So it's been a while since I've written anything but I found a prompt that brought this into my head and wanted to get it out. Planning on it being a multi-chapter story if people are interested. Keep in mind I don't have a beta. Hope you enjoy!
It was just past midnight and Beth cursed at the dilapidated station wagon, hands slamming down on the steering wheel, frustration radiating from her body. Her daddy had told her she would be needing to get a new car. The old Volvo was on its last leg and she was sure that she was one speed bump away from the tires falling off, but Beth was a young woman hellbent on trying to make it on her own, so of course she would say no when she had been offered a nicer, new (to her) sedan by her daddy, claiming a friend of his would give him a good deal. She settled for this piece of rusted metal because that's what she could afford with what little money was left in her savings account.
She was the baby of the family, the one everyone felt like they had to look out for, especially after her mom and brother passed, when the dark depression seemed to consume every fiber of her being, seeping into her mind, and planting ideas, making it seem like broken glass from her bathroom mirror would be a quick solution, compared to the bleak existence she saw ahead of her, no end in sight to the numbness she felt inside. No one would ever forget what she tried to do, when she tried to end her life by slicing that glass straight down the pale skin of her wrist, but the least they could do was hide the looks of worry and pity whenever they watched her. The looks that always planted a guilty feeling in her belly, gnawing at her from the inside out.
No one liked it when she moved out of the house, her daddy and sister telling her it'd be too much stress. Stress was something they were always worried about, like anything could be the piece of straw to break the camel's back, but Beth had been doing better for a while now, and her therapist agreed with her that moving out would be a good idea. After all, independence was something a normal and healthy woman thrived on in young adulthood.
She had moved just one town over into a small one bedroom apartment in an older building, paint peeling on both the exterior and interior, with neighbors who kept mostly to themselves. Struggling to find a job, she rapidly settled when she was offered an evening shift at a truck stop diner.
So now here she was, one month later, on her way back from work, on the side of the dimly lit road with her hazard lights flashing, and what looked like steam rather than smoke flowing from beneath the hood. Reaching into her purse in the passenger seat, she dug out her phone and squinted as the screen lit up. She should've expected it, but she still rolled her eyes and huffed when she saw 'No Service' on the top of the screen.
She had already been on the road for a few minutes and hadn't seen another car drive by, and even if there had been one she's not sure she would've flagged it down to ask someone for help. Chewing on the inside of her lip, she looked around at her options. A laundromat and a bar were the only things in the rundown strip mall that seemed to be open this late. She grabbed her bag and got out of the car, yanking down the skirt of her uniform. She hugged herself for warmth, she walked towards the laundromat.
There seemed to be no one there, but she looked inside, hoping there might be a payphone she could use. Seeing nothing of the sort, she kept on walking towards the bar.
The front door was propped open, old rock songs pouring out into the night air as a few men stood outside with cigarettes hanging from their lips. She pulled her chin up and smiled politely as she quickly walked passed them, trying to ignore the way they leered at her. Before this moment she hadn't felt that the stiff blue dress and white waist apron were revealing, but with the way the men looked at her, you'd have thought she was walking around in a negligee and stilettos.
Once inside, she curled into herself, hoping to be ignored as she walked up to the bar, but a girl like her in a place like that would not go unnoticed. It was a rough looking crowd, older men in black leather jackets opening stared at her and aging women who were still trying to cling to whatever beauty they'd had in their youth narrowed their eyes as they followed her across the room.
The good lord must have been granting mercy when she realized there was an open stool at the bar, meaning she wouldn't have to squeeze between two patrons to get the attention of the bartender. Rather than sitting down, she stood in front of the seat, pressing her body up against the bar, standing up on the tips of her toes.
"Um, excuse me?" Her voice came out sounding small, not timid but too quiet, and she was sure the bartender hadn't even heard her over the words of Eric Clapton blaring from the speakers. She cleared her throat and tried again, her voice a little bit louder, but with the same outcome.
A man sitting to the left of her slammed the now empty bottle of Budweiser on the bar top and Beth jumped a little in response. This, the bartender noticed, coming over and taking the empty bottle, quickly replacing it with a fresh one. Finally, he acknowledged her.
Raising his eyebrows at her, he spoke. "What can I get ya?"
"I was just wondering if ya'll had a phone I could use? My car broke down and my cell isn't gettin' any reception." She could feel the eyes of the man next to her but willed herself to keep her own eyes on the bartender in front of her.
"S'one by the bathrooms." He nodded towards a little hallway next to the jukebox. Beth smiled, thanking him as she pushed away from the bar. She found the payphone and dug around in her purse until she found a quarter. Just when she was about to drop it into the slot, she paused, not knowing who to call. It'd be silly to call her daddy, but she also didn't know the number of someone who could tow her car this time of night, nor did she know the number of a taxi service.
She chewed on her thumb nail for a second before deciding to ask the bartender if he had the number she could try.
Back in the same spot as before, it didn't take long for him to notice her this time. "Do you have the number of someone I could call for a tow this time a'night?" The bartender shook his head.
Again, she felt eyes on her and this time she did look over at the man next to her. When blue met blue, her breath caught at the man's intense gaze, peeking out from underneath the messy fringe laying against his tanned forehead. Heartbreak eyes is the term Maggie would've used to describe them. He broke eye contact before she did, turning his head forward and taking a sip from his beer. Beth couldn't help but noticed the way the muscles in his arm twitched as he grasped the bottle in his hands.
Two business cards were pushed towards her hands. "There's a tow you can call for in the morning and that there's the number for a taxi."
Once again she smiled and thanked the man behind the counter and made her way back to the payphone to call for a ride. The dispatcher on the other end of the line told her it would be at least a half hour before someone could get out to her, but she was prepared to wait. It wasn't as though she had many options now.
Deciding between waiting outside or in was easy, not wanting to wait out in the night where she could be caught alone, so she walked backed to the open barstool to wait. Once she was perched on top, she crossed her legs, causing her the hem of her dress to ride up her thigh and she unsuccessfully tried tugging it down. Wrapping her arms around her bag on her lap and tried to tune out the noise around her as she contemplated her predicament. She needed her car to get to work, but even though she'd had no clue what was wrong with it, she knew she wouldn't have the money to fix it. The thought subconsciously made her fists ball up, her nails digging into the delicate skin of her palms. It seemed like her daddy might have to bail her out of trouble again, and with that reflection she breathed out slowly through her nostrils as she tried to comb through her brain for any other option. So much for her independence.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a large man scooted in towards the bar on her right. His body pressed against Beth's back and his right arm outstretched, halfway caging her in against the bar top, and she could smell his putrid breath as it traveled down her neck.
"Now what's a sweet little thing like you doin' in a place like this?"
She felt as though ignoring him probably wouldn't go over too well so Beth tried to sound confident as she spoke, tilting her chin upwards but not turning her head to look towards the man. "Just waiting for my ride."
"Well now baby, you give me a chance and I could give you one helluva ride." Beth blanched as she heard him and what must have been his friends laugh. She was sure she had never been so uncomfortable in her life as the fear started bubbling up in her gut.
"I...that...no, thank you." Beth stumbled over her words, her mind desperately trying to think of a way to get the man to leave her alone. She knew she was failing when she heard him laugh again as he pressed in closer. She felt dirty as the other hand that wasn't resting on the bar reached up and started playing with a strand of her hair and she tried to shrink into her body, willing herself to disappear.
"Jus' leave her alone Gorman, she obviously ain't interested." The man to her left, who had been eyeing her before spoke up as he set down the beer bottle on the counter, turning his body towards Beth and the man who was apparently called Gorman. The new position of his body allowed Beth to see how broad his shoulders were under the leather vest he had on.
"Now Lil' D, where'd ya get that idea? Seems plenty interested to me." Beth wanted to vehemently shake her head in protest but remained still, focusing on slowly breathing in and out through her pursed lips.
Again, the man on her left spoke up, after letting out a snort, obviously at least somewhat amused and a little bit irritated. "Get a dictionary, look it up. Observant." The man caging her in didn't like the taunting, as she saw his hand curl into a fist and the man to her left, apparently LIl' D, also picked on the subtle sign of aggression. "Ain't lookin' for no trouble tonight. Just leave her alone, simple as that."
Beth let out a shaky breath she didn't even know she was holding as Gorman backed off her. "Damn Lil' D, you used to know how to have fun."
"Ain't never called anythin' like what you're doin' fun." Beth didn't even have to look; she could tell by the tone in his voice that the two were glaring daggers at each other. She heard Gorman scoff as he retreated, muttering what sounded a lot like "pussy" under his breath.
Once Beth knew that he was far enough away, she turned to the man sitting beside her, seeing he had already turned his body back forward, his Budweiser already in hand. She cleared her throat a little louder than she normally would, hoping to get his attention. "Thanks for that."
Without even a glance in her direction, he shrugged his shoulders. "S'nothin." It wasn't, to Beth but she figured this guy wasn't into hero worship so she let it go. Not feeling quite as safe inside as she had before, Beth decided she'd take her chances outside in the cool night air while she waited, and she hoped her cab would arrive any moment.
Stepping outside, she stood under one of the flickering entryway lights, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she wrapped her sweater tighter around her body. All the muscles in her body tightened simultaneously as someone else walked out of the bar not thirty seconds later. She visibly relaxed when she saw it was the man she had been sitting next to, the one with the heartbreak eyes. He walked a couple feet away from her before pulling out a cigarette, lighting it up with the Bic pulled from the inside of his vest. He inhaled deeply and exhaled the cloud of smoke from his nose. Smoking had always been a turn off to Beth, but surely that was because no one had ever made it look good.
"Ya'lright?" It took her a moment to realize he was speaking to her, realizing they were the only two people outside.
She nodded at him in response. "Fine. Just wanting to get home." And with that he nodded back, taking another drag off the cigarette. She crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her hands up and down her biceps, not because she was that cold, she just wasn't sure what else to do. He hadn't said anything else, but he continued to openly stare at her from beneath his bangs, one hand holding the cigarette while the other was shoved into the front pocket of his jeans.
Beth wasn't sure what to think about him, feeling exhaustion take over, no energy left to try and figure him out. It had been a long day that had turned into an even longer night. Just as he was finishing his cigarette, the yellow car pulled up and she was grateful she would finally be able to go home and crawl into her bed, leaving her problems for the morning.
He waited as she opened the door to the taxi, as if he wanted to make sure she left safely. Before getting inside, she turned towards him and spoke, fingers playing with the bottom of her sweater as she did. "I'm Beth, by the way." She wasn't sure why she said it, he probably didn't care, she'd probably never see him again but there was something about him. Something about the way he watched her.
"Daryl" was his response. Beth smiled softly, happy to know his real name, rather than Lil' D.
"Thanks again Daryl." He nodded once at her as she slid into the cab. Beth turned to watch him as she was driven off, seeing that he didn't go inside until the cab was a good distance away.
Once they pulled up outside her home, Beth cringed as she paid the fare, handing over almost all that she had made in tips that evening. Making her way to the second floor of the small building, she let herself in to the dark apartment, tossing her bag and keys to the side, without bothering to turn on a light and locked the door behind her. She didn't even have the willpower to change out of her work clothes before collapsing on top of the still made bed. Soon her breathing slowed, feeling her body relax as she fell into her dreams.
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