Look, I can update! :)
Seriously though, I'm sorry for pausing this story for a week, I just felt like I needed to think about it, so that I don't end up writing some generic rubbish. I probably have written generic rubbish anyway, but hey! Why not?
Hope you enjoy it, I loved writing this.
Beth doesn't need to turn her head – she feels Mrs. Harris' eyes on the back of her head perfectly well. She has no idea what she's ever done to that woman to cause such hatred. She used to be best friends with her daughter – Lexi-Marie – in elementary, middle, and halfway through high school; it was her family's tragedy that brought their friendship to an end. It always seemed like they were still on good terms though – Lexi-Marie has become sort of a Queen Bee in their school, but benevolent one, so Beth didn't mind her at all. Lexi-Marie's mother is the problem though. Sunday services feel like torture because of her constant stares and comments afterwards. (Beth was actually happy when their family went skiing once and she didn't see them at church that week. It has been a bliss.)
No matter how hard she tries, she is not able to concentrate and listen today.
When the service is over, she gets up and prays for daddy and Maggie to move quicker, so that they leave before Mrs. Harris gets a chance to make one of her arsenic comments about Beth.
She fails, of course.
As they are about to leave the church, the woman comes up and gives daddy a fake all-sugary smile.
"Jennifer. How are you?" daddy asks politely, and Beth and Maggie exchange a look at that.
"Good, Hershel, thank you," Mrs. Harris says, and Beth looks at Lexi-Marie, standing behind her, with a book of prayers in her hands. They smile at each other, and Lexi-Marie rolls her eyes a little bit at her mother. "Was just wondering where children have learned to show so much flesh. Back in our time, girls have been much more modest."
Beth doesn't even doubt that the woman is talking about her and thinks of the dress she is wearing at the moment. It has a neckline a little lower than what she would usually prefer, but she still finds it absolutely decent. She looks back at Lexi-Marie, whose skirt merely covers her backside, and smiles to her, arching her eyebrows.
"Yes," Maggie nods suddenly, all-polite about it, "it's a shame Victorian dresses are not in fashion anymore."
Mrs. Harris opens her mouth to say something (probably something very unkind towards Maggie), but Beth interrupts her before she gets the chance.
"It was so nice seeing you, Mrs. Harris. Hope you have a wonderful day," she says and grabs her father's arm. "Lexi-Marie," she smiles as a greeting and pulls on her daddy. They leave, followed by Maggie.
As Beth gets in the car, she feels her phone buzz and looks at the screen. Don't listen to the witch. Gorgeous dress!
Beth smiles at that and buckles herself in. Lexi-Marie has always had a complicated relationship with her mother (to say the least). Beth remembers clearly covering for her more than once in their sophomore year, when Lexi-Marie would spend a night at her boyfriend's place. Or bring her more sophisticated clothes so that she could change in the school bathroom, if her mother was feeling especially tyrannical that day. Mrs. Harris is never happy with her daughter; in her opinion, Lexi-Marie is too loud, not serious enough, eats too much chocolate, and that all is completely Beth's fault and bad influence. (Never mind that they don't even speak that much anymore.) By now, Mrs. Harris has probably lost a great deal of her say over Lexi-Marie actions, so she probably does what she wants. (Judging by her look this morning.)
Beth decides not to think about it too much and instead watch the view from the window. The view she has seen a thousand times, but never thinks of it as any less beautiful.
Beth gets an odd email later that evening, saying that she has been invited to an event on Facebook. She can't remember when was the last time she actually logged in, but she does it anyway, remembering her details perfectly well. She would probably like to think that an invitation to Lexi-Marie's, quote, End of School party doesn't surprise her, but it does.
She picks up her phone.
"Hey, Beth! What's up?" she hears her ex-best-friend's cheerful voice.
"Hi, um…" she doesn't know how to say it without sounding pathetic… or just sad. "What's with the party?"
"Oh, you got that. Good," Beth hears some noises in the background, and it sounds like cars. Is she on a highway or something? "Well, I just thought, why not? We probably won't see each other in years, so… I've invited most of the people from our year."
"Yeah, but why me? We haven't spoken in ages."
"I don't know… I've never had a problem with you, if that's what you're thinking. I mean, my mom is definitely being a bitch, but I sort of like you, and we used to be best friends, so why not?" she repeats and then adds quickly. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. Or of it's too much. I'll understand."
Beth smiles at her words. Lexi-Marie is the biggest rambler in the world, and it can be annoying from time to time, but right now, it's kind of sweet.
"What about your mom? Is she okay with me being there?" Beth gets up and starts walking downstairs, suddenly feeling extremely thirsty.
"Are you kidding me! She would be devastated! If she were to know I was having a party," Lexi-Marie giggles. "She is visiting John over the weekend, and I thought I might as well make the best of it."
It's not a secret to anyone with even basic observational skills that John, Lexi-Marie's brother, is their mother's favourite. He refuses to return to Senoia – ever, which Beth doesn't understand at all, but she figures it's not her place to judge – so Mrs. Harris has to visit her son in Atlanta from time to time.
Beth walks into the kitchen and sees Maggie sitting at the table, reading a thick-looking book, a cup of tea next to her.
"You don't waste any time, do you?" Beth rolls her eyes and shakes her head slightly when Maggie gives her a questioning look. She gets herself a glass of water.
"Does that mean you're coming?" counters Lexi-Marie.
"I might do," Beth shrugs, as if she can see it, and hears a loud and delighted squeal.
"Yay! Can't wait. Make sure you wear something hot," Beth rolls her eyes again, suddenly remembering their hours-long conversations back in high school, and realises how much she actually misses them. Misses being her friend. She hears honking in the background, confirming her guess about highway. "Have to go. See you tomorrow night," says Lexi-Marie and disconnects.
Beth puts her phone on the counter and opens the fridge, looking for a snack. She is waiting for Maggie's questions, and she is right. It doesn't take long.
"What was that about?" Maggie asks, taking a small sip of her tea.
"Lexi-Marie invited me to her party," Beth says. She doesn't want to lie. She's tired of that.
Maggie looks at her carefully, and her lips curve in a small smile.
"Are you going?" Beth both nods and shrugs at that, and Maggie's smile grows wider as she snorts. "Good luck convincing daddy."
Beth's eyes widen at that and she quickly shuts the fridge, taking a seat across from Maggie.
"You are not even going to stop me?" she asks.
"Why would I?" Maggie says, and when Beth gives her a look with her eyebrow arched, she sighs. "Yes, I may have been a little overprotective, but I think this can be good for you. You've missed out a lot. You deserve to have some fun."
Beth is honestly startled by that. She did not expect that kind of response at all. It's Maggie, after all…
"Can you help me convince daddy then?" she decides to take her chance.
"How?"
"I don't know…" Beth shrugs. "You're the expert. It's you who used to sneak out to see Glenn, not me."
"Well, what do you want me to do? Pretend to be you for an evening?" Maggie asks, staring at Beth incredulously.
"No, just…" she thinks about it for a moment. "Daddy will let me go if he knows you're with me. Can you just say you're coming and go on a date with Glenn instead?"
Maggie stays silent for a minute, and Beth is already expecting her to say no, when she speaks again.
"Fine. But if something goes wrong, and daddy finds out, I'm not going to be the scapegoat."
"Of course," Beth nods, grabbing the opportunity without arguing. "But I might need a ride…" she adds.
"Beth!" Maggie exclaims.
"What? You don't want some random people from my school to come and get me, do you?"
Maggie stares at her tea cup and takes one more sip.
"Fine," she says again. "What are you going to wear?"
Everything goes as planned. Daddy allows Beth to go only under Maggie's supervision, and Beth almost feels bad for lying to him.
Almost.
She is just tired of living locked up on the farm. Horse riding and reading and staring at the sky can be fun, but not seven days a week. She needs to spend some time away from home, have fun somewhere else.
Beth leaves the house with a thick layer of makeup covering her face, wearing a cute but modest floral dress that daddy doesn't have a problem with.
She gets changed in the pickup though. Puts on the clothes that Maggie let her borrow, the sort of clothes Beth imagines Maggie wears when she goes clubbing in Atlanta. It's dark blue skin-tight jeans and a shimmery silvery-ish top. She might have spent an hour with a curling iron in her hand, trying not to burn her fingers off, as she made sure her hair actually looked presentable for once.
Frankly, the party isn't something Beth expected. Lexi-Marie gives her a firm hug as soon as she sees her, saying it's "about time" she started going to the parties.
Beth doesn't like it though. It's too loud, too crowdy, there is too much drinking going on, too much of… everything. She honestly tries her best to stay as long as possible, but gives up after two hours. She needs some air. Desperately.
Maggie promised to pick her up at midnight, but it's only eleven, and she doesn't want to interrupt her and Glenn's date, so she just walks. Lexi-Marie lives at the other side of Senoia, but not too far off, and Beth just keeps walking until she sees the main street.
Everything is quiet and dark, only diner's large and wide windows lit up. And Beth suddenly feels like having some coffee.
She walks in, and it's empty – not a single client. She takes a seat at the booth in the corner and waits for the waitress to come. When she is halfway through her cup of coffee, she hears the bell ding, announcing a visitor. Beth almost gasps when she sees that it's Daryl Dixon.
He doesn't notice her and just heads to the other end, taking a seat in a symmetrically positioned corner-booth. Beth smiles as he orders a cup of coffee too, and doesn't hesitate. She walks across the diner and gives him a smile, sitting down across from him in his booth.
Daryl seems startled.
"Hi," she says, hoping she doesn't sound stupid. Or that he is actually able to recognise her because she has never looked like this. Ever.
"What are you doing here?" he asks, and her smile grows wider.
"Same as you. Drinking coffee," and she takes a sip from her cup, trying her best to pretend he is not staring at her with his eyes wide. As if he is surprised that she is actually talking to him.
He doesn't say anything and looks away, eyeing empty streets on the other side of the window.
Beth doesn't say anything either. If he wants to stay quiet, she is fine with that. She knows he doesn't like to talk much – he must not because he is known as the quiet one among his family.
"You look… different," Daryl suddenly says, and she looks back to him.
"Yeah…" she trails, deciding to take it as a compliment. Sort of. "This isn't really like me, is it?" Beth asks, not expecting him to answer. But he gives her a nod, and she smiles softly. "I was at a party. It was 'end of school' celebration of the sort."
"You ain't there," he says, simply stating the obvious, but that sounds so familiar.
"No, I'm not," she agrees and feels the need to explain. "Just felt stuffy in there, you know?" she says, her last words more of a polite way of leading the conversation, but he nods, and again, she did not expect that.
"I do."
"I'm honestly not that lame… Although, I haven't done much partying over the high school years, it's just… I feel like… I feel alone in places like that. Like alone-in-the-crowd sort of thing," she pauses. "Do you know what I mean?"
Beth just hopes he does because otherwise she probably sounds odd.
He nods again. "Yeah."
They don't speak for a few minutes, just look at each other. Look, but not stare, not searching something in each other's eyes, taking each other in rather.
"What are you doing here so late, Daryl Dixon?" Beth asks with a smile, finishing off her coffee.
"Just stayed behind at work," Daryl says and shrugs. "Don't got nowhere else to be."
"I guess I can relate to that," she lets out a quiet – almost silent – chuckle. She suddenly feels like she's just talking about herself, but then he counters that.
"Why?" he asks, looking at her carefully, observing, as if she is some sort of painting that needs a close look so that the tiny little details become visible. She thinks about it, but he interprets her silence differently. "You don't have to…"
"No, it's fine," Beth says and gives him another smile. "It's just this thing about families. How you love them, and they love you, but sometimes their love suffocates you," she pauses, and he stays quiet, letting her finish her thought. "It's similar with small towns like Senoia," she says. "Reminds me of Maycomb from To Kill a Mockingbird."
"Haven't read that," honestly says Daryl, and Beth notices some discomfort in his features. Like he is ashamed of it.
"It's a great book. Not boring at all," she gives him a small smile. "You should give it a try," she pauses, trying to return into her previous train of thought. "It's just… a town like this… It's so small everyone knows everything that happens, and you'd think that it should bring people closer to each other, create some sort of community, but it just gets out of hand and makes them meaner. Like they think they know you better than you know yourself. What's best for you, also. If that makes sense."
Daryl doesn't say anything, but Beth doesn't feel offended. She knows he listened to every word she said. She doesn't know why she is sure of it, but she just knows. Feels like he actually cares about what she has to say. And he probably has no idea how refreshing that is.
She looks at her phone.
"It's almost midnight. I should probably call Maggie, so that she can pick me up," Beth leaves a five-dollar note on the table and gets up. "It was nice talking to you, Daryl Dixon."
And with that, she walks out of the diner, feeling his eyes on her. And she is happy he is looking.
Tell me what you think!
Love, Kat xxx