The night passed, but the feeling of being watched didn't.

Every time you passed the window you caught yourself throwing a look outside, just to check if there were shadows or strange figures lurking outside.

The day was dark, cloudy.

It smelled of alcohol. The stench of the broken bottles had soaked into the wood and now crawled up into your space through the cracks in the floor.

A sound reached your ears.

As if struck by lightning, you tore your head around to take a look.

Ginny met your eyes.

Tiredness was written all over his face. Dark circles were showing under his eyes and he looked like he had been dreaming badly.

With a yawn, he sat down at the table and eyed you for a moment.

A shivering breath escaped you.

It hurt to look him in the eyes and read all of the things that a child wasn't supposed to know.

He knew what had happened the night before.

He knew that it was wrong.

And he was disappointed about it.

But there was also something else.

He understood.

He understood exactly why it had happened and that it wasn't just your fault.

It was just how the world worked.

He was fully aware of that.

Your lips moved to say something.

But he was quicker.

"Karl doesn't want to go back to his father.", he said without breaking eye contact. "He says he's scared of him."

A deep breath escaped you.

It felt like rain ran down your spine.

Why did it feel like Ginny knew?

Why were you afraid that he and Karl had found out about your plan?

"He can stay.", you managed to say with a hoarse voice. "Just make sure to not be seen together."

Ginny frowned.

"We won't go out anyways."

"What about the mountains?"

He shrugged.

"We could also be caught in the mountains. Doesn't matter where... They'll kill us."

Your heart stopped for the breath of a second.

"Don't... don't say such things."

His eyes turned empty.

"Why not? It's the truth."

"It's cruel."

"But not wrong.", without wasting another word, he slid off the chair and disappeared, slow, yet it felt like he was trying to escape.

But it was hard to tell if he tried to escape you or the life he had not chosen.

Shivering, you kept looking after him.

It felt so cold all of a sudden. As if ice grew up on your legs and into your flesh.

But you didn't have a lot of time to think about the possibility of him knowing something.

A knock sounded at the door.

Your threw a glance over your shoulder.

It sounded polite, patient.

The townspeople were neither. Maybe they just tried to make it seem like they were calm now only to let a storm rage once you thought you were safe.

Another knock sounded.

You hesitated.

Your eyes wandered out the window.

There were two horses tied outside.

Someone waited next to them.

The back was turned towards the window, but the silhouette gave away that it was a man with a black ponytail.

A third time, the unexpected visitor knocked.

The stranger outside wore a parker, very colourful and remarkable. It had some slight Mexican touch to it.

You've seen a parker like this before. At camp.

The knock at the door got more persistent.

Now it sounded less patient, almost as if the person waiting at the door was worried why no one would answer.

With a deep breath, you tore your eyes off the window and walked across the apartment to turn the key inside the lock.

But you didn't open the door fully, just a crack wide.

"Who's there?", you asked from behind the door.
A low sound could be heard.

You recognise the person immediately.

"Mind if I come in?", Arthur asked in his low, calm voice.

You opened the door.

"How did you get up here?", you greeted him with a soft yet tired smile.

He pulled a face.

His hand rose to rub the back of his neck.

"They smashed the door downstairs.", he said and slipped into the room. "You might want to barricade the front entrance. Unwanted guests could get in."

You chuckled, arms crossed.

"Like you?", your eyes fell onto his right hand.

He was holding a gun. It looked like it was fit to shoot down a bear.

With one eyebrow raised, you looked at him and demanded an answer.

He leaned it against the wall he raised his hands.

"You never know when's it needed.", he said in a defensive tone. "Should have had it yesterday."

"For what? I thought you prefer violence only when necessary."

"I do. But a big gun might have scared him away."

"Maybe.", you gestured towards the table. "Be my guest."

He shook his head.

"I appreciate the opportunity, but Dutch sends me.", he said and held his hands out to warm them at the fireplace.

You raised your chin.

"I've noticed.", you pointed outside the window. "A friend of yours?"

"Javier? More or less. A fine fella though. He'll watch the kids. They won't even notice he's here."

Your frowned.

"Watch the kids? I'm here to watch em'."

An amused smirk appeared on Arthur's bearded face.

The hint of his bright teeth lit up.

"Well, I hate to disappoint ya' but Dutch didn't like to hear what happened yesterday.", he looked around until his eyes fell into a jacket that was hanging over a chair. "He wants you to survive."

With a smirk, you watched how he grabbed the jacket and opened it as if he wanted to put it on you.

"I can survive on my own, thank you very much.", you replied.

He chuckled.

"I know, sweetheart. I know. But Dutch is a different man than I am. He doesn't want to loose his gold birdie."

"He doesn't want to loose the opportunities to get rich."

Arthur lay the jacket loosely around your shoulders and pushed you towards the door.

"Your words, ain't mine.", he said with raised eyebrows. "Either way, I think he ain't wrong. Teachin' ya the basics of a gunfight won't hurt."

"I don't want to have a gunfight, Arthur."

"Ah, trust me, some asshole won't give a crap about what you want and pull a gun on you anyways."