“No one wanted to take care of him, so I did. After the community killed those strangers, I left and took Mikey with me. I couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t let him grow up around people like that. People who killed and enjoyed it. I didn’t take anything that wasn’t mine when I left. As far as I know they’ve never looked for me. That was three years ago. We’ve been by ourselves ever since. Mikey hasn’t eaten in almost three days, me in twice as long. We’re hungry and tired. We’ve not met a lot of people these past three years. We’re good about staying hidden. The ones we have met...mostly have been bad people. I’ve killed those bad people to protect him.”
“Why are you telling us this?” the one closest to her asks.
“So you know I’m serious. We just” -a sudden lump rises in her throat, catching her words. Her cheeks puff, her chest quakes, her eyes well again- “please....don’t be bad people...just-”
Her emotions get the better of her and she weeps. There is no build up, no warning, just a river of tears. She is at her end and she needs help. She needs to know there are still good people left in this world. She needs to know that when she’s gone, whenever that time comes, that there is some silver lining out there for Mikey.
Her tears rumble down her face and splash onto his. He grips her leg tighter and cries with her. Her hand rubs his head in an attempt to comfort him. Even at her most broken her first instinct is still to keep him safe.
“Please don’t be bad...don’t be bad...I don’t want to kill any more real people.” she pleas in-between sobs.
The woman near Rosaline places her hand on the man's shoulder. Her bottom lip curls under and her eyes sag. He softly nods his head at her, then regards Rosaline again.
“Listen, my name is Hawaii. I promise you we’re not bad, and we’ll help you. We have food. You can have some.”
There is a comfort in his voice. It only serves to increase Rosaline's flow of tears. They continue to cascade down her cheeks. For a moment she can’t remember the last time she cried, but only for a moment, then the memory of a young girl running through the woods, doing everything she can to escape death, rushes back to her. That night, that was the last time she cried.
“Please don’t be bad, please.” she pleads again.
“We’re not. I tell you what, we’ll lower our guns if you lower yours?” Hawaii says.
Rosaline doesn’t respond. She continues to weep. Her hand trembles as it grips her gun tightly.
“How does that sound?” Hawaii asks, a noticeable concern now raised in his voice.
“I don’t know if I should or not, but I’m gonna trust you.” she replies, unable to believe she just uttered those words.
“We’re gonna trust you too. On the count of three, okay?” he says.
Her breath skips with sobs, “Okay.”
“One...two...three.”
“Damnit.”
CHAPTER NINE
He awakes to the warmth of the sunlight breaking through the crease of the curtains, splashing across his face. Her head lay firmly against his chest. Her arm draped over his midsection. Her hair is messy and her lips slightly agape. He smiles to himself as he watches her sleep. “What kind of life is this?” he thinks. After all they have been through he never imaged he would wake up like this, but he does, and for almost a whole year now. He wonders if there are others out there who have been able to find some solace in this world. He feels guilty that he is able to. He’s not sure if they deserve it, but he’s glad they have it.
He rustles a bit rubbing his eyes. He tries to move gently, so as not to wake her, but she’s a light sleeper. Most are. He figures these days it's essential. She rubs his chest.
“Noooo.” she softly mutters
He laughs and kisses her head.
“Ew, your hair smells.” he says, prodding at her.
Her face squeezes tight as she reaches up and touches his nose, “You smell!”
She scratches her head, her dirty blonde hair tangling among her fingers, her pale skin matching their plain sheets. He sits up, but she doesn’t budge. She clings onto his body, keeping her head pressed against his muscular, tanned chest.
“Ugh!” she exclaims from her still half asleep state.
“It's our day, let’s go take a bath.” he says.
“Let’s go take a sleep.”
He laughs at her awkward reply, “Let’s go take a sleep? Really?”
Her eyes finally open. She looks up at him groggily and grins, “Shut up.”
“Come on, let’s get up.” -he moves her off him- “We need fresh wood today.” he says.
“Noooooo.” she croons again.
He slides out of bed and stands at the side looking down at her. He runs his hand through his short black hair, feeling the dirt built up in it. He smells his hand, grimaces, and shakes his head. She rolls over and locks eyes with him.
“You’re the worst.”
“No, you are!” he replies, with a smile.
She stretches her arms and legs out muttering, “Blah, blah, blah.” as she yawns.
He grabs a shirt and pants from the closet, puts them on, and begins to turn for the door. She throws her arms up in the air at him and holds them there. He leans down and kisses her cheek as she smiles wide.
“Talk to Rad today, please?” she asks.
He frowns, noticeably opposed to her request. She continues.
“Baby, you two can’t stay mad at each other. We all disagree sometimes. Just apologize and bury it.”
He scoffs and shakes his head, furrowing his brow.
“I’m not wrong here. We have a perimeter for a reason.”
“I know baby, but you’re who we look up to. I know you didn’t ask for it, but that’s how it turned out
