Chapter Text
Beth is too busy screaming and dropping her groceries all over the floor to take a close enough look at the man sitting on her island counter. The first wave of recognition comes from his voice - “Nah, he’s good. We already took him out.” - but then she notices the two other men and the guns, especially the gold one on the counter, and her attention is drawn away again.
“What do you want?” she asks as her eyes search the room, not entirely sure where to settle.
“Oh, relax, sweetheart.” The second wave hits Beth as he jumps off the counter because that voice is one that she hasn’t heard in years.
And the last bit of recognition comes when he walks towards her. He starts to tuck his hands into his jacket pockets. “I just need you to call your lady friends over so we can all have… a little talk.”
Rio . It’s the eagle tattoo on his neck. She would know it anywhere and she hopes that her surprise will just be considered a reaction to the situation because he doesn’t seem to recognise her. It’s been years since she saw him, hell, she was still pregnant with Kenny at the time and so she decides to hold back on revealing who she is.
“About what?”
Although there seems to be the hint of a smile on his face, he really doesn’t seem to know who she is. It would hurt if she wasn’t so preoccupied with the two men, their guns in hand, standing close behind him. “Oh, about the money you stole from us.”
And just… Shit . She just stares at him because seeing him in her kitchen, after all these years, she never would have thought it would be for this. Of all the money she could have stolen, it had to be his. He raises a brow because of course, she’s still staring. It’s not exactly how she saw their reunion, she always figured - well, hoped - it would be a much happier affair. Even after all the pain, some ridiculous part of her still wanted that. This was far from it and she simply nods before stooping to retrieve her handbag.
When she stands back up, there are guns on her so Beth holds her handbag out and Rio reaches in, pulls her phone out and hands it over. She knows she’ll just panic if she calls them so she quickly types a text that just says: “911. My house. Now.” and shows it to Rio as she sends it to both Annie and Ruby. Within seconds they’ve both responded and she shows the replies to prove that they’re on their way. Rio seems happy enough because he has no issue with wandering back over to the island counter and leaning back against it.
He picks up his gun and motions for Beth to sit on the bench by the side door. As she does so, he motions to his boys to clear up the groceries. If he wasn’t holding a gun and she hadn’t of robbed him, Beth might have found the entire thing kind of sweet.
They’re not sat in silence for very long before the side door opens. “Hey, what’s this 911-” But Ruby freezes at the sight of the men and their guns. She’s halfway through the door, her hand still on the door handle and Annie runs right into the back of her. “Hey! What’s going on?”
Ruby steps further into the room and when Annie peers round to have a look, she also freezes. Both women slowly turn to Beth and she motions for them to join her on the bench. Ruby sits beside her while Annie perches on her other side, sitting on the arm of the bench.
“What’s going on?” Ruby asks quietly.
It’s more to Beth but Rio is the one that answers. “You ladies stole a lot of money from me.” He doesn’t wait for them to respond as he wanders towards the stove. “You know, you’ve got a nice kitchen.”
“Thank you,” Beth says quietly because she’s not quite sure what else to say.
“Yo, this backsplash is dope,” he says as it catches his eye and he stoops down to examine it a little closer. “Hey, what’s it made out of? Marble?” He nods his head a little in their direction but all Beth can focus on is how tense she feels and how messed up the entire situation is. It’s exactly the type of thing Rio would ask but the circumstances surrounding their interaction are throwing her. “Yo, you ever get any problems with staining back here? Like, if you’re cooking a big pot of spaghetti sauce or something like that?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”
“No?” He chuckles and turns back to look over the wall again.
“We didn’t know you owned the store,” Ruby says.
Rio turns and laughs a little as he begins to walk towards them. “I look like some kind of grocery store manager to you? Or, like, rotary club or something?” He doesn’t and even if he did, Beth already knows he would never. In the years that they had known each other, he always seemed to have big plans that definitely outweighed being a store manager and she always knew that he was the type of person to follow through on things. He stops in front of them and Beth’s eyes are on his because he really hasn’t changed. The more she looks at him, the more familiar he is. “Nah, let’s just say we got certain arrangements with some local businesses. And we help each other out and whatnot, you know?”
“Like money laundering for drugs?” Ruby asks before turning to Beth and Annie. “I told you it was shady.”
He turns and walks away from them. “Why don’t you stop worrying about my business dealings and start figuring how you’re gonna pay me my money back.”
“We can get it back,” Beth says instantly even if she is only somewhat confident, knowing full well that if he’s put his mind to getting his money back, he won’t give up. With that gun of his, she’s pretty sure it’ll end with the three of them dead or wishing they were.
Rio laughs, nods his head a little at them. “Oh, that would be gre at.”
“Most of it,” Annie says.
He blinks. “Sorry, what?”
“Some of it for sure,” she stammers out. Beth and Ruby both look towards her as Rio chuckles. “Oh, what, like you guys didn’t spend a dime?”
“How much, Annie?” Beth asks in a hushed voice.
“I don’t know. I probably spent like a hundred… Grand.”
“What?” Beth and Ruby hiss before the latter adds, “I’m gonna shoot you myself.”
“Nah,” Rio says loudly, grabbing their attention. “You’re just gonna pay me back is all. I mean, right quick too.” He shrugs his shoulders and he’s smiling but there’s nothing friendly about it. “With interest.”
As the two men move to walk towards them, all three women gasp and hold each other’s hands. While their guns are still on display, the men just walk right past them, being sure to make eye contact the entire time.
“So, we’ll see you real soon, yeah?” Rio asks as he follows on behind but then he pauses and casually points the gun back in their general direction. “You know… You’ve really got to be careful, ladies.” Beth closes her eyes a little as the gun gets closer to her face. “I mean, citrus on marble, like lemon and whatnot, that stuff will erode like crazy.”
And it’s just the kind of random trivia that Rio would know, only nothing is ever really random with him. When he retracts his gun and heads towards the front door, Beth stares after him, her mind racing. She realises what really bothers her about the whole situation. While she hadn’t recognised him straight away, he really hadn’t changed much at all and it didn’t take long before it hit her. She didn’t think she had changed much either but he didn’t seem to recognise her at all. And even if he did, he was acting as if they had never met. He had always been good at hiding his emotions but she at least expected a flash of recognition. It gnaws away at her and it doesn’t help that he simply laughs as he leaves through the front door.
It was rare that Beth got a spare moment to herself but when the opportunity presented itself one Saturday night, she took it and found herself alone at the park. It was one of the smaller ones and every time she had passed it, it was empty. That night seemed to be no different but as she laid back on the table part of the picnic bench, a voice startled her.
“Probably not the best place to pass out.”
She opened one eye and tried to ignore the fast beating of her heart as she peered at the source of the voice. “I’m not going to pass out.”
“Sure, sure.”
Beth sat up and shuffled to the end until her legs are dangling off the edge of the picnic table. The boy before her couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen. He dressed all in black and he had his hood up. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his jeans and he rocked back and forth on his heel.
“Can I help you with something?”
He shrugged. “Never seen you around here before.”
“First time.”
“So hanging around in parks late at night ain’t your usual thing, huh?”
“Why? Am I stealing your spot?”
He laughed at that. “Nah. I just pass through sometimes. Saw some girl I didn’t recognise draped over the table, figured I better ask what’s up.”
Beth rolled her eyes. “Isn’t it past your bedtime or something?”
“Funny,” he muttered.
“I mean, come on, you’ve got to be what? Twelve?”
Suddenly, he was back to being calm again. He shrugged. “Thirteen. And while we’re in the neighbourhood of giving out information…” He moved to stand in front of her, a few steps between them. “Rio.”
“Beth,” she supplied after a moment of consideration.
“Short for anything?”
“Elizabeth but no one calls me that.”
“Elizabeth,” he said, testing it out as a smile forms. “I like it. Suits you.”
That night at the park had stretched out for a surprisingly long time. They sat together at the picnic bench and talked some. He asked her a little about high school, mentioning that they would most likely be going to the same school. They did. Although she was a senior when he finally became a freshman. It didn’t stop them from running into each other and talking and generally just getting to know each other. There were some large times gaps between their run-ins but it was always as if no time had passed at all as they eased into conversation. That year they went to school together was the most they talked and saw of each other and during that time they became closer, making sure to see each other as much as possible.
The memories of it all flooded her but Beth managed to hold it back, knowing she had to concentrate on getting the money together. It hasn’t been easy and she stands in Annie’s apartment, a glass of bourbon in hand, while the money is slowly counted.
She swallows a mouthful of her drink. “Where we at?”
“Short,” Ruby says as she makes a note of the current total.
“By how much?”
“Over sixty grand.”
Beth sighs and puts her head back. She moves a little, already feeling the effects of the bourbon but it’s not enough. She fixes a look on Ruby who turns her attention to Annie.
“What about the car?”
“I took it back,” Annie says defensively before trying to make light of the situation. “Lost over half its value B-T-dubs.”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have bought it in the first place.”
“My, what a helpful contribution. Let me just grab my time machine!”
“Oh my God,” Ruby says as she looks to Beth. “We should just go to the police.”
“Wait. What ?” Annie asks in disbelief as Beth’s eyes go wide at the suggestion.
“We haven’t done anything that bad yet,” Ruby says as Beth wanders over. “We don’t have records.”
“Uh, yes. Now we do!” Annie points out.
Beth knows that it definitely won’t go down well. Annie’s right. They robbed a grocery store. With guns and okay, they were fake, but still, guns . There’s no way to keep that under wraps. She might be doubting herself when it comes to Rio but Beth is fairly confident that if going to the police fails, it’ll only put them in more danger around him. There’s no easy way out of it, they have to get his money back. Beth turns away from them as they continue to hash it out.
“If we explain to them that-”
“Explain what, that we meant well?” Annie says, interrupting Ruby. “Gee, officer, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to piss off the gang. We just wanted to rob the grocery store!”
The window to mention that she knows Rio doesn’t go undetected by Beth. She’s tempted to tell them but she’s not entirely sure it’ll make much of a difference. Before he showed up in her kitchen, she would have been absolutely confident that she could talk to him, reason with him, but the Rio she knew never would have pointed a gun at her. He never would have… He was just different.
“Okay, I’m just trying not to die, okay?” Ruby says, raising her voice as well. “If you have a better plan-”
“Actually, yes, I do.” But from how loud and frantic her voice is Beth knows that she hasn’t really thought it through that much. “We should take it from somewhere else. We’ll just steal it and then we’ll pay them back and we’ll just put the whole thing to bed.”
“Bitch, are you out of your mind?” Ruby yells.
“It’s the best possible plan!” Annie snaps.
But Beth has had it so she whips back around. She can’t take it anymore. “Enough! Enough !” They pause to look at her. “Enough.” She walks closer to them. Screw Rio. If he’s forgotten all about her, fine. If he’s choosing to blackout their past, fine. She can do that too. “We’re gonna get that money. We’re gonna figure it out. Because we are strong and we are resourceful. And we’ve accomplished way harder than this.” She can hear her voice getting louder and she really can’t control it. “I once made 300 damn cupcakes in one night, and they were both nut and gluten-free.”
“The kid still had an allergy attack,” Annie mumbles as she looks down at the contents of her glass.
“And you don’t always have to fact-check me, okay?” Beth yells, pointing a finger at her sister who raises her hands up in defence. She sighs, feeling the tension in her shoulders. She’s fed up and angry and just wants the whole thing to be done with. “I’m gonna take a shower. I smell like booze and crime.”
Beth snatches up her bag and doesn’t even wait for a response before she’s leaving the room, taking her glass with her. She drinks from it while she turns on the shower and gathers what she needs. When it’s done, she puts the glass to one side and strips down until she’s completely bare. She stands in front of the mirror which is already steaming up and wipes it away so she can see her reflection.
She hates how much the whole thing bothers her. There had been a time when Rio meant everything to her and she had been confident that she meant something to him as well. Had she really meant so little to him that he could so easily forget or push it all from his mind when they finally saw one another again? It wasn’t worth going over and over, she decides in the end, and instead, climbs under the spray, letting the water hit her face.
It was the second week of the new school year and Beth wandered outside for some fresh air instead of grabbing some food. She had slipped through one of the side entrances, near the parking lot where she knew it would be much quieter but as the door shut behind her, she heard yelling. Her eyes immediately found a group of boys not too far away. One of them was Rio and it wasn’t hard to spot that he was going to get into a fight with three older boys. This was only his second week of high school and she couldn’t sit back and watch him get into a fight, especially not this early on.
Rio got in a good kick between the legs of one of the boys who fell immediately to the ground. As the other two moved in, Beth noticed the skateboard. It must have belonged to one of them but it had rolled away a little. She swiftly moved towards it and picked it up. One of the boys grabbed Rio and she knew she had to act quickly. With only minor hesitation, she walked right up to the other boy. Luckily he was smallest of the group, even smaller than her, so when she swung and hit him in the back of the legs with the skateboard, he toppled over. He gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and his friend looked over. Rio took the opportunity to slam his foot down on the boy’s toes before ramming his elbow into the boy’s gut. As soon as he was free, he ran towards Beth and grabbed her hand.
“Come on!”
She dropped the skateboard as he pulled her away and together they ran around the side of the building. As they got closer to a crowd of students they slowed to a walk. He quickly let go of her hand but she still followed him as they reached the front of the school and took a seat on the front steps.
“I could have handled it,” he said. “But thanks.”
She rolled her eyes. “There’s no way you could have handled three against one. What was that even about anyway?”
“Something.” And she could tell by his tone that he had no plans to elaborate. “Why’d you come to my rescue anyway?”
“Thought you could’ve handled it?” He narrowed his eyes at her and she simply smiled. “You’ve not long started here and I didn’t think it would be good if you got suspended for fighting.”
“Ah, so you’re worried about my education, yeah?”
“Maybe it’s not my place but we talk a lot when we get the chance and I know you’re smart. You could probably teach half of those teachers but getting suspended still wouldn’t be good.” She shrugged at his raised brow. “I also didn’t want you to get the shit beaten out of you.”
He grinned. “So, what, does that mean we’re friends?”
“I suppose it does mean that,” she said and it was impossible to hide her own smile.
He nodded his head a little before looking down a the ground. He seemed to be lost in thought but after a few moments, he looked back at her. He held his fist out. “For real though, I could’ve handled it, but I’m glad you stepped in.”
She bumped her fist against his. “Yeah, well, don’t make a habit of getting into fights where you’re outnumbered. I won’t always be there with a skateboard to help.”
Rio chuckled as he got up and before he headed back into the school he said, “hey, sweetheart, who’s to say I’m gonna be the one getting into trouble next time?”