A/N: Note to self: never ever ever have more than one work in progress. It'll be a miracle if I finish all three. Hooray for another jumbled mess?! Heh. I will be a jumbled mess myself after tonight's new episode of Breaking Bad. Anyway, carry on!
By the time night had finally rolled around, Beth had never felt more exhausted in her life. She couldn't recall a time she had ever felt so completely overwhelmed and flustered over what was going on. Not only that, but confused. What happened to Jesse, the fact that she hadn't been keeping in contact with Haley, her father still not on board with her choice of boyfriend, and her relationship with Daryl in general. She was even concerned about what was going on between Maggie and Jax.
It just didn't make sense though. Beth Greene had always made it a point to stay organized and on top of things, she didn't know chaos and all these things she had come to learn over the past couple months. She was always the quiet girl who paid attention in class and had parent approved friends and relationships. The old Beth Greene wouldn't have known what to do with any of this information. Heck, she really didn't know what to do with it now.
But amid everything that was running through her head, Beth found herself walking down the hall toward Maggie's room and lightly knocked on the door. If there was anyone that could make her feel better, it was her sister.
Instead of calling out, Maggie had walked over and opened the door. She was already dressed down in what she wore as pajamas: her old physical education shirt from high school and a pair of sweat pants. She didn't say a word. She just left the door open and retreated back to her bed where she had a pile of clean laundry she was putting away.
"Something on your mind?" Maggie folded up a t-shirt and placed it in the top drawer of her dresser. She glanced over in her sister's direction as she now entered the room and shut the door a crack.
"A lot, actually," Beth began. She trailed her way over toward Maggie's bed, picked up her pillow, and sat in its place all while hugging it to her chest. "I guess I never thought about how much things have changed until now."
"Is everything okay?" Maggie stopped what she was doing and turned her full attention to her. "This Daryl guy?"
Beth shrugged, not sure how she could even explain everything to Maggie. "I'm fine. And it's not just Daryl. It's just everything in general. Everything just feels different." She noticed Maggie's eyes didn't meet her own and she subconsciously placed her hand in the general area that her sister was staring. Her necklace.
"Where'd that come from?" Maggie raised an eyebrow.
"Daryl." Beth bit her lip from saying anymore.
Maggie seemed to give it a little thought before turning back to folding her clothes. "That was nice of him."
Beth cleared her throat. Now would be a good time to change the subject. "So, you and Jax?"
"Whoa, what?" Maggie stopped again and turned to face her. "There's no 'me and Jax'. We've talked a bit but that's it."
This time Beth could tell Maggie was totally fibbing. She tried to hide it by busying herself with the laundry. "How much have you guys talked?"
Maggie now shrugged. "A little bit."
"You've talked to him since you've met."
"Well… yeah."
"And how much do you know about him?"
"Why does it matter?" Maggie sighed once she realized she had been defeated. "I know he was married, he was in a serious relationship with his last girlfriend, and he has a son. So, what?"
"None of that bothers you?" Beth questioned.
"Not really. We're just talking. I'm not even sure if it'll go anywhere."
Beth tried to picture her and Daryl alongside Maggie and Jax. The thought made her smile. Then add to that Haley and Jesse. "What if it does?"
Maggie rolled her eyes. "You worry too much."
After taking a step back, it was clear what Beth needed—what she wanted to do. Since Maggie and Jax seemed to be doing okay, and Daryl and Jax were good friends, Beth proposed that they went on something of a double date. They needed a break. They needed some time to just be able to enjoy each other's company and have fun.
A few days later and that was just what they did.
It took some convincing on Daryl's behalf but he did give in. It felt odd riding passenger with Maggie to meet up with them at TM. But she figured she'd get to see just how close Maggie had become to Jax.
Once they were there, they had split up. Beth went with Daryl in his truck and Maggie went with Jax in his truck, which was a Dodge Ram. Then they were on the road again to their next meeting destination.
"So how have you been?" Beth glanced over at Daryl from the passenger side.
"Pretty good." Daryl shrugged. "It's been quiet. I'm almost not used to it, believe it or not. Jesse hasn't been around."
"Oh? I guess he and Haley had some stuff to work out. He's probably been with her. But glad to hear you've been doing well." Beth would have invited them to tag along too but she figured she'd give them some time.
"Yeah, probably. Almost miss the punk." Daryl must have caught the slight smirk on Beth's face because he repeated, "Almost."
A comfortable silence passed over them before Beth spoke up again. "Are we placing any bets this time? My sister and your best friend."
This time Daryl wore a smirk. "Nah. I'll play nice."
It wasn't much longer after that when the truck came to a stop. They were at a fairly large park which mostly consisted of wide open grass, trees, and a sidewalk that provided pavement for joggers and people out walking their dogs. Daryl killed the engine and Beth abandoned her purse by her feet as they both exited from the truck and met up with Maggie and Jax. They walked out onto the grass under the shade of a tall oak tree. Jax was the first to take a seat, patting the ground next to him and looking up at Maggie with what Beth would call "the puppy eyes".
"Maggie won't tell me what all is going on. So, Jax…" Beth took a seat across from them with Daryl, smiling. "Care to explain?"
Maggie shook her head. "There's nothing to explain."
"Your sister showed up at TM looking for him. She used you as an excuse for showin' up." Daryl slightly leaned in toward Beth as he spoke, his voice low but not quite low enough.
Maggie's face flushed and Jax laughed. "So, let me get this straight. Am I supposed to be some sort of surprise or something?"
"We're not dating," Maggie stated.
"I didn't say we were." Jax looked to Beth. "I called her the other day. She came over to my place for a bit."
Beth could tell they were both practically fighting to pretend they weren't interested in one another. But she knew her sister. She could tell she liked him, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She couldn't hide that. And though she didn't really know Jax, he seemed like he was genuinely interested in Maggie. Maybe their words didn't say it but their body language did. They both seemed pretty open.
They would make a cute couple.
It was mostly meaningless banter from there on out. Jax seemed to be the most talkative and when they fell silent, they had resorted to just lying in the grass. There were a few people walking the park. A couple with dogs. Just the faint sound of voices and the trees rustling in the wind around them. It was peaceful.
"I'm sure this would make for an interesting picture. All of us just sort of lying here like we're dead," Maggie stated. "Though it is comfortable. And odd. Especially odd."
Beth suddenly hopped up from where she was seated in the grass and walked over toward the trucks. Since she had left her purse on the floor of Daryl's truck, she had left her cell phone in there as well. It probably wouldn't hurt to keep it on her not to mention she had a camera phone. Maybe she could get a couple pictures since Maggie had made that comment. She didn't have any.
She opened the passenger side door and reached down for her purse, her fingers just brushing over the handle as she heard a noise from behind her. She didn't really think anything of it since they were at a park. Whoever was in the van parked beside Daryl's truck must have been exiting the vehicle. But that was when Beth felt an arm snake around her waist and a hand clamp over her mouth.
It was in that moment that Beth knew it wasn't someone she knew. It wasn't Daryl, it wasn't Jax, and it definitely wasn't Maggie. If there was any part of her that wasn't quite awake, it certainly was now. Her heart felt as if it was pounding out of her chest as she started thrashing and screaming the best she could from behind the man's hand. She dug her nails into his flesh and bit down on his hand as hard as she could, giving her just those few seconds to yell Daryl's name at the top of her lungs before she was thrown into the van.
Beth had a hard time comprehending anything after that. The van was moving—how fast and where to, she didn't know. She felt hands grabbing at her and she did everything she could to keep them away. She punched, she screamed, she kicked. A few hits connected. She swore she heard a couple gun shots. And that's when she realized the side door was still open. The two or so men that were trying to get her under control hadn't found the time to pull it shut.
In one final attempt to escape, Beth tried to jump out of the moving vehicle. She stuck her left arm out and tried to find something to brace herself, to pull herself forward and launch out. But either the shift of the van, gravity, or one of the men weren't on her side because the door slammed shut on her forearm with such a strong force she knew in that moment it was broken. She screamed out in pain as tears blurred her vision.
The next thing she even registered was that Daryl and Jax were there by her side, picking her up off the ground, Maggie running toward them. She was out of the van and she was in Daryl's arms, crying hysterically as she could feel the blood running down her arm. Her blood. Her arm.
Daryl pulled her tight to his chest. He had a hand on the back of her neck as she buried her face into his shoulder. He was whispering something near her ear but she didn't comprehend any of the words. Then it was Jax's voice. Then Maggie's.
Beth practically collapsed then and there. The only thing truly keeping her on her feet was Daryl. She felt numb. She couldn't even really feel the pain in her arm and she didn't understand why. She had been attacked. It all felt like a dream. But it wasn't. She knew it wasn't.