Shadows of Dusk

Room Two-Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

-Maria-

T.W: Brief alluding to rape

I hated to leave Charlie, and Las Vegas. But I knew by now it was no longer safe here, even if I laid low.

I give Charlie one last goodbye hug.

"I know you can take care of yourself, but don't do anything to stupid, okay?" Charlie warns.

I chuckle. "Don't worry about me, I'll make sure neither of us get hurt,"

"Hearing what Cas did at the casino, I think she can handle herself well. It's you I'm the most worried about,"

"Hey, you hadn't heard from me in what, two years? And now after a day and a half back you're saying you'll be worried about me?"

"You don't think I ever wondered what happened to you?"

"Well, if my face stays off the news, know I'm just fine,"

"Okay then, I guess we'll meet again,"

"Bye,"

"See ya,"

I walk out of Charlie's apartment, heading back over to Cas's car.

Cas was waiting in the driver's seat, looking at her phone.

I hopped in on the passenger side.

"It's going to be about a four hour drive," Cas informs me.

"Seriously? I figured it'd be less than that,"

"Well, I found a remote town with a cheap motel, I thought we could aim for there," she started the car, and began to follow the navigation directions.

"So, uh, I guess we gotta figure out how to make these next four hours pass by quickly," I say.

"Well, we could chat, and get to know each other more,"

"Okay, I have a question. What are your cat's names?"

She laughs. "Do you seriously not know?"

Laughing along, "No! You kept using nicknames and I couldn't figure out what their actually named!"

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! So the red one is Caesar, the brown one is Hazelnut, and the white one is Marshmallow,"

"Ah, Marshmallow makes sense, seeing how fluffy she is. How did you come up with the other names?"

"Well, I named Caesar that because I adopted him on March fifteenth, and then Hazelnut because of her coloring's,"

I laugh at the reasoning behind Caesar.

We go quiet for a bit, not really knowing how to continue the conversation.

Maybe after ten or so minutes of awkward silence, Cas pipes up. "Hey, I get it if you still don't wanna tell me, but I'm still curious about how you met Diego,"

I gaze out the window, watching buildings and cars pass. "No, it's fine. I'll tell you," I close my eyes, going back to that night. "What parts did I tell you?"

"You were fifteen, and your uncle had died,"

I nod, knowing all what happened next. "Okay. So, my uncle passed, and I of course wanted to attend the funeral, but I thought everyone would be better off if I didn't. But, I did find where they buried him, so I went to his grave, to pay my respects. I was just so...depressed, that's the only way to put it. I stayed at the sight for much longer than I should have, until it got dark. So I began to walk back to where I was currently staying, and," my voice hitched. Before any tears could form, I rub both of my eyes.