RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 ONESHOTS & SHORT STORIES

Charles X Reader - Instead Of Him

"Stop moving, you bitch," he pulled you by your hair , again towards you. Tears stream down your face as you quietly start to cry and whimper. "I thought you loved me, Y/N." He pulled you by your wrist, which you already felt start to bruise. "Leave the camp for few days and come back when you're ready to love me again." With a harsh shove, you were pushed out of the tent.

With disheveled hair, a torn skirt, a half unbuttoned shirt, a bruised arm, and a red cheek you ran towards the woods. You didn't even have a horse of your own. You would have to run to the nearest town. You wouldn't even be able to say goodbye to Charles or Sean, the people that had been kindest to you.

Tears flooded down your cheeks as you darted over branches and tripped over rocks as you ran through the woods. All of a sudden, you tripped over a larger rock, and rolled you ankle.

You felt defeated, until you heard a voice.

"Hey, who goes there?" a familiar voice called out. Charles Smith.

You knew you had to get out of there. You couldn't have Charles knowing what Dutch had said. It would ruin his entire reputation in the gang.

You crouched down out of site, your ankle throbbing with pain, trying to keep back the sobs that we're stuck in there chest.

Charles was smart. He had a good sense of direction and he could tell when someone was hiding from him. "Come out and you won't get hurt." he called out again.

Suddenly, he laid eyes on you, lying on the ground.

"Y/N? What are you doing out here? Are you crying?" he put out his hand, offering to help you up, causing you to flinch. He slowly started taking in the sight of you, your tear stained cheeks, your ripped, muddy clothing.

"I'm not crying, I'm fine," You start to stand up but then start falling down, your ankle buckling beneath you. Shit.

Charles eyes go wide with concern for you as he kneels down to help you. "Y/N, do you want to go back to camp?" he asks you.

"No! I mean, no thanks, I just came out here for some alone time," you try not to let the tears flow but you simply can't help it.

"I'm going to take you to a little camp I have set up over the way. Is that ok with you?" Charles says softly.

You wipe your nose and nod your head. "Yeah... thank you Charles," you mumble.

Charles gets his horse and lifts you up from the ground onto it in front of him, keeping you steady with his big arms around you. You feel safe and secure in his arms, leaving into his chest. You realise you've never really felt this way with Dutch. Just safe.

The horse stops when you arrive in front of a small campfire.

"Here," Charles says lifting you down from the horse. "I come here when i just need to get away from everything. Seems like you might need that." You both silently sit down on there floor next to the fire and that's when it all comes spilling out.

"Dutch thought I was cheating on him," you said abruptly.

Charles brow furrows and says,"I'm going to assume that you weren't?" He gave you a soft smile. "Go on, you can tell me everything, if you're comfortable. I know that you're not that type of person, Y/N. You're amazing and sweet and kind. You wouldn't hurt somebody like that."

You're so suddenly taken aback at his kind words. He thinks I'm kind and sweet and amazing? No one has ever said something like that to you.

"Thank you, Charles. I-" you stop. What do you say to that? That Dutch hurt you and made you run away into the woods? You also start to become self conscious because half the buttons on your shirt are undone. You slowly fiddle with the buttons, doing them up with shaky hands. You're eyes well with tears again. You can't help it you're just an emotional person.

Charles moves over to you and puts his arms around you carefully. You relax, feeling comforted.

In a whisper, you tell him what Dutch did and how he told you to run away into the woods and come back when you were fixed up.

Charles listens, no interruptions, just listening and stroking your hair. "I'm so sorry for roping you into this, Charles. I should have just told you I was fine."

Charles gently placed both of his hands on your shoulders. Before you even realise what's happening, your lips land softly on one another. "Don't apologise. You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm taking you somewhere away from here, somewhere safe." He pauses for a moment before saying, "I love you, Y/N."

You stare into his big eyes, shining in the light of the campfire. "I love you too."