"Where's your car, Ms Nicks?" Misty asked, looking around. She was shivering, even though she had a coat on. Cordelia wondered, not for the first time, how bad Misty's injuries were – could they get away with avoiding the hospital? It would be dangerous. Cordelia felt terrible even wondering about it. If Misty needed to go to the hospital, that was were they would go, dangerous or not.
Stevie smiled. "Seeing as you're running away and all, I'm not technically your teacher. Call me Stevie."
"Alright," Misty said, shrugging. "Stevie, where's your car?"
"It's outside the gates. I couldn't park it too close or the engine would wake everyone up, and that would be no good. Are you alright, Misty?"
"Yeah," Misty said, though she was sweating profusely. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Cordelia frowned at her. She had seen the bruises, the dried blood all over her girlfriend's body – she definitely wasn't fine, no matter what she said. She half wanted to scoop Misty up and carry her so she would have to limp through the pain, but she was exhausted and had never been known for her physical strength, so that would never have worked. "It's alright, Mist, we don't have much farther to go."
"I'm fine," Misty insisted, "I can handle it."
"You're full of shit," Cordelia laughed.
Misty rolled her eyes, and pretended to pout. "You're so mean."
They reached the car not long after. Myrtle and Stevie put their things in the boot – Stevie said that she would keep their excess things safe so they wouldn't have to travel too heavy – and Cordelia helped Misty into the backseat. "I think we need to get you to a hospital or something, Mist, I really do."
"You kiddin'? That's the first place they'll look. Plus, we'll need to provide our IDs, and seein' as we're runaways and all, I don't think that's such a good idea."
"But you're hurt, you could be hurt bad – what if you've got, a, a broken rib or something?" Cordelia said anxiously, her mind going through all the possibilities. "What if you're bleeding internally? What if-"
"Delia," Misty said softly. She took Cordelia's face in her hands, and Cordelia's heart fluttered at Misty's gentle, loving touch. "I promise you, I'm fine. The outside might be a little dinged up, but it's no worse than when I was livin' with my parents. A couple of weeks and there won't be a bruise in sight."
Cordelia, courtesy of Fiona, had had her fair share of bruises over the years, and though she wasn't sure she quite believed that Misty was 100% fine, she did know that the hospital would be a bad idea. They needed to keep a low profile. If she knew Fiona at all – and she was certain she did – there would definitely be people sent out to find them – so they needed to keep their heads down. "Okay," she said reluctantly. "But you have to promise to tell me if you feel any worse."
"I promise," Misty said, sticking out her little finger. Cordelia curled her own pinky around Misty's, and they shook.
Stevie and Myrtle got into the front seats. "Alright, my little birds?" Myrtle asked, turning around to check on them as Stevie started the engine. She reached over the back of the seat and grasped Cordelia's hand.
"Alright," Misty agreed.
"Thank you so much for helping us," Cordelia said to them both. Stevie smiled at them in the mirror, and Myrtle squeezed her hand.
"I only wish there was more I could do," she said sadly. Her red hair quivered. "I know it hasn't been easy for you girls, and I'm sorry to say that it will only get harder. But you have each other now. Love can triumph anything."
"That's so cheesy, Myrtle," Misty said with a laugh, followed by the wince of pain that Cordelia had grown to expect in the last half hour.
"But it's the truth."
Stevie parked the car next to the bus stop, and all four of them got out. "I'm afraid we can't wait here with you. We need to be back at school before sun-up, or Miss Robichaux will suspect us of helping you – and you know what she's like."
"Of course," Cordelia said, not entirely surprised that the Headmistress' abuse didn't only apply to the students.
"Oh, before I forget," Myrtle said, snapping her fingers. She began rummaging through her handbag, and after a moment she pulled out a small red notebook. "It was short notice, so pardon the handwriting. In there are the contact details of several of my friends – you can go to them if you need help. Most are in this state, but there is also one in Connecticut, one in New York, and two in Tennessee. You can trust them."
"I'm in there too," Stevie said, "so you can write to your friends."
"Thank you, Myrtle, Stevie" Misty said. She took the notebook and slipped it into her inside coat pocket. "Truly, thank you. I'm gonna miss you." She threw her arms around the librarian.
"I don't know how we can ever thank you enough. Both of you," Cordelia added, embracing Stevie. "Thank you. For everything."
"You saved our lives," Misty said seriously.
"Of course," Stevie said, letting go of Cordelia with one last squeeze and embracing Misty. "You have my address, my number… if there's ever anything you need, at all, you know where to go."
"Are you certain you have enough money, my dears?" Myrtle asked worriedly.
"Yes," Cordelia said. "Truly. I robbed my mother blind over the holidays, and I don't regret it one little bit. She took from me, I took from her – I think that's fair, don't you?"
"Good," Myrtle said with a proud smile. "Hold onto that rage. It will keep you going."
"You guys gotta go," Misty said, looking at the sky, which was beginning to turn pink as the first light of dawn began to show.
With final hugs, Myrtle and Stevie got back into the car and drove off.
Cordelia and Misty sat down in the bus stop, the metal seat ice cold. "When's the bus?" Misty asked, her teeth chattering.
Cordelia checked the tickets, though she didn't need to – she had memorised them. "Five fifteen am."
"And what's the time?"
Cordelia checked the watch that used to belong to her father. She was glad to have it with her – it felt as if he was there with them, protecting them. A protective talisman of sorts. "It's four fifty. Are you alright?"
"If I had a nickel for all the times you've asked me that in the last hour, I'd be rich."
"Sorry, Mist. I just – I was so worried," Cordelia said, thinking with a shudder of how utterly terrified she'd been not an hour before. She'd never felt that scared, ever – and she didn't want to feel like that ever again. "I didn't know where you were, I didn't know how to find you…I thought I'd never see you again."
Misty looked surprised. "You really thought that?"
"Well, yeah." Cordelia didn't want to admit that she had thought, for a dark few minutes, that Misty was dead.
Misty's face was solemn for a moment. She took Cordelia's hands in both of hers and squeezed tight, looking deeply into Cordelia's eyes. "You ain't gettin' rid of me that easy, Delia."
"Is that right?" Cordelia said, smiling. She pressed a kiss to Misty's forehead. She wondered when she had gotten so lucky.
"Uh huh," Misty said, sticking her tongue out. She shivered, and rubbed her biceps. "Goddamn, it's cold."
"C'mere," Cordelia said, pulling her closer. The two of them snuggled in, basking in each other's warmth, and Cordelia felt her eyelids growing heavier, and heavier…
Five seconds later, it felt like, Misty's voice was urging her awake. "Dee! Wake up! We gotta go!"
Cordelia's eyes flew open. She didn't even remember falling asleep, and she couldn't have been out that long. Misty helped her up, and they each grabbed a suitcase before making their way onto the bus.
"Here," Cordelia said, handing their tickets to the bus driver. She still felt half-asleep, and everything felt strangely surreal, as the world often felt after a nap.
"Right through there, ladies," the driver said pleasantly. "Do you need help with your bags?"
"No thank you, we'll be fine," Cordelia said politely, not trusting anyone to handle their things. Not with the small fortune she had hidden in her case.
Once they had put their suitcases in the overhead luggage rack, Cordelia wanted nothing more than to curl up and fall asleep, with Misty's head in her lap. But she knew they couldn't do that, even though the bus was empty, save for a few people. They simply couldn't risk it. And she didn't want to fall asleep, either – she couldn't risk them missing their stop. She knew it was only a matter of time before the school realised they were missing, if they hadn't already. And when that happened, the police would surely be called and their parents notified… Fiona would fly home, and send someone else after them, someone very expensive and probably outside the law. No, she couldn't risk falling asleep again. The next few hours were crucial, and Cordelia needed to stay awake if she was to get Misty away safely.
"You should sleep, Delia," Misty said. She pulled off her coat and used it to cushion the seat a bit more so it didn't rub on her back. Cordelia realised what she was doing, and gave Misty her coat as well. "You look dead on your feet."
It was tempting to agree – Cordelia had maybe had three hours of sleep over the last twenty-four hours – but she shook her head. "I'm fine. You should sleep, though, you've been through so much."
Misty smiled. "You know, I realise why you don't believe me."
"What?" Cordelia asked, confused.
"I'm fine," Misty said, shrugging. "Really does sound like bullshit, don't it? But I wouldn't ever lie to you, Dee."
Cordelia sighed. She looked at her girlfriend and smiled. "Well, alright, I'm tired. But you need to rest. I can't even imagine how tired you must be, after what Robichaux put you through."
At that, Misty yawned. "Yeah. Fine, I'm tired, but I'll only sleep if you agree to at least try to get a couple hours rest until we reach our stop. We're safe for the next couple hours, Delia, and you gotta rest too. We can sleep at the same time, it'll be alright. Promise me you'll try to get some sleep?"
"I promise," Cordelia lied, crossing the fingers on the hand that wasn't draped around Misty's shoulders. She felt terrible for lying, but she simply couldn't risk it. "Now sleep."
Misty leaned into her shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed. Cordelia watched her girlfriend's eyelids flutter closed, and wondered what the hell they were doing. She didn't know how to protect them both – but she would do anything if it meant Misty was safe.
Let's go lesbians let's go!
Chapter title from 'Fireflies' by Fleetwood Mac.