Imagine Us

Chapter Two • Hide and Go-Search

Pink, as Beth dubbed her, was rooming on the first door on the third floor. The bags practically made a third of Beth's weight altogether and if not for all those sessions with Reece at the gym, her forearms would've been in trouble. Although, she wished she hadn't been so hasty and as she was quite certain she'd pulled something at her side amidst lift off.

While Beth massaged her strained biceps, Pink was casually stripping off her jacket and leather boots. Glittery, red painted toes lightly padded onto the carpeted floor and the creases on her tight jeans sharpened her narrow hips when she sat onto the sheets. The girl seemed so at home in a room she'd only checked into four minutes ago and a total stranger that followed her inside.

Beth had taken a guess that this confidence was the kind only found in people who knew their worth. For Pink, that worth was her looks which she was used to judging people's attitude towards her based on that. Getting better treatment than others or gifts- she must've assumed Beth's random act of courteousness was because of her appearance which technically wasn't wrong. Though, Beth didn't care if the other girl thought she wanted to sleep with her or something. She'd succeeded to approach her and that was enough.

Beth aimed to curtly step out, but in hearing that voice say, "Wait." She spun back.

"Here." Pink held out a ten dollar bill between her finely manicured fingers.

Beth blankly stared, looking back to meet an urging expression and then it clicked. "O-Oh, no you don't need to do that. It's fine."

Yet, Pink seemed a lot more suspicious by that and Beth instantly regretted it. Perhaps this was a tad bit too weird and pretending to be a beggar would've served to make a clean exit. "So, do you usually go around pretending to be a bellhop for random people?"

Beth shook her head.

Pink's eyes grew narrowed, appearing all the more intense. Like hers. Again, lying might've been easier but it didn't appear the girl disliked the answer. "Then if it's not money..." She threw her long leg over the other. "What do you want?"

It carried that same tone as the first inquiry she made down at the lobby. It wasn't spoken out of curiosity or interest but imposingly. Like a demand simply made for what was owed and that seemed fair to Beth.

"I, I don't know." Pink cocked an eyebrow, looking anything but satisfied at that response. "I mean, you just look so... pretty."

Pink dismissed the compliment like it was stating the sky was blue. "And?" The attention was dwindling, that much was clear with how she uncrossed her legs, letting out a sigh.

If this was over, Beth had nothing to lose in letting it all out now. "And it sort of reminded me of these group of friends I had when I was a kid. One of them was this girl, she was really popular, really gorgeous and everyone wanted to just be her, y'know? And I imagine she'd look a lot like you now."

More than any test Beth aced, or academic award, a sense of fulfillment would swell up from inside whenever she spoke of her. And God, it had felt far too long since her mother deemed it taboo.

Pink was quiet at first. Though, if even just remotely, seemed intrigued. "So, what happened?"

Beth paused. Had she said something out loud without realising? "What?"

"Well, it seems obvious when considering you aren't aware of her appearance at this age and I don't think you'd intentionally lose touch with your best friend without some external conflict."

"Did I say best friend?"

"You didn't have to. Your expression says it all."

Beth blinked. "... Um, are you like, a police officer or something?"

"No. I just watch a lot of crime shows. Deductions are a favourite past time for me." Pink said it with nonchalance but there was a hint of pride in seeing that she was right. Beth found it adorable.

"Well, I guess something did happen." Beth cleared her throat, suddenly feeling it growing scratchy in corners. "... She died."

The room stilled.

To think what took several months in and out of therapy to even open up about, she'd let it fly through her lips with ease, Beth was a little terrified of herself. Visibly more so than the dark brunette mutely sat on the bed.

Beth expected if she ever made such a confession to another living human being, they'd react with shock, dismay or discomfort. Or at least a little regretful for bringing it up.

No such thing was apparent on Pink's face. Her stoic visage unyielding, not a single crack that Beth questioned if she had truly said it in her head.

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

Beth was taken off guard by the tenderness in the apology. It was words undoubtedly said with sincerity, not simply obligation but of someone who truly understood. Which funnily, left Beth feeling guilty.

“It’s okay. We had already grown apart when it happened so…”

Pink nodded. "What was her name?"

"Dylan. Dylan Zhou." Beth couldn't stop the smile that stretched onto her lips. It wasn't possible to say her name without doing so.

Nothing more was shared and Beth saw herself out.

**

Beth heard the engine of her mother's Volvo pull into the driveway somewhere around six-ish. Her dark orange coif was unfurling at the combed bangs from the demanding workloads and she'd already started pulling off her plum coloured pantsuit before reaching her bedroom. Beth hadn't even known when she'd taken off the bra, hanging haphazardly by the coat rack.

Pure joy was dancing in her mother's emerald green eyes when she reemerged in casual slacks and a yoga shirt. Evidence that good old messenger Dean Logan reported Beth accepting the tour of the apartment later on.

Of course, her mother tried to act oblivious to it and she certainly could've been an actress. She asked Beth if she had made up her mind, purely to relish in the satisfaction of verbally hearing her orders done.

Her mother then proceeded to prepare dinner, leaving Beth flabbergasted. Esther Kennedy was a woman who hadn't stepped into their kitchen to so much as boil an egg, as far as Beth recalled. She'd claimed it as too peasantly for someone of her status. Yet, that very night Beth was treated to homemade roast and casserole, her father's specialty noted in the recipes left behind. All in a show of approval for meeting her mother's wishes.

Which wasn't anything new. That had always been the drill for how things worked. So why did it sting so much?

Beth forced herself to swallow each bite and engage in a brief chat to schedule a suitable date to visit the apartment, then she retreated into her bedroom.

**

Sleep appeared to have no desire to find Beth as she lay still in the sheets, her wall clock striking midnight. If it had been due to the worries of enrollment, or the fact that Reece hadn't texted her back after she asked if he could make time to meet before his departure, that would've been less infuriating.

Instead, what was keeping her wide awake was Pink in that moment when Beth had said the name. The girl's impassive veil had soften for just a second to reveal some raw emotion alive in those dark eyes. Discomfort? Pity? Anxiousness? No, it was something more than that and just beyond Beth's reach.

She tried to shake it off with the mental exercises taught at the trick. To separate her feelings with facts and see what was really there and what wasn't but no matter how many times or how many different angles Beth looked it over, that expression didn't disappear. Like a tattoo, it was etched to her brain.

Except, Beth didn't think she really minded that. Once another hour rolled by in aimlessness, she finally gave in to do what she'd been refusing since leaving that hotel.

She fished out her laptop, directed herself to Google and reeled back to the label she sighted on Pink's suitcase, handwritten and pasted on every single one, guiding her fingers to key in each letter.

J-u-n  Z-h-o-u

Then, she hit the search bar.