Hopelessy Devoted

Chapter Five: Everything Has A Price

Getting to sleep in on the weekends isn't something I normally do. But this morning- oh yeah, big time. I feel sick. Nuseous to no end. Finally my body can't take it any more and I race to my bathroom and puck my guts out. My hands are clammy and my head is too, but I'm not running a fever. Odd. Standing up, I brush my teeth and tongue to get rid of the nasty taste in my mouth.

"Jitterbug, I'm taking the steer to market. Then I'm swinging by the auction for next years stock. Have a good day." He calls through the door and I bow my head. Alone again. Huh, it gets a little old. It's hard with Maggie away at college. She's never home. She never calls or picks up the phone. She's too busy with Glenn's cock in her mouth probably...that's a nasty word. Cock. I don't much care for it.

Getting dressed in my yellow polo, jeans and boots. I put my hair up in a pony tail with my small braid in my hair, before going down stairs to maje something to fill my now empty stomach. I feel fine, but I also feel terrible. Is that possible?

I grab a poptart and pop it in the toaster. Staring out my kitchen window, I swear I see so.ething in the neighbor house. Something strangely familair. I look closer, but can't see it well.

Pop!

Grabbing my hot poptart with a papertowel, I head outside and down the road to the house. As I get closer, I notice that the windows aren't shattered, the door isn't off it's hinges and the siding paint isn't peeeling over any more. Have I been avoiding this house so much that I didn't evem recognize someone had been fixing it up?

"What're you doin' on my property?" A gruff looking man booms as he comes from around the side of the house. He has a tire iron in his hand and he slurrs his words. He's drunk. As he coems closer, I back up and as he raises the iron up above his eyes, a shadowed figure runs at him and stands in between me and him. His back is to my and my hands are pressed to wings on a leather vest. Now it hits me. Daryl.

"Dad! Back off! Dad!" The man pulls back just in time and is about to leave, but punch Daryl in his stomach, dropping him to his knees, before leaving.

"Daryl...are you okay? I'm sorry..." I kneel beside him and he just looks at me from under his bangs. I try to look into his eyes and he turns away before standing up. I stand up and he hooks an arm around my waist and starts leading me to the road. When we get there, he keeps walking me until we get closer to my house. "Daryl..."

"Jus' stay away from my house....jus' keep away..." His voice is sad and now I can see a tear or two in his eyes.

"Daryl...I wanna be your friend."

"We can be friends...just don't go to my house. Just stay away from my house. Please."

"Is he always like that" He stills in place and gives me a fake smile.

"It's not that bad. Come on, I'll walk you home." He lets go of me and we walk down the road and I feel safe with him.

"Is your stomach okay?" I stop and he stills as I touch his side.

"It's fine."

"Let me see..."

"No..."

"Let me see." I stop him and pull his shirt up. I see a bruise forming, but that's not what's concerning to me. A red scar starts on his side and as I try to see it on his back, he tugs his shirt down and starts storming off toward my house. "What is that?"

"Nothing."

"Daryl..."

"Just stop. It's nothing." He growls and I stop behind him. He got that long scar from something and he's obviously scared of it...or the person who did it. "Beth...please, let it go."

"Okay..." I jog up to him and we reach my house. He walks me to my porch and stops. "You wanna come in and stay awhile?"

"Will you folks mind?"

"No. My Dad's gone to market." I open the front door and walk in and he slowly follows me. His eyes gaze from the pictures on the wall to the furniture. "Are you hungry?"

He looks down and I can see pain in his face. I go to him and he stills even more- if that's even possible. Wrapping my arms around him, I hug him tightly and he just stands frozen, arms at his sides for the longest time as my head lays on his chest. Suddenly his arms slowly come up and wrap around me as well. His arms are strong, but tired almost, it's hard to explain that he has no physical energy. His head comes down and rests his head on my shoulder. His whole body seems to rests and calmas we stand here close together. It's soothing and I feel infinate. When we pull apart, I smile up at him and he weakly smiles down at me. It's like a unicorn. So rare. So unseen. So, beautiful.

"Let's go to my favorite place." Grabbing his hand, I tug him outside after grabbing my purse and we get in my truck. He's quiet as we drive out of town. His body is still stooped in the seat and his face pretty gloomy except a very small smile on his face. That smile makes mine grow bigger.

Pulling into The Wolf Den I park the truck and get out. He soon follows and we go in a sit at a table in the corner. Thr waitress comes over and takes our drink orders and suddenly Daryl seems sad again.

"Hey, what is it?"

"I ain't got no money.... I'm not hungry...." He looks in his lap and I reach over and place my hand ontop of his.

"My treat. Get whatever you want- seriously." I smile and he barely looks at me. When the waitress come back, we order our food and as I look out the window, it starts to storm outside. "Man, the rains coming down out there. Haha."

"That's sad."

"No it's not. The rain is like a shower for the land. It cleanses out the toxins and makes everuthing healthy amd new again." I laugh and he just looks at me with dark brooding eyes.

"It can detroy things too. If it rains too much, crops die, houses flood, people get in car wrecks. Everything has a price." Thinking about it, he is right. There are two sides to every coin. I was just trying to be positive.

Everything has a price.