A Lovely Place
Chapter 1
"…Oh…" It was the only sound she could find in that moment.
When Daryl's eyes failed to look away from her own, Beth wondered if they'd be locked in this deep, searching gaze forever. Somehow, she'd be okay with that. She tried to pick apart the emotions she could see swirling inside his intense, blue eyes. The longer he held her gaze, the more she saw a shy sort of confidence in him, in what he was conveying. Her heart fluttered, her pulse quickened and her breath caught in her throat before she could utter another syllable. Where had her words disappeared to? They carried on this entire conversation with just their eyes. Hers were transfixed on his, pupils dilating with acknowledgement and something else — excitement. Even her brain tingled somewhat, a little itch in the back of her skull, as she tried desperately to decipher the meaning behind his stare.
It meant more. She knew that. More than just the fact that she'd changed his mind about good people. If that were all this was, he'd have simply said so. There was nothing to be coy about in such a simple thing. This ran deeper, at least that's how it struck her. His lingering glance seemed, to her, a silent confirmation on his part that she'd read him right. He looked scared, suddenly, as though the fact that she may now know his innermost feelings might somehow bring his entire house of cards tumbling down.
Daryl realized if he didn't do something, he might explode. There was so much anxiety building inside him, more with each fleeting moment. That "oh" had conjured a swarm of butterflies. He could feel himself trembling on the inside, and yet you wouldn't know it to look at him. Every instinct screamed fight or flee, but he couldn't understand why. There was no danger here, just feelings— so strong and strange. Feelings mysteriously awakened and stirred only while in Beth's company. It meant something; he knew it too. It meant something profound, and that scared him. Yet he didn't want to fight it, nor run from her. He cleared his throat and repeated that singular syllable, because it was all he could muster.
"Oh?" he asked.
She swallowed, wetting her throat so she could speak. "I changed your mind?"
He stayed statuesque, frozen in his chair for a moment, his gaze descending back into the nearly-empty jelly jar that he'd once more retrieved from the table. He clutched it like a security blanket and, finally, he shrugged and nodded, almost indiscernibly. "Mmmhmm.." He wanted to tell her that she changed a lot of things, but such a confession tasted strange on the tip of his tongue. He couldn't quite spit it out.
Beth's lips parted as she attempted to find words, a question, a comment. Anything. Nothing came. She wanted to ask him what else was behind that long, telling look. What were all of those unspoken words hiding in his silence? It was like they'd looked straight through each other and found something good inside. Something she wished he would say. But she knew him. She knew better than to press further. He'd been so open with her since the shack, so if he wasn't saying, she knew it was because he wasn't ready to yet. What she felt in that moment had caught her off guard. Perhaps it did the same to him. She fought for something to say, to quell the tension, to make it feel safe for him again.
"It's not nuts," she said.
He looked at her. "What?"
"Us…" she said.
Daryl lifted his head a bit more. He looked curious and nervous and hopeful, trying to understand; his heart somersaulting in his chest.
"Us staying here," she clarified. "You said it might be nuts. I don't think it is," she said with a warm smile.
"You sure?" he asked. It felt like more than one question being asked. Were they really talking about the decision to stay right now, or were they talking about something else? He seemed to be feeling her out just as cautiously. Testing the waters. Trying to figure out where she stood on his wordless confession, these unspoken feelings, this undefined thing between them.
"Yeah," she said, nodding. "It's like you said. We can make it work." She set down the pen and closed her journal, as though the matter was settled. They were staying. They were staying together. They'd be safe here. They'd have food. They'd have time to figure out what this is — this elephant in the room that had plunked itself down between them. She knew the answers would come with time, at Daryl's pace. There was no need to rush him. Neither of them were going anywhere, and that was a relief.
"I like it here. I want to stay. I want us to stay," she said with a smile. "I'm happy here."
He just stared at her for a good, long moment, his eyes taking in all of her angelic features in the candlelight. Their eyes caught again and when she didn't look away, it gave him this sense that they were somehow on the same page. He never expected that. The corner of his mouth slowly drew up into a small side-smile as he gave a single nod. "Me too."