Pride's Prejudice (19 page)

LEAVE-TAKING

"Angry
people are not always wise."

~Jane
Austen, Pride & Prejudice

The
next morning, William knocked softly at his own bedroom door, opening it a
crack to ascertain that Beth was tucked modestly into his sheets, before going
inside.  A chink of golden light spilled into the room from the hallway,
throwing a resplendent glow over Beth.  She didn't stir.

William
propelled himself forward and stared down at her, breathless.  His heart
felt too big for his chest as great swells of emotion rolled through him. 
She lay on her stomach, her arms crossed on top of the pillow and under her
face.  Dark hair spilled over her shoulder and onto his pillow. 
Taking care to stay on top of the covers, William eased onto the bed next to
Beth.  He propped himself up on an elbow, watching her sleep.  He
wanted to touch her so bad that he ached - so he kept his hands to himself.

A few
minutes later she opened her eyes briefly and took a deep breath before turning
her face the other way.

"Hey,
now.  Don't be like that."  William reached out and turned her
toward him.

"No
Medusa jokes."

"Medusa?"

"Clash
of the Titans…..snakes for hair….turned people to stone."

William
laughed at her sleepy articulation.  "I'd go with Venus or Aphrodite,
actually."  His smile faded as he looked at her, sadness coming into
his heart.

Beth
must've seen it, because she cupped his face with a hand.  "What's
wrong?"

He
took her hand, using the short lull to shove down the emotion rising in
him.  "Just sorry morning came so soon."  He forced a smile
and then asked, "Are you hungry?"

Beth
stretched like a cat.  "I'm not much of a breakfast person,
actually……unless you made something?"

"Don't
get your hopes up there.  If I could cook, I wouldn't have cracked all my
teeth the last couple months on Kara's cookies.  We do have a fine
selection of cold cereal for your dining pleasure, though, if you're so
inclined."

Beth
laughed.  "No, I'm good.  Really.  I need to get back to
Longbourn, anyway."

The
gloom washed over William again.  "Jenna's waiting for you
downstairs.  I wanted to let you sleep longer, but she says you might be
staying the night again if I do that."

Beth
bristled.  "I'm not sure I want you talking to my best friend
anymore."

"Hm….."
he considered, rubbing his chin for effect.

Beth
shoved him.

"I'll
let you get dressed," William said, getting to his feet.  As he
looked back at her, something occurred to him.  "Keep the shirt,
though - it looks good on you.  There's never a camera around when you
need one."  He grinned half-heartedly before closing the door behind
him, and then allowed his face to relax into a reflection of the misery he felt
inside.

~:~

Les
led Jenna out to his truck, leaving Beth and William to follow in their wake. 
Beth picked her purse up off the table, grateful she hadn't forgotten it. 
She and William stood in the entry now, a few feet apart.  Were it not for
the vivid memory of William's breath on her neck and his hands in her hair,
Beth might have thought she'd been dreaming last night.  Could they
possibly be the same two people who had been pressed up against each other in
his room?  Everything felt different now.

"Thanks
again," Beth offered.  "It was a great movie....what was it
called again?"

William
gave a partial smile.  "You liked it, huh?  Which
part?"  He looked at her expectantly with his hands in his pockets.

"Well……the
song at the end was really good…."

His
smile broadened.  Then he sighed heavily and pulled her against his chest,
hugging her tightly.  He was quiet for a minute.

"I'll
come by later, okay?"

Beth
pulled away just enough to look up into his face.  He looked harassed,
crushed by an unseen pressure, and he avoided her eyes.  Realization tore
through her, lightning fast and thunder deep.  Somehow, while she slept,
things had already changed.  She was losing something she'd never really
had.

"Okay."

"I'll
walk you out."

"I
think I can find my way from here," she teased, trying to lighten the mood
somehow.

He
looked at her and his eyes seemed far away.

"William,
what's wrong?"

William
looked down, breathing deep and shoving his hands back into his pockets. 
"It's not about you.  Not really."  He struggled for a
minute, trying to find the right words.

Beth
waited patiently, trying to conceal her anxiety.

"It's
not something I like to talk about.  I need to think about what to
say.  But I will come over tonight - I promise."

Beth
eyed him warily.

William
cuffed a hand behind her neck and pulled her close, kissing her quickly on the
forehead.  "I'll see you soon," he said, leaning down to look
into her eyes for emphasis.

She
managed a weak smile and a half-hearted nod before pivoting and walking to the
truck.

~:~

It was
late afternoon, and the sun slanted through the blinds into William's
bedroom.  He couldn't look at his bed without seeing Beth lying
there.  Les appeared in the doorway of William's room, leaning casually
against the door frame, folding his arms.

"So,
you all packed?"

William
sat on his bed, staring at nothing.  It took a moment before he realized
Les was talking to him.  He sighed.  "Yeah, just about."

"What
time is your flight tonight?"

"Eleven
forty-five."

Les
nodded.  "So we'll leave here around eight-thirty, then." 
He paused.  "What're you going to tell her?"

William
let his head drop into his hands and massaged his forehead, elbows on his
knees.  "I have no idea.  I don't know how much I want her to
know."

"Don't
you think she'll wonder why you're picking up and leaving town?  Dude,
she'll think it's about last night.  You have to tell her."

"But
it's private.  It has nothing to do with her.  I don't know if Gianna
would want the whole world knowing about her situation."

"William
- you're so funny sometimes.  Listen to yourself.  This is
Beth
we're talking about, not the whole world.  She won't tell anyone. 
Besides, if you really care about her like you say you do, you owe her an
explanation of why you can't be with her right now."

William
thrust himself back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"How
much do you care about this girl, William?"

"You
know the answer to that Les."

"Yeah,
but it looks like you don't."

William
cast his eyes to his friend, who looked back at him steadily, raising his
eyebrows.  "I'm in love with her."

Les
broke into a wide grin.  "I knew it!  I knew you were. 
What's the problem, then?"

William
stood in frustration, launching himself off the bed and into frenzied
pacing.  "The problem is that Gianna needs me right now.  I'm
the only one she's got, and I don't want her to go through this alone. 
And I don't know when she'll be okay on her own again."

Les
screwed up his face in concentration, having finally grasped the gravity of the
situation.  Then his face brightened.  "Well, you can keep in
touch.  This is the electronic age.  You guys could text or webcam."

William
measured a patient look at his friend.  "Would it be fair to ask Beth
to be with me, without me actually being here?  She's younger than us, Les
- she's still in school.  I wouldn't want her to be miserable just waiting
around."

Les
shrugged.  "So you'd rather have her be with someone else,
then?"  He waited in silence.  "Because you know there is
at least one someone else that would be glad to step in."

William
stopped pacing, anger freezing him in place.

"Think
about it, William.  What's she going to think if you don't tell her? 
She has no clue what he's done.  You need to warn her about him, at
least."

William's
fists were clenched, and he spread his fingers apart slowly, stretching them
taut.  He set his jaw, taking several deep breaths.  "I already
tried that."

"When? 
Last night?  Because if it was before that, then I'd say things have
changed just a bit between you."

Les
was right.  He owed Beth an explanation, a say in where they went from
here.  If she cared about him like he did about her, she would
understand.  Pulling himself out of his thoughts and focusing on Les, he
said, "Can I borrow your truck?"

A grin
split Les's face and that was all the answer William needed.  Barreling
down the stairs, he looked around for Les's keys.  They weren't hanging on
the hook in the kitchen like usual.  William rifled through papers on the
counter, then moved into the family room.  They were sitting on one of the
end tables next to Beth's phone.  He hadn't realized she'd forgotten
it.  He palmed the phone and keys, raced out the door, and threw himself
behind the steering wheel of Les's truck.  As he hurried toward Longbourn,
Beth's phone buzzed in his hand.  The message 'NEW TEXT' flashed
insistently on the display.

"You
certainly are popular," he murmured to himself.  "Let's see who
is so anxious to get a hold of you."  He pushed the button to
retrieve the text and immediately wished he hadn't:

From:
Jaxon

Sorry
4 Sat. Had 2 work. Heard u got stuk w Darcy. Know how much u hate him. 
Tried 2 call.  Miss u.

PS, ur
a great kisser
J

William's
head began to throb from lack of oxygen.  He decided, for the safety of
other drivers, to pull off the road.  His eyes burned and his vision began
to blur.  This was not happening.  It
couldn't
be
happening.  Beth didn't feel the same about him - she
hated
him.  This didn't bother William nearly as much as the image of Beth
kissing Jaxon.  A small voice in the back of his head warned him to be
reasonable.  According to Jaxon's text he hadn't seen Beth since before
the dance.  What happened between he and Beth last night could have
trumped anything that started with Jaxon.  Everything had changed since
then.  A louder, angrier voice shouted back that it didn't matter. 
How could she kiss him?  If she could be with a sleaze like Jaxon, then
she wasn't a very good judge of character.  Maybe she was more like her
sister Lindy than he had thought.  The small voice argued feebly that he
had watched Beth long enough to know that she wasn't that kind of person. 
But she kissed him.
  He flicked the angel off his shoulder, jerked
the truck back into drive and peeled onto the road, heading away from
Longbourn.

~:~

Beth
read the line over again, still not taking it in.  She really wasn't
having much luck with her current novel.  Maybe she should try something else. 
It seemed like every time she picked it up lately she had fallen asleep reading
it, and now she was so nervous and distracted she wasn't retaining any of
it.  She checked her clock for the umpteenth time.  It was quarter
after eight, and she hadn't heard from William or seen him since she left Les's
place in the morning.  She had fretted and worried about their parting all
day; about each detail of her behavior the night before.  In retrospect,
she felt like she might have come on a little strong in his room. 
He
probably thinks I'm some brazen hussy
, Beth told herself. 
He
probably thinks I'm a minx with no morals.  Why did I go over there? 
I should've just stayed home.
  On and on it went.  Then again,
last night he hadn't seemed incredibly put out about any of it - until he'd
practically run out the door.  But last night Beth hadn't gotten the
impression that he was running from her because he
didn't
want her.

There
was a soft knock at the door, and Beth started.  She tried to push down
the rising anticipation inside her as Jenna stepped into her room.

"Hey. 
William was just here.  He's waiting for you in the lobby."

Beth
scowled.  "The lobby?  Why?"

Jenna
seemed nervous.  "I'm not sure, Beth."  She stepped to her
and hugged her tightly.  This simple act scared Beth more than anything
else.  Preemptive moral support from your best friend was always a bad
omen.

William
stood just outside the double glass doors of Longbourn, leaning against the
brick exterior and wearing an ominous scowl.

Beth
stepped through the doors, her suddenly fast-beating heart rivaling the anxiety
rising inside her.  "William?  What are you doing out
here?  Why didn't you come in?  'Boys out' isn't until ten
o'clock."

William
refused to meet her eyes.  He took a step toward her, holding her phone
out.  "Someone's been trying to reach you," he said coldly.