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Chapter 44 - Jimin

"How are you holding up?" Ariel asked Ivan, Jimin cleaning off a shot glass behind the bar. He peeked up, seeing his two favorite people (minus Charlotte) were in front of him. Seeing Ariel sitting at a bar scared the living shit out of him, but he managed to brush it off.

"I'm... okay. Not good, not bad. Not even in the middle. Okay," Ivan said, patting the surface for his glass before raising it to his lips. It couldn't be good to give a blind guy on all sorts of meds alcohol, but Ivan said 'the blindness I have can't be good for me either, what's your point?', and that ended all their arguments.

"I can't imagine what this is like for you. I hope you know you didn't deserve any of it," Ariel said, placing a hand on top of his. Ivan managed to smile.

"Thanks kid, you're not that bad. Thanks for taking it easy on the blind old man. Or is that only Jimin's title?"

Jimin chuckled as he cleaned, Ariel pursing her lips and pretending to think about it. "I'll call you young man instead, how about that?" she asked.

"Call me that in front of Jimin and we got a deal."

"Hey!"

Ivan laughed at Jimin, him returning the gesture. Ariel was grinning, and after the past month of misery they had, it was nice to see a glimmer of hope. Okay, it wasn't hope. Hope was something Jimin didn't see enough of. It was more happiness. Joy found in the smallest of places was the best type of joy. Jimin was glad he was seeing more of it.

"Hey kid?" Ivan asked, and she hummed. "Do you have a last name?"

She froze, no words coming out. Jimin slowed his movements and watched her, prepared to jump in if she got too uncomfortable. However, she was able to recover and clear her throat as if she didn't pause at all.

"No."

Ivan dropped the topic, taking another sip and continuing with his day. Jimin watched as Ariel peeked around the pub. Her eyes fell on the window that was boarded up, her frown making Jimin parrot her expression. Then, she turned back to Ivan and tugged on his sleeve to gain his attention.

"Do you want me to describe the pub to you?" she asked, and Ivan beamed. "It's dirty since Asa's out of action, but not as dirty as Jimin." He flipped her off, her returning it despite his glare. "Jimin's flipping me off, the usual. The look on his face is priceless. A little pouty, and very dramatic."

"I'm not dramatic," Jimin said.

"You practically whined saying that," Ivan replied, snickering.

There were creaks on the stairs that signaled they weren't alone. Charlotte came down with Theo behind her, holding a silenced pistol. Right when Jimin went to question it, Charlotte motioned to Ariel, who hopped off her stool and joined Charlotte's side. That was what made Jimin want to jump over the counter. He envisioned himself swooping Ariel up and sprinting out of there.

"Hey Min, Ivie. Come on, Ari. We're gonna teach you how to shoot," Charlotte said.

Jimin slammed the glass he was cleaning on the counter. "Excuse me?" he asked. "No way in hell are you teaching her how to shoot. She's a kid."

"What would you rather, Jimin: Ariel knows how to shoot and helps us, or she sits in the corner defenseless?" Charlotte said, and Jimin quietly went back to cleaning the dish. "Come on. We'll go deep into the forest and set up some bottles. Theo has a bag of stuff we'll need. You only shoot with the silenced one, okay? It won't muffle all of the noise, but it'll help."

Ariel agreed, departing through the back with Theo and Charlotte. Great. That left Jimin in charge of Ivan and Asa since Jericho and Kayden weren't back yet. Asa was conscious, but he was slipping in and out of it. Jimin assumed he was unconscious if Theo felt comfortable leaving him behind.

"How you holding up?" Ivan asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Fair. I wanted to ask you first." Ivan paused, searching with his head for something he could never see. "Is Ariel gone?"

"She is, why?"

"She came to visit me in my room earlier. Turns out she doesn't know if she has a birth certificate. This girl might not even exist. I know a guy who can make a new one for her. A doctor, working at some hot shot hospital in the city. Maybe this is her chance to take back her identity, become more than what she was before."

"Maybe," Jimin said, placing the rag in the sink and organizing the glasses on their drying towel. "But how are you holding up?"

"I've been better, obviously. It's like my entire life got stripped away the second the knife hit my eye. Then, of course, she went for my other eye too. Well, she was aiming for my head, but I managed to curve the knife enough to miss. Not sure which I would've preferred. Death, or whatever this is. It sure as hell doesn't feel like living."

"I'm sorry, bud. I wish there was a way it could've been me."

"I'm glad it wasn't," Ivan said, smiling.

Jimin had his back to Ivan, his hand tracing over the liquor until he halted. He tilted his head over his shoulder, furrowing his brows. "Why?" he asked. It was such a simple question. Nowadays, it seemed like no one had an answer. Only Ivan did, and it wasn't what Jimin was expecting.

"You've already been through enough."

~~~

Of course, Kayden and Jericho caused a scene. By that, Jimin meant they stole two cars. They didn't feel like walking back, apparently. Jimin believed it was because they couldn't stand to be together any longer than they were. Whatever. That only put them at risk from law enforcement finding the stolen vehicles in their backyard, but hey, what did Jimin's opinion matter? He was just the right hand to Charlotte. No biggie.

To make matters worse, Jimin was put in charge of loading the cars. Theo didn't want to do any heavy lifting, Asa was out of action, Jericho and Kayden got the cars so they figured that got them out of it, and Charlotte was sleeping before they got back. No one wanted to wake her. No one. That left Jimin and Ariel. Or, Jimin. Ariel was a kid, so he wasn't about to let her do it.

Driving into an airport with stolen vehicles was a wonderful idea. Jimin adored every part of that plan. When Charlotte woke up, he hoped to the God he didn't believe in that she'd kick their asses for pulling such a dumb move. They were lucky they weren't caught. Maybe they were and they didn't know yet. It was too early to tell.

The night sky was both a comfort and a curse. More darkness didn't appeal to him, but he didn't have much say in the matter. It was chilly out, Jimin grateful he was wearing long sleeves and pants. His sneakers were warm too, which was something he didn't think he'd say about sneakers.

"Old man?" Ariel's voice said from behind him.

He hauled the last bag inside the trunk, turning to see her. Jimin went over and knelt in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"Are we leaving soon?" Jimin shrugged. With Asa's condition up in the air, they weren't sure what to do. Not to mention Jericho and Kayden didn't say anything about the plan other than 'load up the car'. She nodded, then, pointed to the maroon car. It was a sedan, the tires showing their wear. "How old do I have to be to drive?"

"Depends. Most get their permits at 16, then get their licenses at 17 or 18. Why?"

"I don't know, I've just never thought about driving. It always felt out of reach, like I'd never do it." Jimin hummed, standing and guiding her to the passenger's side. "Should I be scared?"

"Always," he replied, opening the door for her. Inside was the Dumbo plush Jimin adored. He had it tucked in, a seatbelt keeping it in place. Ariel gave him a snort before undoing the belt and slipping inside, holding the plush. Jimin shut the door once all her fingers and toes were in, going to the driver's side and plopping down. He pointed what he hoped was a threatening finger at her. "Seatbelt on. Hold that Dumbo. Lose it and I'll cut your hair."

"I pissed my pants."

"You're hilarious." She laughed and did as he said. He started the car, her giving him a stare. "Rule 1: never get in a strange man's car. Ever. No matter what. You can only trust two men in your life, got it? Your father and your grandfather are the only two men you can fully trust. If you have a brother or brothers, then them too, but only your father and grandfather."

"I don't have a grandfather," she said.

"Jericho can fill that role, he's certainly old enough."

"He's not here but you're making fun of him. Rude."

"I bet you make fun of me when I'm not around," Jimin said, and she went pale at that. "Forget that. Look at my position." She did. "Pedal on the right is the gas, pedal on the left is the brake." He went through the basics, showing her how to steer and what pedals did what, giving her a rundown of the parts of the car she had to monitor and how to adjust her mirrors. After, he grinned. "Alright. Switch sides."

"You're joking."

"Driving is a good skill. Come on, I'll teach you." At her gaze, he undid his seatbelt and opened the door. "Would you rather watch Ivan walk into walls?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" she asked, and he gave her a scowl before hopping out.

They switched sides, Jimin taking her spot and holding the Dumbo plush. The space they had was tighter than he'd like, but it was better than taking her out on the roads. So, he gave her a pep talk and helped her ease into it. A couple minutes later, she had the confidence to go 5 miles per hour.

When the car jolted, she hit the brakes. "Fuck," she said, then gulped and peeped at Jimin. He shrugged. "Fuck." Still, no answer from Jimin. "Motherfucking shitstick asswipe dickhead." Jimin said nothing, her bouncing in her seat. "Fuck yeah!"

"This kid," Jimin mumbled, chuckling after.

What followed was half an hour of driving. They went back and forth in the grass, Ariel getting the hang of it quicker than he anticipated. She managed to go above 5 miles per hour, and Jimin was impressed she was handling the changes so well.

Unfortunately, memories came along with it. Memories of times Jimin sat on his bed imagining teaching his daughter how to drive. This time, they didn't hurt. They were a fact he had to deal with. None of those memories would ever come true, and although he was coping with that, that didn't change how the thoughts kept coming and coming.

They halted not long after Ariel got the gist. She had the brightest smile on her face. It crinkled her eyes. Jimin had to look away, his gaze averting to the Dumbo plush resting on his lap. He stroked the top of its head. As the car shut off, he realized Ariel was watching him.

What he appreciated was how she didn't say a word. She allowed him the chance to think and compose himself. Yet he didn't want to compose himself. There was a clump of cells in his mind that was screaming at him to say it. To say the words that he hadn't considered saying to Ariel before.

"She was 4," he said, his voice dropping.

"I'm so sorry, Jimin," she replied as he kept his stare on the plush.

"It's okay." Those two words had her hesitating, but they shouldn't have had that effect. Not because he wanted her to relax and not worry about him, rather because he said it for a reason. It really was okay.

For the first time in 5 years, he meant it.

~~~
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