Justified: A Short Story (based on the TV show)

Chapter 5

Rose’s POV

Raylan and I sat down in the chairs in front of his desk. I took a deep breath, and met Raylan’s gentle gaze.

“Um-“ I started, but stopped, noticing the crack in my voice.

Concern laced his face, and he grabbed my hand in support.

“You can tell me anything, Rose.”

I took another breath, and smiled slightly.

“Before I moved here, I lived with this guy, Rick. We were in love, you know, bliss. It was perfect for the first few months, but then, I started to notice that he was involved with heavy drugs. And, against my better judgment, I went along with it. To fund our addictions, we started robbing stores and…people. I didn’t realize what I was doing; I was in too deep-“

I stopped, gauging Raylan’s reaction. I took a deep breath before continuing.

“One night, he and I were on a spree. We were planning on robbing this guy that we had heard had loads of cash at any time. We were ecstatic, so we got ready, and we barged in. It was all a blur really, but we got the money, and we bolted. However, not before getting a warning yelled at us as we sped off by the man we stole from. After that, Rick ditched me, and I got clean and sober, and ended up here.”

I sighed, and Raylan gripped my face gently. He kissed me then, and I felt relief spread throughout my body.

“Thank you for telling me that, darlin’.” Raylan whispered against my lips, and I smiled wanly.

“Raylan, there’s more.” I spoke after a second.

“I didn’t know it then, but when you introduced us, it all came back to me, even though I did my best to forget it. I know Boyd, and he knows me.”

Raylan’s face stretched in surprise. “Rose..”

“Boyd is the man I stole money from, and he knows who I am. When you went to go grab his phone, he reminded me of that.” I let out a breath, trying not to let tears fill my eyes.

Raylan scowled, standing up suddenly. “What?? He threatened you??!!”

I grabbed his hand, having him sit down in the chair again. “It’s not a big deal, babe. I can handle myself.”

“You don’t get it, Rose! Boyd is dangerous, he’s killed people!”

I chuckled. “I’m sure he has. But guess what? With you to protect me, nothing will happen, right?”

Raylan sighed, smirking. “Right.”

After a moment of silence, he spoke again. “So…did you just call me babe?”