Arvin and I had been chatting for what seemed like ages, and it was good. I hadn't made many friends growing up here in Cincinnati, and when I did, they always left me for new people.

So I guess Arvin has sort of been my longest friend. He seemed like a good kid, and I knew that if he had done something bad, he didn't truly mean any harm.

The sun was starting to set as I made dinner. Arvin had found a book on the old shelf next to an even older TV, and had started to read that when I put the casserole in the oven.

It wasn't a good oven, but it cooked my food to perfection if I set it on its highest heat.

"Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes, Arvin." I called from the kitchen.

"Alright. Thank you for all of this." Arvin said as I walked in, removing the apron around my waist as I shrugged.

"I do what I can to help." I replied with a smile as I set up the dining table.

"Is there anything you'd like to drink? Water? Milk? I made lemonade yesterday." I said to Arvin has he smiled, shrugging. (Hehe. References to FFH.)

"Lemonade sounds nice." Arvin said. I smiled, nodding as I walked back into the kitchen to grab him some lemonade.

I hadn't even realized I started humming quietly until Arvin pointed it out.

"Sounds like you have a nice voice, Emily." He said as he leaned on the doorframe to the kitchen. I spun around, thankfully not spilling his lemonade as my cheeks turned more red than the tomatoes in the vegetable bowl.

"Oh- I'm Uh.." I laughed nervously as I set his lemonade down on the table as the oven beeped. "Oh look! The casserole is ready!"

"Casserole? I don't think I've ever had that before." Arvin said as my mouth dropped.

"You've never had casserole?! Well I assure you it's one of my mothers best recipes next to her chicken." I said with a smile as I pulled it out of the oven, the fresh aroma of melted cheese and seasoning filling my nose.

I took in a deep breath, sighing quietly as I placed the casserole on a small metal stand in the center of the table. I grabbed (whatever the utensil is called. A large spoon) and nicely handed it to Arvin.

"It smells very good, Emily." Arvin said with a smile as I sat down, shrugging as he grabbed a large spoonful of the casserole.

"Well thank you, Arvin. But this is the first time in a while that I've made this, so I don't know if it will actually be good." I said as he handed me the large spoon, which I then used to take a portion of the casserole.

At first, I was slightly nervous when Arvin took the first bite of the casserole. But then, he practically melted like the cheese on top. "This is really good, Emily!" He said as I smiled.

"Thank you, Arvin. That means a lot." I said as I took a bite of my own, a small smile crossing my face.

It was indeed good, but maybe if I had added a little less salt it would have been better, and maybe added some garlic like I usually did.

Why didn't I add garlic this time?

"It could definitely have been better. But it's still good, I suppose." I said as I leaned back in my chair, my stomach full of the casserole.

"No need. It was delicious." Arvin said as I smiled, looking down bashfully.

"Thank you Arvin."

"I should be the one thanking you, Emily. You've really helped me here tonight." Arvin said as I shrugged.

"You're welcome, then." I looked above his head where a clock hanged.

7:58 PM

"It's getting awfully late. Do you have clothes for the night?" I asked Arvin as he nodded, gesturing to his duffel bag on the couch.

"We have a spare room across from my bedroom, you can use that if you'd like." I said as I grabbed the casserole, wrapping it up and setting it in the fridge.

I went to turn and grab the plates, but Arvin had beat me to that. "Arvin you don't have to-"

"It's fine, really Emily. You've helped me out today, I'm simply returnin the favor." Arvin said with a smile as I held back a frown, sighing because somehow I knew I wouldn't back him out of cleaning the dishes for me.

"Well then. I suppose I'll see you in the mornin, Arvin. If you need anything, I'll be in my bedroom." I said with a smile as he looked at me, nodding as he set the clean plates on the drying rack.

I headed to my bedroom, closing the door and ripping off the day dress I had been wearing, quickly changing into a thin night gown.

I removed the small make-up that was in my face before letting my hair down as I crawled into my bed and under the covers.

I hugged the pillow I rested my head on as I shut my eyes, hearing the shuffle of Arvin searching for his bedroom in the dark.

There was a thud, followed by a nearly silent "shit-" as I snickered quietly, my mind trailing off to the idea that Arvin must had run into something.

A door opened and closed, and then there was more shuffling before everything fell silent except for the creaking of the loud bed across the hall.

The smile on my face slowly faded away as I drifted further and further into dreamland, the chirping of the crickets outside lulling me to sleep.

Now, I wasn't one to wake up in the middle of the night. I did it when I was younger, sure, but O grew out of that.

There was too much creaking of the floorboards to just be the old house. So, I slowly got out of my bed, tiptoeing to my closet to grab my dad's gun.

Specifically... The one he used to kill my mother and himself.

I cocked the gun, slowly making my way to my bedroom door, clicking it open.

I looked out into the hall to see a single flashlight. A person was rummaging through my adoptive parents things.

I stepped into the hallway, aiming the gun steadily at them.

"I suggest you get your ass outta my house before I blow it to bits." I threatened as the man flinched, aiming his own gun at me.

Now, if I didn't have then gun, I'd be terrified to a living hell. But in this case, I'd do anything to protect myself and my home.

"I don't want to shoot you, Miss. just give me all your money and we can go about our evening." The man said as I rolled my eyes.

"Bullshit. Get the hell out of here." I stepped forward, only for the man to shoot, missing me. I flinched, before my finger twitched, the gun going off.

There was a gasp from the man, and then a thud. Frantic, I switched on the lights to see the man face down, blood swarming his face. I walked over, hearing the creaking of the floorboards behind me.

I spun around quickly, aiming the gun at Arvin. "Woah! Don't shoot!" He yelled as I relaxed my shoulders, dropping my hands to the sides.

My heart was pounding as I flipped the man over, gagging at the sight I saw. The bullet had gone right into his eye, blood covering his face.

"You killed him..." Arvin said quietly as I backed up, bumping into him. I spun back around, shaking my head.

"I-I didn't mean to! I didn't want to kill anybody- oh dear lord..." my hands started to shake violently, and as Arvin gently took the gun out of my hands, setting it on the table next to me, I fell to my knees.

"Emily.. It will be alright. You did what you had to do to protect yourself." Arvin tried to reassure me as he bent down, elbows resting on his knees as he looked at me.

His hair was messy from waving up, his eyes droopy as well. I hadn't noticed until now, but there was a small bruise on his left cheek.

For the first time in years, I started to pray in my head, begging to be forgiven. But I knew I wouldn't.

Arvin looked behind me to see more flashlights heading out way. "Shit." He muttered as he quickly helped me up. "Get as much clothes as you can. We need to go." Arvin stayed as I nodded, shuffling quickly to my room.

I packed as many clothes as I could in my small bag, grabbing a box of billets for my gun. I shut the room to my door, grabbing the gun off the table and handed it to Arvin.

"Let's go." He said quietly, ushering me outside to my car. We threw our bags in the back as he sat in the drivers seat, starting the car up quickly.

Before anyone could get to us, we drove off, heading towards the backroads.

In the moments like this, despite the blood on my feet, everything had calmed down.

There was no one on the road, and the silence in the car was peaceful. The only noise you could hear was my breathing mixed with Arvin's.

I glanced at him every now and then, trying to take in how much he had changed since I saw him ten years ago.

Why had he not freaked out when I killed that man? I thought to myself, but the thought had disappeared as quickly as it came.

Because I knew from then on, that me and Arvin would become something.

Wether it be the work of God.

Or the work of the Devil.