Annabel sat in silence on the couch, boring holes into her palms and trying not to scream at the people in front of her. There was no silence in her head and there was definitely no silence around her as Arthur paced and seethed about the current situation.
"Ya didn't think to mention that Micah Bell is still alive?" his snarls caused shivers to run down her spine, but she took a deep breath to keep her nerves at bay. "We've been here for a god damn week."
"Arthur, calm down." Sadie wasn't taking his verbal abuse, and she seemed to never take it in the past. She threw the same amount of anger in her warning that Arthur was radiating.
"How the hell do I calm down after I find out the man that tore our gang apart is still alive?" he continued to pace, stomping his feet on the creaky floor boards.
Annabel didn't want to listen to it anymore, to his yelling and his anger. She winced every time he yelled and growled at both Sadie and Charles. John had taken Abigail and their daughter into the bedroom, and she was grateful that he did that, or Abigail might have burst from the amount of noise.
"Arthur." Annabel warned softly, but he didn't notice her calling out to him. She stood slowly, keeping her distance from him to keep herself from being yelled at and verbally abused like Sadie and Charles.
"That man is a rat." He growled, the stress causing his shoulders to tense and his fists to clench and unclench. He continued to pace around the dining table. His growls and grumble from his frustration was getting to Annabel, causing her to hesitate calling out to him again and scolding him.
He's never been this angry before, she was completely unsure of how to handle the situation.
"Arthur, we thought you were dead. What did you want us to do?" Charles asked him, his voice and energy was calmer then both Sadie's and Arthur's. His hands were out in front of him, trying to calm him and show that no one was a threat but Arthur could only see red because of the thought of a man that Annabel didn't know.
That question had struck a nerve in Arthur and he stopped pacing, gripping one of the dining room tables. "Well, I ain't dead."
"Arthur." Annabel was a bit firmer this time, scowling at him and pursing her lips at his anger.
"Stay out of it, Annabel."
"It's hard to stay out of it when I have no idea what's going on and I'm listening to you act like a fool!" Sadie walked over to Annabel, placing a hand on her forearm.
"It's complicated."
"I'm used to complicated, I dealt with him for three years." Annabel scoffed, holding her scowl with Arthur. "Can someone just tell me who Micah Bell is?"
"He's a snake." Arthur seethed, roughly taking a seat at the table. "That man makes me looks like a damn saint."
"Annabel," Sadie was softer with her, but she knew that the woman in front of her wanted to put Arthur in the ground. "It's a convoluted story full of the bad things we all did to survive." Her voice was soft, trying to keep Arthur from hearing her. "Micah was someone who did bad things. Terrible things and he still does terrible things."
"So why are you so damn worked up about it? About him?" Annabel felt her fear bubble up in her throat once she saw Arthur's deep blue's stare through her.
She saw him try to talk, try to think of the right words to say before he dropped his eyes and deeply sighed. She noticed the several emotions that swirled through his eyes and the tension form his shoulders dropped a bit, but he was still on edge.
Silence fell over them all, but Annabel knew from the air around them that no one was going to be able to sleep easy tonight.
Sadie settled down on the couch, rubbing her eyes a little and giving a frustrated sigh. Charles stepped outside, most likely wanting to some kind of fresh air.
Annabel sat at the small chair next to the fireplace and watched as the embers started to die out and a cold breeze came through the chimney. She watched and thought about nothing and everything at once, zoning out but not falling asleep. She couldn't sleep as she watched the embers grow cold and she didn't flinch at the abrupt wood scraping on wood as Arthur moved from his spot at the table.
She watched the ash flutter onto the floor and onto the small, woolen carpet that was laid out under the table. She felt her eyes droop and her head tilt to the side and while she tried her best to stay awake, sleep overtook her body.
She dreamt of her mother, and the fresh smell of apple pie and a hearty stew filled the house. It was a familiar memory and she knew what day this was. What dream this was.
She was small and dainty, barely filling into the handmade dress her mother got from a patient. Her mother stood tall over her, a warm and inviting smile tugging at her lips. She saw her lips move, say something sweet to her like she always did but all she could think of was the count down in her head to when her father's screams of pain echoed into the canyon and over the sound of the waterfall.
Annabel watched as her mother ran out the front door, and she felt herself follow but as soon as she ran through that door, she was awake.
Her eyes were bleary and her throat was dry but she didn't wake up with a start. Her heart was calm but her mind was foggy from the memory or dream or nightmare… she wasn't sure.
Coffee filled her nose, and nausea hit her hard causing her to gag a little.
The home stead was quiet, and no longer so cold with the fire place filled with a bright flickering flame. A blanket covered her legs, and she didn't really remember covering herself with a blanket the night before.
There was a sound of chopping wood coming from the window behind her, and a small tune was being whistled between each chop.
Her stomach gurgled and she remembered that she didn't eat the night before, and as she was getting up from her chair with creaky knees and an achy neck, Arthur walked through the door with Sadie behind him
Annabel noticed her change of attire. The black and dirty pants, the clean white button up blouse, tight suspenders and a weathered leather hat that looked clean and well taken care of. She had her holsters strapped to her hips and thighs with a Carbine on her back.
"Thanks, Sadie. I know you got a lot goin' on so I appreciate ya doin' this." Annabel tilted her head at what Arthur was saying but she couldn't really pinpoint what the subject was.
Sadie merely nodded with a cheeky smile on her lips, which only caused Arthur to grumble at her. "I'm gonna go talk to Charles before we see you off." She walked back through the front door, and Annabel rubbed her eyes.
"Mornin'…" she mumbled, barely looking Arthur's way.
Annabel shuffled her way past him, not noticing his change of attire or the different hat or the simple clean smell he had from a long needed bath. He mumbled a morning to her, his voice quiet and gruff. He turned towards her, boots scuffing against the floor, "Ya ready to head home?"
She nodded, throwing on her boots. "I've been ready for a while. I miss my bed." He chuckles, but she didn't really react to it.
He cleared his throat awkwardly, stands in front of her for a few seconds before tipping his head and walking off through the back door. She watched, raising a brow as he walks off, wondering why he was so worked up.
"Wonder what that was about." Annabel shrugged her shoulders, and turned towards Abigail who had a sleeping infant in her arm.
"He's being unusually weird this morning." Annabel addressed, "He and Sadie were talking quietly as they walked inside the house, and I feel like I'm missing something."
"I'm missing something called sleep." Abigail placed a free hand on Annabel's shoulder, "You are fantastic and it's wonderful to know that Arthur is alive and well taken care of, but with a new baby, a grouchy husband, a useless drunk and four extra people in my house is just too much for me." Annabel laughed, knowing very well Abigail had good intentions with her snarky words.
"I don't blame you." She slipped on her coat, "Once the four of us leave, hopefully things will be easier."
"I hope so. John and I can finally focus on this family of ours."
"It's a great family. All of you." She chuckled, thinking about all the moments between their makeshift family. "Quite the dynamic."
"You're a part of it now, you know."
"Not sure if I would fit in well." Abigail waved her hand at her.
"Nonsense, Arthur will just have to bring you around more. You're quite the woman, especially if you can be around Arthur for more than a few hours."
Annabel's laugh was light, but also bittersweet. A part of her was ready to walk out that door and ride home, but she also wanted to stay and get to know these people that Arthur called family for so long. He had just found them, now he has to leave them once more.
She wasn't sure if she can pull that away from him.
"Go. We'll always be here." Abigail bounced the baby in her arms softly, humming to her lowly. "We still have somethings to pay off I'm sure."
"Send any letters to Valentine under my name. I try to pick them up every week."
"Thank you, Annabel."
"You don't need to thank me for anything."
"I don't mean for being here." Abigail placed a kiss on her child head. "Take care of Arthur. He tends to forget about himself."
"I will." Annabel pursed her lips, "I guess, I will see you again soon."
"You will, no doubt about it."
Abigail left her with a smile that reminded her of her mother's, so warm and inviting and full of love. As Abigail walked away, Annabel wiped a tear from falling and turned to door.
The sun was high in the sky, and she assumed that it was almost noon. Her horse was tacked up and ready and stood next to Arthur's mare, digging and stomping his hoof and throwing his head up with loud snorts.
She finally had a good look at Arthur.
Different hat, different jacket, different everything.
He had a different saddle on his mare, a whole slew of guns attached to it as well as a different saddle bag. He no longer wore that thin coat he came with, instead it was replaced with tan leather jacket, a bandana around his neck and covering the area of skin where he unbuttoned his white dress shirt. He no longer had her father's old brown hat and instead had on black hat, rope wrapped around the band.
She was unsure of how she felt about it, all she knew was her stomach was in knots.
"Ya ready to go?" he called out to her, and all she could do was nod.
"What's all of… this?" she pointed to his saddle. Than his jacket, than his hat.
"Ah… it's my old stuff."
Annabel stayed quiet after that, tightening her saddles cinch on Flynn.
They all said their goodbyes, their farewells and once again Annabel felt… different. As she hugged Sadie, she couldn't help but feel doubt even when they full heartedly accepted her into their group.
Their family.
She pulled herself up onto Flynn, adjusting her butt into the seat and patting his neck. Arthur said his farewells, stopping at Sadie and Charles for a little longer than she wanted. But she said nothing, as he hugged Sadie and patted Charles on the shoulder.
And soon enough, they were off, riding their horses hard to get any kind of restlessness out of them before their long trek home.
Nightfall brought on a different kind of anxiety in Annabel.
Even as the sun set and the blue sky turned dark, and there was a calmness that settled over them, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder every so often to make sure no one was following them.
For the first time in a long time, she was paranoid.
"Annabel." She snapped her head over to Arthur. She had halted her horse, turning him around to stare down the path they had just climbed. "You okay?"
"Yeah…" she looked back down the path, before scoffing at herself and spurring Flynn to a trot to catch up to Arthur.
"No one's followin' us." He was soft with his voice, no long around people who have only ever known his rough voice and tough demeanor. "I would know."
"I know, Arthur." She looked down at the horn of her saddle, playing with the fraying leather a little. "I'm just… Paranoid."
"Why? They aren't gonna follow us."
"What makes you so sure?" there was no anger in her voice, but fear. Fear for her life and for his. "You gonna just shoot them, and they'll think, 'oh, yes this man killed a shit ton of our people we should stop attacking him!' Men aren't that smart, Arthur."
"You need to take a breath." He reached over and pulled on one of her reins, causing Flynn to move his head towards Arthur, "Things are fine. They found me in Blackwater, sure, but for that one man to regroup, get more men, and follow us in just a day sounds impossible."
Annabel wanted to rebuttal her worries, because she knows that being paranoid has always saved her.
Almost always saved her.
She turned her face away from him, ashamed that of her own worries and her own range of emotions.
He released her rein, and spurred his mare forward, "C'mon, we're almost to Valentine. Let's get some food before we continue up the hill."
She said nothing the rest of the ride, following like a lost puppy as they came up the path that lead into Valentine. He ushered her to ride next to him, not behind him, mumbling about crazy people in this town.
It was a quaint little town, filled with the basic things that anyone would need when they came in for supplies. While she wasn't the only doctor in town, most of the people were coming to her once the resident doctor raised the prices of his medicines.
Arthur had already hitched Morrighan close to the saloon, and she followed suit with sluggish movements.
"Did ya forget to eat this morning?"
"The coffee made me nauseous."
"Sorry about that, darlin'." She shivered at the simple word of endearment, taking his hand to balance herself as she slid out of her saddle.
"Not your fault. I didn't eat anything before I went to bed, so that might have been the problem."
The saloon was bustling and loud with the bartender yelling out finished orders and a few girls serving some plates of food to some half sober men at round tables. Alcohol burned her nose, but the smell of food made her stomach ache and gurgle.
"Ya wanna drink?"
"Gin. Just gin." He chuckled.
"Never been a whiskey girl."
She found a table place by the window, overlooking the muddy pathways and some stars if she leaned into the window a little. The loud sounds of men's laughter, women's giggles and the charming tune from the piano made her feel at ease, no longer in the open night where anyone could do anything.
Arthur placed a glass of gin in front of her as he took his seat. "I ordered some food, hopefully once we get it we can head up the hill."
"Yeah." Nothing else was said between them, so she took sips of her drink and letting the drink burn her throat and warm her belly.
She enjoyed the chatter around her, and the soft and easy presence of Arthur as he leaned in his chair, swirling his drink.
"I miss him."
"I know you do."
"I hate these emotions." Arthur chuckled.
"I don't mind them as long I get to keep my head." She snorted, not expecting that sort of come back from him.
"Oh, please Arthur. Like I would ever do that."
"I can name plenty of times." She finished her drink, then ordered another.
"I'm sure you can, but that means I can name plenty of times that you were a huge child because of an injury."
"Oh, don't play that game, darlin'." He leaned forward, finishing his drink and ordered another himself.
"Oh, or what, darlin'?" their drinks were placed in front of them, and Annabel noticed how close she leaned in and how close Arthur was leaned in.
He cleared his throat, leaning back again and taking his new glass. She bit her lip, finding herself slightly embarrassed and downed her drink like a shot. The burn caused her to make a face and shiver from the intense taste and burn.
"Careful, Anna. You should eat before you drink anymore." He warned, as he too chugged half of his drink.
Silence overtook them again as their food arrived. Warm, fresh rabbit stew with a few rolls on the side of the bowl was so appealing and as she ate her food, she couldn't help but feel better. And a little bit tipsy.
"You know, I can't help but feel terribly calm around you even though all I want to do is scream." He didn't really react to her comment, but he had heard her. "Losing my parents was hard, it's still really hard but I know everything I need to know to get through life just fine."
"Anna, eat your food."
"Come with me." She put her fork down, and wiped her face with the cloth napkin, "Come with me to Trinidad."
"Annabel, why do you want to even go that far?"
"To give my parents something they were never able to have." Arthur knew what he next words were gonna be before they left her lips, and he quietly worded them as she spoke softly.
"Freedom."
They finished their dinners, had a few more drinks to loosen their nerves before they prepare to ride back home.
"I'll be back." He walked out of the back, most likely needing to take a leak but she didn't really want to think too much about it.
She sat in her chair, waiting for him to come back before she ended up leaving without him. The stars were bright that night, with soft clouds rolling over the town with the wind.
"Sweet little thing, all by yourself." She whipped her head around, watching as a drunkard walked towards her, or stumbled over to her. "How do I get you to join me tonight?"
"I am not interested in any company tonight." She was short, emotionless, and frustrated. She hated with this happened.
"But I'm interested in yer company." He bumped into the table, moving it harshly and almost falling down in the process. "And I'm sure ye can't resist this."
"I'm sure I can, quite easily." He grumbled, wanting to say something more but she simple ignored him.
"Yer nothing but a worthless tease." He stumbled off, cursing about how women were missing out or something along those lines. She took a deep breath, those two words striking something horribly deep in her.
Worthless tease…
Sweet words, soft kisses, and feather light touches. She hated it, so she pushed it away. Pushed him away. "Don't be such a tease…"
"Anna?" She looked up slowly, looking at Arthur's face a little more intently than she should have. "Ya ready to go?" her mouth was dry and causing her tongue to stick to the roof of her mouth.
So she nodded, getting up slowly and regretting her choices to drink alcohol this late at night.
Arthur helped her onto her horse once he saw how she wobbled out through the saloon doors, chuckling a little by how she yawned and stretched her body once she was in the saddle.
"You can rest once we get home."
"I hope so…"
The followed the path up with the sun rising to the East over the snow capped mountains. The house was slightly hidden in the trees next to the falls, and she could feel her excitement bubble in her at the sight of her home.
She was also excited to sleep in her bed again.
She spurred Flynn to a trot then a canter, his nostrils flared and slight huffs escaped him as he climbed the hill.
"It feels good to be home." She was loose with the reins, enjoying the fresh smell of river water and the evergreens that surrounded them. Arthur caught up to her, his mare doing an extended trot just to keep up with her.
"It'll be nice to sleep in a bed again." She laughed, letting go of the reins completely and lets her arms relax against her thighs.
Arthur looked over at her, head tilted back and the buttons of her blouse were undone, showing off her collarbone and neck. He saw that scar again, slightly puckered and pink compared to her golden skin. Strands of her hair stuck to her face as her eyes fluttered.
She enjoyed the breeze, and he felt his chest tighten at the sight of her.
He hoped that things will be able to go back to normal.
It didn't take long to come up along the house, hitching the horses and appreciating the view even if they were only gone for a week.
"Took you guys long enough?" Annabel snapped her head over, knowing that voice all too well. "I've been here for six hours, what happened?"
"We got some food in Valentine." Arthur seemed unfazed by her presence on the porch as he unpacked a few things from his horse.
"Sadie?" Annabel stood frozen, holding onto the reins a little too tightly out of nervousness. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I heard you're goin' on a trip." She lit a cigarette, much to Annabel's dismay, "Arthur asked if I can watch the homestead while you're on your travels."
Annabel stood there processing her words, "Travels…?" she never got a true answer from him when she had told him and asked him. She just thought he was gonna stay behind.
She had to take a moment, leaning against her horse and thinking about the little moments when she told him and asked him to come with her. He didn't hint at anything, not that she can remember and it was weird to think that he wanted to go.
"Anna, you're zonin' out." She shushed him, placing a hand up.
"I'm thinking." He chuckled.
"You wanted to leave right after we got back home, right?" she nodded with slight hesitation, "Well, I guess we should pack up then."
Annabel watched as he walked up the stairs and into the house, most likely packing the things they will need for the first few days.
"You know," Annabel climbed the stairs, walking close to Sadie. "Arthur was unsure of this trip, but he saw that you needed to do this."
"I would have left without him, and he knows that."
"He would have followed." Sadie exhaled smoke through her nose, and Annabel sighed.
"I know. And I would have loved it if he did." Annabel placed a hand on her shoulder, "Thank you, Sadie. This means a lot to me."
"Just take care of that bastard in there."
"I will try."
A lot of things have been going on in my life and I feel like things are crushing me, so chapters might be a little more sparse.
I hope this chapter is okay, it just felt like such a filler chapter and everything seems so out of place and the characters aren't in character but I'm glad that this chapter is done because I can finally get into the true meat of the story.
Let me know what you think, my brain is kinda killing me so I might take my time with the other chapters that I have planned. I need to write out a simple summaries for the things I've got planned because right now I have about another 29 fucking chapters and I only have like, five ideas so.
Wish me luck.