A Happy Marriage?

Chapter 6: "Help Me Through This Nightmare"

"No...no. No!" Beth hits the sides of the elevator and starts hyperventilating. "Damn it! Please start up again! Please!"

"Hey, hey...calm down. It's okay. It'll start back up in a bit." He tries to soothe her, but from across the dark box, he can tell, she isn't taking this news lightly. "Beth, you need to control your breathing or you're gonna pass out."

Shaking her head, she begins to shake and Daryl can tell that she is getting worse.

"What can I do?"

"Help...help me through this nightmare please...." Sinking to the floor, she hides her face as tears drop from her eyes. Walking over to her, Daryl sits down and pulls her into his lap. She startled at first, but calms as Daryl starts ticking back and forth. Keeping her head on his chest, she closes her eyes and tries to imagine she's somewhere open and bright.

"Just think happy thoughts. I got you." He whispers in her ear and kisses her forehead. It burns her. This tender moment of him embracing and consoling her makes her feel out of place. No ones ever done that to her before. Not even her father. "Think about the beach...or...uh... the apartment. The ceiling that reveals the sky. The vast open sky with bright puffy clouds and the sun shifting over head."

Her breathing becomes less rapid and he can feel her body loosen. It was so stiff and rigid before that he felt she was a marbled statue. His left hand rubs up and down her thigh as if it will calm her, which just makes her more wired because she isn't used to such physical contact like this with a stranger. Because he is- Daryl is a stranger. Maybe an acquaintance.

"Daryl..."

"Yeah?"

"Who are you?"

What the hell kind of question is that? Didn't she do a background check on me or something?

"What do you mean?"

"What makes you, you? Why you are the way you are?" She's shakily asking him questions, he doesn't know how to answer. Why? Why now in this dark elevator?

"I don't know what you mean."

"You act so tough and cold... but you're not. Yer sweet and caring- you do and say things that are honest and unexpected. Why? Why are you like that?" He sits and thinks about it and he doesn't know why. Why is he this way? Does he have to have a reason? It's just the way he's always been.

"That's just who I am...I guess."

"No.... there's a deeper reason behind everything." The idea of her evaluating his character makes him bonkers. He doesn't have a fucking clue why he can be so mean all the time and then turn around and act like a rabbit. Why does she care? "So why?"

"Don't ask such stupid questions." He's irritated now. He doesn't want to talk about who he is or why he's that way. In the end it will only make him look terrible.

"This is what I mean. You sit here and treat me so nice and then you go and spoil it by acting like a jerk." He stands up, knocking her on her butt and goes to the other side of the elevator. "Ow!"

She opens her eyes and starts feeling panicked again. She can't see where Daryl is. Hell, she can't even hear his breathing. She feels so alone and the darkness seems to be creeping in on her.

"Daryl... please...don't...don't leave me alone in the dark. Please!" She cries harder and it starts to get to him. She sounds like a child- like she's been traumatized by some terrible event. "Please...please."

As he starts to walk over to her, they hear a strange cranking sound and suddenly, they are floating through the air and suddenly hit the floor very hard. Searching in the dark, Daryl crawls over to a scared screaming and crying Beth and pulls her into his arms. He's so scared. They probably feel at least four floors. Which means there's only five floors before they hit bottom.