever again. He's done with people. He's done trying to be nice and thoughtful. So he's just gonna sit here and drink until there's nothing left to think about.

About four hours later and 12 beers in, Daryl's body hums with warmth from inebriation. He's forgotten why he was drinking in the first place. In his mind he's always been at the bar. Standing up, slapping money on the table, he staggers outside- no one noticing or caring thy he is too drunk. Looking at his truck, he can't even get the key in the hole, so he finally decides to just walk to his apartment. Stumbling along the side of the rode, he laughs and sways side to side as he watches the yellow lines curve and twist between his feet. He bends down to try and push the yellow line back to the ground and when he stands up, his body meets metal and soon pavement.

Upstairs, Beth is trying to sleep in her bed and just as she's about to finally fall asleep, sirens blare through her house and body. Jerking up out of bed, she wonders what is happening. Leaving it from her mind when they stop, she lays back down and dozes off.

*** Two months later***

It took a while before Beth could stomach being around the twins. It was a slow and agonizing process for her to get used to them. In the end of it all, she soon realized she wasn't fit to take over two babies. So with lawyers and child services on the same page, she passed her rights over to Glenn and Maggie. She knew they've been wanting children and adopting can be a pain- so she figured the best solution was to claim abandonment since Maggie was already the God mother to the twins anyway.

It was sad for Beth. It was the right thing for her to do, but at the same time- she still wanted that family with the one person who she still felt connected with. No matter what happened between them, she almost prayed he'd forgive her. All she wanted was to have him hold her again. Picking up her phone, she calls his cell- but it tells her that the line had been disconnected.

Shrugging it off, she calls Rick and waits for him to answer.

"This is Rick Grimes."

"Rick! Hi, it's Beth. I was wondering if you and Michone would like to come to dinner with me tonight." Fiddling with her blouse, she waits for him to answer.

"Sure. I think that would be great." His voice is course and she knows he must be mad at her for what happened between her and their former lover. "How about Captain's?"

"Great. Yep- say 6:30?"

"Sounds good."

"Okay, see ya there." They hang up and Beth just sets her phone down and heads to the closet to get dressed. She pulls out a nice black skirt and a top to go with it before heading to the shower."

She thinks about how she's gonna go about getting Daryl's new number. She could just show up to his apartment and plead for him to open the door. But she doesn't need to risk it and ruin her chance of him accepting her again. She has changed. She's done being demanding and bitchy. She realized that she only wanted Daryl. She'll only ever want him. If only she'd have realized that before she ruined everything. With all these thing running through her head, she finally calms down enough to go get dressed for her evening out with Rick and Michone.

**6:30 p.m**

Walking into the restaurant, Beth gives the hostess her name and the woman takes her to a table that already inhabits her two friends. Rick and Michone stand up and give her a big hug before sitting down. There's tension amongst them and Beth wishes it would just go away.

"You look great Beth. How have you been?" Michone asks politely and Beth finishes up ordering a glass of wine.

"Oh thank you. I love that dress. How are the kids?"