The Heart Won't Lie
Chapter 4
Two weeks into college, Beth ran into someone from her hometown. His name was Phillip Harris.
They had known each other since second grade but had never really been friends. That changed though.
Beth was happy to have someone who knew her before, though she did enjoy making new friends.
They had been friends for the first two years of college but during the third year, they became more than that.
He wasn't at all what she thought she wanted but that was exactly what drew her to him.
She had thought for so many years she wanted to find someone like Daryl so she surprised herself when she fell for Phillip.
Beth knew she would never love him the way she still loved Daryl but she did in fact love him.
Now, five years after their first date and three years after graduating from college, Beth and Phillip were buying a house together.
They weren't married, they had never really talked about what the future had in store for them and they had made no commitment to one another in any way but Beth thought it was only right for them to take this next step in their relationship.
Things had changed, yet again, for Daryl.
Merle was in prison, serving his third of a five year sentence and Daryl was working two jobs in order to pay for his kitchenette apartment and the nursing home he had to place his mother in last year.
He hated to have to do that but with Merle in prison and her getting sicker, there was no way he would be able to take care of her.
Daryl kicked some empty beer cans out of his way when he got home from work.
Grabbing a beer from his nearly empty fridge, he threw himself down on his bed and stared at the TV.
He didn't have cable but taped to the TV was a picture of Beth.
Well, it was a picture of them together but he had folded it so all he could see was her.
It never failed that when he looked at her picture he felt ashamed and embarrassed.
There was no doubt in his mind that if she could see him now, she would hate him, maybe even wonder why she had been with him in the first place but she would probably kick his ass too.
When he was angry enough, he yelled at her picture.
Sometimes when he was drunk enough, he hated her. He hated her for the looks of disgust she'd give him if she were here.
He hated her for reasons that didn't even exist.
But he mostly hated himself. After nine years, he hadn't been able to move on.
He knew she probably had and that made things worse.
He was lying there, feeling close to dead, when his cell phone rang.
Recognizing it as the prison, he groaned but answered it.
"What'd you want this time, Merle?" He said in lieu of a greeting.
"I need a pack of smokes, baby brother, and some money in my account."
Daryl scoffed but agreed to get Merle whatever he needed.
The next morning, Daryl went down to the pawn shop and pulled out the knife Beth had given him so many years ago.
The clerk only gave him $80 for it but that was enough to get what Merle needed and have a little bit left over, though he was sure Beth had spent more than that on it.
He didn't care. Maybe he wouldn't even worry with tryin' to get it back. It was time for him to move on, wasn't it?
A/N: This was kind of a short chapter but I promise the next one will not disappoint and it should be out sooner than this was.