I Love You So

Part 47

The thought often calmed Amanda. But not all the time.

She recalled how God was cruel and how unfortunate things happen more often than not. With shaky hands, she shifted the gear and drove out of the garage. She exhaled softly as she drove down the roads, her eyes flickering around, keeping a watchful eye since there was a lot of wildlife in the area. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a young man, maybe around the age 14. He was limping, his clothes tattered and his knuckles battered.

Against her better judgement, Amanda stopped the truck. She couldn't help it. His dark hair thick hair covered in snow, her heart sunk, this young boy almost a spitting image of Duane, "Get in." She said

The young boy didn't hesitate to climb into the truck, "Thank you so much." He said, "I'm sorry." He said, pulling a knife from his pocket, holding it up towards Amanda, awkwardly

Amanda looked at the young boy, laughing softly, "What are you doing?"

"Robbing you." The boy said

"What's your name?" Amanda asked him

"Shut up! Give me your rabbits." The boy said angrily

"Okay." Amanda said, unhooking the rabbits from her belt. She gave the boy one, "My names Amanda." She said

"I don't care." The boy said, taking the rabbit, "What else have you got?!"

"Hey, relax." Amanda said calmly, "It's just you and I." She said soothingly, "I have water, too. Are you thirsty?" She asked, "Can I take a look at your leg? I noticed you were limping. It's too cold for you to be moving slow." She said

The boy lowered his knife, looking at Amanda, "Why're you being nice to me?"

"You remind me of a boy I know." Amanda said

"He dead?" The boy inquired

"Yeah." Amanda said softly, "His name was Duane."

"Stupid name." The boy retorted

Amanda laughed softly, "Yeah? Is your name better?"

"Yeah. Names Dylan." He muttered

"Are you alone?" Amanda asked

"Yeah. It's just me." Dylan said softly

"Why don't you stay with me?" Amanda asked softly, "It's me and my friend, Shane. We're camped up a few miles down the road." She said

"I'll kill you if you try any weird shit." Dylan warned

Amanda laughed again, holding up her pinky, "No weird stuff." She promised

Dylan linked their pinkies, "Okay." He said, a weight lifting from his shoulders, feeling relieved that he found someone who seemed normal

Amanda drove back to the house, "Come on." She said, climbing out of the car. She led the boy up the stairs, giving the door three knocks, spacing them all out evenly by 3 seconds.

Shane unlocked the door, looking at Amanda with soft eyes, "Whose kid?"

"This is my friend Dylan." Amanda said, walking inside the small home, "Dylan, this is Shane."

Dylan gave Shane a curt nod, standing in Amanda's shadow

Amanda handed Shane the rabbits to skin and cook, "I'm gonna help Dylan get settled." She said, leading Dylan to one of the rooms on the first floor, "Shane and I typically sleep in the living room. You can have this bedroom. We have extra blankets and stuff." Amanda said

Dylan sat on the edge of the bed, taking off his orange backpack, "What happened to that guy?"

"Shane?" Amanda asked, "He fell and landed on a pole. He's been recovering."

"He looks like an ass." Dylan said

Amanda laughed, "He can be." She admitted

"He your boyfriend?" Dylan asked

"No. I have a husband." Amanda said

"A real husband or a dead husband?" Dylan questioned

"Real. We got separated a few months ago. We ran into some trouble and got separated." Amanda said

"How do you know he's alive?" Dylan asked

"Hope." Amanda admitted

"How did you guys get separated?" Dylan asked

"We ran into trouble." Amanda said, "We were in a little community. Alexandria."

"I've never heard of a community around." Dylan said curiously, "Where?"

"Culpepper." Amanda said

"In Virginia? Dylan asked, "How'd you end up all the way across Washington?"

"Huh?" Amanda asked

"Yeah. Culpepper is like.. Four hours away." Dylan said, "If you've got a map, I can show you."

Amanda scrambled to her bag, reaching inside and grabbing a map. She sat on the bed besides Dylan, her hands trembling

"This is where we are." Dylan explained, "This is Culpepper." He said, "Are you geographically challenged?" He joked

Amanda felt nauseous, "Dylan. You're sure?"

"Yeah. I'm not stupid. Are you?" Dylan asked

"I think so." Amanda said, "Listen, we do not tell Shane. If you can keep quiet, I'll take you to Alexandria. We have walls, gardens, animals - heat, AC, electricity."

Dylan stared at Amanda unsure, but nodded, "You swear?" He asked, holding out his pinky

"Swear." Amanda said sincerely, linking their pinkies

Shane knocked on the doorframe moments later, "I got dinner cooked." He said, his eyes darting between the two

Amanda let go of Dylan's hand, nodding as she stood up, leading Dylan to the kitchen table.
Dinner was eaten in silence for a plethora of reasons. Reason one being that Amanda was trying to come up with a plan on how to leave. Reason two being that Dylan was demolishing his food, too occupied to speak.

Once everything had been cleaned up and taken care of, Amanda volunteered to take first watch. Of course, Dylan stayed awake with her.

Shane sat at the table, watching as Amanda braided Dylan's curly hair, giving him cornrows to keep them out of his face. Shane had taken his regular dosage of pain medication, which left him feeling drowsy.

Dylan was on the ground, between Amanda's legs, staring at Shane as he let Amanda do his hair, his body limp, feeling safe in Amanda's embrace

"I think I'm gonna call it a night." Shane said, standing up

"Okay." Amanda smiled, "Goodnight, Shane."

"Goodnight, darlin'." Shane said, walking to the room, giving Dylan and Amanda privacy

Amanda inhaled deeply as she focused her attention back on Dylan, "One hour. We collect our stuff and we go."

Dylan nodded, not really paying attention due to being distracted by how good it felt to be touched by someone - to be held, to have his hair being done. The littlest thing making him feel revived.

After about an hour, Amanda and Dylan collected whatever they could, leaving Shane with enough to get by.

"You're the navigator." Amanda said

"Obviously." Dylan said, getting in the passengers seat, "You were with this dude for months and had no idea where you were?" He asked

"Shut up." Amanda grunted as she started the car, speeding off down the road. Her hands trembled in anticipation as she imagined her sweet reunion with her husband