I whispered into Kamil's ear and waited.
"Please pass the potatoes, Morgan," he asked. Morgan glanced at me, but quickly looked away when I shot him a withering glare. He picked up the bowl and handed it to Julio, who handed it to Kamil, who handed it to me. I plopped a scoop of potatoes on my plate before passing to bowl back and stabbing one with my fork.
"Violence," Newton muttered, rolling his eyes as he put a carrot in his mouth.
I threw a my knife at him, aiming just the the right of his ear and hitting perfectly. He jumped, choking on his carrots.
"Says the one who almost shot me in the head the one time my foot stepped off the porch," I replied. He muttered something inaudible and went back to his food.
>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<
A knock on my door woke me.
"Hello?" Morgan's muffled voice sounded through the door. I rolled over to face the wall and pretended to be asleep. "Moon?"
When I didn't answer the door creaked open. Footsteps clunked over to me and the bed sank a little as Morgan sat down. He shook my shoulders gently.
"What?" I asked sharply. His hand coiled back.
"I'm leaving. I'll see you tonight. I just wanted to tell you to have a good day," he whispered.
"Mm." I kept my eyes closed, surprised when he didn't leave after a few seconds. Then he bent over, so close I could feel his breath on my cheek.
"Please don't die." Then he planted a small kiss on my temple before watching me for a reaction. Truthfully, I was going crazy inside, but outside I couldn't move. After a moment he stood and patted my shoulder before his boots clunked back out into the hall, the door creaking shut behind him. What seemed like only a few seconds turned out to be hours when I got up and looked at the clock, which read 9:58pm. I scooped up Eleven, who was just waking, and went down to the kitchen. As I walked in, rubbing my eyes, I looked around and saw everyone at the table talking. When I came through the door they all stopped and turned, staring at me.
"What?" I asked.
They glanced between each other.
"It's late," Julio muttered to Newton.
Finally Zechariah, being the mediator of the group, spoke.
"You don't have to be so mean to Morgan, you know." He was quiet.
I took in a shaky breath. "He shot Angel! What was I supposed to do, let him off the hook? Angel and Kamil are my responsibility, I have to take care of them and make sure they get fed. They may be older than me, but they're like my little brothers. I'm their ringleader. I get them food, they follow me. So I can't just let M shoot Angel with no consequences!"
My face was streaked in tears and my voice broke before I could say anything more.
"And I'm sorry, but I have to!" And then I spun around, storming out the door. Eleven, now standing on the floor, followed me obediently. I stood on the porch, staring in the opposite direction of Dolville.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't know," I whispered.
"Focus on my voice. Don't think about what's wrong with the world. Think about what's right."
"M, why?" I asked.
"Why what?"
"Why me? Why did I have to be the one chased by a madman?"
"I don't know, Moon. Just destiny, I guess."
"Maybe," I whispered. "Maybe."