"Elizabeth!" Beth's uncle roared. She could tell without looking that he was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. And the tone of his voice told her everything she needed to know about how he was feeling about the situation in front of him. She knew how bad it looked – and she also knew she'd never been able to convince him that she and Daryl weren't sleeping together. She was sure he'd already leaped to that conclusion himself and nothing she could do or say would be able to change that.
She hated that her uncle was often so judgmental of her choices. Yes, she was incredibly grateful for everything he'd helped her with, allowing her to live in his house, and taking care of the utility bills too. He'd been like a second father to her in a lot of ways. But during the time that they'd both lived together in the house, Beth had struggled at times, wanting to be an independent college student but feeling that her uncle was constantly looking over her shoulder. How could she really become and strong and independent adult, she'd often wondered, when her uncle was there being overprotective and trying to treat her like a middle schooler.
Instinctively she spun around towards the sound of his voice, but then instantly regretted it. How could she have forgotten in that moment that she was half naked? And the tank top that she'd worn to the party was in her bag on the kitchen counter, since she'd elected not to wear it on the drive home.
Luckily, Daryl was in front of her now, and she was able to shield herself a bit behind him. He had also turned around towards her angry uncle and Beth was horrified by the situation – horrified that she'd put Daryl in such an uncomfortable situation. Why did something always go wrong between them this way, she wondered?
"Uncle Jeff… I… uh… I didn't know you were coming!" Beth said, unsure of what to say or do in the moment. She knew she needed to get some clothes on. She knew her uncle well enough to know that a long conversation about this was about to follow. What she wasn't sure about though, was how she could get to the counter without flashing her naked breasts to her uncle. Although it seemed crazy to do, she thought maybe going upstairs would be a better option – that way, she could shield herself behind Daryl long enough to turn around and only her naked back would be exposed.
"Beth! Get some clothes on – what in the world are you thinking, girl!" her uncle said, almost shouting now. She could see the anger registering on his face and she couldn't get out of the kitchen fast enough. She didn't want to leave Daryl just standing there, but she didn't know what else to do.
She ran upstairs as quickly as she could, trying to listen closely to what was still happening in the kitchen. She knew she needed to get back there as quickly as she couldn't – she didn't know how Daryl would respond to this type of situation, and she didn't want things to escalate unnecessarily between Daryl and her uncle.
"Who in the world are you?!" Jeff growled towards Daryl.
In that moment, Daryl couldn't move from that spot, even if he'd wanted to. He was stunned by the entire situation. It all happened so fast – those intimate moments with Beth had been wonderful and then before he knew what was happening, the moment was shattered and the mood changed by the abrupt entrance of this man, who he'd quickly realized was Beth's uncle. This was his house, Daryl thought – why had he allowed himself to be brazen enough to do what he'd done to Beth right in the middle of the kitchen.
"WHO are you?" Jeff snarled out again, snapping Daryl out of his own thoughts, reminding him of the urgency of the situation that was just in front of him now.
"Umm… Name's Daryl" he finally was able to respond nervously.
"Daryl, huh? So… want to explain to me what in the world you are doing with my niece? Huh? You do know this is MY house, right?" Jeff asked Daryl.
"I'm her boyfri... Uh... We 're together." Daryl said, stumbling a bit over his words. He realized now that the word "boyfriend" made since in his head. He wanted to be that for Beth. But he wasn't sure that's what she wanted – he thought so, but was afraid to breathe out those words just yet.
"Together, huh? That why you had your filthy hands all over her, then?" Jeff cried out.
"It ain't like that… It wasn't… We haven't even… Shit!" Daryl said, growing increasingly frustrated by this man in front of him. It wasn't any of his business what he and Beth's relationship was – so why did Daryl feel like he had to justify himself to this man?
"Is that filthy mouth the same one that you kiss my niece with?" Jeff asked Daryl, a tiny smirk appearing on his face, which unnerved Daryl. He didn't understand this man, didn't understand his reaction. Beth had told her that he was very religious, but that he'd also sacrificed a lot in life to be successful. Daryl couldn't quite reconcile those two things, especially when he saw the man in front of him. He seemed unreasonable, and almost vindictive.
"And what do you mean that it isn't like that? Like what? See, I know my niece. She's a good girl. She's not that type of girl that would just… You're obviously taking advantage!" Jeff continued.
"I'm not taking advantage of her!" Daryl said defensively, he was starting to get upset, angry about this man's accusations. How could anyone think he'd been taking advantage, especially after he'd been so guarded over the last few weeks?
"How old are you?" Jeff asked, a demeaning tone dripped from his words.
"Why does it matter?" Daryl responded.
"Well..." Jeff started, that smirk that had been playing on his lips now growing even bigger. " I mean, let's call it like it is, Daryl... Beth is like, what, almost half your age? Come on. I'm not dumb. Or blind."
"I'm not twice her age…. And, you don't know… You don't know nothin' about me… or about us!" Daryl defended. He knew his face was growing red, but he couldn't help it. He was so irritated by this situation. Wasn't Beth 21, he thought? Couldn't she make her own choices? Just because she lived in this man's home didn't mean that he got to decide everything about her life, right?
"Oh, I think I do." Jeff sneered back.
"Daryl?" Beth called out from the living room. He turned to see her moving towards him quickly, a very concerned look on her face. She was wearing her standard around-the-house outfit, an oversized sweatshirt and short cotton shorts. He knew he needed to calm down, he didn't want Beth to think he was flying off the handle at her uncle. He'd tried to talk to him like a reasons person, but it was obviously that Beth's uncle had already made up his mind about him.
"Hey" he said meekly, turning around to face Beth and putting his back to Jeff.
"Hey" she said softly, circling her arms lovingly around him. He was a little surprised by this, he hadn't known how she'd act around him in front of her uncle. But it was reassuring, making him feel like everything was still okay between them, even if this situation had quickly gotten out of hand.
He returned her affection, placing his hands on her elbows and bringing his forehead down to hers and resting it there. He just needed to breathe for a minute, he thought. And it helped being near Beth – he wasn't sure what was about to happen, but she always made him feel better.
"I'm so sorry about this" Daryl whispered.
"No… I'm sorry. But it'll be okay, babe. I promise, okay?" Beth whispered back, looking up at his eyes, which silently pleaded with him just to trust her.
He didn't have any words. And all he could do was give her a small nod.
"Do you mind?" Jeff snarled after them, breaking through their moment together, bringing them back to reality. "I need to talk to my niece".
Beth nodded to Daryl, signaling to him that it was alright. She moved away from him, wanting to get into the living room to put a little space between Daryl and the conversation she was about to have with her uncle. She knew he'd still be able to hear from the kitchen, but she wanted to shelter him from what was about to happen, at least a tiny bit.
Jeff brushed past Daryl, following Beth into the living room.
Beth hadn't even made it to the couch before Jeff started his questioning.
"Who is that guy? Where in the world did you meet him, Beth? How'd you get hooked up with him of all people?" Jeff asked, his questions pouring out one after the other.
"Jeff, please. Don't do this. You don't know him! I'm sorry about what you walked in on… but… it isn't what it looked like!" Beth replied. She was trying to be calm, but she'd heard too much of her uncle's conversation with Daryl, making her wary of his assumptions about this situation.
"I don't need to know him, Beth. I know the type. You are a beautiful girl, Beth. And you're sweet… too sweet for your own good! And he's obviously taking advantage of that!" her uncle said.
"No he's not, Jeff! You don't understand. You can't begin to know… I've been through hell the last few weeks. And Daryl went through it with me. He was here for me… he took care of me! And he didn't have to! He's just a good person! He cares about me!" Beth explained. She didn't want to tell him too much, didn't think he deserved to know all the details of what had happened to her, especially with the way he was acting.
"He was here for you? So you've been letting him stay here? In MY house?" Jeff asked, his voice getting louder.
"Yes… but…" Beth responded. But she was interrupted.
"I thought we had an agreement, Beth?" Jeff said, as more of a statement than a question.
"We did… but… you don't understand. It wasn't like that. We haven't been sharing a room or anything. Just… I need some help. I was in a really bad place and… he was there for me!" Beth said, pleading with her uncle to try and be open-minded.
"Oh… I'm sure he was there for you, Beth. He seems like he's really good at showing you how much he cares!" Jeff said, bringing his hands up to make air quotes with his fingers as he repeated the phrases that she had, using her own words against her.
"Please… just listen to me! Please!" Beth begged.
"Beth, he's not suitable for you Beth. What does he have to offer you? He's trash! Trash! Trash! Not for you!" Jeff said emphatically.
"No he's not! He's not! He's amazing… Why are you doing this? You don't know him at all!" Beth responded. She didn't understand this reaction. Sure, he had found her and Daryl in a compromising position, but she wasn't 15, and she felt like she had the right to make her own choices.
"Why would you choose that guy, Beth? There are so many nice guys out there… That have a lot more to offer you than he possibly could! And it seems like you could have your choice! What happened to that guy you work with? The one with the rich daddy?" Jeff asked.
"Zach? I don't like Zach! I like Daryl! And I want to be with Daryl!" Beth was livid now. How could her uncle bring up Zach now? The only thing he seemed to like about him was that he came from a rich family – and that infuriated Beth. Why should that be the only thing that mattered?
A short silence fell between them and then Beth heard the front door slam shut.
"Daryl!" she shouted. She knew he'd heard everything – and above all, she knew that the things that Jeff had said would have pushed all of his buttons. Daryl had told her before how he'd grown up, and how many people had called him white trash. And she definitely knew how much he disliked Zach – and her uncle bringing him into this certainly hadn't helped anything.
Beth sprinted through the kitchen and out of the front door. In that moment she didn't care about leaving her uncle behind – she would deal with him later and she had to make sure that Daryl was alright.
She saw him nearing his truck, his body language indicating an outward frustration over the situation at hand.
"Daryl wait!" she shouted out, still running towards him.
He turned towards her as she finally reached him, launching herself awkwardly into his arms.
"Please don't leave, Daryl. Don't leave me. I can't be without you!" Beth said, wrapping her arms around Daryl tighter and pushing her face down into his shoulder. She wanted to be as close to him as possible, wanted to smell him, touch him, and reassure him that it would all be okay – that they would be okay.
"I can't do this Beth." Daryl replied, shaking his head in frustration.
"Daryl, no… We will work it out. I don't care what he says. He doesn't run my life… Talk to me. Please. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Beth said, pleading now. She couldn't let Daryl leave – the last time he'd stormed off they hadn't seen or talked to each other for days and it'd taken a tragedy to bring them back together.
Daryl pulled Beth's head back a bit, just enough that he could look into her eyes. He kissed her sweetly, but pulled away after only a few seconds.
"Baby, it's always gonna be like this. Your family... Your friends... You saw them gawking at us today. They'll never accept me. They don't think I deserve you… They don't get it… and they never will! I don't know why I thought it'd work out. It's always like this for me." Daryl said.
"I don't care about any of that. I want to be with you, Daryl! Just you… nobody else! I'll move out of here… I'm not letting Jeff come between us. Or anyone else, okay?" Beth said. She wasn't sure what Daryl was trying to say. Was he calling things off, only hours after they'd shared their feelings with each other? He couldn't mean that, right?
But Daryl was silent. He'd broken away from Beth's gaze and was looking down nervously.
"Daryl… talk to me. It's going to be okay. I'm sorry about my uncle. But what he says doesn't matter! I don't care about any of that… I just care about you!" Beth said, growing a bit desperate now.
"You do care about him, Beth. Don't say that…" Daryl said softly, his voice almost a whisper.
Beth saw a single tear streak down his cheek.
"Daryl… please don't." Beth said, wiping away the tear, and kissing the place on his face where it had been.
"You gotta work things out with your uncle, Beth. And then… well… we'll see how it goes, okay? You can call me when he's gone… if you want. And we'll see. Okay?" Daryl said, still looking down, his voice very serious.
"What? Daryl? No! Are you… are you breaking up with me?" Beth said frantically.
"I don't see how it's gonna work, Beth. Not like this, anyway" Daryl answered shaking his head. His movements seemed to indicate a "no" to Beth, but his words were unclear. And in that moment, Beth thought she was going to be sick. Daryl didn't say anything else, and she didn't know what to say. He wasn't even going to fight to be there with her? He was just going to give up this easily? She was hurting so badly and she couldn't believe how happy and full of joy she'd been just an hour ago; now, though, she felt like her heart was breaking.
"If that's what you want…" she managed to squeak out. She could feel the tears in her eyes now, and knew that she couldn't stop them, no matter how much she wanted to.
"You know that ain't it, girl… It's just… I can't do this. I can't know that it will always be like this. And it will… It will always be just like this. And I'm not doing that to you. You shouldn't have to go through that, baby girl. You deserve so much more than that. So much more than I can give you" Daryl said.
"That's not true… and you know it! You've given me everything already… and we're just starting!" Beth said. She wanted to reassure Daryl, but it just didn't seem to be doing any good.
Daryl was silent again, shaking his head, obviously unsure of what to say or do.
"Okay…" Beth finally said. She was too upset to fight him on it now. He'd convinced himself of something that wasn't true, based on insecurities he'd had his entire life. And she knew she couldn't convince him otherwise, no matter what she did. She'd work things out with her uncle, but then she'd work things out with Daryl. And she didn't care, in that moment, if she had to move out of this house. She wasn't going to let Daryl go that easily. And she wouldn't let him leave without telling him how she felt. She snuggled closer into him now, wanting to treasure this moment – she didn't know how long it might be until there was another one like it.
"I'm not giving up on us, Daryl. I want to be with you. I might let you drive away right now, but I'm not letting you go." Beth whispered into Daryl's ear.
He simply nodded to her, and brought his mouth to hers, kissing her, slowly and gently. Daryl held her there, sadness filling both of them. He eventually broke their contact, moving towards his truck, and getting in.
And as he pulled out of the driveway, tears streamed down Beth's face and she heard a whisper escape her own lips.
"I think I love you…".