C10

Beth woke to golden summer sunshine streaming in through the gauzy curtains and the fresh, warm ocean breeze blowing in through the open window.

Her eyes fluttered open and she glanced at the glowing red numbers of the digital clock on the nightstand through half open eyes.

11:45

Beth groaned and rolled back over, burying her head in her pillow hoping to ignore the throbbing pain in her head and go back to sleep but her ears were filled with the sound of the seagulls crying outside, cars purring down the street and Lori clattering cups downstairs…

No such luck.

She slid out of the covers and softly padded her way to the bathroom, flicking on the hot water, letting the steam ease her aching head and the boiling hot water wash over her body as she tried not to remember the events of the night before…

"He knows you're here"

A shiver ran through her body and her heart thudded against her chest.

Rolling her eyes at herself at her oh so predictable response to the mere thought of him she shut off the water, angrily grabbing a towel and wrapping it round her small frame.

So what if he knew she was back.

It would be highly unlikely she'd actually run into him, she wasn't planning on going out much after the wedding and so what if she did, he left her! He should be the one to hide from her! And anyway, she'd be gone in a few weeks.

"Ugh" she yelled frustratedly at herself, swiping at her steamy reflection in the mirror and storming out the bathroom.

After quickly dressing, a permanent scowl set on her face, she slowly descended the stairs and made her way to the kitchen in search of asprin, and coffee…

"Well, look who's back from the dead…" Lori teased with a half-smile as Beth grabbed the coffee pot and poured a large mugful, deeply inhaling and relishing in the bitter, warm scent "…We thought we'd lost you there for a minute"

"Well, you said you wanted a wild night" Beth said flippantly, sipping at her hot coffee.

Lori turned to face her friend, worry etched on her pretty face.

"I meant dancing, drinks…fun…not sending out a search party to find you after you mysteriously disappeared after being hit on by some random guy" Lori said, a slim eyebrow raised in Beth's direction.

Beth ran her fingers through her damp hair, she'd been an idiot, the sick twist of guilt yanked at her chest and she sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry Lori, I was a jerk, I shouldn't've left, I didn't really know what I was doing, it was like I wasn't myself" Beth said heavily, remembering the foggy, urgent force that had pulled her away from the club and her brow furrowed in confusion.

Lori looked at her friend and her stomach knotted in worry.

They'd found her on the boardwalk, her eyes wild, hair whipping about her face in the ocean breeze, her skin pale and cold, clinging onto the arm of one of the worst guys she could've picked up in Santa Carla.

Lori had been in two minds about asking Beth to stay on to house sit after the wedding but Jamie had convinced her that she would be fine. Her father's murder and her horrible ending with David had happened four years ago, a long time has passed since then, she'd be fine, probably enjoy getting down to the beach after being stuck in rainy Seattle.

Looking at her friend now, she wasn't so sure.

"You should probably stay away from the guy on the Boardwalk Beth, him and his friends are nothing but trouble" Lori said quietly, sipping on her own mug of coffee.

"I have no intention of seeing him ever again" she lied again, hoping Lori didn't notice the blush rising on her cheeks…

Jamie had been picked up by his groomsmen, Ben, Zach and Jason later that day and whisked off to Zach's apartment where he would spend his last night as a bachelor.

Beth and Lori had decided to rent a movie and get an early night, wanting as much beauty sleep as they could get ahead of the big day.

"…and Popcorn"! Lori yelled over her shoulder at Beth, adding this last thing to her mental list as she grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

Beth drove slowly down the hills to town, trying to push away the anxious knot in her stomach as the red Mercedes purred down the dark streets, the bright Boardwalk lighting up the night in front of her. She pulled up outside the Video Max and switched off the ignition, looking up at the store. It too, like the rest of Santa Carla, hadn't changed and she suddenly felt eighteen again.

Beth swallowed hard, grabbed her purse and slipped out the convertible, locking it behind her, not that she thought it would be much of a deterrent for some of the kids in town who could hotwire a car in thirty seconds flat.

Smoothing down her cotton sun dress she slipped quietly into the store and hid quickly behind the rows and rows of video tapes.

Beth quickly lost herself in perusing the titles, unable to decide on the best choice of movie for their last night together before the wedding tomorrow. She ran her fingers over the covers, reading each one before moving on when suddenly her eyes landed on the film he'd rented for them the night her father's body had been found.

Her blood ran cold…

"Well, if it isn't Beth Campbell"

Beth looked up, startled from her daydream and found Max looking down at her happily from the other side of the row of tapes.

"Max…" Beth breathed, caught off guard, her eyes searching the rest of the store in panic.

Would he be here?

"How have you been Beth?" Max asked, the electric lights of the store casting his long shadow over her.

Beth regained her composure, tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled up at him.

"Oh y'know, work, school…the usual…I'm actually back for a friend's wedding" she said smiling, she'd forgotten how nice it was to talk with Max, he always had time for her and somehow always made her feel like she mattered.

"A wedding, goodness, aren't you all a little young to be getting married"? Max said, a slight teasing smile on his lips and Beth smiled wider.

"I dunno, they seem pretty set on each other and when you know, you just know…I guess" Beth said, sadness tinging at the edges of her final words as she dropped her gaze to the video tape she'd found, running her finger down the spine gently.

"I was so sorry to hear about your father Beth…" Max said softly.

Beth blinked hard and tried to ignore the painful ache in her chest.

"…I never got the chance to offer my condolences before you left" he said.

Beth swallowed down the hard, painful lump in her throat.

"Yeah, we stopped by your house on the way to the airport but we didn't catch you or…" she didn't finish her sentence, biting her tongue to stop herself saying his name.

"Anyway…how have you been Max, business seems to be going well" she said, leaning an arm along the top of the shelf of tapes and smiling up at him with a forced smile.

"Oh well, I'm fine thank you Beth…" he said in a fatherly tone "…and how may I help you tonight, the selection has gotten bigger since you were last here, we have it all". He said, clapping his hands together once and peering over the top of his glasses at her.

"I think I'll take this one" Beth said, slipping the tape out from the shelf, handing it to Max "…and some popcorn, please"

Max looked down at the cover of the tape Beth had chosen and smiled to himself as he took in the artwork. The pale figure with his wet, red mouth lunging over a sleeping woman with honey-brown hair, her long neck bared beneath the monster…Max's eyes darkened as he looked back down at Beth as she stood, looking up at him innocently, a loud pounding sounding in his ears threatened to drown out all other sounds around him and seemed to vibrate through his entire body an he licked his lips quickly…

"Good choice"

As her eyes fluttered open, a wide smile graced her beautiful face and she jumped out of bed, swinging the bedroom door open to see an equally happy Lori carrying two cups of coffee.

"Well good morning Mrs Green" Beth said playfully, taking the steaming cup of coffee Lori offered her.

"Not Mrs Green quite yet, only a few more hours to go"! Lori said, her smile so bright it could probably power a small village.