I had excused myself to the porch after our spat with Andrea. The breeze felt good on my flushed skin and the stillness of the farm helped to ease my frustration. I silently rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, staring up at camp.
The door behind me creaked open and Maggie appeared, smiling at me weakly. I returned the smile and she took the seat beside me. We sat quietly for a while before she spoke.
"I'm sorry you had to hear us yelling like that." She apologized for her and her sisters outburst upstairs. I shook my head.
"No need to apologize. I didn't have siblings, but I had cousins and that was close enough for me. I broke Rodney's arm one day over what color we were painting the tree house. You don't need to apologize." I joked with her, an attempt at lightening the mood.
"She didn't used to be liked this. If anything we switched places, I was the brooding one, not her." Maggie explained, looking at her hands. She chuckled, rocking in her chair. "When my mother died I was so angry. I drank and smoked, got caught shoplifting once. My daddy grounded me for six months and I told him I'd kill myself because I couldn't stand to live without my phone." Maggie laughed at herself, shaking her head. "What a joke that seems now."
"It was a different time. As a teenager losing your phone is the worst thing that could possibly happen to you. My grandma took mine away plenty when I smarted off to her" I laughed, running my hand through my hair. Maggie sighed, looking up at me.
"Grandma?" She questioned. I turned to her, raising my eyebrow and she apologized. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want. I shouldn't have pried." I shrugged, clearing my throat.
"My father was a bastard. It was just me and him my whole life. He was a drinker and he was mean. He'd hurt me and I just took it until one night I didn't anymore." I swallowed a hard lump, again looking at Maggie, she smiled at me warmly telling me she was listening. "I wasn't doing the dishes in a timely manner and he came at me reckless. I smashed a plate over his head. The neighbors up the holler heard him coming after me and they called the police." I sighed, reliving that day. "By the time they got there I had a few broken ribs and my Daddy's shotgun in my face. I probably owe them my life."
"Beau, I'm so sorry…" Maggie began. I shushed her, shaking my head at her.
"I've never told anyone that before, not even Daryl." I said thoughtfully, looking at the ground. I cleared my throat, looking back up at Maggie. "But I can tell he knows. I was always told that I carry an air with me, tells everyone of my past, but I don't believe that. People over come, just like I know Beth will." I smiled at Maggie and she chuckled, her eyes wet.
"I hope so. Hopefully Andrea talks some sense into her." My heart stopped and I looked back at the woman sitting next to me. I breathed deeply and Maggie looked at me, confused.
"Andrea?" I asked. Maggie nodded and my blood ran cold. I stood, walking into the house, Maggie following me.
"She came to the door earlier, told me to tag out so she could try talking to her, why?" I breezed into the kitchen where Lori stood. She looked up from the Magazine she was rifling through and we locked eyes.
"We have a problem." I stated blankly. My eyes darted to the ceiling and Lori jumped to her feet. We bolted for the stairs and I took them two at a time.
"Beth?!" I yelled as I ran into her room, the door wide open. A soft sob could be heard from the bathroom and Maggie ran to the door. There was the shattering of glass and my heart pounded. Maggie began to beat on the door.
"Beth?!" She shouted, panicking. "Don't do this Beth, don't do this!" Maggie pleaded with her sister. Beyond the door I could hear Beth crying and I paced back and forth nervously. Maggie back away from the door, rifling through the drawers. "Fuck myself for leaving her with Andrea!" Maggie cursed, out of her character.
"Where's a key?" Lori asked.
"I don't know." Maggie stated.
"We don't have time to look for a key!" I stated, glared at the door. "Move Lori." I commanded. Lori nodded.
"Beth honey, stand back, Beau is going to kick the door in!" Lori warned the girl on the other side. Lori nodded at me, stepping back and I ran at the door, shoving my shoulder into it as hard as possible. I groaned in pain, the door not budging under my weight and I reared back, trying again. The door gave a little and for the third time I ran at it.
The door opened on impact and I fell into the bathroom, catching myself on the tub. I hissed in pain, cursing the throbbing in my shoulder. Beth stood with her back to use, turning to slowly.
"I'm sorry." She whimpered. She held her wrist in front of her, blood poured from the wound. I swallowed, praying to anything that she crossed the wrong way. Maggie approached her, taking her sister in her arms.
"Maggie, Maggie let me see!" I asked, walking over to her. Slowly Beth removed her hands, and my heart sank. We rushed her into the bed and I sat her down. Beth began to hyperventilate and I grabbed her hand. "Sweetie I need you to breath. I need your first aid kit." I asked Maggie. She sprinted off, returning a moment later.
I crossed to the bathroom, my arm throbbing, washing my hands, prepared for the stitches I'd have to sew. I returned to the room and Maggie took a seat next to her sister, crying. Lori paced in the other side of the room.
I grabbed a towelette out of the kit, tearing it open.
"This is going to hurt." I warned Beth. She nodded and I took her hand in mine, rubbing the cut with the alcohol pad. Beth shrieked, trying to pull her arm away, but I kept a firm grip. "Shh, I know, I know sweetie."
There were footsteps at the door and Glenn and Daryl appeared, They watched us blankly and I barely looked over to them.
"We saw you run from the porch, we were afraid something happened." Glenn offered, panting.
"Somethin did happen." Daryl muttered, entering the room. "What do ya need?" He asked me. I took a few deep breaths, pulling the pad away from Beth's wrist. It wasn't too deep, but I knew stitches were required, and I looked up at Daryl.
"I need one of you to find Hershel and I need one of you to bring me Andrea." The boys hesitated. "Now!" I growled, snapping them to action. "Lori, I need you to hold this to her wrist tightly, and with your free hand hold above the cut. You have to squeeze it tightly, we need to stop the blood flow." Lori did as she was told and I crossed once again to the medical kit to retrieve the sutures.
It took about an hour to get Beth calmed down and stitched up. Hershel had come back while I was halfway through my procedure, just in time to deliver the sedative that I couldn't find in the med kit. I had just cleaned my hands of the blood and helped lay her down when I arrived downstairs. Maggie stopped her pacing, looking up at me with worried eyes.
"She's okay, she'll be fine. we laid her down to rest, the painkillers really knocked her out." Maggie smiled at me, looking up the stairs. "Hershel is up there with her, I wanted to give them time to be alone." Maggie nodded, understanding. There was movement outside and Maggie turned. Andrea was walking up to the house. Maggie growled, throwing the front door open.
I watched the pair from my spot in the foyer, the argument growing heated. Lori followed her out, hoping to defuse any sort of fight. There were footsteps on the stairs and I heard Hershel sigh. He looked down at me, running a weary hand down his face.
"Thank you, for being here for her." He sighed, joining me at the bottom of the stairs. I nodded, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Hershel looked up at me, seeming like he was ready to cry. "I owe you my daughters life."
"No, please. Lets just chalk it up to the right place at the right time." Hershel shook his head, silencing me. He began to walk away and I watched him go. He stopped, turning to me thoughtfully, gesturing for me to follow him.
Hershel led me to the back of the house to a door I had only ever passed but not opened. Slowly he opened it, clicking on the light. It was a study of some kind, walls nearly lined with books and a desk in the middle. He gestured widely with his arms and I walked to one of the bookshelves. They were full of medical texts.
"This is my study." He said, pointing out the obvious. I looked at him, eyebrow raised and he smile at me. "You've done right by my family and by the others. Not a person in your group, save for Rick, that I trust more than you." I blushed at his comment, shaking my head. "And maybe Glenn." He said thoughtfully, chuckling. "You can have free reign of this room, take any text you need or want. When you came that first night, so determined to help me with Carl, I didn't know what to think. But now I do." Hershel slowly walked to the door, glancing back at me once more before walking slowly down the hall.
I stared blankly at the door, not sure what to do or what to say. I looked at the nearest bookshelf, silently running my hands of the books before stopping at a large medical anthology. I pulled it from the shelf, opening it and smiling to myself, before taking a seat on the floor to read.