may i stand unshaken [Arthur Morgan × OC]

Chapter 15

Another evening had come. The bright sun had set behind the mountains, coloring the sky crimson, and the Van der Linde gang decided to throw a small party. Dutch decided to celebrate the return of the red-haired Sean, who had been pulled straight from the clutches of the bounty hunters, so he told everyone to have fun. The man had already had enough to drink, so he wandered among the tents and grinned at everyone who got in his way, using his philosophical speeches.

I was sitting at a round table, surrounded by bottles of beer and a yellow lantern in the middle of the wooden surface. Karen, Sean, Uncle and Javier sat around it. The last one was fingering the strings of his guitar and swaying relaxedly to an unobtrusive tune. Sean, whom I had only just met, kept talking about his adventures. His accent sometimes made it hard to understand what he was saying. I was still remembering the last drink, so this time I decided not to drink too much, holding only one bottle of beer, which still managed to relax me and close my eyes calmly. At one moment Uncle started humming the lyrics to one of his lewd songs, and everyone else picked up on it, but Karen was the loudest. With a hand on my cheek, I stared at the blonde, and suddenly with a frown and a suspicious squint realized that she was constantly casting ambiguous glances at the smiling Sean, who was also casually touching her exposed skin. What had I missed? My drowsiness was wiped away when I caught those uncomprehending glances. Sean had taken Javier's guitar away from him and was playing instead. I slapped Karen's thigh, causing her to jump up and down, giving me an annoyed look.

- Is there something I don't know? - I asked, moving closer.

- What do you mean? - blonde waved her curls, forcing me to lean back.

- Don't be a stupid, Karen, - I rolled my eyes and pointed at Sean. - What's going on between you two?

- Oh, you mean this, - Jones laughed flirtatiously and waved her hand. - Nothing special.

- Now you think I'm a stupid? - I moved closer to her, lowering my voice conspiratorially. - You're looking at each other like you're about to make love on this table!

- Maybe it's time for you to make love to someone else, - girl hissed, narrowing her eyes like a snake.

- Oh, yeah?! - I shrieked and moved away from Karen. - I will, okay?

- Yes, of course, do it, - she said, a mocking smile tugging at her lips.

- I'll do it, - I got to my feet, kicking the stool away resentfully. - You white-haired viper...

I turned my back to the girl and headed for my tent, muttering something to myself. Make love to someone? If only there was someone to make love to, Karen. I stopped at the supply cart, grabbed an oatmeal cookie and chewed thoughtfully. Eyes followed what each member of the gang was doing. Some were singing loudly, some were sitting around the campfire telling stories, some were swaying to a smooth tune, some were keeping their eyes on the bottle. Soon everyone started to disperse to their sleeping spots, and I could see Karen and Sean separate and seclude themselves in John's tent. Weird couple. If Marston found them, there'd be a hell of a scream. Damn, the blonde's words had me thinking. Or was it the alcohol playing tricks on my brain? I shook my head, trying to shake off the thought that Karen was right. It had just been a long time since I'd thought about it, and I hadn't pictured anyone in particular. After everything that had happened to me, the possibility of intimacy seemed repulsive. After Richard it was like I'd become a nun. My face lit up involuntarily at the thought, and I touched my flushed cheeks. The last bottle was clearly unnecessary. Suddenly, Uncle walked by, and out of his mouth came Karen's incessant favorite song about some prostitute. He stood right in front of me and danced with a flushed face. Before I could touch the oatmeal cookie with my teeth, I threw it at Uncle's forehead, hoping it would make him go away. He froze, stared at me with hollow eyes for a few seconds, and then he bellowed the next song in his vast repertoire and went the other way, tripping over his own pant leg, which had somehow slid down. It was time to get into the tent and go to bed.