Thirty-Six

It felt different to ride with Arthur.

Before spending the night together, it made your heart race and your cheeks glow whenever his hands brushed against your body by accident. You've felt safe knowing that it was him who pressed his chest into your back.

But now it was as if an unknown kind of tension made your shoulders stiffen whenever he let out a deep breath.

Your hands were on the edge of the saddle to hold onto but there was this unsettling feeling that made you want to grab the reins and make the horse run faster.

Neither of you said a word.

Only his small yet subtle moves gave away that he wanted to talk but didn't force you to.

Maybe he thought that his excuses could make you change your mind.

But you didn't know how that was supposed to work.

You wanted to leave and settle somewhere good, another small town maybe, or a large city like Austin.

You were willing to give everything up in order to gain far more than life was offering at the moment.

Arthur, on the other hand, seemed to be unable to let go of the many years of hard work and running away.

It seemed like he was afraid to loose the only thing he'd ever known.

He was afraid of what was to come, the unknown.

Or maybe he believe that there was nothing ahead for him.

Maybe he thought he was doomed to be the way he was for the rest of his life.

No matter what it was, the two of you wouldn't be able to find happiness nor peace that way.

Someone had to give something up.

And it for sure wouldn't be you. You had responsibilities, you needed to make sure that not just your life turned out for the better, but also Ginny's and Karl's.

A deep sigh escaped you as your eyes wandered along the small town road.

Green grass danced with the wind while the smell of dried corn was in the air.

It also smelled of fire and ashes.

You frowned.

Something caught your attention.

There were footprints in the mud.

It wasn't unusual to see traces of everyday life, lots of people and wandering merchants used these roads.

But the footprints were fresh.

And many in numbers.

Something in the back of your head tingled.

"Arthur.", you raised a hand to gain his attention.

"Hm?", he leaned over your shoulder to be able to look at you.

"Look.", you pointed to the ground.

"Footprints."

"Yeah. But look how many."

He ordered the horse to stop.

A hum escaped him as he eyes the ground for himself.

"Quite deep.", he noted. "Fresh too."

Your heart started beating faster.

"I have to go home.", you said, feeling pressured all of a sudden. "Please bring me home now."

Understanding, Arthur nodded and ordered the horse to run.

"Hold on tight.", he said.

A strong wind ran through your hair as the horse chased down the road.

Mud and dirty water splashed into the air.

You could feel Arthur's chest pressing against your back, as he leaned forward to keep the horse running.

The fast pace and unknown movements almost threw you off the back, but you clawed yourself into the saddle to hold on for dear life.

Somehow, you couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

In the distance, the fence of your property came into sight.

The footprints led right through the gate.

Your breath hitched.

The gate was wide open. But you knew that it had been tightly shut as you and Arthur had left the day before.

A whimper escaped you.

With full speed, Arthur guided the horse towards the house and made it stop abruptly.

Your eyes kept looking for the horse of the other man.

It was gone.

As soon as the horse came to a stand, you didn't hesitate a second and jumped off.

As you did so, you almost lipped in the mud.

A sharp pain chased through your ankles as the impact of your weight was bounced back by the ground. But you ignored it and rushed through the front entrance of the saloon.

Your heart was beating like crazy.

"Ginny!", you gasped as you noticed the dirty footprints that covered the messed up floor. "Ginny!? Karl!?"

You rushed up the stairs to the apartment.

Cold sweat ran down your back.

All at once, you froze.

The front door was shattered.

Only small remains of splinters and broken wood told that there once had been a door to block the path into the living room.

Dark marks covered the walls. It smelled of ashes and cinder.

Something had burned and it wasn't the fire inside the chimney.

As if struck by lightning, you stood on the last step of the stairs and stared into your house, afraid what would await you.

Heavy breathing echoed inside your ears.

You were shaking all over.

"Ginny?", you asked into the emptiness.

Nobody answered.

Somewhere downstairs, someone entere.

Someone called out for you.

But all you could do was take the final step into the apartment.

The living room was a mess.

The table was flipped, legs broken and spread across the floor.

Everything reeked of gunpowder and burned wood.

But there was also something else mingling in the air.

Alcohol.

It smelled as if someone had poured all the liquor you've had stored in the basement onto the floor.

But why would somebody do something like this?

Both confused and terrified, you took another step into the apartment.

With every step, the soles of your shoes stuck to the floor.

It was sticky all over.

Your eyes wandered through the room.

Small splatters of blood were stuck to the wall.

It looked like someone had been shot.

You looked around.

No body.

A shaky breath of relief left your lips.

Someone called out for you again.

Was it Arthur?

Or Ginny?

You prayed that it was your brother.

All by themselves, your legs took another shaky step forward.

"(Y/N)!", suddenly, a hand was on your shoulder.
Struck by surprise, you flinched.

"Arthur?", you asked, not entirely present.

"(Y/N)?", another voice asked from behind him.

You tilted your head.

Behind Arthur stood Ginny, head pulled in and fear burning inside his eyes.

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