Red River Blue

Chapter 64

River forced another smile as she did her best to appear at ease with the people around her. She clung to the upper part of Merle's bad arm. The type of party River was used to was the type where she was the entertainment. And this was most certainly not that type of party. There was a table full of food that was all portioned out into tiny little bites. People were sipping on glasses of some sort of wine that she couldn't pronounce the name of even if she tried. The smell of it was turning her stomach.

The front door opened again. Everytime it opened River felt her body tense up. She already apologized three times to Merle for digging her nails into his arm. This time he gently removed his bicep from her razor talon grip and slung his arm around her shoulders, tucking her in close to his body. Her jeans were snug and the black top River had on was cut low enough that it revealed a healthy sliver of her cleavage. Merle was continuously scanning the room but River noticed that his vigilance did not stop him from glancing down her shirt when he pulled her closer to him.

"S'gonna be alright," he whispered.

The door opened. But the herd of undead that River kept expecting did not come pushing in from outside. It was only Carol. River smiled, relieved to see another friendly face in the sea of strangers she was surrounded by. Daryl and Mika came filing in behind the woman. Daryl was carrying a plate of cookies and looking about as uncomfortable as River felt. Carol took the platter from him and handed them to Mika, pointing the girl towards the table of snack foods.

Daryl hesitated near the doorway. He looked like he was considering making a run for it. River lifted her hand and waved him over. After pushing his way awkwardly through the crowded room, he nodded at Merle and took up a spot on the other side of River where he could keep his back to the wall. Glancing around, River noticed that almost all the members of her group had done the same. They were gathered in small groups, sitting and standing. But all of them were clustered around the perimeter of the room. Deanna's people were the only ones milling around in the center of the open space. The only exception to this was that weird preacher, who seemed overeager to kiss the asses of every new person he met, and Abraham, who was so drunk already that River wasn't sure if he even knew where he was.

"You alright?," River asked. Daryl shrugged and grumbled something under his breath about Carol giving away all his cookies. She reached over and caught his hand in hers, holding on to it just long enough to give it a reassuring squeeze.

Carol disappeared into the kitchen. Daryl leaned a little to his right and craned his neck, trying to keep the woman in his line of vision. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and looked for a moment like he was considering braving the depths of the crowded room again and going after her. But before he could take action Carol reappeared with a few drinks in her hands. Weaving through the room, she had her big fake smile plastered on her face. Carol's act since they arrived at Alexandria was so over the top that River was torn between hating it and finding it as hilarious as Merle's new job.

"Thanks," River said, reaching to take the glass of bubbly water that Carol was pushing towards her. She offered Merle a sip but he shook his head. Carol had a glass of wine for herself and a beer for Daryl. The two women made a little awkward conversation since they weren't able to talk about their plan to break into the armory and steal the guns in front of Daryl and Merle. River asked if Mika was in the kitchen playing cards with Wren and Carl. She was. And Carol asked River how she thought the party was going. River assumed this was code for asking when she thought would be the best time to sneak out for a few minutes. Before she could answer Abraham sauntered over and started telling Merle a very loud off color joke about a dog named Sex.

River noticed a few of the quiet rumblings of conversation that were going on near her stopped. At first she thought it was due to Abraham's obnoxiously loud and off-color joke but then River noticed several people were turning away from them and glancing towards the door.

Aaron, the man that brought them here to Alexandria, had arrived at the party. He was with his man friend, but they weren't alone. A woman was with them. She appeared taller than both men, but that was mainly due to the high heels she was wearing. The shoes accentuated the curves of her legs, which were on full display since her fitted black dress only came midway down her thighs. Her hair was straight and shimmery pale blonde. It looked like cornsilk and hung nearly all the way down to her trim waist. She looked so grown up that for a moment River didn't recognize her own daughter.

Seeing that everyone stopped laughing at his joke and turned their attention towards the door, Abraham twisted around to see what he was missing. He grunted out his approval at the young woman who currently had her back towards him.

"Got to get me a piece of that," he announced. River bit her lip, holding in her laughter as she realized that her husband's drunken friend had no idea who's daughter he was making sexual comments about. Before anyone could speak up to inform him, Harley turned around and tucked her long hair behind her ears. She had makeup on, but not so much that it made her unrecognizable. The warring expressions that danced across Abrahama's face were priceless. First he looked confused. Then concerned. And then rather disgusted with himself. In all the ways that counted, Harley was a grown woman. But since she was his friend's daughter, Abraham thought of her in a more fatherly way.

"I actually do NOT need a piece of that," he announced, correcting himself. He was starting to look like some of what he drank might be on its way back up. "I need some air," he huffed as he started heading for the door that led to the back porch.

"I need some bleach for my eyeballs," Daryl announced. Since it was the first thing he had spoken above a mumble since they arrived, River found his declaration more than a little comical. The laughter bubbled out of her. Carol was laughing too, her mouth turned up with a real smile this time. She smacked playfully at the arm of Daryl's leather jacket. He grabbed at her, pulling her against his chest and wrapping his arms around her much smaller frame.

The hug was brief but it was sweet considering River's brother in law wasn't keen on public displays of affection. Seeing them together made River happy. In the brief time that she had gotten Carol alone, they were plotting about how to steal some guns. River hadn't got the chance to ask her friend how the relationship was progressing. Daryl was constantly shadowing the woman. But that didn't necessarily mean they were doing the dirty. If they hadn't yet, River decided that it looked like they were well on their way. And having a younger and very ruggedly handsome boyfriend was going to make it even that much harder for Carol to keep up her ridiculous Betty Crocker routine. River sort of wished the woman would just give it up. The real Carol was enough for her and for Daryl and for everyone else in their group. There was no reason for her to pretend to be someone she wasn't. She was more than good enough for all these snobs.

Her legs hadn't been shaved in longer than she could remember. Harley's short dress left them bare and the cool night breeze reminded her of how much more sensitive her skin felt without the protective layer of soft blonde hair she got used to feeling there. She wasn't used to walking in heels and was grateful to Aaron when he offered her his arm.

"Walk like you're walking on your tiptoes," Eric suggested. Harley smiled. Not putting all her weight down on the skinny heels of her shoes did make it easier to walk. She considered asking the man how he knew the proper way to walk in heels but quickly decided she would rather not know. As they usually did, Harley's facial expressions betrayed her thoughts.

"My mother was a showgirl," Eric added with a chuckle.

"My mom used to be a go go dancer," Harley admitted. Her mother's former professional was usually the last thing the girl would tell someone she just met, but Eric's admission made her feel a strange kinship with the man. Harley had never been around an openly gay person before and had certainly never been around two of them at once. She was still surprised at how comfortable she felt with the two men. They didn't leer at her and stare at her body the way other men did. They were kind to her without expecting anything in return except her friendship. She found it refreshing to be just a person again instead of a woman, a girl, or some sort of sex object.

A few people were milling around on the porch of Deanna's house. One of them was Jessie, the woman from across the street that loaned Eric the flat iron he used to straighten Harley's hair for her. Harley was relieved to see that she was also wearing a black dress. Her's was longer than Harley's but lower cut with spaghetti straps. Eric and Aaron had assured the girl that she was dressed appropriately for the type of party they were going to, but she was worried that she might be overdressed.

"Your hair turned out beautiful," the woman commented as Harley climbed the steps to enter the house.

"Thank you!," Eric quipped. Jessie laughed and Harley smiled, grateful to the man for covering up her awkward silence. Aaron swung the door open. He paused in the doorway, motioning for Harley to walk in ahead of him. When she hesitated he stepped through the open door and waited inside for her to join him.

Harley knew she was going to a party. But knowing and doing were not the same animal. There were so many people gathered inside the small house. She felt her body go tense and she skimmed her hand down over her hip, feeling for the weapons that weren't there. Harley could feel the eyes on her. She briefly considered kicking off the ridiculous shoes she was wearing and running back out the door. But that would have been a cowardly move. And if there was one thing she wasn't, it was a coward. Instead of making her feel more self conscious, the small tight dress and heels she was wearing made her feel more at ease. She felt a bit like she was dressed up in a costume, the makeup serving as a mask to hide who she really was. Because if these people knew half the things she had done, they would run screaming in terror from the room instead of smiling at her and complimenting her hair.

In through the nose and out through the mouth. Harley took one deep breath and then one more. She turned around to face the room of strangers, her hands coming up to tuck her hair behind her ears. Just when she was thinking that maybe being at a party wasn't so bad after all, someone touched her. Since she could see Aaron and Eric, she knew it wasn't either of them. There was a hand resting on her shoulder. Harley knew having her shoulder touched was far from being groped or molested but she reacted violently to the sudden contact anyway.

Harley reached for her knife again. Coming up empty she balled up her fists and turned to face whoever dared lay a hand on her without her permission. Expecting to look down or at least into the face of the unknown man, it startled her when she spun and found she was staring directly at the front of a man's chest. She had to tilt her head back to see who it was.

Harley didn't have to smack the man's hand away. He jerked it off her shoulders the moment she reacted. Backing up about half a step, he held his hand in mid air like he forgot it was attached to his wrist. He was tall. Probably the tallest man in the room. The top of Harley's head only came to about his chin and that was with her heels on. He had dark brown eyes and a strong jaw that was covered in a few days worth of stubble. His hair was dark and wavy and he had broad shoulders. When Harley spun around, she didn't expect to find such a handsome young man standing behind her. She could see that her reaction to his touch startled him as much as his touch startled her. Her arms lowered and her hands unclenched. She tried to think up someone to say to the man but all she could think about was how his eyes had little flecks of gold in them.

It wasn't until she heard Eric giggling that Harley realized she and this strange man were standing there staring at each other long enough to make it seem funny to the people around them. She swiped nervously at her hair again.

"Spencer, this is Harley," Eric announced, "Harley this is Spencer Monroe, Deanna's son." Harley felt her heart bottom out into her stomach when she heard the words Deanna's son. While the end of the world made everyone equal to some degree, it was obvious to Harley that before the turn Deanna and her husband were well off. Maybe even rich. Harley learned early on that boys from rich families usually thought they were too good for her. If they were interested, then it was only ever for one thing.

"I... uh...," Spencer stammered, "I didn't mean to startle you. I just thought you might like something to drink." As he spoke Spencer thrust his hand out towards her. They had just been introduced. So touching his hand would be perfectly acceptable party behavior. Even if it wasn't, Harley didn't think she could have kept herself from reaching forward and grasping his larger hand with her slimmer one.

Spencer knew he ought to give the girl's hand a quick shake and release her. But instead he found himself reaching forward with his other hand and sandwiching her slim fingers between his hands. This girl was with the group that just came in off the road. Spencer got a few glimpses of her when she walked through the gates looking hungry and ragged. She was pretty even then. But her transformation from tomboy with a longbow to a model in spiked heels left him speechless. There was black eyeliner smudged around her eyes and her hair looked as soft as silk. But all that was nothing compared to her legs. They looked like they went on for miles. He normally would have been too nervous to approach such an attractive woman. Especially one that he was pretty sure could kick his ass if she wanted to. But earlier he overheard his brother Aiden and his disgusting friend making comments about her, betting each other which of them could get into her pants first. Spencer decided he wasn't going to give either of them the chance.

Harley just nodded. She wasn't sure if she was thirsty but she was more than willing to let this young man fetch her anything he wanted to get for her. He was still holding onto her hand and she had no desire to pull away from his touch.

"There's wine... beer...," Spencer noticed Harley didn't look too impressed by the selections he mentioned. "Lemonde?," he offered. At the mention of something non-alcoholic Spencer saw the change in her demeanor. She still didn't speak but she bobbed her blonde head up and down again. He let go of her hand and moved towards her, going slowly and giving her time to back away from his touch if he was making her uncomfortable. He rested his hand on her lower back and led her into the kitchen with him. Her heels clicked against the floor as she walked.

While Spencer hurried to find a clean wine glass and filled it with ice cubes and lemonade, Harley clicked over to the table and spoke to the small group of younger people that were gathered around the table playing a game of cards. Once Spencer had her wine glass filled he turned and laughed. Two younger girls that were either related to Harley or close enough to her that she considered themselves family got up from their card game and were petting her hair like she was a cuddly kitten or an expensive fur coat. The young woman allowed the contact for a few moments before shaking the girls off and sending them giggling back to the table to continue their card game.

"Thank you," Harley said, finally speaking to him for the first time. Her voice was soft and husky. It didn't sound high and girly the way Spencer expected it too. She had a trace of a southern accent that she was doing her best to hide.

"You're very welcome," he teased, hoping to coax a smile out of her. Her face remained neutral, her mouth only moving when she brought the glass of lemonade to her lips and took the smallest sip possible. Harley moved, adjusting her body so her back was facing the corner of the kitchen. Like most of the people in the group she arrived with, she seemed tense. Her eyes scanned the area around them every few seconds. Spencer tried a few times to strike up conversation with her but received only nods or one word answers to his comments and questions.

"There's a lot of people in here," Harley mentioned quietly. She paused a moment before she added, "the last time we met this many new people they tried to eat us." It was the only thing the girl said without any prodding from him. Even though what she said was disturbing, Spencer was glad she spoke up about what was making her uncomfortable. He was starting to think Harley was being quiet because she didn't want to talk to him. Being nervous around so many strangers after everything she went through on the road was to be expected. He glanced around, trying to think of somewhere more quiet he could take her. There were people out on the front porch. And the people that already got too drunk were out on the back porch. He didn't want to take her home.

"We could go upstairs to my room if you want," he said. Immediately realizing the implications of what he had asked he quickly added, "Just to talk. It's quieter up there."

Harley glanced around the crowded party. She wasn't fond of crowds even before the turn. And having this many strangers around was putting her on edge. Someone tossed a metal bowl in the sink and Harley nearly jumped out of her skin. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to go to Spencer's bedroom with him no matter how cute he was. The expectant and hopeful way he was looking at her made Harley's decision easy for her. She leaned in close to him.

"If ya try anything funny with me I'll cut yer pecker right off," she whispered. Spencer barked out a laugh, nearly choking on the sip of lemonade he had just taken. That was a unique way of accepting his invitation but he was glad that she hadn't refused him.

"I'll be a complete gentleman," he promised, sticking his hand out for her to take. That finally got a smile out of her. Just the corners of her lips turned up but he decided he was going to take it. Like she had earlier, Harley did not hesitate to put her hand in his. She let him lead her out of the kitchen and up the staircase to his room.