That wasn' the last call Beth got...

Not a day went by tha' I didn' think about 'er. When she'd answered and got nothin', I hadn't thought much about it. But, when whoever the hell it was called again, I knew I had to answer it. Even if we weren't together I couldn' help but wanna protect her. Here was this beautiful, soft, innocent little girl and someone was crank callin' her, scarin' her outta her damn mind. It made me so angry! What made me even more heated was when she didn' let me stay there with 'er. I didn' even want in 'er bed. I woulda slept on the fuckin' floor before leavin' her alone. She kept tellin' me that it was nothin', that it was probably some stupid kids, but somethin' didn't feel right to me. I'd been that kid before. You didn't crank call someone just'a sit there and be silent. You called ta make obscene jokes and to make little ol' ladies cringe.

It'd been a week since that night at Beth's place and I was still feelin' weird about those calls. I'd made it a point to stop by and check in on 'er everyday since, makin' sure she was alright and keepin' my eye on the place. She gave me shit about it, tellin' me I was worryin' for nothin', but I just glared at 'er and ignored it. Jus' cause she wasn' my girl didn' mean I didn' care. Hell, if I had my way, she woulda been mine that mornin' after I got out the hospital after my accident. But I knew I was no good for a girl like her. I couldn' give 'er some fancy house, or fancy clothes, or take 'er to all these foreign places. I knew I couldn' be the kinda guy to leave her cute lil' random gifts or cook her surprise dinners. And girls like Beth? They deserved the world, a world I knew I couldn' give her if my life depended on it.

But the more time I spent with 'er, the worse it got. I'd be sittin' on her couch with 'er, watchin' some stupid movie and she'd drop her head inta my lap like it was nothin'. All I wanted was to run my dirty fingers through 'er golden hair. If we went out to the bar, I always left with heat in my ears from havin' to keep myself from beatin' every man in that joint that even looked at 'er. I knew that look in their eyes, I'd even looked at 'er a few times with the same exact gaze, like when I was huntin' out in the woods. It was the way a predator looked at it's prey, the way a bear stared at a lil' doe trapped in the bush. It made me sick. At least the guys that were watchin' her were closer to 'er age. They weren' old enough ta be her daddy like I was.

One night, we were both havin' dinner together when she asked the last question I'd ever wanted to hear.

"What do you think of Zach?"

It made my gut churn like I'd eaten some bad deer. I knew why she was askin'. We were friends, weren' we? She had to be askin' for my "male opinion" like she usually did when it came to boys, clothes, anythin' really. At one point I jus' thought it was my opinion she was lookin' for but I knew she didn't value my own thoughts that much.

Chewin' on my steak, one's that I bought and took over for Beth ta cook for the two of us, I looked up at 'er and shrugged. I knew of the lil' prick, didn't really know much else. He was one of the guys I hated most when we went to the bar. He was always there and he really liked his booze. He'd sat with us a couple'a times since he knew Beth and Sasha from class, but it usually made her uncomfortable. Why was she askin' about what I thought of 'im?

"Aw come on!" she whined, typical of when I didn' give 'er the answer she was lookin' for. I couldn' help but grin at 'er, she was cute even when she was tryin' to be upset with me. "I'm bein' serious, Daryl! What do ya think of him?" Another thing I liked about 'er? When she got upset, or when she'd spent too much time with me, her pretty lil' Georgia peach accent came out and it made 'er all that more adorable.

"He's alright" I said roughly, puttin' a piece of steak in my mouth again. If I was eatin' I wouldn' have to answer, mainly 'cause she hated it when I ate and talked at the same time. "Why you askin'?"

That soft pink color came to her cheeks as she sipped her water. Good Lord do I remember that blush, it haunted my dreams. "No reason" she replied coyly, "He asked me out ta this restaurant this Friday and I'm tryin' to decide if I wanna go."

Zach never gave me the best of impressions, if I was bein' honest. He was dumber than dirt, never paid a lick of attention to anythin' but himself, he was a boy for Christ's sake. God only knows why she was even considerin' goin'. I remember there was a point when just the sight of the kid would send 'er runnin' for the hills. But, they did have class together. Maybe she saw things in 'im I didn'. Still, didn' mean I had to like him, or worse, condone her goin' out on some date with the biggest moron I'd ever met, apart from my dumbass brother that is.

Again, I shrugged. "You ain't dumb" I finally said, droppin' my utensils and lookin' her dead in the eyes. "Trust yer gut, and I don' mean the 'oh he's kinda cute' one neither." I wasn' about to be her daddy and tell 'er who she could and couldn' date. I wasn' her man either. Regardless of what I said, she had the final call. If she wanted to date some loser, who was I ta tell 'er differently? She'd wanted me, right? At least I was man enough to admit I wasn' good enough for her, unlike him.

Before I knew it, bright blue eyes were locked on me and I couldn' shake 'em. It was like she could see through me, to the parts of me I kept hidden from myself. She dropped 'er elbows to the table and balanced her beautiful face on her knuckles. "Come on" she breathed in that way she does when she wants somethin' from me. "I trust your opinion more than anyone else's. He's a bit annoying sure," and I couldn' help but scoff at that, "But he's got a good heart. His intentions are in the right place.

"Yeah, your bedroom" I replied under my breath, not wantin' to think of Zach's 'intentions'. I wasn't stupid. I had male parts, male thoughts, testosterone and all that shit. I knew what he really wanted, but did Beth? Sighin', I saw back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest before speakin' again. "Look Beth, If ya wanna go, go. If ya don't, don't. All I'm gonna say is that you can do better than some..." I accented my words with my hands flappin' out away from me, "...some boy two screws short of a toolbox."

She laughed at me with that cute giggle of hers before she turned her attention back to our meal. I would'a said more if the phone hadn't rung. Beth got up and went to answer, and judgin' by the look on her face, it wasn' exactly welcome. I pushed myself out from the table and hurried over to 'er, grabbin' the phone as I gently pushed 'er away.

"Listen to me, ya fuckin' coward" I growled into the receiver, Beth's face frozen into one of fear. I'd fix that later, but for now my focus was whatever asshole was on the other end of the line. "This better be the last time ya call here, are ya hearin' me?!"

A cold chuckle came through, before some voice I'd never heard before. "Don't worry Daryl. Eventually, I won't need to call. Make sure to tell Beth that she looks beautiful in that dress for me." And that was it before the line went dead.

All I could do was turn and stare at Beth, my eyes lookin' over her favorite dress, the white one with little blue flowers that made her eyes shine. And for the first time I could remember, I was scared.

[dun dun DUUUUUUUN!]