WATER
...
"Can I get you somethan' for that? That's a nasty cut-"
"No. It's fine"
"...You sure? You both look like you can use some help-"
"It's fine. We're fine."
"Alright... You're not from around here, are you?"
"No, mam. We're not"
"Going on a road trip?"
"Yeah."
"That your girlfriend over there?"
"My wife"
"Oh! You both look so young!"
Michonne grew tired of listening to their conversation from the aisle in the small gas station, so she snatched the keyring off its hook and stepped over to the counter, sliding next to the two bottles of water, before leaving the store entirely.
She soon regretted not being in the shade, as it was hot out, too hot for her to bare, without a cloud in the sky. She sought cover beside the truck, leaning against the passenger door as she shielded her eyes with her hand.
She considered the landscape beautiful when they first set out on their travels, barely taking her eyes off the light, earthy tones that surrounded the dirt roads, or the bruised sky when the sun would set, but she was growing irritable, and so was he.
He tried to hide his frustration, taking it out on the truck instead, slamming the door closed every chance he got. She wouldn't say anything, mainly because she didn't want to. She was in too much of a bad mood herself, most of the time.
"Here"
She only had to turn her head an inch to see the water bottle held out to her. She shook her head, being stubborn.
"I'm not asking"
His voice still hadn't recovered from all the yelling he did nights ago, so he sounded more raspy than usual. She looked at his hand, specifically, his blood stained knuckles, and took the bottle without a word.
"Anythan'?"
She shook her head, hating how he would ask her that every few hours.
He didn't immediately move. Instead he stood a foot away from her, watching her through his squinted, cloudy eyes. She only glanced at him for the briefest time, before opening the door and climbing in the vehicle.
He joined her moments later, his frustration beginning to show when he slammed the door. She peered at him from the corner of her eyes when he began fussing with something, and saw he was attaching the keychain that read 'Rick' onto the car keys, to join the rest that she had picked up. It was always easier to find his name than her own.
He pulled out, back onto the dirt road, in silence. She didn't necessarily like not speaking to him, but she was getting used to it, only looking over at him when he asked something that required more than a nod or shake of her head. Otherwise, she lay against the headrest and gazed out the window, relishing in the breeze that brought her such relief from the heat.
A short time later, she heard Rick suck air between his teeth, muttering to himself, "Damn"
She turned her head to look at him, wondering which of his many cuts or bruises had caused him discomfort for a countless time. He shook his wet hand away from him, the other balanced on the steering wheel while holding a bottle of vodka. Michonne quickly realised what he was doing, and reached over to take the bottle from him. He peaked in her direction only once, then kept his eyes on the road when she took hold of his hand.
There was hardly any skin left on his knuckles, and the sight of the wounds almost sent Michonne's stomach running. She poured a little more over the injury, expecting him to pull away from her, but he didn't. Using her yellow sundress, she dried the area, staining the floral print.
He finally pulled away, "Don't do that"
She leered at him, wondering if he had forgotten that there was plenty of blood on her dress already. She took the chance to examine his face while she looked at him strangely, and she was pleased to see that he wasn't as swollen as the previous day. A bruise still sat under his eye, the cut on his lip still visible, as well as a few smaller cuts on his jaw.
It dawned on her that she was staring at her husband. No longer her high school sweetheart, or just her boyfriend, but her husband. It was a title that meant something greater than she understood. To marry, was an adult thing to do, and they had barely settled into their adult ages. Although, as unsure as she was, she knew without a doubt that she loved him more than anything else, and he was the greatest matter to her.
Facing the windshield, she touched her lip, trying to see if her own tear had healed, but wincing when she applied pressure near her loose tooth.
"Don't play with it"
"I'm not", She snapped back, her voice hoarse and dry.
He looked at her with a raised brow, then back at the road, "Drink the water"
Michonne knew most of his orders were for her benefit, but there was a harshness to his tone that she wasn't used to, and it unsettled her. She continued to stare out the windshield as if he hadn't said anything at all, and in turn he shook his head, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.
They resumed to their usual silence, staring tiredly at the long stretch of road ahead of them, which was terribly fitting for their situation. She found herself feeling uncomfortable after sitting in the same position, for what felt like hours. While leaning forward, she reached behind, trying not to grimace from the pain that radiated from her ribs, unhooking her bra gingerly, and slipped her arms out the straps, dropping it on the seat beside her. She almost shuddered with relief.
"Anything?"
She sighed, in an exasperated manner, "No."
He rolled his shoulders back, like he often did when annoyed. Her father would do the same. Rolling his shoulders and his neck, as if preparing to battle. She hated to admit it, but she saw similarities between the two. Both were capable of flying into blind fits of rage, destroying everything in their path, however, for Rick to reach that level of anger, he had to witness a gross injustice the ones he loved, whereas her father didn't. He was always fuming, and he preferred to take it out on the ones he claimed to love.
"If we don't get to the next town before dark then we'll pull up somewhere… maybe by some trees or somethan'..."
Michonne was too busy trying to fight the urge to sleep to focus on his words, her eyelids growing increasingly heavy.
"...I'll call my brother the next chance I get. Let him know where we are…"
She slowly nodded, still barely listening.
"Drink somethan' before you go to sleep"
Her eyes snapped open, landing on the bottle of water that rolled back and forth on the dashboard. She was thirsty, and she couldn't even remember why she was refusing to drink it in the first place.
A sip was not enough, and she nearly drained the bottle. She didn't care that it was warm from sitting in the sun's rays.
"You need to eat somethan'-"
"I'm going to sleep", Her throat felt considerably better when she spoke, but she was still tired, and so she hoped that he would let her rest in peace.
He chose to ignore her announcement instead, "You gonna' tell me what I did wrong back there?"
She dropped the bottle back on the dashboard as she sent him a warning look.
"You think I did too much?", He challenged, his eyes coming to life.
"I'm going to sleep", She repeated firmly.
"You wanted me to stand back? Let him hit you some more?"
His words stung, and she shot back, "Leave me alone!"
His jaw clenched as he tore his eyes away from her, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.
She sat back against the headrest, turning away from him. It was all too raw for her to discuss, and she would have thought the same for him. The time would come that they would talk about it, but not when both were in a bad mood, and still so shaken.
Sleep had finally taken over, and soon her vivid dreams began. The kind of dreams that felt so real that she would wake up and check her surroundings, sure she was back at her father's home, in her old bedroom. Given the chance, she'd go back and retrieve all that she could, but that wasn't possible. To step foot back in her childhood home wasn't possible. To step foot back in their hometown, was definitely not possible.
Light movements woke her, and both hands instinctively fell on either side of her rounded stomach. Her breaths deepened, her heart beat pounding in her chest. She was so overcome with emotion that she didn't realise she was alone in the truck, parked outside an old motel on a highway.
"Rick!", She yelled out of the open driver side window. It was the first time she said his name in days, "Rick!"
He appeared at her window, yanking open the door with eyes wide from panic, "What's wrong?!"
"I felt something", She explained, grabbing his hand and putting it on the affected area, "Here, I felt something here"
"You did- you felt somethan'? You're sure?", His eyes darted all over her face.
She nodded, her messy bun rocking back and forth on her head.
He kept his hand on her bump, "That's good then, right? That means he's alright? He has to be, if he's moving?"
"I think so", Her voice broke, tears welling up in her eyes, "I think he's okay"
Rick's other hand moved to the back of her neck as a disbelieving chuckle left him, "He's alright. He's gonna' be alright, okay? We ain't far now, we'll get him checked out- we're almost there. We're gonna make it"
She wiped her eyes with the back of her fingers, overjoyed to feel her son move, "Yeah"
He leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers while his thumb stroked the nape of her neck. She placed her hand on his forearm, feeling safe with her husband again.
He pulled back an inch, his nose brushing hers, "We'll be alright. I promise"