Scarecrow

5.

"And I have no purpose at all
I'm floating and hoping
For something to come break my fall
I've lost my mind
I've lost it all."

David's home, Corridor 2, Fallout City

23 years, 4 months and 2 weeks after the solar flare

Riley shot up from the sound of the front door being slammed open and close. David stormed in, looking furious. She put her book down and followed him to his room.

'Are you okay?' He shot an angry look at her, took off his shirt (Oh wow, he has tattoos...?), pulled a new one from a drawer and went straight to the bathroom without saying anything. 'Okay then...' Riley lifted her eyebrows and slammed backwards on the bed. She tried to be nice to him, just because Brent told her to. She didn't even like him; in her eyes he was a narcistic asshole who didn't think about how others felt or what they wanted. He was arrogant, he never said a word to her and he always looked cranky. She didn't like being around him, especially when it was just the two of them home alone, but as Brent liked to remind her; David was the one that actually saved them and gave them a new sanctuary, so she needed to show some more respect to him. Yes, he saved both her and Brent, but now she was stuck here, in this underground shithole, surrounded by people that looked more dead than alive and without any hope.

While laying on her back, Riley listened to the water streaming in the room next to her and thought about her day. She'd had found some 'new' clothes with Andy and had had fun being with Kathryn, who taught her a few new nursing skills. Riley felt glad she could actually mean something soon, or else she feared she'd might go crazy. Kathryn promised to teach her everything she knew; extra nurses would always come in handy.

The shower turned off and she sighed. She didn't feel like talking to that moody David, so she just hid in his room and hoped he wouldn't bother her. His footsteps sounded throughout the house and just as she thought she would be safe from his bad mood, the door opened and he came in.

'Riley?'

'What?' Her reaction came out more blunt than she meant, but still... Why even bother to look up?

'I got you something.' What? Surprised and a little hesitant she propped herself onto one arm, looking at David; his face was mild and he didn't even look that cranky now, to be honest. He just stood there, somewhat lost and he held out an old, glass soda bottle, which contained one, pure white flower. She gasped; those flowers had been everywhere outside when Brent and she travelled from Houston to here.

'Eh...'

'Well, I thought... Maybe you would like it, since you long to be outside so bad.' He walked over to her and handed the bottle.

'Thank you.' The flower was standing tall in the bottle, it's petals soft and clean. She smiled. 'Are you trying to be nice to me, Escamilla?'

'Haven't I always been nice to you, then?,' he replied, holding in a smile.

'You know, you can be quite an asshole sometimes.' Riley turned her back to him and put the flower on the desk in the corner of his room. David rubbed his neck. Her heart skipped a beat when seeing him standing there, awkwardly grinning towards the ground, his hand still in his neck. His nose wrinkled a bit while smiling and he let his arm fall down.

'I know. I'm sorry.' He looked at her confused, then turned and left the room. 'I need to talk to you and Brent, as soon as he gets home,' his voice echoed from down the hall.

--

'How do you mean, we can't leave the house anymore?' Riley's unstable opinion about David maybe not being an asshole tumbled and collapsed. He was an asshole, for sure. She looked at Brent, who stared at David. David sighed.