Murphy's Law
"Wait, so your dad was Clay's General?" Jensen asks for a third time as he stares at me with wide eyes. I nod my head again and give a laugh as I raise my drink to my lips. The Lagarto Cojera was over crowded and every person inside was trying to speak over everyone else. There was the distinct scent of smoke and stale beer in the humid air that just told you low class.
"Uh yeah. For ten years." I repeat my answer and take a sip of my water, licking my lips as I set the glass back on the table, "Why is that so hard to believe?"
"I don't know. I just can't picture Clay taking orders from anyone." Jensen slowly shook his head and kept his eyes on me, "And you were a soldier too?"
"Yes sir." I reply and give a sarcastic salute, "First Lieutenant Rhoswen Moriarty. At your service."
Jensen becomes oddly quiet as he continues to stare at me, mouth agape slightly. I stare back at him with a small smile and then slowly look over at Cougar.
"Is he alright?" I ask and look back at Jensen, who had yet to look away from me.
"Pienso que está en el amor Rosa." Cougar replies as I give a loud laugh. (I think he is in love, Rosa.)
"I am not! It's just..." Jensen falls quiet again and stumbles over his words, trying to put together the right ones. I give another laugh and take a sip of my water, trying not to choke on it. Cougar looks over at Jensen and raises his beer to his lips, giving a small laugh as he drinks the last of it down.
"Damn. Finally found a way to shut you up!" The sudden voice snaps Jensen from whatever sentence he was trying to form in response to Cougar's joking. Pooch sits down beside me and leans on the table, folding his hands together, "Wish we'd met you sooner, Rhos."
"Me too actually." I smile and tap my nails against the glass I had yet to let go of. I stare down at the beads of condensation rolling down the sides and begin to think about my life as a First Lieutenant. I shake my head at my thoughts at the laughter of Pooch beside me.
"That's what your mother said last night!" Pooch laughs and I give a small laugh of my own at the expression on Jensen's face. Jensen nods his head slowly, his eyes narrowing.
"I bet Jolene would love to hear you talking like that." Jensen retorts, sipping his beer. I knit my eyebrows together and look at Pooch in question.
"My wife." Pooch explains reluctantly.
"I didn't know you were married." I comment and look around the table at the others as if to confirm it.
"Yeah well Pooch was married and about to be a father. Not Parker Mulligan the deadbeat car mechanic working on Mercado street." Pooch comments and looks down at the wedding band encircling his ring finger, "I swear if I'm not there when Jolene goes into labor I'll strangle Clay."
"I know you want to go home. That all of you want to go home and Clay is trying. He really is, but it's gonna take a little time to find a way out of this hell hole." I give reproachfully and look back down at my glass.
"Yeah and if he doesn't I'll be stuck dressing dolls for the rest of my life." Jensen scoffs and chugs the rest of his beer.
"Oh come on! I saw you playing with them today!" I laugh and take my hands from my glass, lacing them in my lap.
"Was not!" Jensen retorts and leans back in his chair. I nod my head and try to keep my laughter down.
"Don't worry. You're all alone. Ken is nowhere to be found." I laugh after repeating what I had heard, "By the way, why is everything sexual with you?"
"Not everything." Jensen tries to defend himself.
"Oh yes it is." Pooch affirms and stares at Jensen sternly, "Everything. 'Let Godzilla sock it to you'. Remember that?"
"That was just...I was...it was..." Jensen stumbles over his words further only making the rest of us laugh. I lean on the table and quickly run a hand through my hair. The table falls silent as each of us has nothing more to say while the noise within Lagarto Cojera began to die down.
I turn my head and watch Cougar stand up from the seat beside me, picking up his hat from the table. He looks down at us and tips his hat.
"La noche buena mis amigos." Cougar walks away and out the door as Pooch slowly stands from his seat. (Goodnight, my friends.)
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna call it a night too." Pooch throws his jacket he had set on the back of his chair over his shoulder and walks towards the open doors of the bar. I take a sip of my water and tap the glass again, feeling slightly uncomfortable being left with Jensen.
"So..." Jensen starts as I look over at him. He gives a small uncomfortable laugh and licks his lips, looking away from me. I give a small laugh and let go of my glass, leaning back in my seat once more, "Is Rhoswen your real name...?"
"I'm sorry?" I ask, unsure of what he had said.
"What?" Jensen asks immediately and stares at me with slightly alarmed eyes. I knit my eyebrows together and shake my head once.
"You said something." I comment as Jensen swallows hard as if being caught red handed.
"Oh! Oh yeah. That." He gives a small laugh and then shakes his head, not really finding it funny, "Is Rhoswen...your real name?"
"No, actually my real name is Gertrude." I reply as straight faced as I could. Jensen gives a laugh, but stops suddenly when he sees I'm not laughing with him.
"Your serious?"
"No!" I laugh finally, "I'd kill myself if my name was Gertrude. What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Jensen's not your first name. So what is?" I ask with a smile as I lace my hands around my cool glass.
"Uh, it's Jake. Not short for Jacob or anything. Just Jake." Jensen nods his head a little and I do too. It seemed to fit him perfectly.
"Jake Jensen. No middle name?"
"Bartholomew." Jensen cracks a grin as I start laughing again, "Just kidding."
Our conversation continues, taking us down roads neither of us normally would have gone on. The bar was nearly empty and most of the tables had the chairs piled on them. Jensen and I had left, seeing as the barkeeper wanted to close up for the night. We began walking the streets and continuing to talk as we headed towards the hotel Clay and I were staying at.
"Where are you from? I mean, where were you born?" Jensen gives a small cough and shoves his hands into his jean pockets.
"New York. Didn't we already go over this?" I laugh and cross my arms over my chest.
"Yeah I know that, but what city?"
"Little place called Syracuse. Home of the Orange men and the cheapest whores." I laugh and look down at the cracked sidewalk beneath my feet.
"Sounds like my house growing up." Jensen mumbles and gives a fake shiver. I smack his arm and shake my head, laughing though my stomach was sore.
"Your parents fight a lot?" I ask carefully as we continued on down the sidewalk. Jensen nods his head and then gives a small shrug, "Mine did too. Mostly because they were both used to being in charge at work and when it came to who was in charge at home...it was a free for all."
"Was your mom in the army?"
"Yeah, she got all her medical training there." I smile at the memory of my mother and then sigh heavily, "God if my parents were alive right now...they'd have the entire army, navy, and national guard out looking for me."
"Yeah well if I had a daughter and she was like you I'd have her under lock and key." Jensen laughs as i knit my eyebrows together. I stop walking and turn to him, tilting my head slightly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, honestly curious.
"What's what supposed to mean?"
"If she was like me." I clarify and watch him as he tried to concoct an answer. He opens his mouth to say something, but the sound of a sudden explosion catches us both by surprise. He and I both look behind me where an array of flames and smoke stretched high into the night sky.
"What the hell?" I ask no one in particular as I stare at the burning building.
"I dunno, but come on." Jensen grabs my hand and pulls me behind him towards the fire. My eyes grow wider as I realize the burning building was the hotel Clay and I were staying at.
"Oh my God." The words escape my lips slowly as I watch the towns people try to put out the fire. I gently place my free hand on Jensen's bicep as my mind goes blank, "Oh my God...oh my God! Clay!"
"What?" Jensen looks down at me as I stare off at Clay, who was walking down the sidewalk towards us. I let go of Jensen and run at Clay, wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug. I pull away and stare up at him, noticing his disarrayed hair and swollen lip.
"Did you...?" I ask slowly as I study his slightly bruised cheek. Jensen walks up beside us as I gingerly touch Clay's cheek, "Clay, did you get into a fight?"
"I just ran out of a burning building and you're asking me if I got into a fight?" Clay stares down at me with a small smirk twitching at the side of his lips.
"I'm not hearing a no." I cross my arms over my chest and stare right back at him. Clay gives a small shrug and pushes passed me. He begins walking down the sidewalk, confusing me. I look at Jensen, "Where the hell is he going?"
"I don't know." Jensen replies quickly, but I had already turned to watch Clay walk away.
"Hey! Where are you going!" I call out to him. I spot him shrug and then slowly turn around to face us.
"Meet me at 132 Santo Street tomorrow at noon." He calls back and then starts walking again, "And tell Cougar and Pooch the same!"
I look back at Jensen once Clay had disappeared and shake my head. Jensen opens his mouth to say something, but quickly closes it again.
"Where are you gonna stay?" He finally pipes up. I look away from the burning hotel to him again, realizing I had no where else to stay.
"Goddamn it..." I say finally and run a hand through my hair. I close my eyes and shake my head, cursing Clay.
"You could stay with me and Cougar." Jensen offers as I look over at him tiredly, "I-If you want to that is. Only if you want to."
"It's that or sleep outside." I give in and wave my hand at him, "Lead on."
Jensen nods his head and turns on his heels, heading back the way we had walked. I trail beside him and nearly run into him when he stops suddenly. He opens the door to the small two story restaurant.
"Why didn't you and Cougar get a room at the hotel?" I ask as I walk into the restaurant. I wait for Jensen to follow and watch as he passes me, heading to a stair case off to the side behind a doorway.
"Because Coug likes his privacy. Or something like that. I don't know." Jensen replies as I start up the stairs.
"Which door?" I look behind me at Jensen quickly and then look back at the top of the stairs.
"Second on the right." I nod my head and look to the second door on the right, "It's open."
"Why?" I ask through a yawn. Jensen bounces up onto the second story floor from the stairs and walks behind me.
"No lock."
"Whoa what?" I spin around on my heels and stare at him. How could the door not have a lock? I stare at him with my mouth agape. I had to have a door with a lock, "Aren't you guys afraid of a burglar or murderer or something?"
"Uh no?" Jensen looks down at me with a goofy expression on his face and lets go of the door knob, outstretching his hand to me, "I'm sorry. Have we met?"
"What?" I ask, feeling another yawn building up in my throat. I shake my head once and look down at his hand in question. I give a small laugh and nod my head, realizing what he meant, "Right...two grown men, who were both soldiers. Gotcha."
"Exactly." Jensen gives a small laugh as I lean against the wall. I cross my arms over my chest and close my eyes, "If any burglars break in, Coug and I will take care of 'em."
"Thanks." I laugh again and push myself off from the wall.
"I don't understand why you'd be scared of something like that though." Jensen speaks up and opens the door to the room, "I mean you were a soldier too and you kick ass."
"Yeah I guess." I start through a yawn. I spot a couch in the middle of the room and walk over to it. I plop down on it and curl up into a ball, "I'm still a girl though Jensen."
"Trust me. I know you're a girl." Jensen gives a laugh and pulls a blanket from a drawer of the small dresser. He walks over to me and hands me the blanket, sitting down on the cheap chair a few feet away, "So what does it mean?"
"What?" I take a deep breath and let out a yawn, pulling the blanket up over my shoulders. I snuggle into the arm of the couch and sigh.
"That your still a girl though." Jensen clarifies and leans back in the chair.
"I want to be the one being protected sometimes." I yawn again as I feel myself drifting away.
"But you can protect yourself." Jensen argues and I can hear the misunderstanding floating in his voice. I give a small laugh and yawn once more.
"That's not the point." I open my tired eyes and look over at him. He sat hunched over in the cheap chair, staring back at me, "There are three things that women want in life."
"And those would be?" I laugh at Jensen's expression and rearrange myself on the couch.
"1) Women want to be accepted for who she is. We really don't want to be fixed. That makes us insecure. 2) We want to be respected. 3) We want to be protected even if we can protect ourselves. We want to feel safe."
"Even you?" Jensen asks carefully and I nod my head slowly.
"Never did until I was left alone in this world." I close my eyes again and pull the blanket tighter around me, "Night Jensen."
~Third Person POV~
"Yeah...night." Jensen's voice floats away as Rhoswen drifts off into the world of sleep. He stares at her sleeping form, lost in his own thoughts. Footsteps sound from the narrow hallway behind him as Cougar leans against the doorway.
"Rosa asleep?" Jensen looks to his friend and gives a small nod, "Qué es?"
"I don't know how she does it." Jensen speaks up and looks back at her. Jensen shakes his head and leans his elbows on his thighs. Cougar's gaze falls on the sleeping girl as he crosses his arms over his chest.
"She feels she has to keep living her life for them." Cougar speaks up and pushes himself from the doorway.
"...Liam...Laura..." Rhoswen mumbles in her sleep as she rearranges herself, drawing both of their eyes to her.
"If Rhoswen dies then who is left to remember her family? If she dies...then they are dead in every sense of the word." Cougar speaks again and then walks back down the hall, leaving Jensen in the chair. Jensen nods his head and stands up, heading down the hall to his room.