Heal My Scars (A Lapidot Dystopia) (ON HIATUS)

IV-Peridot

A subtle thud on the concrete stopped me dead in my tracks. I turned around and saw Lapis sprawled on the ground unconscious. My eyes went wide. I stumbled over to her, picked her up, and turned back around. She was surprisingly light in my arms, and that made things a lot easier for me. I could see that her head had taken damage from the fall. Blood was trickling down her forehead. She would be okay for a little bit, but it would eventually need to be cleaned up.

I ran like I was running from demons, which I practically was. The kid needed my help. I was her only hope if she wanted to survive out of the orphanage, right?

Not to mention that I was a raging lesbian.

Once I was confident that I'd thrown the attackers off my tail, I started to walk. I knew where I needed to go: the route to Jasper. I was completely aware that I didn't have the energy to make it to Goshen, but I knew I could reach New City, and that's where I would settle for the night. It would take hours to get there, but I could make it. I had to, for Lapis's sake.

When I finally reached the abandoned building I had in mind, still marked by the candy wrappings sticking out of the locked door, I was panting from running the last half mile to get there, and my chest burned. I walked underneath the canopy of the building and placed Lapis down in front of a window. I knelt down in front of her, pulled off my shirt swiftly, and used the black part of it to clean up the cut on her forehead. It would have a bit of a stain, yes, but she needed her health more than I needed a clean shirt. At least it wouldn't show.

It didn't take long until I was sure that Lapis's cut didn't need anything more. I took my shirt, put it back on, and sat down next to her. As one last precaution, I pulled her beanie down over her forehead. I took one look at the night sky, and then I held Lapis a little closer than I probably should have. She was asleep, it would be alright. She didn't need to know about this part of me just yet, and maybe not ever.

I slept on and off throughout the very small amount of time left that night, making sure Lapis didn't wake up before me. I finally decided to get up when the sun came up over the horizon. I stood up, walked into the new light, and stretched. It was cool out, as usual, and it felt so nice.

The city got busier as the sun rose higher. Cars drove down the street, people were walking into the stores nearby, and moms with their devil children were strutting through the parking lot.

I heard Lapis shifting behind me, trying to make herself comfortable against the window. I wanted to hold her again, and I hated myself for that. I wasn't supposed to be acting like this, especially around a kid I barely knew. After all, the whole "me being her only hope" story was a plain lie. I had known I was lesbian for a while, and that really decided to kick in when I saw her. It was a rather new feeling to me, and it made me feel sick, but also so good. I felt warm and fuzzy around her, an odd yet satisfying feeling.

I continued to stand at the curb for a little longer, absorbing the early sun's warmth until I finally decided that we needed to get a move on if we were going to reach Goshen by sometime that night. She would delay the usual trip, but I could handle that. All we needed to do was reach the place by nighttime, and we could stay in there to get some quick rest before continuing onto our next destination: Monticello.

I walked over to Lapis and nudged her side with my foot, officially eliminating any chance for me to hold her.

"Wake up," I ordered. "We gotta get going. I want to get you to Goshen tonight and Monticello by sunrise tomorrow."

"Do we have to?" Lapis whined, turning over.

I felt my face heating up a little. "Yeah," I managed to respond. "Our ultimate destination is Rochester. That's probably around six days from here with you in tow."