Disclaim: for people how think I might be the owner of OUATIM. I have to disappoint you, AND MYSELF! I don't own anything. I really, really, really DON'T! I wish I did, but I don't, and you know it! So why do I have to write it over and over again!

Chapter 19) A fucked up choice.

Lizz awoke the next day around 12 PM. With lazy eyes she scanned the room she was lying in. Light red walls surrounded her. Slowly she sat up from the sofa and stretched her arms. "Why am I still so sleepy?" She rubbed her head, it still hurt from the fall. Slowly she stood up and walked to Sands room.

Quietly she opened the door and because there was no window in the room, switched the light on. She looked at the man that she thought was sleeping, and smiled at his peaceful state. For the next couple of hours he wouldn't bother her.

She closed the door and walked into the kitchen. She opened a couple of drawers, looking for food but didn't find any thing. She frowned. "Great. 'The' doesn't even have food."

"Well, 'The' was a little bit busy saving you and that gringo." Lizz quickly turned around and saw El standing in the doorway. She felt hercheeks starting to flush and she smiled apologetically. El didn't reply. He opened a drawer and picked up a box of crackers.

"Here this is all there is. I don't do much shopping." He looked outside. "I'm never in one place long enough." Lizz didn't bother to reply, she grabbed the box of crackers from his hand and started to eat. After a few crackers she walked up to the table and sat down. El smiled amused and sat down on a chair facing her.

"So, when was the last time you ate?" He asked. The girl stopped focusing on the food and looked up at him. She swallowed a cracker and thought for a moment.

"I guess about two days...maybe three." After that she started to eat again.El rolled his eyes. Why was she still acting so tense? What did he do tomake her feel so reticent? Good thing he wasn't the kind of guy that gave up easily. And, seriously, how hard could it be to win her trust? She was still a little girl.

"And why where you with Sands in that cell? Did you do anything wrong?" She gave him an annoyed look.

"Listen if you think I did something wrong, just call the cops okay? The only thing I ever did was get even with your boss! And can you please stop questioning me it's fucking annoying and tedious!" She pouted and started to eat.

Again a painful silence filled the room. El could have kicked his own butt right now. Very subtle El, brilliant, now she's never going to talk again. Hesighed and watch the girl finish the last cracker.

"So, what is it like to be a legend?" The girl suddenly asked. El's eyesgrew wide at her sudden question.

"What?"

"I said, what is it like to be a legend? Is it like a movie star? Or morelike a secret agent?" She asked, interested.

El smiled picturing himself as a movie star. "It's not a big deal, actually.Basically it is just other people make a big fuss about me. And all the rumours aren't helping ." The girl started to play with her sleeve.

"I once heard that you have a guitar case full of guns. Is that true?"

El nodded. "Yes, I have a case like that. But I don't use it anymore."

"To many memories?" She asked immediately. He didn't feel like lying to the girl, so he nodded again.

"Yes, that and I have been trying to live a peaceful life. I'm sick of fighting. I don't see the point anymore."

She nodded quickly. "Fighting never solves anything. You win one battle, only to be pulled into another one all to quickly. And most of the time the good people die."

"So, why are you with Sands then? You said you knew him, so you must have heard about his reputation. If you're so against fighting, why do you help him? He plays with the good people and causes them to kill each other." She was quiet for a second.

"He doesn't do that anymore."

"Then why are you here? He somehow dragged you into this and you don't even know it." He glared at the small room. "And that's why he is so dangerous, he plays with you and you don't realize it 'till it's too late."

She started to laugh. "Yeah right. For your information, I dragged him into this. And he really isn't that bad once you get to know him"

This girl is crazy, El decided. Again he started to get pissed at Sands. How could he drag an innocent girl into his game? Because that was all it was for him. A game. And he played to win, no matter what.

"Then what did you do to get into this mess?" He continued. She smiled and bit her lip.

"I don't think I can say that." She gestured at the small room. "He will get pissed if I tell."

Great, still not getting anywhere. El's temper rose. All because of that ignorant gringo! He sighed. He couldn't show her how much he despised Sands, she could do very stupid things and he didn't want an innocent girl dead because of him. To many people had already died for him. 'I have to let it go, for now.' He told himself.

"I going into the town to buy some food. You stay here. Stay inside the house and don't open the door for anyone." He pointed at his room. "And you stay out of my room, if you need something you will have to wait 'till I get home. Do you understand?"

"Aye Captine!" And to prove her point she place a hand on her heart. "Iwon't touch anything, open the door, or go to your room 'till you get home."

El nodded and mumbled something. Smiling she stood in the doorway waving as El walked to the car. When she saw him drive away she closed the door. Immediately her innocent smile disappeared and she looked at the door to El's room.

"Now where is that legendary guitar case?"
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Old nightmares tortured him in his sleep. He knew he was asleep because he could see. And for the first time he wished that the images would disappear and be replaced by the normal darkness. Why couldn't he wake up? He wanted to wake up! RIGHT NOW!

Flashback

He was sitting against the big tree in the back yard. It was the summer ofhis tenth birthday and it was the warmest summer he could remember. With a sigh he wiped the sweat off his face. He looked at his house with the corner of his eye.

Well, he couldn't call it 'his house'. Long ago it was 'his house', but now it was the house of the bad evil man. It was the place where he had to struggle just to survive every single day.

Every day he had to sneak through the hallways, watching every step he took while he tried not to wake the bad evil man.

His gaze shifted from the house to the tree. Maybe he could make a tree house. Then he could live in there be safe and the bad evil man couldn't hurt him anymore.

And that was the only thing he ever wanted. To make the bad evil man stop.

"SHELDON!" A low, drunk voices yelled from the house. He immediately jumped up onto his feet, feeling the common fear race through him.

"SHELDON!" A glass was smashed to pieces. "Where are you, you lousy piece of shit!" Scared to death he started looking for someone to help him. He saw his neighbour looking at him through her kitchen window, her eyes full of pity.

'Please Miss Thompson, stop him. Please don't make me go in that house!' She gave him a last pitiful look and closed the curtains. Tears started to swell in his eyes and a soft but strong voice told him he was alone, all
alone.

End flashback

"No, no, fuck off! I don't want to think of that bitch who had lived next to mefor seventeen years and never cared enough to help me." He mumble softly. He remembered that day all too well. It was one of the first day he heard the voice and the first time his dad had locked him up in the basement.

During his first night in the basement he got so scared that he peed his pants. He had screamed and slammed his body against the door, trying to get his dad to let him out He remembered, so clearly, how scared he was that first night in the basement, being surrounded by darkness and fear.

"And now, how ironic, your back to the same place Shel, you're that lil' kidagain. Still scared in the dark. Good job!" The voice screamed cheerfully.

"Oh, go fuck yourself." Sands mumbled trying to remember where he was. Shaking slightly, he stretched his good arm out and touched the wall rightbehind him. He felt a couple of bullets-holes and some paint that was in very poor condition. It had crumbled away slightly as he touched it. He frowned and started to feel sick. "Where the hell am I." Suddenly he realised his gun was missing. "Fuck!" He whispered. Now he was helpless against El...

"El!" His heart skipped a beat. Shit, he remembered now. El was here... in the same house as he was. And El would hurt him because he had fucked up Mexico. And there was nothing he could do about it. His breathing sped up. He was wounded and blind. El could do anything to him, anything until he begged him to stop.

"Yup, Shel, he can torture you to dead and there won't be anyone or anything that will stop him! I'm curious as to how hard you will scream."

Sands didn't want to give in to the voice but that thought scared him to death. Painfully, he tried to crawl to the far corner of the room. He yelped when his wounded shoulder hit the wall, but he didn't stop.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, he was leaning against the wall panting.

"Shel, let me tell you something. El, isn't blind, if he switches the light on he will see you. So...why did you crawl to the corner?"

"Cause I wanna disappear." He muttered.

"Okay…I don't follow you, Shel. How does crawling into the corner make you disappear?"

"How the fuck should I know! I'm insane, remember. It seemed like a good idea a moment ago. That is before you started to insult me about it!"

"Well, fuck you too! If you think you're so fucking smart, I'm out. But don't cry for me if El comes! You're on your own!"

And there it was, loneliness. He was alone,again. No one to comfort him when El was done with him, no one to ague with. Not even some one to ask what the god damn time was.

"Fuck this! I don't need anybody!" He shook his head. "You can't trust anyone except yourself. Everyone else is always expecting something in return. They always act like the care at first, but when they're done with you they stab you in the back." He sighed. "I don't need anybody!" He let his head rest against the wall. "I don't need anybody."

The door slowly opened and everything changed. His heart started to pound and his breathing became uncontrollable. He tried his hardest to look dead, or even asleep. Anything was better than letting him know he was awake. As the quickly approaching footsteps moved closer he started to feel sick. 'Please let this be quick', he pleaded. He felt so helpless, like he had felt when his dad had done things to him. A hand touched his shoulder and he stopped breathing, waiting for the pain to come.

"Hello?" A high soft voice said. "Are you awake?" LIZZ! It was that little girl! His body relaxed and he couldn't help it as he sighed in relief. Right now he could have kiss the girl just for being there.

"Yeah, I'm up, if you can call it that." He heard her sit next to him.

"Good. 'Cause it's medication time." And right then he could have hit her in the face.

"And what the fuck do you mean by that!" He growled, pissed.

"What do ya think? You need your pills, I don't want to see you that fucked
up again."

And what was that suppose to mean? What did she mean with 'again'? Did it mean she was hanging around for a while? Would she do that, even when she knew what he was and had done?

"Did you have any strange dreams, or feel sick or anything?" She asked, opening the jar with pills.

"Not more than usual, why?" He answered.

"Because I'm guessing with the dosage." She rattled the jar. "Here it says 'every person reacts differently to the medication , handle with care. Not for use without a doctors permission' and there is more but my Mexican isn't very good."

"You sound like you're surprised I'm still alive."

"Well, I am a little. Yesterday you where deathly pale and El didn't give you even a day, so yeah, I'm surprised."

At the word 'El' Sands jerked up. "Speaking of El, where is he?" He asked
trying to stay calm.

"He's in town, buying food and other things, nothing important, I think."

"Did he say anything worth knowing?" Sands was starting to feel sick again.

"No, not really. He kept asking me about you, and how I got involved with
you and things like that."

Sands started to panic. "What did you say!" 'Christ, try not to sound so desperate', he snapped at himself.

"Nothing of course, jeez, why do you guys keep thinking I'm stupid! Istole a fortune remember." She huffed. "I said, I wouldn't answer those questions. 'Cause, you know, I didn't think it was wise to trust him since he worked for my step dad. And that's all I said."

"Oh." He said. That was good news. But still he needed to know one more thing. "And…" he hated to asked it. "And… does he know I'm…" No, he was not going to say the B word. Instead of saying it he pointed to his glasses. Then he lowered his head, not wanting to show her his face if the answer was 'yes'.

"No, your sunglasses were one the whole time, and I didn't tell him youwere blind, 'cause the less he knows about you and me, the better." She paused. "He may be El Mariachi, but I'm not as naïve as I use to be."

"Well hallelujah for that." He mumbled, feeling a million times better.

"So, what are we going to do now?" She asked. "We don't have any money, we're on the run, we don't have passports or clothing, and I'm pretty sure El took your gun."

'She said it like I was clueless, I knew our situation!' He bit his lip. What where they going to do? A very good question. He had now idea what they...wait...What he was going to do. For her it was simple. She had found El Mariachi, he would help her. He could lead her to the money, split it and then they would be living la vida loca. But he...That was an entirely different story. He was trapped between Mexico and the US. Struggling between the past and his blindness.

"Maybe we should stay with El for a while." She said, interrupting his thoughts. His head shot in her direction.

"Stay...with El! Are you fucking out off your mind! That fuckmook will kill me if he gets the chance!"

"Shut it for a sec, wouldya?" Slightly pissed, he closed his mouth.

"Listen, Sands, I know you don't like El but-"

"Not like him! I fucking wish he would get castrated with a rusty screw!" He yelled in frustration. Lizz rolled her eye's.

Lizz rolled her eyes. "That's very stylish, but let me finish. We should stay with El, 'cause he's good with a gun and he can protect us. We wait until you are healed, mentally and physically, then we hit the road again. We'll just have to wait and see what the future brings us after that." That was the most ridicules plan he had ever heard.

"Luv, see it through my eyes, figuratively of course...El hates me, and I hate him. Right now he's the strongest, so he's in control. I'm not, that's something that pisses me off. That, and the fact that El can hit me in the face and I won't even see it coming. So no deal, I'm out!"

Lizz shut her eye's for a second. 'Stay calm, try not to yell at him, that won't work.' She thought. "Okay, listen. El won't do anything to you, because he isn't the jerk that you think he is. He's an honest man with strong beliefs, not a sneaky manipulator like you. So give him a chance. I'm staying and so are you!" Her voice sounded determined.

Sands knew there was no way out of this. It was either El or the gutter, and in this state he would die in a very humiliating way if left to his own devices. Even under these circumstances he would not give up his pride.

So, god save him, El was his only choice.

Poor Sands, he has a sleep-over with his great enemy. Isn't that interesting? Very interesting? Right now I don't have a clew what's going to happen, BUT, just thinking of the pain El and Sands have to go throw because of living with each other makes me wanna writhe!

So next chap will be posted soon I think XD

Luvzzzz Sue-AnneSparrow