A/N: Thanks a lot to my wonderful friend Jen for editing this for me. Of course, neither TWD universe or its characters are mine, but its creator Robert Kirkman.
Beth woke up suddenly, startled by the incessant noise of the alarm clock. She couldn't help it: her dad always told her that she had a very small heart and that she got startled by anything, so it was common that every morning she almost fell off the bed because of the shock. She turned off the little machine and sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She had only slept a couple hours and the last thing she wanted was to get up and go to work.
She untangled herself from the mess of sheets in which she was trapped and headed towards the bathroom to have a shower while she hummed quietly. She had never been an energetic person in the mornings, preferring to stay silent and having her coffee calmly while she listened to her siblings chattering, but since she had moved from the farm to the nearest town, she missed the fuss that she had hated for so many years. Because of that, every morning, she would sing quietly or turn on the TV to listen to the newscaster's monologue while she showered. It was a weird habit, but once she acquired it, she couldn't remove it.
She turned the shower on while she kept crooning and took off her clothes. She was letting her hair down from her messy ponytail when the doorbell rang. She decided to ignore it, believing it would be the postman, and she continued, but when the doorbell rang again, this time almost aggressively, Beth took on her bathrobe as fast as she could and went to see who it was.
She needed just a moment to see it and to close the door again sharply.
"Beth, open the fucking door" the man grunted. Her heart was beating at full speed, but she took courage and opened, just to find Len, her landlord, "My money".
"Len, listen, I-"
"No, Beth, you've been fucking with me for too long, you hear me?" Len barked, pushing more at the door to come in. Beth backed and contained a squeak when she felt his eyes scanning her from top to bottom, almost gloating, before he frowned again.
"On Friday they'll pay me and I'll give you every penny, I promise you" she said, covering herself even more, "It's the day after tomorrow. Just two more days and you'll have all your money. I swear, Len, but please, give me a little bit more time".
Len breathed through his nostrils sharply, but with a thoughtful expression.
"A'right" he said finally, "on Friday. If you don't pay me what you owe me, I'll kick you out".
"Okay" Beth sighed. She approached the door again and opened it, "I have to get ready to go to work, so…"
Len walked in a slow and almost hesitant way toward the door, without looking away from her. He stopped and huffed.
"It's a damn shame" he said suddenly.
"What's a shame?" Beth asked quietly.
"You could pay the rent in other ways if you wanted, Bethy" he answered, with a smile that didn't have anything friendly in it.
"Goodbye, Len" she muttered, without any intention of being polite anymore, before she closed the door in his face, and she stepped away from it only when she heard him heading toward the stairs.
She didn't even know how she had been able to bear having Len as her landlord. She had arrived at Newborn and she had discovered that she couldn't afford a single apartment. She was already searching for rooms in rent when Len appeared and offered her his for a more than a moderate price. Beth should have been suspicious then. If there was something that characterized her –and not just her ability to startle- it was how fast she saw through people. And that man had made her uncomfortable since the first day. And it was not just by the lascivious looks with which he delighted her since they met, but also by the way he had to talk, to act. There was something sinister about Len, and Beth didn't like it a single bit.
She sighed, with her heart still beating fast because of the brief encounter, and looked up at the clock.
"Shit!" she exclaimed, running to the shower at a rush. She couldn't take a dismissal right now. She had to get by until Friday.
"…and I don't know what is wrong with him lately, it's like he was mad at me for something. He wouldn't look at me, or talk to me, or even touch me, he goes to work so early and he comes back late at night… sometimes I wonder if he's changed his mind and he doesn't want to have the baby".
"I'm sure he's just afraid, it's normal, all men are when their woman gets pregnant".
"You don't even have children" Lori countered. Rosita shrugged.
"So what? I don't need to get married to know, all men are the same. How could he not want to have a baby with you? He should thank you that you're puking every morning."
Lori started laughing and Rosita raised her eyebrows when she noticed Beth, with her head bowed and staring at the table.
"Earth to Beth" Rosita waved a hand in front of her face and Beth raised her head, "What's wrong?"
"Huh?" she blinked, "Oh, nothing, it's just I couldn't sleep last night".
"Right. And how are you doing with Mrs. Dixon's son?" Lori said.
"Who?" Rosita asked, confused.
"The handy hottie" both Beth and Lori answered at unison, and the latter turned around to looked at her with a mischievous smile. Beth flushed.
"It's just she always call him that…" she explained.
"Well, and what else? Have you met again? Come on, tell us" Rosita demanded, leaning even more into her. Beth shrugged and stared at the table again. The little sound that both women did made her frown.
"What?"
"You didn't call him" Lori asseverated, leaning in her chair.
"Really, I don't know what you're playing at, Beth" Rosita continued, shaking her head, "Seriously, how many guys do you think appear every day through this door? You're the one who was staring at him all the time. You can't just give up now".
"I haven't given up on him," Beth protested, "but I looked for him to make sure Mrs. Dixon wasn't expelled, not to…"
"…fuck him?" Rosita finished.
"Shh" Beth silenced her immediately, covering her mouth, "Could you stop saying the f word out loud? What if Dawn turns up, or Doctor Jensen?"
"Maybe they'd have a heart attack. Who knows how long they've been without getting laid." Rosita commented nonchalantly. Lori looked at Beth with a resigned expression, and then stood up and grabbed Rosita by her arm.
"C'mon, we have watch in the dining room. And you", she added, pointing at Beth, "call him now, or I promise you I will".
Beth took her threat seriously. Lori could be pretty intimidating when she tried to be, and if there was an adjective able to describe that woman perfectly was "decided". She always got what she planned, so Beth was convinced that Daryl would receive a call sooner or later, and she said to herself that it was better that she was the one who made that call.
She repeated to herself that the reason she was doing this was to avoid Lori calling him while she headed towards the rooms of the elderly to clean up while they were having lunch. When she got to room 412, she wasn't surprised to find Mrs. Dixon lying in her bed, looking through the window, as usual. She hardly ever had meals with the rest of the elderly, so Beth used to bring her food to make sure she ate something.
"Good morning, Mrs. Dixon" she said as every morning while she opened more the curtains and relocated her pillows carefully, "How are you feeling today?"
The woman didn't answer, and Beth stopped herself from sighing. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and started tidying up the few things that the old woman had in her room. She saw that there was something in the floor, and when she bent down, she found the picture of Mrs. Dixon with her two children. She reread the inscription: Merle and Daryl, March 3rd, 1980 and looked again at the child with dark hair who seemed to be trying to eat his own fist.
She couldn't help to gasp when she felt the shaky hand of Mrs. Dixon grabbing her uniform. She was staring at her intently and she seemed to be trying to tell her something. Beth dropped the picture immediately in her bedside table and held her hand.
"Tell me, what's wrong? Do you want water?" she raised her hand to the glass beside her bed, but the old woman shook her head, "Are you not feeling well? Do you want me to get the doctor?"
The lady's lips wavered for a few instants that seemed eternal to Beth, who was preparing herself to go get the doctor, until finally Mrs. Dixon's vocal chords emitted a weak sound.
"My…my bo-boy…"
"Your boy? You mean your son, right?" she asked softly, relaxing. The old woman nodded with great effort.
"My boy… I want my boy" her hand found Beth's forearm and squeezed it with a surprising strength for her age. Beth omitted the pain that extended through her arm when she felt Mrs. Dixon's nails digging in her flesh and approached her, "Bring him to me, bring me my boy…
"I'll call him, okay, Mrs. Dixon? I'll call him and he'll come to see you" she promised her, squeezing her hand back softly. Suddenly, the woman's eyes seemed to be floating in a haze and she dropped her forearm. Mrs. Dixon rolled to her side and stared at the wall in front of her, as if that conversation had never taken place.
"My good boy" she murmured before she was gone. Beth watched her, hoping to see any other reaction, but it was obvious that Mrs. Dixon had said everything she had to.
Beth sighed and covered her with the sheet carefully, leaving one of her favorite magazines in her bedside table in case she came back and got nervous. She exited the room and kept working, this time without being able to forget Daryl. She had to call him. She knew it perfectly. She had to do it for poor Mrs. Dixon, to avoid her expel, to avoid Lori taking action –or worse, Rosita- and calling him and making a fool of her, to improve the old lady's state…
Calling him was the solution to all her problems.
But then, why did she feel like her heart was going to jump out of her chest while she dialed his number and waited for him to answer?
"Yeah?" his voice received her and suddenly her legs felt shaky again. She wanted to huff before the absurd of the situation, having a crush on a man much older than her with whom had talked only three times. She felt like when she was fourteen and sighed with her friends when they ran into older boys, "Who is this?"
She realized she had been a couple seconds in silence and Daryl should be thinking that it was some weirdo calling to breathe profusely and say nothing.
"Hi" she said, maybe too effusively, "I'm Beth Greene, a nurse at Rosewood, where your mother is".
"I know who you are, Beth", amazing, Greene, "something wrong?"
"What? Uh, no. Well, yeah. See, your mom… could you come to see her?"
"Why?"
"Cause she's your mom" she answered automatically, like it was the most natural thing to say. She realized too late that his relationship with his mom wasn't like the one she had with her own mom and continued, "And because she misses you. She asked me about you today".
"Oh yeah?"
"Well, maybe not using those words exactly, but basically yes" she said, lowering her voice.
Daryl didn't say anything for a few seconds, and Beth bit her thumbnail nervously and looked around her to check that no one was gazing at her, as if anyone who walked in right there and saw her talking on the phone would know immediately what was happening.
"A'right" Daryl answered finally, "I have to work, but I'll come at six".
"At six?" she bit her tongue to not gasp when Rosita appeared suddenly behind her and started making mute gestures of "is it him?" Beth nodded quickly and turned her back to Rosita, but she stood in front of her again, "Okay, at six then".
Another grunt, and in that instant, Rosita took the phone and hung it up. Beth looked at her shocked.
"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, incredulous.
"You have to hang up first, Greene. Rule one" she said, raising a finger to symbolize the number.
"You're crazy" Beth muttered, taking her phone back and putting it in her pocket.
"But I know how to make you get the handy hottie".
"Rosita, I've already told you that I won't fuck him!" Beth exclaimed, provoking her voice to resound throughout the aisle. She thought she would die of embarrassment when Doctor Jensen stepped out of his office and frowned at her.
"Ladies, would you mind leaving your… private conversations for when you get off of work? And please, I'd thank you if you could keep your voice down while you're here" he said, in a disdain-filled tone.
Beth muttered a rushed "sorry" but Rosita just huffed. The doctor's eyes widened, indignant and surprised that someone had dared to defy him, but then Beth took her by her arm and brought her back to the dining room.
"You're so evil-minded" Rosita said suddenly, "I'm doing this for Mrs. Dixon".
Beth snorted.
"You're incredible".
"I know" she countered simply, "Listen; now seriously, you should make sure he stays around here. Not just for his mom, who wants to see him, but also for you. How do you know that you two can't have something else? What have you got to lose?"
"My dignity" Beth answered quietly. She didn't want to imagine what would happen if Daryl ignored her and she had to keep seeing him after.
"I think that after what just happened, you don't have much of that left" Rosita joked, receiving a poke, "Come on, please? Try. For me?" she added, pouting.
Beth had to contain a smile and pretend weariness as she sighed dramatically.
"Well… either way I'd have to do it if I want him to keep visiting his mom" she gave in finally. Rosita made a happy noise and hugged her tightly, before she moved away to look at the clock.
"It's half past two. I'll see you at four in the emergency exit on the back of the nursing home".
"What-?" Beth started, but Rosita had already run away in the other direction. Beth huffed and tucked another strand of hair behind her ear before she kept with her patrol.
Beth was leaning nervously against the wall near by the emergency exit where she was supposed to meet Rosita, looking at her wristwatch every few minutes. It was ten past four and Rosita hadn't turned up yet.
"This is ridiculous" she said to the fluorescents of the ceiling, sighing. Just in that instant, she heard steps approaching, and appeared Rosita and Joan, the receptionist, scanning her with grins from ear to ear.
"Is she?" the receptionist asked. Rosita nodded solemnly.
"Joan, you know me. I work here" she added, but both women ignored her. They approached her, and suddenly, they dragged her to one of the rooms where they kept the medicines and started stripping her. Beth covered herself instinctively: she had always been really self-conscious about her own body, even when she was a child, and the fact that they were practically ripping out her clothes made her feel deeply uncomfortable.
"Oh, c'mon, we all have the same stuff" Joan snorted, moving Beth's arms away with a blow with the hand. Both Rosita and Joan started scanning her so intently that Beth flushed and felt the need to cover herself again, but she stayed still.
Suddenly, Rosita stepped forward and raised her breasts. Beth gasped and moved away.
"What on Earth are you doing?" she asked, in a volume much louder than she meant.
"You have beautiful breasts!" Rosita exclaimed, indignant, "And those bras you wear don't do you any favors. Oh my god" she sighed before she approached one of the back shelves and took out a bag.
"But…"
"It's just a few days ago I had a date with Abe and I didn't have the time to dress up, so I brought a few things here" Rosita explained quickly. Beth frowned.
"Who's Abe?" and suddenly her bra was on the floor and Rosita was clasping her another one.
"Hush now, we're doing something else".
"Do you dye your hair?" Joan asked her, taking a strand of hair between her fingers, and Beth shook her head, "Yeah, sure".
"C'mon, sit down here" Rosita commanded her, setting a footstool under her butt and throwing her blouse to her again. Beth put it on quickly and noticed, horrified, that she had a push-up bra now, "Don't make that face, that's much better".
Beth tried to protest, but she was quickly silenced by Joan grabbing her face suddenly and turning her head sharply from one side to another.
"This girl doesn't have a single flaw in her face" Joan muttered.
"I know, you could almost hate her, right?" Rosita commented cheerfully, before she stood behind Beth and started taking off her ponytail.
Beth didn't know where to look. In some moments she wanted to scream, "This is for Mrs. Dixon!" but every single word died in her throat or was hushed by the "shh" of the women.
When she reacted, Rosita and Joan had moved away from her and Rosita was raising a mirror in front of her with a content expression.
"So what do you think?" Rosita asked expectantly. Beth's jaw dropped to the floor. Rosita had brushed her hair and let it down, with two braids on each side and stuck behind. Joan had painted her stripe line and had put pink lip gloss on her, and suddenly, Beth lowered her eyes and found her frayed uniform that also had a coffee stain near her blouse pocket.
"Eh… it's… interesting" she stuttered. Both women looked at each other, confused.
"Too much makeup?" Joan asked, raising an eyebrow. Rosita frowned.
"Hair that looks like a wasps' nest?" countered Rosita in the same tone.
"No, no, no" Beth rushed to say, afraid that her partners would start fighting right there, "It's just too much. I mean, I would never go to work like this".
"That's true" Joan admitted.
"Yeah, maybe it doesn't look really natural" confirmed Rosita. Suddenly, her eyes widened and clasped her hands, "Okay, you can put up your hair and take off your makeup, but don't even think about touching the lip gloss. He needs to look at your lips".
Beth held back a snort.
"Okay" she gave in. She took her hair elastic and collected her hair quickly, relieved of not having all that hair bothering her while she worked. She accepted the cleansing wipe that Joan reluctantly offered her and eagerly removed all the makeup before she looked at herself one more time.
"Smug" said Rosita. Beth smiled, "Well, I think our work here is done".
Rosita hid the bag again and opened the door to get out with Joan, but then something stopped her and she stood in the doorway.
"Wait" she whispered suddenly, "don't you think that some pretty earrings-?"
"No!" Beth exclaimed exasperated when she saw the thoughtful glint in their eyes.
"Alright, calm down. Every day you're more like Lori" Rosita teased her, closing the door just when an empty medicine box hit it. Beth stayed there, trying to keep calm. She looked at her wristwatch and saw that it was just half past four. She had time to take a linden tea and distract herself with her work until he arrived.
Focus on your job and everything will be fine, she repeated to herself one more time, closing the door behind her.
Beth thought she'd have a heart attack if she thought about Daryl walking in one more time. She had been biting her nails and she hated it, but she couldn't help it. She had to stay in the living room with the elderly, and she supposed it was not a very good idea to tell her problem to octogenarians.
What problem are you talking about, she scowled herself, there's nothing to worry about, stop making things up.
She kept telling herself that while she fidgeted with her hands nervously and stared at the door. Finally, at seven to six, Beth had already taken three linden teas and her heartbeats hadn't lowered in the least.
"Greene" Beth turned around and found Dawn under the doorway of her office. She made Beth a gesture to approach, "Go ahead and come in".
"But… But I…"
"Do you have something else to do besides staring at the entry?"
"I was waiting for a patient's relative-"
"I'm sure Joan will be able to show them where their family is. Come on".
With a resigned sigh, Beth approached and closed her eyes unconsciously when she heard the door closing. Now she didn't know why she was afraid. Well, she wasn't afraid of knowing what Dawn would tell her. She was terrified. She could already listen to her telling her that they didn't need her help in the nursing home.
It's over, Beth thought, they're going to fire me.
"Well… Beth, right?" she nodded. Dawn smiled softly, "Don't be nervous. You don't need to be"
"Is that so?" Beth asked without being able to contain herself. Dawn's smile widened and she shook her head, like she was explaining something to a little child.
"Of course not. Your superiors have always given me really good informs of your job" Dawn answered while looked through some papers. Beth got to see her file picture before the director closed the file abruptly and put her elbows in the table, smiling again, "Punctual, hardworking, patients love you… why would you need to be nervous? Is there something that I should know?"
I have inappropriate thoughts about a patient's relative.
I ordered the reparation of a nursing home's property to a stranger.
My friend has a stash of makeup in the medicine room.
I don't have inappropriate thoughts, I have incredibly inadequate thoughts about a patient's relative.
"No, nothing" Beth answered, returning her a smile. Dawn laughed softly and intertwined her hands on the table.
"See, Beth, I don't like beating around the bush. You should know by now that we're going through a time when the subventions are practically inexistent. That's why we have to reduce your working day. From now on you'll work in the night shift just two days a week".
"But I-"
"The rest will be duty hours and afternoon shifts" Dawn continued as if she hadn't heard her, "We'll email you your new schedule-"
"I need to work on the night shift-"
"You start next week. You can leave" and with that and another smile, Dawn gestured her to leave. Beth swallowed before she stood up very slowly and headed towards the door. She had just turned the doorknob when Dawn called her again, "Oh, and Beth".
"Yes?" she whispered, barely turning around.
"Tell nurse Grimes that I need to talk to her as soon as possible, please".
Beth closed her eyes an instant and nodded.
"Thank you, Beth".
She didn't even know how she was able to get out of the office. She heard some of her partners calling her name, but she kept walking. She didn't want them to see her crying.
She stopped when she reached the back of the nursing home, where there were just the bins next to another emergency exit and an old garden where there wasn't any flower left, and she leaned her back against the metallic door, huffing.
Her mind starting thinking frantically, doing the math. She could try looking for some extra job. She could give piano lessons, or private music lessons. She could work in the evenings the days she had afternoon shifts. Yes, she could make it.
She was so focused on her inner calculations that she took a couple minutes to realize that it had started drizzling since she was protected by a small roof. After that, she took another couple seconds to react and remember that Daryl should be waiting for her.
She saw it was ten past six and started running to the entry. She crashed against Joan, who was carrying lots of papers in her hands, the same papers that started flying around.
"Damn it!" Joan swore. Beth bent down next to her to help her pick up the mess.
"It was my bad, I'm so sorry" Beth said to her, giving Joan papers at full speed. The receptionist shook her head.
"Doesn't matter, I was gonna throw it anyway" Joan answered, but she took the papers from Beth's hands with brusqueness.
"Joan, have you seen Mrs. Dixon's son?" the receptionist raised her head and looked at Beth, frowning.
"I thought he was with you and that he had already left"
"What? No"
"He arrived five minutes ago and I told him that you would probably been waiting for him in his mother's room".
"No, I was outside".
"Then you know where he is", and she shrugged, standing up and leaving Beth kneeling on the floor.
Shit. He was probably gone again.
A few seconds later she stood up too and headed towards Mrs. Dixon's room, praying silently so the poor woman was still gone and didn't remember anything that she could have told her that morning.
Her heart skipped a beat when she found Daryl in the middle of the room. Mrs. Dixon was soundly asleep, her back facing him, and he was just looking at her. Beth would have preferred to leave, but then he turned around –how could have heard me? - And pierced her with his eyes again. However, Beth didn't feel intimidated or vulnerable like other times. Not it was him the one who seemed vulnerable, his eyes the widest Beth had ever seen them, like he was some kid caught with his hand in the cookie-jar. Beth smiled and came in.
"Sorry, my boss wanted to talk to me" she explained quietly. Daryl shook his head.
"Don't matter".
"Was she already asleep when you came in?" he nodded and she leaned in further to look at the old woman, who kept snoring softly, "Do you want me to…?" and she left the question in the air.
"No, no" Daryl muttered, "'S a'right".
"Okay" she answered, also whispering. She fidgeted with her hands for a second before she looked at him again, "You don't have to be stand, you can sit down" and gestured at the armchair beside the bed, "I'll bring you coffee".
She exited the room looking for her thermos. She took a plastic cup from the water dispenser and poured the liquid drink carefully.
When she came back, Daryl hadn't moved a bit. She wasn't surprised in the least, so she offered him the cup and didn't make any comment about it.
"Do you have new coffee machine?"
"Oh, no" she smiled bitterly, "I always bring my thermos from my house. It's dark coffee, but if you want sugar or…"
"Nah, I'm good".
"Okay" she answered before their voices faded. Beth wondered if things would always be like that between them, if it would be her always saying the last word, or if they'd end up in a silence that was starting to be less awkward and more strange.
However, in that moment the silence couldn't be described as any of those things. They watched the old woman sleeping, each one deep in their own thoughts. Beth was so deep in hers that she didn't realize Daryl was looking at her. When she did, she had to contain herself to not be startled by the surprise and returned the gaze. He lowered his eyes immediately and Beth swore she saw a light blush.
And I thought I was shy, she thought to herself.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Daryl shook his head, still looking at the floor.
"Nothin'. You seem tired" he answered after a few seconds. Beth laughed softly.
"Who, me?" she answered, gesturing at herself, "It's just I don't sleep much lately".
Daryl grunted something and she kept going.
"But don't worry, I'll survive. No one dies for sleep deprivation".
"Actually yeah" he answered, so quickly Beth took great effort in understanding him.
"Huh?"
"You can… you can die from that" he repeated, this time letting his eyes meet hers. Beth smiled.
"It was just a figure of speech. You seem tired too" she commented innocently. He shrugged.
"I never sleep for very long".
"How come?" Beth asked, genuinely surprised, "I sleep a lot. My dad used to call me marmot because on the weekends I would sleep till noon".
Beth smiled even more when she saw him turning his head to glaze at her, amused.
"He was right" she said, "I am a marmot".
Daryl opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly his eyes moved to the right and he went livid. Beth spun around to see what was that had caused that reaction and found Mrs. Dixon staring at them from her bed.
"Daryl?" her voice was barely a whisper that resounded like she had shouted, "Is that you?"
Beth didn't know what to do. Should she leave and give them privacy, or get Daryl out of the room and get a doctor? Daryl didn't seem too eager to move or do anything at all. He just stood there, his body so tense that he looked like he was going to snap at any second, without saying anything and stared back at his mom.
Beth observed the scene like she was hypnotized, feeling confused the whole time and without being sure of how long everything had happened actually. It could have been hours since Mrs. Dixon raised her arm and tried to reach something until finally she gave up and her wrinkled hand fell with a thud over the mattress, as her eyes fluttered close, and then the spell was broken and Daryl started breathing again and his body deflated like a balloon.
Beth swallowed and grabbed him by his forearm softly, guiding him towards the door.
"Come on" she muttered, ignoring the stiffness of his body when she touched him. They walked through the aisle in silence until they reached the break room. Beth was surprised of how easily Daryl let him guide him, like he wasn't much heavier than her. She set a chair next to him and he fell over it as Beth rushed to get the thermos and refill his cup even though it was almost full. However, that gesture seemed to wake him up, because he blinked and took it to his mouth, drinking a few sips.
Beth sat down beside him and leaned her elbows in the table, observing him patiently until he finally dropped the cup in the table and returned her the glare.
"Are you okay?" she was surprised that one instant he was paralyzed and the next one he was nodding so strongly, but she nodded too and let it go, "Sometimes she has lucid moments. She remembers things, fragments of her life, but she's usually locked up in her own world. But… she's still her".
Daryl nodded again and she sighed.
"I know it must be hard, but… we have to keep trying".
This time, he frowned.
"Trying?"
"Yeah. No matter what happens, we'll deal with it" Beth affirmed.
Daryl looked at her in a way that she was unable to decipher. His hair covered lightly his eyes and she had a lump in her throat that disabled her to talk. Her hands stopped fidgeting in the table and it seemed like suddenly they had exchanged roles and now was her the one stiffening.
"Beth!" they both turned when Tanya, one of her colleagues, appeared at the door, smiling, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but it's already seven and I thought you would want to know".
Beth blinked, confused, until finally Tanya's words clicked in her head.
"Oh" she said, looking awry at Daryl, "Okay, thank you for warning me, Tanya".
"No problem" she assured, "See you tomorrow".
"See you tomorrow" Beth answered. She dropped her hands on her lap and turned to smile at Daryl.
"What happens at seven?"
"My shift is over for today".
"Already?"
"Yep, this shift thing is a little bit chaotic. We have schedules, but maybe someday I see that someone got their shift reduced and I have to cover for them or vice versa" she answered, trying to feign normality despite the blush in her cheeks.
He nodded and stood up at the same time as Beth. They started walking to the entry without talking and Beth tried to stop herself to not wringing her hands nervously.
"Thank you so much for coming today, Daryl. It means a lot to her" Beth said, smiling as calmly as she could. The first peals of thunder could be heard in the distance, and when she turned her head momentarily she checked that the sky was completely covered up by thick, dark clouds.
Daryl raised his head and looked at her and then at the entry.
"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked.
"No, I'm good, it's just drizzling" she had not finished saying it and a new peal of thunder sent a much more powerful rumble through the nursing home's walls. Daryl raised an eyebrow and she couldn't help but laugh softly, "Well, I guess I could use a lift, but, won't we get wet anyway in the bike?"
"I took the truck" he answered, waving lightly the keys to confirm his understatement, "I didn't want to get soaked either".
"How did you know it was going to rain?" she asked, and he shrugged, "Your hunter skills and everything?"
Another shrug.
"Alright" she nodded, "Can you wait two minutes? I'll go change my clothes".
He grunted as an answer and she rushed to staff room to pick up her clothes. She switched them at full speed and had to tell herself that jumping wasn't a very mature action. She told herself that she was being ridiculous. Daryl was being nice to her, period. It was logical that he offered to give her a lift if it was pouring.
Beth had to practically jog to not get soaked, keeping her jacket above her head, while Daryl just gave two large steps to get to the truck. He started the car and neither of them said anything. Beth left her wet jacket in her lap and rested her head against the back of the seat, sighing.
He jumped slightly when he heard the first few notes of a song, and noticed that Beth looked as surprised by the radio.
"If you want to change-" he started, but she shook her head to cut him off.
"I like this song" Beth answered, smiling softly. She rested her head again and looked through the window while the music flooded the cab, accompanied by the sound of the rain outside.
She hadn't even realized she was humming until she felt Daryl's eyes on her. She shut up immediately and turned her head right when he moved his eyes away and pretended to be focused on the road, even though the blood was starting to stain his cheeks.
"I like Daughter very much. She's one of my favorite singers, and I just love this song" she explained, trying to relieve both of them of that absurd embarrassment, "Do you know her?"
He shook his head and Beth's smile widened.
"Her songs… they always have lyrics that mean something, that aren't just things that rhyme to entertain, you know? They're beautiful, but they're also really sad. I like the idea of something being sad and pretty at the same time" she felt ridiculous as soon as the words slipped past her lips, but Daryl didn't mock her, but he looked at her intently and then he turned his head again, provoking Beth to flush this time.
Finally, she smiled and started singing again, this time with her eyes on him the whole time.
So please just blow out all the candles, blow out all the candles
"You're too old to be so shy", he says to me so I stay the night
It's just a young heart confusing my mind, but we're both in silence
Wide-eyed, both in silence
Wide-eyed, like we're in a crime scene
…
When the truck finally stopped in front of her apartments building, Beth smiled.
"Thank you so much for giving me a lift"
"S' nothing" Daryl said, as always as Beth thanked him something. She shook her head while she giggled.
"Yeah it is" she countered, "Thank you" she said, this time in a much lower whisper, her eyes fixed on him. Daryl returned the glare with the same intensity and nodded.
"You're welcome".
Beth grinned and opened the door.
"Now I have to invite you to go out for another coffee for this" she said in a casual way. He huffed softly.
"Nah" he answered and Beth felt like she was paralyzed. Daryl raised an eyebrow, "Innit my turn?".
She felt the air escaping from her lungs.
"Yeah, I guess" she said with a teasing smile. She thought she had seen how the corners of his mouth curved slightly before she got out of the car, "Bye, Daryl".
She practically jumped while she climbed the stairs, happiest than she had ever been in her life. She started looking for her keys in her bag, dancing while she put the key in the lock, and frowned when it didn't open. She tried again, but it was the key which didn't fit. She was sure that was the one, she had lived enough time there to know that. She tried with others just in case, but she didn't succeed. Suddenly, the door opened and she found Len in front of her with his arms crossed.
"What do you want, Beth? You're making a lotta noise" he said, like it was the most natural thing to say.
"What are you doing here?"
"This is my house".
"No, I rent this apartment. You can't come in whenever you want and… have you changed the lock?"
"Yeah" he answered.
"Why?" but Len simply shrugged.
"I wanted to".
Beth froze, too shocked by the absurdity of the situation to react properly. That was her apartment. That was her home. He couldn't get in as if nothing and change the locks.
"Len" she started, "you can't do this".
"Course I can. You've been, how much, two months without paying me the rent? What do you think I'm some fucking charity service, that I'm gonna let you live in my house for free?"
"I told you that I'd give you every penny on Friday" Beth answered.
"You have the money?"
"Not yet, but-"
"Then get the hell outta here".
"What are you talking about? This is my home! Here are my things, I live here-!"
"I'll send you your things where you want, and now leave".
"This is illegal".
"Sue me" he replied, smiling, "and I'll tell how you've been taking advantage of my good faith in you during these months. If you violate the contract I can too".
"Len, please" she muttered, "don't do this to me".
He laughed.
"Oh, but there's another solution, sweetheart" Len answered, raising his hand to caress her face. Beth turned her face immediately, repulsed, "No? Well, then I don't want you here. Get the fuck outta here or I'll call the cops".
And without anything more, he closed the door in her face. Beth stayed staring at the wood for a few seconds, too stunned and indignant to do anything else, just before her fist crashed strongly against the door, hitting it with rage.
"LEN! LEN, OPEN THE DOOR! YOU CAN'T KICK ME OUT! WHERE I'M GOING TO GO NOW? LEN! LEN!"
She thumped the wood a few more times, but there was no response. She extended her fist against the wood, trying to keep the sobs that tried to conquer her under control.
She had nowhere to go.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading and please review!