A Happy Marriage?

Chapter 25: The Flame That's Going Out

As they drove off to Luchia's, Beth sits quietly in the passenger seat of her own car and just faces forward. She feels the pain in her arm slowly coming back and a new pain taking place in her chest.

"I think I found the one." Paul says casually. The air is thin in the car and his voice is very light. Beth blinks rapidly and then swallows. Looking at him, they catch eyes and then he looks back at the road. "She's really sweet and I wasn't sure at first if I was really ready to put my heart in her hands, but the last few months I've truly become... happy."

"Happiness is a farce." Beth could coldly says and Paul just looks at her sideways.

"But you're still married, so you must be happy..."

"I was, until I figured out that all men are liars and cheats." She holds her side with her left hand and her broken right hand lays on her lap.

"Did something happen with...uh..."

"Daryl..."

"Yeah, him. He cheated on you?"

"Yeah. I found lipstick on his collar and he's been distant." Beth growls and Paul just keeps going towards the restaurant.

"So you found lipstick on him. That doesn't mean he's cheating."

"So you're defending him?!" She growls and Paul just shakes his head.

"No, I'm just saying, some foul play could have happened." Looking at Beth and then the road, Paul pauses as he makes a right hand turned and then continues. "In the two years that you've been with him- have you ever before assumed he was cheating on you."

"Well...this one time- before my accident. But I didn't really think he was. And now he's acting strange and has evidence of another woman touching him closely." Pulling into a small lot and parking beside a black Sadan, Paul turns the key over and the engine dies. Turning slightly in his seat, he glances at Beth with concern.

"I don't think someone like your Daryl would willingly do something like that."

"You don't know him..."

"And obviously neither do you. If that man would've been cheating on you, he wouldn't still be at your home every night, waiting for you or driving you into work."

"How do you..."

"Special forces Beth. I hate to admit it, but once you told me about your situation with him, I could help but go digging. Needless to say, from Daryl's past, I highly doubt he would be willing nor capable of hurting you in an manner." Furrowing her eyebrows, Beth glares at Paul. When he reaches behind her seat and reveals a thick Manila folder to her, she calms her her icy flower and takes it. Flipping through, she finds documents, records, photos- all about Daryl from his birth to most recently his actions with Beth. "If you flip to page 407- you'll find a police report. I've read it over and over again for the last few months and it makes me sicker than a pregnant woman smelling raw meat."

She goes to page 407 and the first thing she sees is a gruesome picture of a 15 year old Daryl down to his underpants, covered in scars, bruises, and just looking dead. She drops the folder and just covers her mouth in pain. Tears pool to her eyes and race down her cheeks. She's never seen something so horrifying in her life.

"He was being abused and raped by his parent and uncle. The only reason anyone found out about it was because he was so sleep deprived from horrifying nightmares that he brought. Knife to school his first year of high school and almost stabbed a teacher by accident. Then he was put into the system and went from home to home until a woman by Carol Peletier plucked him from the bunch. In her statements three years after what happened, she told them that '[he] is such a kind and caring soul. He seems to repress his memories of his attackers and rarely brings it to light. He has shown much love and devotion to machinary, along with willingness to comply and a strong sense of pride...' She went on to say that he distanced himself from people because he told her that he never wants to hurt a human benging the way his family had."