Freak

22.

22.

Don't mind me casually having an explosive need to write something at 2 in the middle of the night...

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Arthur's head ached terribly, all he wanted to do was to sleep. Back in the days he would have been able to drink the night away and run a job in the morning but now... The world was spinning and seeing the giant man kneeling on the ground crying in the arms of his daughter confused Arthur immensely. He kept blinking thinking maybe he was just seeing things or that it was just a dream, but no, it was real for sure.

He watched as Blue and the man went into her tent and wondered how he even fit in there, his feet would definitely hang off the bed. They sure did make a peculiar pair, Blue with her long butter blond curls, pale skin and light movements and this humongous dark man with his bald head and lumbering stride. He must have been at least three heads taller than her and Blue wasn't short herself.

As the flaps closed behind them he saw the indentation of a head, distorting the fabric for a good few seconds, he must have tried to stand up. Arthur guessed this man wasn't quite like most folks, but then again who was in the Van der Linde gang really?

***

Bean's feet did indeed hang off of her cot, as a matter of fact a big chunk of his legs did too. Charles had come by with everything she needed and had even added a bowl of stew, which Bean had eaten like a starving dog.

The man in front of her twitched when she touched the shallow wound on his cheek. She'd cleaned and wrapped his hands carefully and looked over the bruises. Nothing seemed broken but he looked miserable where he laid, trying to not burst out in tears again.

"I'm sorry little one, I always make trouble..." he mumbled, looking thoughtfully at the shadows playing over the fabric walls surrounding them.

"Nothing to be sorry for Bean, you've caused no trouble."

"Them men were angry, wavin' guns, I just wanted to find you, didn't want to be lonely no more." Blue didn't bother to point out that he couldn't have stayed for even a day after she left.

"They won't ever do that again, I'll tell them not to."

"Don't like guns."

"I know Bean, I know." Dabbing away the last bit of blood she sighed heavily "there we go, all better, in a few weeks you won't even be able to tell anything happened" she said, placing a light kiss on his other cheek.

"Now tell me what happened"

The big man turned on his side and curled up as much as he could on the small bed.

"He came back real angry"

"Anthony?"

"Uhu, an' he was saying somone's gone an' taken you an' he was going to find 'em" he took a pause, like he always did, to collect his thoughts. "All we who knew you hadn't, tried to, tried to stop him, an' then he gone realizin' you did it on you own. An' then he got even madder. Baby-Blue he was getting all red in his face cause he was so mad" Blue ran her hand up and down his arms, hoping to give him some form of comfort "Started yellin' he did, askin' who gone and help you, no one admitted but he just kept on yellin', so then Esmeralda went and told him he ain't got no right to keep you here, he said awful things Baby-Blue, just awful. Then old man Griffith came an' made him stop, said Esmeralda was right, I don't think he meant it Blue, I may not be smart but I know he was lying." Of course Esmeralda would do that, she was as brave as they came.

"Did you leave on your own Bean?" if he did they might be in danger, he wouldn't have noticed if anyone was following him.

"Tipsy kept lookout, Anthony an' the others were in the tent, no one saw an' so I went to the woods, I've been lost and when if find people they ain't very nice to people like me, calling me names and throwing things, people are awfully mean Baby-Blue, awfully mean..."