InsaneJournal

Who: Carol and Daryl
What: She needs to apologize.
When: Tuesday 6/11 Afternoon
Where: The Woods
Rating/Warnings: Languuuage so maybe R-ish 'cause Daryl's got a dirty dirty mouth.
Status: Complete, Closed



A twig snapped beneath Carol's feet and she gave the fifth or sixth hiss in response to how loudly it disturbed everything around her. Every step she took seemed to make noise. She seemed to be the noisiest creature in the woods at the moment. She knew this was where Daryl was. This was where he felt most at home, she was pretty sure. that had probably been the reason that he had found the bush of Cherokee roses. Carol had even checked that spot for him, to see if maybe he had been there, but he wasn't. And she couldn't really be surprised. Carol and Daryl were so different when it came to making up with one another. She had such a soft spot for him. She didn't want to be mad at him. He could show her flowers and melt her heart. Carol didn't know that she had the same sort of sway over him. And that was all right. She knew that she wouldn't have as easy a time making things up to him. She had hurt him more than he had hurt her, to begin with. She knew that what she had done was wrong. Not everyone had taken it the same way that Daryl had, but each of them had, in their own ways, let her know that she had made a mistake.

She didn't disagree with them.

She had been wrong not to get in touch with any of them. She should have checked her phone. She should have gone looking for them. Instead, she had been at the hospital. Those scared kids had made her think of Sophia. She had felt like she had to be there to help take care of and protect them. It had taken her back to when Sophia had been smaller. She had been scared of storms. Terrified, even. There had been one night in particular that always stuck out in Carol's mind. Sophia had braved to venture into Carol and Ed's room, sniffling and teary to tell her mother she was scared. The storm had been raging outside. There had been cracks of thunder, so much noise, and it had been pitch black outside. Her nightlight had gone out because the power had gone out in general. Even with it being so late Sophia had noticed and had been scared. She had needed her mother. And Carol, back in that time, had gone with Sophia into her room. She'd snuggled with her little girl on her bed, making her feel protected, though Carol was probably the worst kind of protector that there ever was...no matter how hard she had tried. The mother had held her little girl even after she fell asleep, so that she wouldn't wake up and get afraid. She had stayed there so that her daughter didn't feel abandoned.

Carol hadn't been able to get that memory completely out of her mind. She hadn't been able to leave the kids, especially when some of their parents hadn't been able to come and get them. They had all been scared. Ultimately all of the kids had been taken care of, but it had been a hard reminder of what she had lost. Maybe Carol was a glutton for punishment, but at the time she had to help. It had been so chaotic too, she hadn't been lying about that. She'd even been mistaken for a nurse because she had changed into some scrubs given to her. That wasn't important right now, though.

There was something much more important than all of that. She'd hurt someone that was really important to her. She'd hurt the person that she was closest to here. She'd hurt the one person who didn't deserve to be hurt ever again. Daryl was hurt by how long it had taken her to get back to him. He had every right to be. The others felt like he was over-reacting, but when Daryl cared about someone he cared about them with every fiber of his being. And her being fine and not getting back to him, she could understand why he was so upset.

She didn't want him to continue to avoid her, though. She didn't want him stomping around in the woods angry with her. So, she had to try and make it up to him. She had to try and apologize for what she had done. She didn't know if it'd go well or not, but she was hoping that he could forgive her.

"Daryl!" Carol called out, hoping that she could find him. She wasn't a tracker. She didn't know what she was doing. It'd be so easy for her to get lost, actually. She knew where she was and where the castle was in relation right now, and that seemed good enough. She'd move further along if she couldn't find him, though. She'd already called his name out several times. She was just hoping that he didn't decide to ignore her, which he probably could. She could have passed him already and Carol never would have known. This was Daryl's element, not her's. "Please, Daryl, I just need to talk to you!"

She wouldn't blame him if he didn't come out, show himself, to talk, though. He had every right to be upset. And the others might not have seen it, but Carol did. Despite being so different, she sort of understood him.