A/N Thanks for stopping by to check out my new Merle and Beth story. I hope you enjoy!
Possible Triggers: references to past abuse and past rape
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It's Complicated
It was late summer but the weather was surprisingly pleasant, not too hot and not too sticky. When the weather was agreeable he liked sitting outside a while in the evenings. He'd moved one of the chairs from the small kitchen set and put it out front of his rented room. His work shirt was long gone and he sat leaned back and relaxing in his undershirt and chinos, enjoying a cold beer while he absentmindedly watched the traffic go by.
He'd be leaving this place the next morning and heading back to Peachtree. This job was the end of the line, as soon as he got home he was officially no longer anyone's employee. He was his own boss, a business owner.
He was pondering on all that when the big rig slowed and pulled to a stop at the curb in front of the old motel. A real pretty blonde climbed down out of the cab carrying an ancient hard-sided suitcase in her hand. She waved to the trucker and hollered, "Thanks for the lift," and headed over to the motel office.
She was a little overdressed for the time of year. She had on some kind of long-sleeved and high necked t-shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes. He kept his eye on her anyway, she may be dressed a little strange but that didn't mean he wasn't enjoying the way her hips swayed when she walked.
Five minutes later she was walking back out of the office and heading to her room, which happened to be the room right next to his. He was a friendly guy but that wasn't all this was about. The woman was pretty with a real nice little body, neither of those things were lost on him. But it just took one look for him to know she was out of his league. She was way too young and way too hot. Knowing that didn't stop him from giving it a try. As she was unlocking her door he smiled at her, nodded and said, "Evenin' Baby."
She looked him straight in the eye and he saw the dark bruise on her cheek. Then she smiled real pretty while she dropped the truth on him, "Evenin' yourself, and no, I'm not interested. Not even a little bit."
Hell yeah it stung, on the other hand he appreciated her style. He laughed just a little, shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well shit Baby, thanks for savin' me the trouble of tryin'."
It surprised him when her smile widened, "You're very welcome."
She went in her room and he heard the bolt lock and the chain slide.
It wasn't but a couple of minutes later he went in his own room and got out the goods for supper. He'd just put the chops in the pan when he heard the pounding noise, and it wasn't just pounding. Someone was not only beating on a door, they were cussing and hollering to beat all hell, "Get your goddamn ass out here Beth and talk to me, NOW! I'm not letting you leave! You heard me! Get the fuck out here NOW!"
No. He wasn't going to just let this shit go by, not Merle Dixon. He slid the pans off the fire and went out to see what the hell was going on and if there was some kind of lesson he needed to teach.
The guy was young like her and he had that look in his eye, he was a mean little shit. Merle heard the blonde call from inside her room, "Leave me alone. I'm gone for good. Just go."
When the guy yelled back, "I'll kill you before I let you leave me!"
Merle muttered, "Nah man, that ain't happenin'," as he threw a haymaker and knocked the guy off balance and on his ass. He looked down and growled, "Ya heard the lady, beat it asshole."
As the offender was picking himself up off the concrete he hollered at Merle, "The fuck man?!"
"The fuck yourself punk. Get the hell on outta here and make it now." Just like most chicken shit bastards, the kind of guys that push women around, this guy didn't want to have to fight a man. He stood and tried to sound threatening as he snarled, "I'll be back."
Merle smiled as he nodded, "Good, I'll be waitin'. I been in the mood ta kick some fuckin' ass all week long and your ass seems like as good a place as any for me ta start."
He watched as the guy got in his ratty old pickup and drove off. Then he knocked on the blonde's door and called to her, "He's gone. Ya okay Baby?"
The bolt flipped and the chain slid and she cracked the door, "Yes, and thank you. He's an asshole." The door shut again and he heard the bolt engage and the chain slide. He smiled, shook his head and went back to his room to resume cooking his supper.
It wasn't longer than about five minutes later there was a knock on his door. Again he slid the pans off the fire and went to answer. He was happily surprised to see it was his neighbor. She smiled up at him as she asked, "You got any more of those cold beers?"
"I do, c'mon in."
"Okay, thanks but just so you know, I'm not here for anything other than the beer, alright?"
"Yeah, perfect, and I wanna thank ya again for savin' me the trouble of makin' any effort." He smiled when he said it and she liked that, she even giggled just a little.
She sat on the sofa and he cracked her a beer, along with a fresh one for himself. As he handed her the bottle he sat down on the edge of the bed. She glanced around the room and asked, "Do you live here?"
"For the past two weeks I have. I been workin' a job here in town. I'm leavin' in the mornin' n headin' home ta Peachtree."
"Would you be willing to let me ride along?"
His eyes stared hard into hers, "Why ya need a ride? You runnin' from that jerk?"
"Yeah I guess, but besides that I need a fresh start."
"You gonna get away for a couple days then run on back ta him for a little more a the same?" He'd seen that scenario play out more than once, including with his own Mama. He didn't want any part of that bullshit.
She wasn't offended by the question, "No. I've been trying to figure how to get away from him for a while now. You saw what happened, I've been afraid he'd find me, drag me back and it would be even worse."
He didn't sugarcoat it, "Ya don't even know my name girl. How ya know I ain't gonna take whatever I want from ya and then beat your ass same as he done?"
She wasn't sure herself why it was she was so quick to trust him, but she answered, "I do know you. I see it in your eyes. You're a real tough son of a bitch, all wrapped up around a soft heart. If you weren't, you wouldn't have come out and punched that jerk."
Now his smile seemed a little warmer as he remarked, "Soft heart, huh? Well now there's sumthin' I ain't ever been told. By the way, I'm Merle, Merle Dixon."
"Nice to meet you Merle, I'm Beth, Beth Greene."
"Well Baby before we decide on this road trip whaddya say we eat? My stomach's startin' ta think my throat's been slit. Fried pork chops and fried taters is what's on the menu."
"I could eat, in fact I'm starvin'. Thanks"
He nodded and went over to the range, sliding the pans back on the fire. "So, if I agree what happens when I get ya ta Peachtree? Ya got money? Ya got friends or family there? Ya got any kind of a plan at all?"
"No money, no job, no friends and I doubt my family wants to see me either. I'll find something though. I can wait tables, take care of children, clean. Something, anything and mostly anywhere but here. I just gotta get out."
"Sounds like ya got a lot ta figure out and you're still just a kid. How old are ya? Ya legal?"
"I'm not as young as I look. I'm 23. How old are you?"
He smiled, "I'm old, real old, 35."
She smiled at him, "That's not old." She was hoping he'd agree to give her the ride and she was trying hard to keep from breaking down. "Can I help with the food?"
"Nah, I been doin' for myself a lotta years. I got this. So ya got no real job skills, huh?"
"No but I'm a hard worker and I'll do whatever kind of work I have to do."
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They used to be called motor courts before they became motels and there was a time they were all over this country. That was before all the big hotel chains started building fancy places everywhere, the kind with swimming pools and restaurants.
But it was the old-style places that suited Merle Dixon. He favored the less fussy so when he was working out of town he always stayed in those 1950's motels. Most were single story deals, except for the manager's unit at the one end. That was always two floors with the office on the ground floor and the manager's living quarters above.
The particular place where he currently found himself, The Traveler's Nest, was just one strip of single story rooms. You pull right up to your unit and park in front of your door. There's a Coke machine outside by the manager's office and that's about it. There aren't any green areas and no playgrounds. It's a regular concrete and asphalt paradise.
He could have stayed in nicer accommodations while on the road. The company he worked for footed his bill and over the years they'd often encouraged him to "Upgrade" his style. But he preferred joints just like this one. Double bed, sofa, and a little kitchenette.
That was the other thing he preferred, having a kitchen. He got per diem for his meals but he'd just as soon get home in the evening, crack open a beer, fry himself up some pork chops or the like, along with a nice big ration of spuds and it was all good. He was a simple man living an uncomplicated life and that was just the way he liked it, uncomplicated.
He'd been working for a construction company out of Peachtree for about ten years now, this was probably the twentieth time they'd sent him to some little Podunk town to work a job.
His employer was one of those big commercial real estate developers who often had out of town job sites. They'd hire the locals for labor, but they always wanted one of their own men there to make sure things were done to their specs. Merle was that man when it came to electrical, he was a Master Electrician.
He didn't mind the type of work at all and he always enjoyed working with and helping out the local guys. He didn't even hate the travel. But it had been ten years now and he felt the time had come to shift gears, to move along. He had a mind to start his own small-scale business venture. It would be just him doing electrical and a little handyman type stuff. No set schedule and no big pressures. Uncomplicated, just the way he liked.
He had money put back and quite a bit of it. He'd always lived modestly, just him and a few big boy toys. There had never been a wife or children, he figured he wasn't really suited to a family man lifestyle.
He could afford to take a whole year off from working and he'd get by just fine. But he didn't plan on taking time off really, not too much anyway. Just enough time to move up north a distance and get himself situated.
He'd sold his house and he was leaving Peachtree, relocating to a town up further north he'd visited several times, not far from the Chattahoochee National Forest. Clear Springs, Georgia. It seemed the perfect place for him to start hanging his hat. It was a small town with plenty of recreational opportunities of all types. That meant tourism which meant an abundance of vacation rentals, which meant plenty of work for a man like him.
He figured by early fall he'd have himself all setup in a little house with a nice shop and he'd be good to go.
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She'd done a great acting job so far. She was sure she'd come across as self-assured, not afraid, and in no mood to put up with some guys' bullshit. But she could feel herself starting to crack.
Her situation was about as desperate as it could get. She'd spent the only money she had to rent the room for a night. It wasn't like she wanted to, but she needed somewhere safe she could stop, take a deep breath and try to figure out what to do next. Being broke wasn't even the worst of it though, it was that asshole she was running from, she knew he wouldn't give up easy.
When she first saw him, her motel neighbor, he seemed like the typical cocky guy, all flirtatious and stuff. But then he'd put a stop, at least a temporary one, to the biggest part of her trouble.
Merle Dixon suddenly became her one big hope. He seemed like her ticket out and a new chance at a new life. All she needed from him was a ride, once she got to Peachtree she'd try to figure out her next move. But what if he said "no"?
He didn't expect it, he hadn't seen it coming at all. He was standing there scooting potatoes around in the pan when he felt her arms slip around him. Her head was resting on his back and it felt damn good. Then she said, "I'll do whatever you want me to do to get that ride, anything."
He dropped the spatula in the pan, shut the stove off and turned around. His hands were clasped around her upper arms and his eyes were boring right into hers, "Well I'll tell ya what little darlin', that's a real, real temptin' offer. But ya see I got my way and my way is, when I climb into a woman's bed I like it ta be because she wants me there. Not because she thinks she's gotta give herself ta me as some kinda payment. If I sleep with ya Miss Beth Greene it's gonna be because ya want me in that way an I want you that same way."
That did it. Her brave and self-assured act went right out the window and she broke down crying.
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A/N We have our start, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading along, please leave a comment / review. The chapter photo is posted on my tumblr blogs gneebee and bethylmethbrick. I hope to see you all back here next Sunday for more of It's Complicated. Until then remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee