Refugee

Chapter Sixteen

"Changes come,

Life will have it's way with your pride, son.

Take it like a man."

- "Momma Said" by Puscifer

.::.

I bit my lip nervously as I knocked on Molly's door for the second time. I was unsure of exactly what I planned on saying to her, but I wanted to make sure she had been watching the news. I needed to make sure she was safe. I waited patiently, but there was no answer.

I glanced at her car in the driveway. I knew she was home. I could even hear the television on in the living room.

Still, no answer.

I hesitated, only for a moment, and then knocked one last time. To my surprise, I saw a figure in the living room walk past the window, and next thing I knew, the front door was open and Molly was standing in front of me wearing nothing but an oversized Falcon's jersey and crimson boy-shorts.

I ain't never in my life given a damn for football until right then.

Her hair had been freshly washed and was now wrapped tightly in a towel on the top of her head. Her sex-kitten makeup from the night before had now been replaced with a clean, fresh palate, and she no longer smelled of alcohol, but of the warm scent of cocoa butter.

Immediately, I felt weak in the knees. But determined, I pushed on.

"Molly, I-"

"What is it, Daryl?" The bitterness in her eyes cut through me like an knife. I had never seen it in her before. She had always been sweet.

"First, I just wanted ta say I'm sorry fer upsettin' ya."

"It's fine. Anything else?" She pulled the towel from her hair and her long, tousled curls fell swiftly down her back. The light smell of a fruity shampoo hit my senses like a freight train.

I questioned whether or not I should ask her exactly what it was that I did wrong in the first place. I had an idea, but I wasn't positive. However, I soon decided that her safety was more important, and I remembered why I was standing on her steps in the first place.

"You been watching the news?" I asked, digging my short nails into my neck to relieve an itch.

She shook her head. I wanted to kiss her.

"Some bad shit's goin' down. 'Parently that shit we seen the other day has been happenin' all over the damn place. Businesses are closin' down after tonight. Ain't nobody s'posed ta leave the house."

She furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

I pushed passed her, through her front door, and immediately picked up the television remote, switching from The Real Housewives of Whateverthefuck to the news. She began to protest, but was immediately distracted by the same news footage of the grisly attacks they had been showing all afternoon.

She took a seat on the sofa and took a sip of whatever was in her cup. I sat down on the arm of the sofa next to her and waited a moment until she processed the information.

Her mossy green eyes shot over at me as a look of utter shock washed upon her face. "Is this really fucking happening?"

.::.

Thirty minutes later, I found myself standing next to her in a long checkout line of the nearest Wal-mart. We had a shopping cart full of water, rice, beans, and other non-perishables, just like the six people behind us and the four people in front of us. We had gotten there practically in the nick of time; half of the needed supplies were nearly out of stock.

Molly stood quietly, looking at the crowds of people surrounding among us. I watched as goosebumps formed on her soft skin and wondered what she was thinking. She had hardly spoken a word to me since I showed up on her front porch. I desperately wanted to fix the awkward silence, but I really didn't know how.

I watched as she shifted her weight to her left leg, and I couldn't help but peek at her tanned, soft legs in her cutoff denim shorts. I thought about what it would feel like to run my hands along their thick shape. I wished I hadn't fucked things up the night before; that I would have just grown a pair and pushed past my comfort zone. 'Cause maybe something great would'a happened. Maybe we wouldn't be standing here so quiet and uncomfortable with all this shit goin' on in the world. I'd be holdin' her close and keepin' her safe and kissin' on her whenever I felt like it. Maybe even doin' more with her, too.

Suddenly, my deep thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her clearing her throat and asking, "Have you talked to Jimmy today? I've been calling Katie for hours and I haven't heard anything from her."

"Nah, I aint't." I watched as she dug out her phone and dialed a number, holding it to her ear. Seconds later, she stuffed it back into her purse. "They're prolly still sleepin'. Maybe they had a wild night."

"They were both drunk when they left. I wanna make sure they made it home okay."

I decided to call Merle to see if he had heard anything from Jimmy today. I shook my head at her as I listened to my big brother enthusiastically mention the news. We talked about it for a moment and decided it was best to close down the shop tomorrow, at least until we had a better idea of what was goin' on. Seemed like he was all for that idea; now he could stay up late and polish off the rest a that moonshine.

"Nothing?" She asked as we came up to the register.

I shook my head once more and began loading the groceries onto the belt. "Said he tried calling once earlier to make sure he'd have a ride home but he never answered."

I watched as she swallowed nervously, placing the last few items on the line. I could see she had an uneasy feelin'. Couldn't tell if maybe it was her woman's intuition or if she was just over-reacting, but she asked if we could stop by Katie's before we headed home just to check. I obliged before splitting the pay with her, and in a few minutes we were on the road.