The Skeleton In Me

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

I awaken before the sun. I pull myself up off the floor. The room is dark, the only light is coming from the moon through the window.

I glance over and Cousin, who, as if he feels me looking at him, slowly opens his eyes, and stares right back. 

We blink at each other, and I'm reminded of the bath I had given him only hours ago, and I force myself to ignore the memory of his flinching body against my fingers.

I shake my head, trying to think of anything else.

I walk over to the bed, and retrieve two pieces of dried meat. I move over to where he's sitting, and hand him one of the pieces, and I proceed to sit a few feet away from him.

He holds the piece in his hand, examining it. I don't tell him to eat, because I know he'll only want to defy me, so instead, I eat my own piece in utter silence.

I don't doubt Mr. Father was after us. Cousin was his moneymaker, and now he's got nothing but a few pretty dancers, and Candace.

The question was, how far behind us was he?

"We should get going." I say after a while longer. Cousin didn't eat the food I gave him, and I refused to let my nerves get the better of me.

He'll eat eventually. He won't starve himself. He'll be fine.

I did not convince myself.

"We're already up, no point in sitting around." I continue, "The farther away from Mr. Father we are, the better."

There was a sudden look in his eye that appeared when I mentioned Mr. Father. I couldn't decipher what it was, but if I had to guess, it looked like concern.

I stood and began to pack our things. I wanted to take a bath, and it was almost torture to know there was a tub only a few feet away from me that I couldn't use because I didn't trust Cousin alone just yet.

He slowly stood; I could tell it hurt him a bit to do so. He was still so weak and thin, and him not eating was only making it worse.

At this point the sun was only barely visible, the skin was still a dark blue, with a hint of violet. Good. The darker it was, the better. Nobody will see us while we walk through town.

"We'll take the train." I say to him, pointing at the map, "That should at least get us several hours closer to our destination."

I felt him stiffen despite being halfway across the room. I realized he was used to trains; he was used to being chained.

"It's not like that." I quickly corrected his concern, "You won't be locked up."

"No." He said so quietly I thought I imagined it, "No."

I stare at him for a long, contemplative moment. I wasn't sure if it was even possible for us to go back home all the way on foot, and yet, it didn't look like I had a choice.

"Alright." I sigh, "We will walk, then, but only if you eat." It was nasty to scare him like this, but I was desperate. He was too thin.

He was frowning, his eyes never leaving mine. I could see the anger on his face, an emotion that radiated off of him like a disease. He grabbed the piece of meat that I had given him and looked away as he ate it.

My heart was racing, but despite my guilt, my relief was stronger.

We left the motel and began to walk down the sidewalk. There were a few cars driving by, but for the most part, nobody seemed to be awake yet.