The Disbanders

Chapter 14: Confessions

November 2018

Having the coat that Will and Alexa made for me has been crucial for getting through these past few weeks. While Evie and Alexa were lucky enough to have winter coats from the outside world with them when they ran away, it was not the case for most of us. The leaves have all fallen, which leaves me to miss the pretty colours around me. However, the one thing that will always remain as bright and colourful as can be, are the sunrises.

I find myself waking up almost daily at that time now, rather than once every so often. I almost never even look at my watch anymore, and leave it in my room at times. There are moments where time is not important to me.

One of those moments is like this one, where we're all sitting together and playing cards, without a care in the world. This time, I know how to shuffle.

Today, we're playing Spoons, and we're down to Chuck, Hayden and Alexa. The match is intense, as the rest of us watch intently, captivated in the moment. Alexa suddenly reaches out and grabs one of the two spoons on the table, prompting Chuck to grab the second one. Hayden slams his fist down in frustration, making us all laugh.

"I swear, this game is based on luck," he says, shaking his hand.

"Not how we do it," says Alexa. She looks at Chuck, and the two of them high-five. She then takes the cards away from his spot on the table. "When you have two pairs, don't do anything with them until you see a third card for one of them. You can't play by simply memorizing which cards have come and gone."

"Whatever," says Hayden, shaking his head and sitting back further in his chair. Alexa and Chuck carry out the final round, where Alexa is the winner.

"Well, good game, Howard," she smirks, extending her hand for a handshake. Hayden watches her, as he shakes his head and smiles. I guess he's not so angry anymore. Chuck smiles back, grasping her hand firmly. The two chuckle amongst themselves briefly.

"Ugh, we need to unpack and clean out the trailer, don't we?", asks Evie. Chuck places his hands on Evie's shoulders.

"Look," says Chuck, in a consoling manner, "I'll give it a deep clean in the spring, alright? That'll save us all time." Evie smiles.

"Thanks, you're the best," she replies, before heading out. "We need to water the crops first." She takes a bucket from the floor, next to our built indoor crop garden. It's in quite good shape. While it's giving us little to eat, it's better than nothing. Evie pours some water delicately across the soil, before clunking the bucket down and heading outside.

We spend the next twenty minutes or so clearing the trailer of everything, and placing it in the corner of the house. As I enter with the last bin of stuff, Will shuts the door behind me, after having held it open as I passed through.

I drop the contents from my arms onto the floor, adding it to the pile from before.

"Well, here's to another winter in a crowded house," snarks Alexa.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad," states Chuck.

"Yeah. Besides, crowded or not, it's still home," smiles Will. Hayden goes off into his bedroom for a moment.

"I'm going to lie down for a bit," he says. I purse my lips, remembering how physically taxing this must've been. He shuts the door quietly.

"I'll go build the fire. Someone should start it," says Evie, leaving once again.

"Oh my god!", hollers Hayden. We all flash glances at each other worriedly, before Chuck makes the first move towards the door. He opens the door quickly.