Life Long Friends

2.

Thomas and I walked to his house, hand in hand, in a comfortable silence. The dirt road that we were waking on seemed to go on forever until Thomas pulled me into the woods. He was jogging while I was full on running.

"Thomas! Slow down!" I called to him. He stopped jogging when we got to the edge of the woods. He pointed at an old, white, paint chipped house. It was huge! He began pulling me towards the house when i saw a man in a wheelchair, sitting on the porch, smiling at us.

"Well Tommy, ya got yaself a girlfriend, huh?" He asked. Thomas rolled his eyes and grunted. When we got inside, it smelled of iron and cigarettes. Thomas pulled me into what I thought was the living room where a man was sitting on the couch. He looked at us and bursted out laughing.

"Damn Thomas! You got yourself a girlfriend!" He laughed and got up. "And a nice one at that." He smiled at me and walked closer. I backed up and Thomas got in front of me and growled. He rolled his eyes and went outside. Thomas and I went into the kitchen and there was an elderly lady chopping meat. Thomas grunted and she looked at us and gasped. She then smiled and walked to us. 

"Hello sweetheart. I'm Luda May but you can call me Ma." She told me with a motherly smile. "What's your name, flower?"

"I'm Ariella. Ariella Morgan." I held my hand out to her and she shook it.

"Such a sweet girl." She said, leading us to the living room. "How did you and Tommy meet?" She asked. Thomas began mumbling and grunting and she smiled and looked at me.

"You stood up for him? Oh honey, you are a sweet thing. How about you and Tommy go play while I get supper ready?" She asked. We nodded and she got up, kissed both of our foreheads and went back to the kitchen. Thomas took my hand and lead me upstairs to, what i thought, was his bedroom. We sat on the bed and stared at each other. I scooted closer and so did he. We looked at each other and leaned in. Right before my lips touched his, there was a scream downstairs. Thomas pulled me close to him and buried my face into his chest. More screams erupted from downstairs and then silence.

BOOM!

A gun shot went off.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two more. 

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three more. I waited for more shots but the house went silent. Thomas was petting my hair while he held me close.

"THOMAS!" The man from before yelled. "GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" Thomas sighed before putting me on his bed and he began walking to the door. I grabbed his hand and looked at him.

"Thomas, I'm scared." I whispered. He frowned and went to his desk. He pulled out paper and a pencil.

'Draw' he wrote at the top and looked at me. I nodded before looking at him. He walked to me, kissed my forehead and went out the door. I blushed and sat at his desk. I decided I'd draw flowers because they always calmed me down. While I was drawing, I heard more screaming from downstairs but I tried to think of other things.

Thomas came back up about an hour later, covered in blood. I ran to him but he kept his hand out so I couldn't touch him. He went to his closet and got out another button up shirt. I turned around to give him some privacy and turned back around when he grunted.

"Thomas, what happened?" I asked. He shook his head and walked me back to the bed. He sat down before pulling me into his lap and resting his head on mine. "Thomas, what happened down there? Is everyone ok?" He shook his head again. I accepted that he wasn't gonna tell me.

"THOMAS! ARIELLA! SPUPPER'S READY!" Luda May yelled. He sighed before standing up and holding my hand. When we got down there, everyone was sitting  at the dinning table. The man who was on the porch was sitting beside the guy who was in the living room. Thomas and I sat down, still holding hands, when the guy who was in the living room started smiling at me.

"Ya know sugar, I always did like my girls younge." He said with a wink. I shifted closer to Thomas then I heard Luda May.

"Charlie! You better leave that girl alone!" She hit him upside the head. "I'm sorry sweetheart. He ain't seen a pretty girl in a long time." I nodded and looked at her. She had a huge pot of stew in her hands. She set it on table and sat down. "Come on now, we gotta say grace." We all joined hands and bowed our heads. When I closed my eyes, I felt something on my hand. I peered through my eyelids and saw Thomas kissing my hand. I smiled and lifted my head. Luda May handed me a bowl and I ate a spoonful. It was amazing!

"What meat did you use? This is awesome!" I said, downing the bowl. Luda May looked at Charlie and then back at me.

"Um, goat. Yeah, we use goat's meat." She said. I nodded and went back to scarfing down the stew. After everyone was done, I helped Luda May with the dishes. "So, how old are ya, honey?"

"I'm 12." I told her.

"Oh! You're the same age as Tommy!" She exclaimed. I smiled and nodded. Then my smile faded.

"Um, Luda May?" I asked.

"Yes, flower?" 

"I'm, um, moving soon. I wish I could stay but I can't. I don't want Thomas to be mad or anything." I said, tears starting to form in my eyes. She wiped her hands on a wash cloth and pulled me into a hug.

"He won't be mad, honey. But ya might wanna tell him now so he can spend time with ya." I nodded and pulled back. She put her hands on my cheeks and wiped my eyes. She gave my forehead a kiss and I went upstairs. Thomas was sitting on his bed and I sat down beside him.

"Thomas?" He looked at me. "Please don't be mad but I have to move. Daddy got a new job in Kansas and I have to go with him and momma." I said sadly. He didn't move. I looked at his eyes and they were wide. He got up and went to his desk. He rummaged through the drawer and walked back to the bed. He wrapped something on my wrist and I looked. It was a peice of rope. I looked at him in confusion. "What does this mean?" I asked. He pointed at me and then brought his hands to him. "I'm yours?" He nodded. I scooted closer and hugged him. He hugged back and rested his head on my shoulder. "I'll always be yours, Thomas." I looked up at him and leaned in. He leaned in too and our lips met. It was a quick kiss but it was enough to make both of us blush. He patted his bed and pointed to me. "You want me to sleep with you?" I asked. He nodded and layed down. I layed down beside him and looked at him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on mine. I cuddled into him and slowly fell asleep.

"Well aren't they precious?" I heard someone ask. I woke up and realized I was still wrapped in Thomas' arms. I opened one eye and saw momma and Luda May standing at the door. I nudged Thomas and he stirred awake. He groaned and nuzzled into my hair. Momma came to the bed and stared rubbing my back. "Honey, time ta get up." She whispered. I looked at her with pleading eyes. "Come on, Daddy's downstairs. We need ta get there as soon as we can." She said. I nodded and tried to get up but Thomas kept pulling me down.

"Thomas, I have to go." I said sadly. He sat up immediately and looked at me. I nodded and hugged him. He hugged back. When we pulled away he kissed my cheek and I did the same to him. I got out of bed and hugged Luda May. "I promise I'll come back, Luda May." I told her. "I promise."