Beth-
Rick watched Lori, waitin' for some kind of answer, for a few minutes but when she didn't say anythin', he picked his hat up off the table, turned to me and placed his hand on my arm.
"C'mon, Bethie," he said quietly.
I followed him into the livin' room and waited for him there while he went to their room to pack a bag.
When he came back downstairs, Lori was standin' in the doorway of the kitchen watchin' us leave. She wasn't cryin', there wasn't even a tear in her eyes and her face was blank, almost as if she wanted this.
Rick led me to his car and opened the passenger door. "I'll send Shawn by to get your car tomorrow," he muttered when he got in the driver's seat and started the car.
He drove the whole way to the farm without sayin' another word to me.
When we pulled up to the house, all of the lights were out except the porch light. Mama and Daddy were both in bed but I know they heard us come in especially since I tripped goin' up the stairs and Rick had to help me to my room. His footsteps seemed louder goin' down the stairs than they did when were walkin' up them. The door to the guest bedroom downstairs creaked open and then slammed shut, though that wasn't Rick's fault, the door tended to stick a little and you had to give it a good shove for it to actually shut.
Rick-
Hershel and Annette were up and busy before the sun came up. I could hear them stirrin' around throughout their house and dreaded the thought that sooner or later I would have to walk out of this bedroom and face them. Even though I know they know I'm here, it would be difficult to explain why.
I had laid here pretty much all night tryin' to think up an excuse but nothin' was comin' to me. Sure, I could tell them I drove Beth home after seein' she had had a few drinks but that wouldn't do anyone any good and I didn't want the poor girl to get into trouble over that. She's leavin' for college soon and I'm sure she'll have more than a few night of drinkin' ahead of her so it wasn't that big of a deal.
The smell of bacon and eggs filled the room a little while later and though I didn't want to get up, I did and followed the smell right into the kitchen.
Hershel was sittin' at the table, readin' the newspaper, and Annette was at the stove.
"Good mornin'," she said almost cheerfully without turnin' to look at me.
"Mornin'," I mumbled and went to join Hershel at the table. Before I could sit down though, he stood up and nodded his head towards the livin' room and I followed him.
The kitchen door swung shut and he turned to face me.
"Did somethin' happen last night?" he asked.
I rubbed my hands over my face and tried to think of a way to explain it to him.
"I'm not sure what you mean," I said without thinkin'.
He looked past me at the kitchen door, then over to the stairs. "I know somethin' must have happened for you to have spent the night here last night. Did somethin' happen to Bethie at Merle's?"
"No," I shook my head. "Absolutely not. It's nothin' to do with her. I just had a fight with Lori and figured it was best to come here and let things cool down."
He nodded as if he understood what I was sayin' but then he looked me dead in the eyes and asked, "Beth the reason for this fight?"
"Excuse me?"
"I wasn't accusin' anyone of anythin' but I am askin' if it had anythin' to do with my daughter. She was at your house the other night and was very disrespectful to you and Lori."
I almost smiled at the man's words but I didn't. "I can assure you that had absolutely nothin' to do with our fight. But, there were some things that were said last night that I'm not sure we can come back from. Beth just happened to be a witness to it and I wasn't goin' to leave her there."
He studied my face, lookin' for an answer. I don't know if he found what he was lookin' for or not but he nodded again.
"You're more than welcome to stay here as long as you need to," he said.
We went to the dining room just as Annette was placin' the food on the table. We had all sat down and were about to say grace when Beth came in. She wasn't her cheerful self but she did her best to hide it.
"Mornin' Mama, Daddy," she said and kissed Annette on the cheek then doin' the same to Hershel and takin' her seat next to her mom. "Mornin' Uncle Rick," she gave me a half smile.
Beth-
I felt horrible!
Not just because I had drank a little at Merle and Lacey's but because of what I had done at Rick's house. I basically ruined whatever they had. I should have just kept my mouth shut and maybe he would have found out what Lori was doin' on his own and even if he didn't, would that really be the worst thing to happen? Surely that wouldn't have been as bad as me throwin' it in their faces, though Lori didn't look too ashamed about what she had done. She was just mad at me for spillin' the secret she's been keepin'.
I bowed my head with my family but I couldn't bring myself to actually pray. How could I after everythin' I've done?
After breakfast, I helped Mama clear the table and clean the kitchen while Daddy and Rick went out to the garden.
I could see them from where I was standin' at the kitchen sink and I couldn't keep myself from watchin' them.
If Rick tells Daddy what happened, there will be all sorts of questions asked and I have a feelin' Daddy may ask them even if Rick doesn't say anythin'.
Of course he will! It's Daddy and he always knows what's goin' on even if he doesn't say anythin'.
"That's some bruise you have," Mama said quietly as she studied my arm. I had forgotten about coverin' it up when I came downstairs and if Mama noticed it, so did Daddy. She reached out and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Sweetie, I know you were upset with your Aunt Lori for callin' us but you have to know that we're all worried about you and why on earth would you go to Merle's?"
I shrugged and turned my head away from her. "I was comin' home and Merle called," I lied. "He said he needed help with the girls and Lacey was at work. Olivia is still colicky and he didn't know what to do."
Mama nodded and smiled. "Oh Bethie, you're just so sweet and caring. You have to understand that none of us want someone to take advantage of that, to take advantage of you."
"Mama," I turned my whole body towards her. "No one has or ever will take advantage of me. Besides, you know Merle and Lacey and you know he's havin' a hard time raisin' those kids. I'm happy to help out whenever I can and he actually pays me."
She shook her head. "That's not what we're worried about. We know Merle would never lay a hand on you but some of the people he hangs out with, even some of the people Daryl and Lacey hang out with, well Beth, they will take advantage of things. You're just so innocent and my baby, I don't want anythin' happenin' to you."
I wiped tears from my eyes and hugged Mama. When we finished up in the kitchen, I went up to my room and laid down for a few minutes. I could hear Mama movin' around downstairs, probably cleanin' somethin', and then the front door opened and Daddy and Rick came inside.
My phone went off just as I felt myself relaxin' so I almost didn't answer it but I did and it was Merle callin' to ask if I could watch his kids while he went to work.
I kind of felt relieved that he called but at the same time I was a little scared.
"Well, gosh," Mama muttered when I told her Merle had called. "Will you be there all night?"
"Probably. Merle said this job was real important and he didn't know when Lacey would be home."
Mama and Daddy didn't act too happy about me goin' over there but that was probably because they still had so many questions they wanted to ask and they probably thought I was tryin' to avoid answerin' them.
"Where's your car?" Daddy asked, he already knew the answer though.
"It's at my house," Rick said. "I'm goin' to be on patrol tonight so I'll go ahead and carry her over there to get her car and then I'll swing by Merle's to check on things later tonight," Rick assured them.
When we got in the car, Rick was silent.
"I'm sorry about last night," I said as he pulled out of the driveway.
"Why? You didn't know I was there and you're not the one who don't it, Lori did."
"I know but it wasn't my place to do that. I just…."
He glanced over at me and asked, "How did you find out about her and Shane?"
"Oh, I….I heard someone say they had seen them together."
He looked at me again. "I know you're lyin', Bethie. How'd you find out?"
"Shane," I whispered.
"Shane?" He shook his head. "How'd that come up and why were you talkin' to him?"
"I ran in to him," I lied again and started ramblin'. "I have you to know that I've known Shane my whole life, same as you, so I can talk to him. It's not like we don't know the same people or go the same places and this is a very small town."
He sighed and was silent for a while, I was sure he saw right through everythin' I was sayin'.
"You caught them together, didn't you?"
My eyes felt like they were goin' to pop out of my head. I couldn't lie this time. How could I? I couldn't lie and tell him I had caught them together and if I did, what if he asked about a time or place? I could tell him it was when Shane and I went to the cabin. Could that work? No, no, no! I couldn't say that. They'd want to know why I was up there in the first place and I had no way of knowin' where Lori was then. She could have been with Rick.
Oh God, I was ramblin' in my own head now!
Rick-
I didn't expect Beth to answer me when I had asked if she had caught Lori and Shane together but I sure as hell wasn't expectin' her to start cryin'.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that," I said, tryin' to keep her from cryin' more.
That was all I needed to know. She had caught them and now she was cryin' because I asked her about it. She's my niece, not a criminal. What did I expect her to do? Confess?
Lori wasn't home when I pulled up to our house to let Beth get her car but I didn't take the chance of pullin' into the driveway and goin' inside.
Beth got in her car and left as fast as she could and as much as I wanted to get out and go inside, I couldn't. I told myself that there was no way in hell I could go back right now. I was so wrapped up in thinkin' about me and Lori and our marriage and kids I hadn't realized I had drove to the station and I wasn't thinkin' about Shane when I got inside to check in.
But when I saw him, he was sittin' at his desk with his feet propped up on it and eatin' some chips.
"Hey man," he grinned and called out when he saw me. "Hey Rick, we got that patrol out near Greenbriar Hill. We got a tip there's supposed to be somethin' goin' down tonight so it could get interestin'."
He was actin' like nothin' had happened and maybe it hadn't for him. Lori probably didn't even tell him about last night. I was a little pissed at the thought that she didn't tell him but I was glad she didn't because that would mean it was still goin' on.
Beth-
I pulled up to Merle's to see that his truck was already gone and Daryl's motorcycle was in the driveway.
"Hey," I called out when I went inside.
"Bethie! Bethie!" Leah shouted, runnin' to me then bouncin' up and down on her feet.
I heard a groan and then a mumbled 'shit' comin' from one of the girls' bedroom.
"Come on," I said, pickin' Leah up and makin' my way down the hall.
Daryl was standin' in the middle of Olivia's nursey, holdin' her at arm's length with his head turned away from her.
"What are you doin'?" I asked.
He muttered somethin' then turned to face me.
"Eewwww," Leah drew out.
Still holdin' Olivia out, Daryl gagged. "Can ya take 'er?"
I put Leah down and took the baby. "What happened?"
He gagged again as he pulled off his shirt and wiped at his face. "She was cryin' so I picked 'er up an' when I did, she threw up in my face."
I shook my head. "I'll get it cleaned up."
After I had cleaned up Olivia, her room and Daryl had cleaned himself up, I laid her back down and took Leah to the livin' room to watch cartoons while I fixed them both somethin' to eat.
"I'ma head out ta tha farm so ya can call me there if ya need anythin'," Daryl said while pullin' on his coat.
I nodded and asked, "Where's Merle and Lacey goin' to be?"
"Merle's s'posed ta be workin' some kind a construction job out near Greenbriar Hill an' I ain't got a fuckin' clue where Lacey is But Merle should be back 'round six or seven. Ya gon' be alright 'ere by yerself 'til then?"
"Yeah. Uncle Rick is goin' to stop by later."
He gave a little nod then left.
Shane-
Rick watched me almost the whole night. He had this angry look in his eyes when he would look at me and would clench his fist when I'd talk but he never said anythin' about what was botherin' him. Part of me figured he had found out about me and Beth and, her bein' his niece and all, it pissed him off. I could see why though. I'd left bruises on her and even if they were unintentional, there was no takin' them back and there was no way I'd be able to change someone's mind. Once they thought I had hit her on purpose, that thought was there to stay.
Hell, if I were in Rick's shoes and had seen the bruises on my niece like that and thought I knew who had done it, there wouldn't be a chance in hell someone would be able to find their body. I'd make sure that guy disappeared for good.
Maybe that's exactly what Rick was thinkin'.
"Beth ever talk to y'all about what happened to her?" I asked without thinkin'.
"No," he shook his head, lookin' straight ahead.
"I'm guessin' she won't talk about it. Hershel and Annette are probably keepin' a close eye on her, huh?"
He shrugged to that.
"Can't say I'm surprised," I continued. "Beth's always been quiet but she'll tell someone eventually. It could've been that Johnson boy she was with at that graduation bonfire. He's gonna be just like his ol' man."
"Why the hell are you goin' on about this?" Rick asked, finally turnin' to look at me.
"I'm just curious. I've known her all of her life and I don't want to see her get hurt."
"Yeah, alright."
He kept quiet the rest of the drive over to Greenbriar Hill. We parked in the back lot of a truck stop, facin' the buildin' where we had gotten a tip someone was goin' to be out there and possibly sellin' a new batch of meth.
We must have sat there for three or four hours before we saw anyone show up but nothin' came of it.
When we got back to the station the next mornin' Rick didn't bother with writin' out his report like he usually did before leavin'.
I tried askin' him if he wanted to grab a beer but he walked away. After I finished my report, I tried callin' his cell and then Lori's when he didn't answer.
Beth-
I woke up on the couch when I heard my phone goin' off. I figured it would be Mama or Daddy or even Rick but it wasn't and I didn't recognize the number.
I rubbed my eyes and stared at it until it stopped ringin' but as soon as I sat it down, it started ringin' again. It was that same number.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Beth?"
I stiffened and sat up. "What do you want, Shane?"
"I was just callin' to see if we could talk. Maybe we could meet up tonight or somethin'. I need to talk to you about what happened."
"There's nothin' to talk about," I said before ending the call.
I called Mama while I was makin' coffee and some breakfast to let her know I wouldn't be home until later on. There wasn't any need in that but I didn't want her to worry and with the way everythin' has been goin', it's better I check in and follow hers and Daddy's rules until I leave for college.
"Just a few more weeks," I said out loud, reminding myself that this would be over soon.
"What's jus' a few more weeks?" Merle mumbled.
I smiled and handed him a cup of coffee. "Just a few more weeks until I'm in college and far away from here."
The rest of the week flew by and I didn't hear from Shane again and Mama and Daddy didn't question me. Rick stayed at our house, it seemed he would be stayin' there for a good while, and I babysat for Merle and Lacey every night. I guess me stayin' there helped me avoid my family, that and the bruises were just beginning to fade away.
Out of sight, out of mind.