Daryl panicked. When he turned around to see Zach standing there, after hearing his voice behind him and Beth, he realized the source of the voice he'd heard on the beach yesterday. Yes, this was the man who tried to talk to him yesterday – the man who he'd never looked at or responded to. Zach was also dressed in a lifeguard uniform, so he assumed he was a co-worker of Beth's. But what panicked Daryl was the tone in the man's voice and the crazy look in his eyes – it hinted at something a lot more than Beth having too long of a lunch break. Was this her boyfriend? Girls like her were certainly always spoken for, he thought to himself – why would he have thought that a girl as beautiful and sweet as Beth would be single? And didn't they always end up with these kinds of guys – the muscly, jock types that were overconfident and quick to start a fight.
What really plagued Daryl's mind, though, was why really cared? He barely knew her! What he did know, though, was that see seemed special, that she had sat with him and comforted him, not demanding anything of him, but just letting him process through the events of the last couple of days of his life.
This guy, the lifeguard, had an almost angry expression on his face and Daryl couldn't help but feel anxious. He needed to get out of here, needed to put some space between himself and Beth. He wasn't sure what was happening in this situation right now, but one thing he was certain about was that his presence seemed not only unwelcome, but he couldn't imagine anything good coming from him being there. So he quickly got up from the table and almost ran towards the door, not giving a second glance or a word back towards Beth.
Once he got outside, his feet just carried him along – he didn't have a plan, but he just knew he needed to get away. Back at the café, he'd instantly recognized the fight or flight response rising up in his body – and so, he'd fled, unsure of what to say or do in the coming confrontation between Beth and Zach. He had learned a lot about getting out of bad situations as a child – his father was a terrible alcoholic and seemed to find sport in beating up Daryl and his older brother, Merle. While Merle had encouraged Daryl to fight back against their dad, especially as he had gotten older and stronger, Daryl had often found that his first response was just to run, to put whatever distance he could between him and his miserable excuse for a father.
Daryl lost himself in his thoughts – thinking about Beth, thinking about the situation with Andrea, and wondering what in the world he was going to do now. Before he knew it, he'd found himself walking down the beach, but somewhat unsure of where he was. How far had he walked? How much time had passed since he walked out of the café? He wasn't sure – but he looked down at his watch and saw that it was almost 5 o'clock. He couldn't believe that over an hour had passed and it seemed like the blink of an eye. He knew he needed to turn around and at least make his way back to his truck. He'd figure out a plan from there.
He turned and continued to let his mind wander – but this time, his thoughts focused solely on Beth. He knew that he'd probably never see her again. He had made a fool of himself, both by being so emotional during lunch and by storming out of the café. He doubted she wanted to have anything to do with him anyway, he was such a mess emotionally, and didn't even have a job or a place to live. She deserved much more than he could give her – not just now, but in the future. He wasn't sure why he found her so captivating, even after his relationship with Andrea had ended so suddenly, only just a couple of days ago, he was fixated with thoughts of Beth. She almost seemed like an angel – sweet, gentle, compassionate, and unbelievably beautiful.
As Daryl approached the parking lot, he was still lost in his thoughts, paying no attention to those around him, families packing up to head back inside for the evening. All of a sudden, though, he heard his name behind him. It hardly registered, until he heard it again. He spun around to see Beth standing before him. He stood there for a moment, shocked, not knowing what to say or do. After a moment passed a huge smile came onto Beth's face and she lunged toward him, reaching up and circling her tiny arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.
"Oh thank God" she whispered sweetly. She hugged him for a moment and then pulled back slightly, not breaking contact, but moving just far enough that she could look at his face. "What happened to you at the café, Daryl? What… what was that? You just left! I was so worried about you… I was so afraid that I wouldn't see you again". Daryl was taken aback. He didn't know what to do, or what to say. He didn't hug her back, although if it bothered her, she didn't let it show.
"Damn, Beth… I don't know…" Daryl started. He wanted to explain himself. But he didn't know how. And he surely didn't know why she was still so concerned about him. He thought she'd have gone running for the hills after what had happened earlier.
"Are you okay?" Beth asked. Her voice sounded so genuine, he couldn't help but be taken by her, by her sincerity and just genuine goodness.
"Yeah… I… I think so. I'm sorry, Beth. I… I don't know what came over me earlier… but… I just… I had to get out of there. I wasn't about to get in some… some fight with your boyfriend." Daryl felt a little shaky, nervous. He wasn't sure why, but he stumbled on his words. He had a hard time looking at Beth. But when he finally did, she had a funny look on her face.
"Daryl… Zach isn't my boyfriend. He's my boss!" she seemed amused that he would suggest that. "I… I don't have a boyfriend…" Beth said shyly. Now she was the one that wasn't looking at him. He wasn't sure if her face was flushed because she'd been in the sun all day, or because she was blushing. Daryl realized in that moment how much he wanted to reach out to her. He had only met her a few hours ago, and now, for some reason, she seemed to have some kind of hold over him – and all Daryl wanted to do was embrace it. He wanted to know more about her. She had told him a few things at lunch, but he had so many more questions to ask.
But he couldn't. He had to be stronger than that. She was too good for him and his wounds from his break-up with Andrea were too fresh in his mind. He felt defeated, unworthy of love, and a host of other emotions – all bleeding together within him and making him feel like this beautiful angel in front of him was just a mirage, just something his mind had dreamed up.
Daryl must have been lost in his thoughts too long again, because all of a sudden, Beth spoke. "Daryl?" she asked tentatively, looking up at him with concern on her face.
"Yeah… sorry… did you say something?" Daryl responded.
"No…" she said. "You just seemed like you were frozen or something… like your mind was 10,000 miles away. Are you okay?".
"As good as I can be. Yeah. I'm okay" Daryl said, growing more confident as he spoke. He realized then that he would be okay, he was strong, he could deal with the disappointments he'd just experienced – he'd had a lot of practice in dealing with disappointments in life.
"Alright" she said. "Then come on". Beth started to walk towards the parking lot. She turned around after a few steps, realizing that Daryl wasn't moving, and waved for Daryl to follow her.
And, for some reason, his feet started moving before his mind did. After he'd reached her, he finally asked, "What? Um… where are we going?". He was unsure what she was asking him to do. Maybe she was just trying to get him off of the beach? He'd been out there way too long as it was.
"You're coming with me. I have plenty of extra space and you don't have anywhere else to go." Beth said, very matter-of-factly.
Daryl was surprised. He hardly knew her. She hardly knew him. Why would she want to bring him into her house – no, her rich uncle's house? Wouldn't he be mad if he found out that his sweet niece had brought a vagrant from the beach into his home? He shook his head. No, he couldn't do this to her. He couldn't get her into trouble with her family. And he was vulnerable and mysteriously drawn to Beth, like a moth to a flame. He was afraid – he didn't want to cross a boundary that she didn't intend to, or that he wasn't ready to.
"No, Beth… I… I can't. You don't even know me! Why would you trust me like that?" he said. He realized that his voice sounded a little harsher than he intended. He was worried, though, about why she'd just blindly bring someone into her home that she didn't know – it wasn't safe.
Beth stepped closer to him, putting her hand tentatively on his forearm. "I do know you, Daryl… You're a good man. You need somewhere to stay for a bit, right? I can do that. I can help!" she said. She omitted positivity, hope, and trust. Daryl could see in her eyes that she was serious, earnest in almost pleading with him to come with her, to let her help. And he knew he shouldn't – but he couldn't turn her down. For some reason, he couldn't tell her "no".
So he didn't. "Okay", he replied and with that, they both started walking towards the parking lot. It seemed that nothing else needed to be said. But Daryl had a deja vu moment. He realized he felt exactly the same as he had hours earlier as he was walking with Beth, across this same area of beach, towards the café. And all he could feel was a little bit of joy creep into his heart – but more than anything, he wondered what in the world he had gotten himself into.