ʜ ᴏ ʟ ʏ

44.

She treaded lightly by her side, hand in hand, eye to eye, heart to heart. It had been like that since their departure from the bus. It was almost hard to pry her eyes away from her knowing the events to come, knowing that Marceline would retreat after they arrived at Keila's, knowing that she wouldn't be at her side every passing second of the day, knowing the burden they both carry. With that knowledge she had made it her top priority to savour the time they had left together, which wasn't much. The girls had arrived at the entrance of the trailer park five minutes ago, and had been submerged in the labyrinth of trailers since. There was so much to be said to one another, but none had words to express the jumble of thoughts in their mind, leaving them both in silence, enjoying one's company as they hunted for the specific trailer. The park itself was in fair (diversely shabby) condition. The streets paved direction through the splits and cracks of trailers in all sizes and aspects surrounded by dried brittle grass, if not consuming yard clutter. There were complex one's, wide yet grotty and neglected, and smaller ones in not much better condition. The neatest thing she'd seen since there arrival was the park, a simple set of swings and monkey bars occupied by children who laughed joyously as they played. It would've brought a smile to her face had she not remembered their situation. Her face fell slightly. "Bonnibel." She met her eye when she turned to face her, Marceline failing to meet hers. "I feel as if we need to talk before we get to Keila's." Her sluggish movements were indications of their shared mood, both shallow and damp. Nonetheless she nodded accordingly as Marceline dragged her to a empty rickety bench settled ahead of the playground. She watched them in silence as Marceline struggled to form the words from the back of her throat. Seeing her current demeanor, she laced their fingers together softly and encouraged her with a nimble squeeze, a small gesture yet reassuring enough to bring the words from her mouth. "Bonnibel... I love you." She paused, her eyes piercing her lover's from her lowered gaze. "And you know I'd do anything to protect you." "But you can't do that when you're not here." Her voice cracked lowly. There was still a part of her in denial, a slither of herself that couldn't register Marceline's departure, and that part of her continued to try anything and everything in the book to get her to stay. It hadn't worked. "I know that, but getting you here is the best I can do for you while im not around. Staying with Keila is your only chance to make it. The town is a danger zone to you, to us right now, especially with your current descison, and going back will be trouble. Your only way of protection is here." She slowed, lifting her gaze from the tattered bench and to Bonnibel. "That's why you can't tell Keila anything." Slightly surprised, she pulled back, staring at Marceline through lowered brows. "What?" "Ok Bonnie hear me out." She held her hands in protest. "Keila is my friend yes, but despite that she might not react the way we think she will. Housing a fugitive and her pregnant girlfriend might not settle so well with her." Bonnie took in her side of the explanation but with so many unanswered questioned, remarked. "What happens when I give birth to the baby? What happens if you don't come back? What happens if-" "Hey slow down for a sec." Marceline grasped her cheek, caressing the warmth of her skin with her thumb. That seemed to silence her almost instantly, Bonnibel sinking back into the quiet, cupping the hand on her cheek, settling into her paranoid thoughts. "Everything will turn out fine for us, I promise. The time spent away from you will be worth something." Bonnibel sighed, nodding softly. "And I won't be gone forever, you know I'll come back, Bonnibel." She swallowed the grief that lurked in her throat. "Promise?" Holding out her pinky finger, she waited in her pity, only releasing the paranoid thoughts when she linked their fingers together, lacing their gaze as one. "I promise." She didn't waste a heart beat leaning into her girlfriend, burying her head into the crook of her neck, concealing her tears to the best of her ability. "I love you." Marceline rasped through her hoarse tone, delicately rubbing up on down Bonnibel's back. Bonnie pulled back, staring at her through a watery film as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I love you too." Planting her hands on her cheeks she leaned forward, pressing their lips together, a gesture as small as such yet able to produce tingles that shackled her whole. Plesantly she responded, softly maneuvering them as a pair, only pulling back when the giggles of the children became apparent. Pulling back slightly annoyed she watched them with a smile. "Ew! Cooties! They have cooties!" The girls and boys laughed, only growing louder as they retreated at the sight of her annoyance. And for the first time in a while her gaze caught something so rare with the coming of days, something pure and meaningful on the face of her Bonnibel. A smile.

"Wow you two look like shit." Keila scanned over the two at her doorstep, combusting with laughter at the stern looks suited on their faces. Marceline was the first to reply, holding her middle finger high and mighty in the view of her friend. "Im just fucking with you guys! Bring it in!" Neither of the girls were physically or mentally prepared for the bone crushing hug Keila had pulled them into, finding strength to return the eagerness to see them and wrapping their arms around the girl. Only when she pulled back they both regained the ability to breathe. Keila, leaning against her door frame with a smirk eyed them wearily. "What brings you two bozos here?" Marceline, getting straight to the point, caught the gaze of her friend. "Bonnie needs a place to crash for a bit." Her eyes said it all. Taken aback she was, but nonetheless shrugged. "Sure man, I got a spare room in the back to the left." Her thumb yanked the direction. Marcy gave Bonnibel one last encouraging look towards the inside of the house, her chest beating rapidly when Bonnibel took her sullen order and submerged into the house with her things. The second she split around the corner Keila was already down her throat with the look she gave her. "Gonna spill?" Marceline rubbed the nape of her neck. "Im sorry Keila we had no other place to go and I wasn't sure if anybody else would take her in and you we're the first person to pop in my head an-" she was cut off by the hand on her shoulder, ceasing the words from her mouth. "It's all good man, you know I wouldn't kick you two to the curb. Just fill me in on why y'all fled, and why only Bonnibel is crashing here." Without a heartbeat, instinct kicked in from all the practice she had with lying, her mind generating a falsehood quicker than the snap of her finger. "Bonnibel's uncle was going to send her off to some fucked up school out of state, like really fucked up school, worse than Saint Annes. You gotta understand I couldn't let her go Keila, she's my everything." She almost caught herself losing track of her words at the simple fact that Bonnibel was her everything. The girl that made her sprung just thinking about her, the girl she would do anything for, the girl who supplied her happiness, her lover. Swallowing her adornment, (which was nothing but blank silence to Keila), she continued. "Look I know you don't particularly favor housing someone but it's just until I get back." Keila eyed her skeptically. "And how long will that be?" She rubbed up and down her arm anxiously, conceiving a sum of the time she thought she would need. "Nothing over two months. When I come back I'll have enough money to rent a place of our own so we don't have to go back." Keila nodded casually, propping herself up from her crooked stance on the door frame. "That should be alright, Bonnibel's nice company. And besides, I was getting kinda bored being all alone anyway, Guy and Bongo are ass at visiting." Marceline heaved out a quiet sigh she didn't even know she was holding in. "But," the air was quickly re consumed, "that doesn't explain why you're not sticking around either." On the spotlight, she only had a second or two to think of a lie before her friends suspison rose any higher, which was harder than it seemed. "Uhm." She tapped her foot nervously. "I have to head back to town to throw suspicion off of Bonnibel. I'll go back and tell everyone she fled a few states over and in time it'll die down a bit, that's when I'll come back." Keila held her piercing stare long enough to make Marceline question the quality of her lie. If she hadn't shrugged her shoulders, Marceline would've thought she had been caught. "Pretty smart Marcy. I hope it works out as planned." Marceline nodded wearily, shifting her weight between her legs with both hands laced together behind her back. "I guess I should head out if I wanna catch the bus back to town. Thank you so much Keila, it really means alot to me." She chuckled, throwing back her arm and playfully patting her shoulder. "It's no problem, friends help friends. Now get outta here before you miss that bus." Marceline gave her friend one last departing smile before stepping down the steps of her porch, the wood moaning under her feet. She tried her best not to dwell on the fact that her lover was inside the very house that she was running from, or the fact she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye. Her emotions were far to watered down for her to obey with what she wanted to do. She knew saying goodbye would only lead her to stay, which she couldn't afford to do. She needed time and space to find herself and free herself from the guilt that held her, and as much as she didn't like it, she had to do it on her own. And besides, her hatred for goodbyes wouldn't allow her to. She hated saying goodbye, like it would be the last time she would ever see the person, and she didn't like that thought. She would be back sooner or later. At Least she hoped so.