speak ➵ bethyl au

1

She feels stupid.
Idiotic, even.
When she first thought of the idea, she felt like an utter genius, but now,
now she feels stupid.
-
She's driving alone in her father's old, rusted pickup truck because it's the only mode of transportation she knows. But she eventually gets lost, and she starts to feel stupid again, so she pulls into a parking lot and stops the car to find the address on her phone.
She finds two unread messages.

Maggie
dad saw that u left & he told me to tell u to pick up groceries. thanks beth ❤️u

Maggie
bread milk eggs butter ice cream parsley

She bit into her bottom lip, trying to think up a lie.

Beth
i'll be a while tho i'm going to go volunteer at the library

She hesitates before she finally taps send.

Maggie
ok ill tell him ty ily beth

Maggie, recently, had suspected the change in Beth's behavior. Her mood had declined dramatically after the passing of her mother and older brother, but who could blame her?
It had been six months since their passing though, and she hadn't improved in the slightest. Maggie figured it was because of the sudden deaths, and it was at first.
But what she didn't know, was that her little sister, blonde sunshine and happy smiles,
was abused.
It had started when it was about a month after the passing of her mother and brother, when she found a boy, and she was as happy as could be. She'd thought they'd get married one day.
And Beth, she'd love to fix broken things and heal and hold until things were better, but nothing changed.
So now here she is, in a McDonald's parking lot, searching for the address of support groups.

☔︎

He's just looking for a summer job. Something to make money.
He's looking over the ad at the sheriff's house, laying on his back, stretched on the sofa.
"What makes you think I want the job, Grimes?"
The man scoffs, easing into the recliner.
"Lori'll get pissed if she sees those nasty ass boots on the couch."
Daryl sits up, tossing his feet to the ground in the process.
"How's the other Dixon?" Rick asks aloud, causing Daryl to shake his head.
"Somewhere. I dunno. I don't keep tabs on him, I could give a shit if he's dead."
"You mean you couldn't give a shit."
"Whatever."
Rick laughs knowingly, but the other man shifts his gaze back to the ad.
"What makes you think I want this job, Grimes?" he repeats, furrowing his eyebrows.
Rick calms his laughter and sighs, pointing to the newspaper clipping.
"No one knows your life better than you, brother, but you tell me a shitload about it. I think this would be good for you."
"Ain't for me."
"Even if it isn't, which it is," he presses, "you could still help other people. That's cool, right?"
He shrugs.
"But I do think that somehow in the process, helping someone cope could help you cope, too."
"Ain't never needed anyone for anythin'," he mumbles.

☔︎

She gets scared. And she feels stupid for getting scared, but she doesn't fall for that again, so she backs out of the parking lot, afraid of what would save her, and she drives off.
So she's driving, hands sweaty and the radio too silent. She leans over to turn it on when a chime goes off from her purse.
She glances over to see her phone buzzing.
It's not ringing, because her ringtone certainly isn't singing about buying beers to shotgun, so she immediately assumes it's Maggie texting her.
But she keeps driving, because if there's anything her father taught her, it's too keep your eyes on the road.

☔︎

He doesn't remember how he wound up there, but he's there.
Something about Lori hearing that the farmer's daughter was seen in the parking lot of a support group for domestic violence, and Rick is urging everyone he knows to find out what's wrong with the poor girl, and he's telling Daryl to find out what he knows but as discreetly as he can, and he has know clue how to because he's never spoken to the girl, maybe seen her once or twice in the grocery store.
But here's there.
He's making some money, though.

☔︎

It's too much for her to handle.
Someone found her there and now everyone knows and even Maggie knows, and Beth feels like the only way to deal with it is to hide and seal herself up in her room.
She doesn't eat but every time Maggie knocks on her door she insists she's not hungry, and every time her father asks to hear her sing she uses the same excuse she did every time--her throat hurt, or she's tired.
So it's been five days, and the whole town is abuzz because the youngest Greene daughter is suicidal and dated an abusive boy, and Beth doesn't know why it's so interesting, but she hears people she's spoken too on occasion come into her home everyday and speak to Maggie and Hershel, and get as much information as they know to tell their spouses or their friends.

☔︎

"I don't know why you're still makin' me work here, the girl is never here."
"She might go one day," Rick insists. "Come on, brother, she needs a friend."
"Yeah, well, it ain't gonna be me."
"Why?"
He hangs up.
He doesn't know why, himself.