Pride's Prejudice (14 page)

It was
with great effort that Beth's jaw didn't drop.  "So if my eyes are
green it means I'm lying?" 
Never mind that you know the exact
color of my eyes and my corresponding mood.

"No…..I
can tell you're lying because your eyes are telling me you're upset about
something.  Do you want to talk about it?"

For
one wild moment Beth looked squarely at William and thought of telling him the
truth. 
I kissed Jaxon, and it wasn't how I thought it would be. 
I thought of you instead.

Beth
shook her head with tiny motions, unable to meet his eyes.  She mumbled
"Shower," and shuffled into the bathroom, leaving him in the dark
hall.

Once
safely inside the tile walls of the shower, Beth tried to visualize her
troubles washing away and draining from the shower floor - like poison being
leeched from a snakebite.  After wiping the beads of moisture from her
skin, she pulled on the sweats and t-shirt she had taken from her room and
toweled off her dark tresses.  Hopefully by now, the game was over and
everyone had gone home so she could go to her room and brood in the dark. 
The hallway encounter with William had left her with no desire to be social or
fake a good mood.

No
such luck.

There
was an empty chair next to Jenna, across from William, and a freshly dealt hand
of cards waited for her on the table.  Les popped out of his seat and
steered Beth over to the unsuspecting chair, massaging her shoulders as he
pushed her into it.  Kara "hymph"ed.

"You
look stressed Beth.  Take a load off.  Want a Dr. Pepper?"

Beth
couldn't help but smile.  He was, after all, offering her one of her own
drinks.  "Thanks, Les, I'd love one."  Her eyes flicked up
to William, who watched her with a mildly curious, slightly concerned
expression.  She had expected him to be angry or annoyed at the very
least, after their exchange.  His face softened somewhat as she looked at
him.

"Do
you want ice?" Les called on his way to the freezer.

"Yes,
please."

"A
little, or a lot?"

"Tons."

Les
set the glass and a maroon can of salvation in front of Beth.

"Where
were you?" Jenna questioned.

Beth's
eyes acted of their own accord and flashed guilty to William. 
"Library," she fabricated.  When had she become concerned about
his opinion?

She
may as well have said
'making out with Jaxon.'
If William's scrutiny
waned before in the slightest, it was unflinching now.

Kara
snorted.  "I think going at it in
the stacks
counts more as a
date than a study group."

Kara
couldn't know that she was actually igniting William's temper, but Beth glared
at her anyway.  Kara plowed on. 

"Is
Mr. Stacks at least taking you to the ball?"

For a
moment, Beth forgot about William.  "As a matter of fact, he
is.  Who are
you
going with?"

Beth
glanced pointedly at William to drive the point to Kara, but stopped when she
noticed a muscle in his jaw going.  She cast her eyes back to the table,
the phrase '
oh crap'
scrolling through her brain.  How could she
let Kara bait her like that?  And she had bit down hard on the hook. 
"We're doubling with my sister and her date," she added, backpedaling
for William's benefit.

Kara
laughed.  "The one who's always sucking face with that ranger
guy?  I'm sure they'll be
great
company."

Beth
noticed that she didn't answer the question about her own plans for the dance.

William
stood abruptly, ripping the door open and storming out into the hall. 
Beth sighed in resignation as she dropped her cards on the table and rose to
follow him.  He must know who she'd been with tonight - who she'd be with
Saturday.  He wouldn't have left otherwise.  She wanted to set his
mind at ease about her dating Jaxon, futile as the effort might be.

William
stood at the top of the hall stairs with his back against the wall, glaring at
the ceiling.  His hands were in his pockets.  As Beth approached him
and opened her mouth to speak, raucous laughter preceded a group of three
people up the stairs.  Two boys Beth had never seen before stumbled up the
stairs, clearly drunk, Lindy swinging unconscious between them.  Beth
stopped them at the top of the stairs.

"What's
wrong with her?!"

"I
think she had a few too many," one boy snickered to the other.

Beth
turned her attention to the designated spokeslush.  "She's seventeen,
moron
.  She shouldn't be having
any
!"  She
clenched her teeth, biting her anger back.  "Who are you?"

"You
must be the sister."  The drunk leered at her, though Beth didn't
think he could see very well through his blood-shot eyes.  "I'm Dane,
that's Travis."

Beth
yanked Lindy's limp form away from them.  "I don't care what your
names
are.  I want to know what you're doing with my minor of a sister, getting
her drunk and who knows what else!"  Beth's voice was a couple
decibels louder than when she started.

"I'm
sure you could guess."  Dane was surprisingly alert for being
smashed.  "If you'd like I can walk you through it
step-by-step.  Or I could demonstrate….."  He licked his lips
and looked Beth up and down with hungry eyes.

William
ripped in front of Beth and shoved Dane against the opposite wall, causing him
to lose balance and topple down the stairs.  Travis tripped after Dane
before he could be compelled.  Beth sat against the wall with Lindy,
straining her ears as William pulled Dane to his feet and pushed him up against
the wall, just out of sight.

"Dude! 
What the-?"  Dane's tone was more put-out than angry.

"Stay
away from her."

"Which
one?"

Really?
 
Copious alcohol consumption took away inhibitions, turning people into total
idiots.  William's nonverbal communication must have spoken volumes,
because Dane was the one to speak again.

"Fine
with me, man.  We already got what we wanted anyway.  She practically
begged for it."  Beth closed her eyes, almost feeling sorry for
Dane.  Almost.

There
was a loud snap and a quieter thump.  "Get your worthless friend out
of here.  And don't come back,"  William commanded.

Travis
didn't need telling twice, even in his drunken stupor.

Bracing
her shoulder against the wall, Beth tried to inch her way into a standing
position with Lindy in her arms.  Lindy lurched dangerously sideways,
threatening to topple the pair of them.  To Beth's surprise, William
scooped Lindy away from her, carried her down the hall, and deposited her on
the couch (much to the shocked eyes of the lingering card party).

Lindy
didn't so much as stir.  William straightened, pinned Beth with his stony,
black gaze, and left in silence.

So
this was how it felt to be three inches tall.  Beth blinked in the bright
kitchen light, loathing the smirk on Kara's face.

"I
guess we're done here," Kara sang sweetly.  "Come on, Les."

After
kissing Jenna softly, Les stopped to hug Beth sideways.  "Can I do
anything?"

Beth's
eyes burned.  "Thanks, Les.  I think I'll take the couch
tonight.  Could you help us get her to my room?"

After
Les had gone, Jenna handed Beth her soda.  Beth drank, looking at her best
friend as she did so.  She shouldn't have.

Jenna's
face was pinched into an expression of pity.  "Beth, I'm so-"

"I
need some air," Beth announced, cutting her off.  She didn't think to
grab a jacket or explain.  The walls were closing in on her, and coupled
with the residual stench of alcohol on Lindy, it made her nauseous.  Beth
grabbed her cell phone off the counter and all but ran out of Longbourn
Hall.  Once outside on the lawn, she dialed her parents' cell
number.  Her mother answered on the fourth ring, sounding groggy.

"Mom? 
Sorry if I woke you, but it's important."

"Bethy
- it's three-o'clock in the morning here.  What's wrong?"

"It's
Lindy - she can't be here anymore.  She needs to go home right now."

"Why? 
What's happened?"

"She's
out of control.  She's going for rides with perfect strangers all hours of
the night, and coming home totally-"

"Bethy,"
her mother crooned.  "She's a young, spirited girl!  You can't
expect her to sit around all day while you're at class.  You know, you're
not getting any younger.  It would do you some good to take a page from
Lindy's book.  Maybe you'd date more.  Maybe you'd even get
married!"

"Mom,"
Beth said through clenched teeth.  "You don't understand.  She's
passed out in my room.  She came home with two drunk guys a while
ago.  I'm not sure what they did to her, either."

"Beth,
it can't be as bad as all that.  You're always judging your sister. 
Maybe if you'd stop being so high and mighty for a minute, you two would get
along better."

"Let
me talk to dad," Beth said in a trembling voice.

"Your
father is sleeping-"

"I
don't care if he's sleeping! His daughter is making a complete fool out of
herself - and me in the process.  You're obviously not the one to talk to
about it."

"Now,
Beth," her mother began in a mock scolding tone, but Beth cut her off.

"I'll
tell dad about Lindy's belly ring if you don't wake him up - and yours
too."

A
minute later, Beth's father took the line.  Fresh tears coursed down her
cheeks at the sound of his voice.

"Daddy,"
Beth said pathetically.

"What's
wrong, honey?"

"It's
Lindy.  She's completely unmanageable.  She's not following any of
the rules.  She's crazy!  She's been getting into cars with drunk
guys and coming home passed out!"

He
sighed.  "Beth, your mother and I have had this trip planned for
years.  We can't come rushing home just because Lindy's out of line. 
I'm old, Beth.  I'm tired.  Let me enjoy my tiny bit of peace for a
few more days."

Beth
was so shocked she couldn't find words.  She hadn't expected her father to
disregard her like that.  Normally he valued her opinion, and nearly
always took her advice.  Realizing that he cared more about his 'tiny bit
of peace' than his daughter's behavior and consequent safety took the fight
right out of Beth.  She snapped her phone shut on her father's murmured
placations.

It was
more than his apathy that bothered Beth.  The man who had rocked her and
sung to her and read to her as a girl was gone - replaced by a tired,
self-centered old man.  True, he'd been married to a total raving lunatic
for more than twenty years, and that had clearly sapped some of his life
force.  But he had always valued his girls - especially Beth.  He'd
never had much patience for Lindy's nonsense.  Beth and her father had
always been peas in a pod.  A profound sense of loss enfolded her, and she
began sobbing.

"Beth."

Beth
whirled at the sound of her name, to find William sitting atop Longbourn's
steps behind her.  He was swathed in shadow, but Beth could see that his
hands were clasped and his elbows were bowed on his knees.

She
swiped a hand across her cheeks.  "You heard all that?"

William
rose slowly and walked over.  "I didn't mean to."

Beth
squeezed her bottom lip between her teeth to keep it from trembling.  She
crossed her arms stubbornly, looking away.  "Regardless, you
did.  So, what do I do, Mr. Incredible?  There's a damsel in
distress," she said, heavy on the sarcasm.

William
didn't respond to her riling.  Instead, he pulled her into his arms and
crushed her against him.  When she didn't pull away, he laid his cheek
against her hair. 

Against
Beth's will, warmth spread through her.  She leaned her face into his
chest and let the tears flow, realizing with devastation that this is what she
had been waiting for earlier with Jaxon.  This was the phenomenon that had
eluded her.  The sensation was akin to sitting in a patch of sunlight
falling through a window; a drink of cold, clear water after almost dying of
thirst; seeing something that was once so familiar after perpetual estrangement
- the sensation of coming home.  This is what she had waited for. 
And this is what had not come.

"Know
anyone with a straight jacket?" William asked softly a few minutes
later.  "You could just lock her in the bathroom until your parents
get back."

Beth
issued a shaky giggle-sob as she pulled away.  "A week in solitary
confinement might be a bit much."

"They're
gone for another week?  Where are they?"

"England. 
They're supposed to fly home the twenty-sixth.  Some neighbors back home
offered to have Lindy stay with them, but I wanted her to be with family for
Christmas."

"Does
their offer still stand?"