The Witness

The Guilty

Guilt is a strange thing. It makes people do and say the darndest things. It gnaws on your flesh daily, occupies a space in your head constantly, weighs you do so much it's hard to function.

Sometimes even hard to breathe.

Guilt is an animal that won't be caged. No matter how much you force it back, threaten it, try to act tougher than it, it still finds its way out. Guilt can make you sick, sicker than any virus or disease known to man. Guilt can kill you.

And it will kill you.

If you let it.

 The Guilty

"Are you going to kill me?" I whisper to Dakota as we lay in bed in the early morning hours.

"No."

"Even if I tell on you?"

Her eyes dart to my eyes.

We are silent for a long moment.

"No," she says after a long pause.

"You don't scare me, Dakota. You worry me."

"What do you mean?"

"You're already on trial for one murder, don't... don't do something stupid and make everything worse for yourself. Don't kill me. I don't want you to go to jail because of me."

"Most people beg for their lives for themselves," she forces a chuckle.

"I love you." I grab her hand in my own.

"I love you too." She admits.

"Don't... don't hurt me in front of Lesly. She'll get the wrong idea about you."

"I'm pretty sure she had an idea about me before I even came here."

"Still. Don't make things harder for yourself."

"I'm sorry I freaked out on you. I was just... scared. I was reacting out of survival instinct; I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know."

"You're perfect. Do you know that? I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"You are a good person Dakota, don't ever forget that." I caress her face.

She rolls on top of me and kisses me.

I wrap my arms around her.

"Hey, I'm making break—" Lesly cuts herself off as she opens the door and catches us.

We quickly break apart.

"Um, yeah, uh thanks Whatever is fine." I sit up and nervously push back my hair.

Dakota runs her fingers through it.

I look at her and smile.

She smiles back.

"Okay..." Lesly says as Cali runs by her.

She walks off but leaves the door open.

"Take a shower with me," I get up out of bed and tug Dakota with me. "I just want to wash all the stress off from yesterday. Start over today."

"I can get behind that." She lets me tug her along.

"We're taking a shower!" I call to Lesly as I head into the bathroom.

"Uh, okay, try not to take too long!" she calls.

The shower is bliss. It's just me and Dakota, the way it should be. She washes my body, then holds me and we let the warm water wash over us and calm our nerves. I don't ever want to leave this moment, but eventually, the water runs cold and we get out.