Runaway

Chapter 7

(Dipper pov)

I lean against the wall outside Amber's office, hearing her and Bill arguing through closed doors. I have never heard those two ever argue in my time here. They work together like their minds are on the same wave length about everything. But not about this I guess.

"Are you fucking crazy, Bill? You know it is against policy for this."

"For crying out loud it's not like I'm asking any of the other women to live with me or even anyone who comes here in the future, it's just him and it's just until he gets his bearings. I'll be doing he same things for him that this place has already done minus all the 'Power to the Women' stuff. No offense, but I don't think talking about how to be a strong woman is really helping him."

"He just left a relationship with a man."

"You think that I don't fucking know that already?! You aren't the one being there for him every night when he wakes up screaming from nightmares waking up everyone else in the house. You aren't the one calming him down from panic attacks everytime he sees a police officer outside. You aren't the one taking him out there everyday to get his fucking life figured out!"

"What makes you think that he would possibly want to live with another man so soon?"

"Because I asked him already and he is totally cool for it, you're the only one who has a fucking problem with it. For fucks sakes, it's not like I'm taking advantage of him. You really think this place is doing him any good after the shit he went through?"

"This is a safe haven for all women who-"

"Exactly! Women! The reason he came here is because of the fact he was abused and married to a guy. That is the only reason you let him in. If he came from a straight abusive relationship then you would have let him in or stay here. And you really think that him staying here, listening to stories about how horrible men are, is any good for his mental health? He can't even talk to the girls here without feeling guilty for what happened to him just because he's a guy."

"Bill-"

"I didn't come in here to ask for your permission. He is staying in my apartment with me for as long as he fucking wants and you have no say in his or my decisions."

I push against the wall not wanting to hear whatever else they say to each other. I head upstairs to my room and start packing up my things.

Even after being here for roughly a month and a half, I still don't own that much stuff. All I have that I really care to own are the clothes Bill bought for me at the thrift store and a few books he's gotten me from the library at my requests. I pick up a journal and just drop it into the empty wastebasket. When I stopped going to the little sharing cirlce, Amber told me to just write down my days events and anything else in the journal. Encouraged me to write down the incidents from my marriage. She claimed she wouldn't read it but on more than one occassion I found it in a different spot then where I left it. I never wrote anything down in it anyway, just did some worthless doodles of nothing important.

I finish putting my things in my backpack and pull it on as Bill comes into the room, his shoulders tensed up from the argument with Amber but as soon as he looks over at me his whole body seems to relax.

"You ready to go?" He asks as he twirls his car keys on his finger.

"Yeah."

He leads me downstairs and we leave the house getting into his car. I put my bag down at my feet and watch the buildings pass by as he drives, What I've Done by Linken Park blasts on the radio. I watch his fingers drum on the steering wheel his lips quietly singing the lyrics as he keeps his eyes on the road. I see his eyes flick towards me before they focus on the road again, a slight smirk on his face.