The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 54

"What is it that we are supposed to be looking for again?," Rowan asked.

Her words came out in a garbled mess, muffled by the large bite of pulled pork sandwich she was stuffing into her mouth. Eric stopped with his foot on the bottom step of Jessie's back porch. He braced himself with his hand on the railing, trying to stop himself from laughing. Rowan always had a healthy appetite for a woman so slender. But since she had gotten pregnant, she really was packing it in. There was barbecue sauce smeared on her chin and she was licking bits of coleslaw off her fingers.

"I don't know," Eric admitted, "something suspicious." He climbed the rest of the way up onto the small porch and pulled at the doorknob. The knob held tight. The house was locked.

"It's locked," Rowan confirmed, "Let's go back before all the desserts are gone."

Eric ignored her suggestion and twisted the doorknob, leaning into the frame and seeing if he could force the door open without breaking it. He heard Rowan's soft sigh as she resigned herself to the task at hand. She gently nudged him out of her way and kneeled down in front of the door, pulling a knife from the sheath that was strapped to her leg under her long skirt. She poked the knife into the doorframe and gave it a rap on the back of the handle with her other hand. The door popped and swung open, allowing them access to the house.

Eric cheered and gave her a small quiet round of applause before he reached down and grabbed Rowan by the hand, pulling her up. He ushered her into the house, asking her when she had learned to pick a lock that quick. She quietly explained that Judith had recently figured out how doorknobs work and had been locking herself and little Falcon inside whatever room the slightly older girl could coax him into. After Daryl had caught Nokake climbing through the window to get the children out of the bathroom, he had taught both her and Rowan how to pop the locks on the doors. Since his lesson Judith had provided both women with lots of opportunity to practice.

"I think Rick is about to take all the doorknobs off his doors," Rowan added with a soft giggle.

She crossed the kitchen and pulled the fridge open. "Well there's nothing suspicious in here," she announced. Aside from a general nasty stink, there was not only nothing suspicious but really nothing at all except for a large jar of water and a few apples. Rowan swung the fridge door shut and wrinkled up her nose. Jessie must have let something go rotten in there.

"Let's check his bedroom," Eric suggested. Rowan shrugged and followed her friend through the house and up the stairs. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was still shining outside. There was enough light that they could maneuver around the house without flipping the lights on. But the upstairs hallway was darker. Rowan reached for Eric's hand and let him lead her. He peeked in a few doors before he found the room he was looking for. There was a general teenage boy body odor lingering so Rowan assumed they were in the right place. There was a full size bed covered in rumpled blankets. A dresser on the wall. And a chair in the corner that was covered in a pile of unfolded clothes. A few well worn paperback books were lying in a pile on a small table by the bed. Rowan wasn't seeing anything that screamed psycho killer. Eric walked over and began opening dresser drawers, lifting up piles of folded clothes and peeking underneath.

"Look," he hissed, holding up his treasure, "I found a pipe!" Rowan shook her head. She seriously doubted that Enid had sent them here to discover that Ron had been sneaking a little smoke behind his mother's back. Eric sniffed the pipe to confirm his suspicions. "Smells like pot too," he announced.

"Put that back," Rowan snorted. She approached the bed. It was made, but still looked a little sloppy. She lifted the blanket slightly and peeked underneath, finding nothing but a rumpled sheet. Next she lifted the pillow that looked like it had been used the most. It was slightly flatter than the one next to it. Underneath that she found a small tube of lotion. Next to it was a crumpled pile of pink lace fabric. Rowan grabbed it by the edge with the tips of her fingers and held the scrap up, shaking it out. It was a pair of pink ladies panties. Half crusty and with what she didn't want to know.

"I found some panties under the pillow," she announced. Eric shut the drawer he had been rifling through and approached. He turned his head to the side to better examine Rowan's find.

"You think they're Enid's?," he asked.

"I don't know," Rowan answered with a smile, "...maybe you should take a better look." With that she tossed the dirty undies at Eric, hitting him square in the chest. He squealed and batted at the offending scrap of lace like the panties were a poisonous snake. Rowan's stomach was shaking with laughter as she reached down to retrieve the panties. She tossed them back where she had found them and dropped the pillow back into place.

"Seriously Eric," she giggled, "who cares if this kid is jacking off and smoking pot? What are we doing here?"

Rowan couldn't deny that Ron gave off a weird vibe. His aura was always streaked with green and black. And he had probably been the one that was spying on Enid and Carl while they had sex. But being a perverted teenage boy with a crush on a girl that didn't like him wasn't illegal. And if Enid and Carl didn't want people watching them while they were getting it on, Rowan was of the opinion that they ought to go to their room, or at the very least, shut the front door. Ron had done nothing that justified her and Eric breaking into his house and digging through his personal belongings.

The slap of a door shutting somewhere downstairs stopped the conversation immediately. The sound was followed by footsteps on the stairs. Eric grabbed Rowan and dragged her towards the closet, pulling the folding doors open. Rowan backed into the small space, making room for Eric. He cursed under his breath as the door caught on its track. After another tug it slid loose and he was able to get it closed just as the bedroom door swung open and slapped into the wall behind it.

Ron stomped into the room, mumbling to himself. He yanked his top dresser drawer open and pulled a small handgun from the back that Eric had missed when he had searched. The boy began pacing back and forth in front of his window.

"I'll kill him now. I'll do it. Motherfucker!," the boy hissed. He repeated the words or a similar variation over and over as he paced. His voice was getting louder like was working himself up into some sort of frenzy. Rowan watched as Eric reached behind his back and pulled out his own handgun. He gripped it tightly, flipping the safety off. Rowan grabbed his sleeve and pulled gently, shaking her head at him. Eric pointed towards the boy and mouthed the words HE'S GOT A GUN to Rowan. Then he shifted his body, placing Rowan as far behind him as he could in the tight space.

Eric leaned close to the door, peeking through the slats to watch what Ron was doing. The boy was still pacing back and forth, mumbling curses to himself. He stopped abruptly and headed in the direction of the closet. Eric tensed his body, adjusting his grip on the gun. He could feel Rowan's hand fisting into the back of his shirt. Part of her body was pressed against his and he could feel it when her heart rate increased. She was holding her breath.

Just when it looked like Ron might yank the closet door open he turned. He had been heading for a mirror that hung on the wall next to the closet door. The boy pointed the gun at his own reflection.

"You fucking little coward," the boy hissed at himself, "You had a chance and you didn't take it." He moved in closer to the mirror, staring at his reflection. Ron was so close, Eric could smell the tang of his sweat through the closet door. The boy stood a while longer, just staring. Then his tone changed. "There's always next time," he assured himself, "Next time you'll be ready." Ron backed up a step and began smiling at himself. He stopped. Then smiled again, this time with more teeth. It took Eric a moment to figure out what the little nutcase was doing. He wasn't smiling because he was happy. He was practicing. Checking in the mirror and making sure his grin looked natural. Finally Ron must have approved of what he saw in the mirror because he turned and headed back towards his dresser, tucking his small gun back where it had come from. He left the room, his loud footsteps receding down the hall and stairs. When Eric heard the sound of the front door being opened and then slammed shut, he shoved the closet open and burst out into the bedroom, pulling Rowan with him. She braced her hand on the closet door frame, the other hand rubbing over her stomach.

"It was hot in there," she huffed. Being in a stuffy closet full of teenage boy stink and a belly full of barbecue pork sandwiches was not the best combination. She felt nauseous and a little dizzy.

"Just give me a second," she requested. Eric looked ready to scoop her up and take her to the infirmary in about the same way her dad had taken Carol the day before. Since she got pregnant, everyone had been acting like she was made of fragile glass. Women's bodies were tougher than they knew. She just needed a moment to collect herself so she didn't barf all over Ron's half made bed. Rowan took her hand off the frame and nodded to Eric.

"Let's get the hell outta here," he proposed, the relief clear in his voice. Not only was he glad that Rowan was ok because she was like family to him and he loved her. But if she got sick or hurt because of him, there would be a line of crazy indians and rednecks lining up to beat his ass. And Eric would prefer for that not to happen. He took Rowan's hand and began leading her out of the house. When they got to the downstairs hallway, Rowan tugged him to a stop.

They stood in front of a door that was locked with a padlock from the outside. Rowan leaned close to the door, closing her eyes. She thought the rotten smell had been coming from the fridge. But it was much stronger outside this door.

"Something really stinks," Rowan whispered.

She grabbed at the knob, pulling at the door to see how secure the latch was. There was only about an inch of wiggle room, not even enough to crack the door open and peek in. Rowan pulled the knife she had used to break them into the house earlier back out of its sheath. She slid the blade behind the large metal latch that was secured to the door and the wall next to it, testing to see how well it had been secured. Eric shifted his weight from one foot to the other nervously. He knew he was the one that had convinced Rowan to come here. But the longer they were in the house, the more uneasy he was feeling. The latch was screwed tight against the wall. Rowan was having a hard time even sliding the blade of her knife behind it. When she tried to force it, her hand slipped and she almost sliced her arm open.

"That's it," Eric announced. He grabbed the knife from Rowan with one hand and grabbed her wrist with the other, pulling her towards the back door. She put up slight resistance for a moment, but quickly relaxed and allowed her friend to lead her where he wanted to go.

"You're the one that wanted to come in here," Rowan reminded Eric as he hurried her through the kitchen. Eric handed Rowan her knife back before easing the back door open and peering out. He checked to make sure no one was around before he swung the door open and ushered Rowan outside onto the back porch. Eric twisted the lock on the door and pulled it shut behind them. He turned, expecting more complaints from his partner in crime. Instead Rowan lifted up onto her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her back, pulling her slim body tight against him.

"Love ya," she whispered. Eric smiled at her words.

"Love you too Roe," he whispered back. Her fingers twined into the rust colored hair on the back of his head. She gave him one more tight squeeze before she let go.

"Let's get back to the party before anyone notices we're gone," she suggested. Eric nodded. They hurried down the steps together, heading to the right to cut through the backyard of the house next door. They only made it a few steps before they were both startled by a loud voice coming from between Jessie's house and the house next door.

"What in the hell have the two of you been doing?"

Rowan stopped, grabbing Eric's arm and squeezing her thighs together. She had to pee in the worst way. It was never fun being scared to death but this was particularly bad timing.

Daryl and Aaron were standing together in Jessie's side yard. Rowan sighed, knowing they must have followed her and Eric when they left the barbecue. She thought they had been discreet. But apparently they had not been.

"I told you a thousand times not to sneak up on me like that," Rowan scolded, "One of these days I am going to pee my freaking pants Daryl!" Daryl smiled as he approached. He snagged Rowan and pulled her into his arms. His lips brushed against hers and she tipped her head to the side, deepening the kiss. With any luck he would forget about asking her what she had been doing inside Jessie's house.

"What were you doing in there," Aaron asked, interrupting their kiss. Rowan pulled back a little and glanced at Eric. He shrugged. They hadn't collaborated on a cover story. They had been focused on not getting caught.

"Yeh, what in tha hell are you two doin'," Daryl added.

At first he had assumed their sneaky behavior had something to do with the game of capture the flag that was about to start. Rowan's father and Michonne were team captains and they were both taking the game far too seriously. There had been some wagering. Even Deanna had gotten involved, offering a day off all chores and duties to the members of the winning team. He and Aaron followed Rowan and Eric from the picnic, laughing together about how they were going to catch them cheating. But when they had broken into Jessie's back door, Daryl had been confused. And now Rowan was being so evasive. He no longer believed that this was part of a game.

"We were… uh…," Eric stammered.

"We were looking for a place to hide the flag," Rowan announced. Her voice was high and she had almost sung the words. Daryl almost cracked up laughing. Especially when she smiled big enough to show the crooked eyetooth on the side of her mouth. He was one hundred percent sure that his wife had just told him the biggest lie he had ever heard. She sure was pleased with herself for thinking it up though, despite the fact that no one believed it. Even Eric started to laugh.

"Roe," Aaron exclaimed, "you are the WORST liar on earth!"

"I am not," she argued. Now all three men were laughing at her. Daryl wrapped his arm around her waist and started heading for home. Since she had decided that she trusted him fully, Rowan had never lasted long with a secret. He doubted they would even make it to their house before she told him what she had really been up to.