Rivals For Breakfast

54| Burn

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Winter is cruel. The grey skies and icy winds always seem to get worse before they get better. Today is no exception.

I look for the sky in between the long pine trees. There's no sun, everything is folded over in grey. The clouds form one big blanket over the evergreen forest. I'm dying to use my voice, but everyone in the car is so quiet. It's not a time for being talkative.

I have no idea where we're going. I don't even want to be out here, not after everything that happened yesterday. I don't think I can mentally handle anymore near-death experiences. But anything is better then staying home alone.

He's barely looked at me all day, even now I can't see his face past the black hoodie he's shrouded in, but his hand is warm, so that's nice. Sometimes I ask myself why I'm still hanging around here. I could run away, leave this all behind, and reinvent myself somewhere. But then I realize that he and I, we only have each other. I couldn't dare leave him, not now.

After this mornings street sweep, The Thirteens are in a celebratory mood. They feel they've already won. The enemy has been almost completely wiped out. Those who aren't dead have fled town, they'd have to be suicidal to come back.

Now it's all a matter of finishing them off.

He says we're playing things safe today, we'll make rounds around all the warehouses making sure everything is secure. Juggy's here as back up, he was nice enough to sit in the back. I don't know much about him. I remember disliking him when we first met, but now that I think back, he's always been nice to me, nicer than Cole even.

The day drags on, and I'm grateful it's rather uneventful. Warehouse after warehouse we walk the perimeters. It's downright boring and almost relaxing. I do a lot of thinking in the meantime. I don't even know what I'm thinking about. Life, death, everything in between I guess.

It's become so natural to hold his hand I almost forget it's presence now. I swing his arm back and forth and hum something. He looks down at me with a smile. It makes me feel good, knowing I can still make him smile.

"You've been so quiet" he says.

That's interesting, I might say the same thing about him.

"Hasn't been much to talk about" I reply.

He smiles at his feet, kicking aside a rock. "You know... I'll always be here for you, when you need me."

I look into his eyes, i'd forgotten their beauty. In his eyes I see the monsters that hid under my bed at night when I was a child, they're unexpectedly beautiful, toting fire that the stars couldn't even match. In his eyes is life, like the comet that started us all. In his eyes I find myself.

He pulls me into a hug. His arms wrap around my shoulders. In that instance, I finally feel warm again. I wish we could stay like this forever. I wish we could never let go.

"I've let down a lot of people" he sighs.

My hands rest on either side of his face.

"Don't say that." I tell him.

"It was my job to keep them alive" he sighs.

"You did everything humanly possible, you can't bear all the weight on your own" I pull him closer to me.

We're so vulnerable in each other's arms. It's the best feeling on earth.

Back in the car we head for our fifth destination of the day.