Remembering to Forget

2

"It's nice alliteration," he tries to joke, but it falls flat on its face.

"Who... Who could have done this? Is it someone we know? Or are there people who saw us coming in here?" Missy walks up to the van, and before Dominic can stop her, she kicks the side as hard as she can. Turning to Dominic, she whispers, "W-What did we do?"

"I don't know, Missy. Maybe it was some of the guys from school."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on. There have to be some assholes at your school somewhere."

"Uh, not really, no."

Dominic shrugs in response, and clambers on top of the van, peering over the side to see if any further vandalism has taken place. "There's nothing else over this side. It's just the words on the front."

"To be honest, that's not completely reassuring. Thanks anyway, though."

"I tried. Come up here with me." Dominic held out a hand to assist her in her climb.

"What if the person who wrote this is still around here? What if they're just sitting somewhere, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack us? They could—"

"Missy, just get on top of the van."

She grumbles, but allows him to pull her up the top. "How the hell are you so calm? And why did you pull me up here? You know I don't like heights."

"What makes you think I'm calm?" Dominic dangles his legs over the side of the vehicle, and Missy copies him. They take a few minutes to steady their breathing, before Missy turns to him once again.

"You just... you seem so cool about the whole thing."

"Eh, I guess. I mean, I have faith in people. There's a difference between vandalism and attempted murder. One doesn't necessarily lead to the other."

"You didn't answer my other question though." Missy raises a finger to poke him in the chest, hard. He winces slightly. He knows she's not a fan of heights.

"Are you gonna be able to sleep tonight? Me neither. Figure we can at least camp out, make a night of it. I'll grab the cards from my bag."

Jumping down off the roof, he opens the door and inspects the interior. Fortunately, nothing else appears to have been damaged, the seats and mattress still dusty but intact. He grabs the cards and another board game from his bag and hoists them onto the roof, forcing his skinny frame up afterwards.

"What are you thinking? Rummy? Speed? Blackjack? Poker?"

"I don't care." Missy is mumbling now. Dominic's attempts to act like nothing is wrong are clearly not working. He sighs. She's not stupid; she knows that this could mean they were in serious danger. But the next words that come out of her mouth are the last thing he expects.

"I don't want to leave."

"I—what?"

"I don't wanna go somewhere else. I like living here."

Dominic leans forward, confusion etched on his features. "What are you talking about? Living here sucks. Wouldn't you rather be in a house, or—"

"Yes, obviously! Damn. I don't mean that. I just... don't want to go somewhere else. I don't want to have to leave school. I like living here."

Dominic leans back, smiling. "Missy, I'm not going to make us leave. God, I thought that's what you would want to do! The idea of having to move all our things away is terrifying."

He felt kind of selfish, though. If he was being honest, he'd always assumed she hated the way they lived the same way he did. But she didn't have the same issues he did. She had reasons to be here, things that tethered her a little. He was a little jealous of her, if he thought about it.