“Are we still in New Mexico?” Hallie groaned.
“Yeah, and we’ll be here a long time. Do you know how big states are, Hal?” I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose. Granted we’d been on the road for days, but her badgering was becoming increasingly irritating. We were stuck in an everlasting loop of sleep, forage, walk, and it was beginning to wear thin when accompanied by constant complaints.
“And we have to go through Arizona as well?” she whined, kicking at some loose rocks at the roadside.
“Yes, we have to go through Arizona as well. Saying it out loud for the thousandth time doesn’t make the journey any shorter,” I groaned, earning myself a pout from her. She was about to launch into another long complaint but was stopped short by a distant sound.
“Listen,” she ordered, stopping dead on the spot. I strained my ears to hear what she’d heard. An engine rumbled in the distance.
“A car,” I murmured, trying to work out which direction it was going in.
Hallie seemed to read my mind, “It’s getting closer.”
“Get off the road,” I blurted, grabbing her and pulling her with me. We ducked into the shelter of an alley way, peeking out to try and see what was coming. It was a small car, being driven by a young, dark haired woman. A young teenager sat in the passenger seat, his brown hair hanging around his face. They slowed as they reached the street we were on, pulling up just past the alley way. We pressed ourselves against the wall in an attempt to hide ourselves, and listened out for their intentions.
They talked quietly amongst themselves, too quietly to make out their topic of conversation.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Hallie asked in a hushed tone, wide-eyed.
I shrugged, “I don’t know. Probably looking for stuff.”
“Why don’t we speak to them?”
“Hallie, no. No way. Look what happened last time we spoke to someone. Bunny got taken, remember?” I reminded her.
“Not everyone will be like that, though,” she persisted, “so I think we should try talking to them.”
Her naivety was sweet, but not practical and definitely risky. I was in no hurry to repeat my meeting with Felix, so I shut down her proposal.
“I said no, Hallie,” I chided, “so I drop it.”
“Why do you hate me?” she huffed, folding her arms.
I rolled my eyes, “I don’t hate you. I’m keeping you safe.”
“They might be able to keep both of us safe,” she argued, “they’ve got a car.”
“A car doesn’t mean anything,” I countered, rubbing my temples in exasperation.
“They probably have somewhere to stay,” she pushed on, trying to convince me to change my mind. It was becoming a battle of wills rather than of good interests. I heaved a frustrated sigh, and Hallie glared at me.
“Well, I’m going over there,” she threatened, her eyes fiery as she stared me down.
“You are not going over there, don’t move,” I warned as she squinted at me. “Stay where you are.”
“Make me,” she challenged, her body stiffening with defiance.
“Oh, Jesus. Are we really doing this?” I groaned, tired of the increasingly teenager-like behaviour she was displaying.
She pouted, “You never listen to my ideas.”
“Because you’re fucking eleven, Hallie,” I hissed, grabbing her arm. “I’m the adult so you can just listen to me, okay?”
“You're an adult but you’re not my mom,” she spat, pausing between each word for effect. It worked, stopping me in my tracks by slamming me with a freight train of hurt. Hallie took the opportunity to pull her arm away from my grasp and began stepping backwards out of the alley way, never breaking eye contact with me. By the time I’d snapped out of the distracting guilt, she was already out into the street. I ran forward and grabbed her, but she’d already been seen.

“Don’t move,” called out the boy. He looked older out in the day light, maybe eighteen or nineteen. His face was lined harshly as though he were middle-aged, but his features and frame made it obvious he was not as old as his weathered face suggested. The woman beside him was stern looking, her face pale and her eyes darting between us. She was much older than he was, older than I was, even; but she was small and bony, a gust of wind could have knocked her off her feet. Overall, not a threatening pair, but who knows what they might have in their pockets. I put my hands up, nudging Hallie to do the same.
“Who are you?” he shouted, looking us up and down. We both stayed silent, Hallie’s earlier bravado deserting her as quickly as it had arrived.
“I said, who are you?” he repeated, taking a step towards us.
“We don’t want any trouble,” I replied, shakily, stepping myself in front of Hallie.
“You’re making trouble for yourself,” he snarled, reaching back into his pocket.
“Cole,” the woman warned, finally breaking her silence. Her voice was much more authoritative than she appeared, but the boy listened, withdrawing his hand from his pocket, empty. The woman started towards us slowly, judging us with each step.
“Any weapons?” she barked, her eyes wandering over my body in search, quickly settling on the knife at my waist.
“Just that,” I nodded towards it, instinctively leaning back as she advanced on us. She held out her hand for it, but I shook my head.
“I need it,” I stuttered, “I need it to keep us safe.”
I took a step back now, my hands guiding Hallie back as well.
“Smart girl,” the woman smiled, her eyes crinkling in the corners with amusement. She leaned around me to look at Hallie. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
Hallie looked at me and I shook my head.
“It’s okay,” the woman persisted, her voice now softer, silkier.
Hallie shrunk and squeaked out her name.
“That’s pretty,” the woman smiled. “This your mom?”
“No, she’s my aunt,” Hallie offered up.
“Hallie!” I scolded, trying to keep her quiet. The woman turned to me and extended her hand.
“Coralee,” she announced, waiting for me to shake her hand. She withdrew it when I didn’t take her up on the offer.
“Marina,” I replied, keeping my voice flat.
“We don’t bite,” she said, smiling lightly at her own joke, “but we do try to keep ourselves safe, as I’m sure you understand. Now, what are you doing out on the streets?”

“What the ever living fuck is going on with my Charms?” Jimmy gasped. He’d skipped into the kitchen excitably, but upon seeing the ongoing war at the table between Brian and Hallie, he’d stopped dead. I smirked from behind my coffee, mouthing ‘I told you so’ at them.
“He started it,” Hallie shrugged, casually pointing her spoon at her opponent.
“Oh, real mature, Hal. Don’t make me kick you under the table,” Brian snickered in reply. Jimmy picked up the box and gave it a shake, assessing the contents with a grimace.
“This was full this morning, dude!” he burst, peering inside for a visual appraisal.
“You ate fucking half of it in one sitting,” Brian reminded him, with a laugh.
Jimmy squinted at him, “Did not.”
“Yeah Jim, you did,” Brian replied, rolling his eyes. “And go put your glasses on.”
“I wasn’t squinting because of that,” Jimmy huffed, stuffing his arm into the box and grabbing a handful for good measure. I finished my coffee quietly, avoiding all eye contact with the messy-haired sugar fiend. I got quickly while he was distracted with his hoard and dumped my mug in the sink before skipping out, leaving the bickering behind me. I hadn’t banked on Jimmy following me, and I made it all the way up the stairs and into my shared bedroom with Hallie before he made his presence known.

“Marina,” he called softly from the doorway, making me jump. “Can we talk?”
“For a 6-foot-something giant, you’re sneakily quiet,” I complained, recovering from the shock. I wasn't sure I wanted whatever conversation he was planning, but I couldn't bring myself to send him away.
He ignored my pseudo insult and strolled in as though he’d been invited. I blinked at him as he plonked himself down on the end of the bed.
“Make yourself at home,” I quipped, with a raised eyebrow.
His smirk was laced with a hint of mischief, “Thanks.”
I turned back to the window and looked out at the ocean, unsure of what to do with myself in his presence. I could feel his eyes burning a hole in my back as he tried to conjure up the words he wanted. I pursed my lips, deciding to fill the uncomfortable quiet for him.
“I’m sorry about last night,” I began, not making any attempt to actually face him. “I said some shitty stuff that I shouldn’t have said.”
“Did you mean any of it?” he asked quietly, his voice void of its usual larger than life quality.
I softened a little as I watched the gentle waves roll onto the beach.
“No,” I admitted, “Of course I didn’t. I was just humiliated. I still am.”
“You shouldn’t be, but-”
“I don’t want to talk about that,” I interjected, flatly. “Please, I can’t.”
He was quiet for a moment, apparently deciding what move to make, settling on the worst choice.
“But why, Marina? Why do you do it?”
“Seriously?” I finally turned to look at him, my face lined with frustration. “Can’t you leave it be?”
Jimmy said nothing, but his piercing blue eyes connected with my own, begging me for some kind of answer. I stayed by the window, frozen to the spot as the conflict in my head battled itself out. I finally relented, trying to force the jumbled thoughts in my brain into something coherent.
“I don’t know, there’s a lot of stuff,” I mumbled, breaking away from his gaze.
“Is it Viola?” Jimmy pressed, staring at me intently.
I swept back around to the window and leaned against the sill heavily as tears threatened to pool.
I closed my eyes, “Of course, it’s Viola.”
I pressed my forehead against the glass, letting the coolness steady my emotion. I wasn’t ready to do this, to bare my soul. Jimmy’s bare feet trudged over to me delicately and he sat on the sill beside me, clearly sensing my reluctance. He focused on his feet, wriggling his toes against the carpet while he chose his words.
“You know,” he began, tilting his head to one side, “I’ve lost someone too.”
My eyes snapped open as his words washed over me. I glanced over at him, taking in his slouched figure and solemn face. It was intriguingly unlike Jimmy to be serious, and it unnerved me. I pulled away from the window pane and quietly sat myself next to him.
“Who?”
He leaned back against the window, lazily rolling his head to the side to face me.
“Her name was Blair,” he smiled, taking solace in the name rolling off of his tongue.

I swallowed, dipping into Jimmy’s deeply personal memories was intimidating, but there was also something comforting about it, so I smiled as best as I could and fell into them.
“What was she like?” I asked, as he beamed at my interest.
“She was amazing. Best friend I ever had, besides the guys. We met backstage at a show and I could tell from the moment I met her that she was a special person. We became inseparable almost straight away, and boy, did we get up to some shit,” he snickered at his memories.
I smiled, “Sounds like she was fun.”
“Oh, she was,” he grinned. “Man, we used to piss Brian off something terrible.”
“So, you met at a show. She was a musician?” I probed, curious to hear more of Jimmy’s prepocalypse-life.
“Only the best fucking vocalist I’ve ever known,” he scoffed. “Fucking top notch.”
I nodded, sensing his enthusiasm beginning to wind down.
“I fucking miss her every day,” he continued, though much less animatedly. He dug into his pocket, pulling out a small ring. He rolled it between his fingers for a moment.
“This is all I have left to remind me that she was here once,” he murmured, clasping it tightly into his fist. “And her CD in the van of course.”
His comment twigged my memory of the cases I’d flicked through when looking for something to listen to, “She’s Blair Peterson?”
“The one and only,” Jimmy sighed, wistfully. “We’ll listen to it sometime.”
“I’d love to,” I smiled. He looked up at me, his lips pulling up slightly in the corners. I found myself wanting to comfort him, to connect with him somehow. My heart began to race as I very slowly moved my hand over to him, onto his lap and turned it over, offering it up to him. He blinked at it for a few seconds before sliding his fingers in between mine and clasping. We sat quietly like that for a while, until I finally cleared my throat.
“Viola could sing,” I blurted it out, like it might burn my mouth if I held it in too long.
“Could she?” Jimmy smiled, sliding Blair’s ring back into his pocket.
“Her voice was beautiful,” I reminisced, “and she could dance, unlike me.”
“I’ve seen you feed the chickens,” Jimmy snorted, “you’re not that bad.”
“That was so convincing, every thought about a career in acting?” I quipped, much to his amusement. He squeezed my hand.
“Marina, are we good?” he asked, looking at me hopefully.
I leaned into him for a second, “Of course we are, Jimmy.”
I found myself disappointed as he dropped my hand and stood.
“I don't want to, but I have to go. I’m on supply duty with Johnny,” he announced, by way of explanation.
“Have a good trip,” I nodded, watching him begin to make his way to the door, my heart sinking a little.
He turned as he reached it, fumbling awkwardly for words.
“Maybe you’ll speak to me about it someday,” he wondered aloud.
I looked him in the eye and answered as sincerely as I could, “Maybe.”

Notes

Hey, what are you doing here, Blair?

Blair Peterson is on loan from the fantastically wonderful fyction - go check out her amazing stories! <3
Thank you, fyction ;)