A Flower in War

Chapter Thirteen: Godzilla vs King Kong

"You're sure you don't want to stay? I'm making sushi!" Daniel smiles.
"I promised my friend I'd come over to help them with homework. We're going to make a night of it!"
"Okay honey, just text us when you get there yeah?" Amanda smiles.
"Of course! Thanks so much for everything!" Cal turns to leave but turns back around a hopeful, yet worried, look on her features, "We'll do another family dinner right?"
"Yeah of course!"
"Good! Okay I will see you all tomorrow then!" Cal waves goodbye, heading out to her car and calling Robby.

"Decide I'm too much of a loser to hang out with?"
"Actually I was seeing if you want me to pick up some pizza on my way over?"
"Oh! Uh yeah, yeah. Pepperoni?"
"You got it! I'll be over in fifteen!" Cal hangs up the phone and Robby looks around his room. He really expected her to back out last minute or find someone else, so he didn't clean as much as he should have.

Robby stands abruptly, grabbing any clothes on the floor and chucking them into the hamper. He swipes the crumbs on the side table into his hand and chucks those into the hamper too. Gathering any bottles and cans and running to the kitchen. He doesn't bother wiping things down, just grabs the garbage can and sweeps everything on the counter into it. He takes the dirty dishes and tosses them into the dishwasher, washing his hands afterward to get rid of the slime. A knock on the door rings out and he goes to open it before sniffing his shirt and turning back around to silence the gag he felt come up.
"One second!" He yells, grabbing any shirt he can find that doesn't stink and throwing it on before sliding over to the door and opening it.

"I have pizza and coke." Cal smiles, holding them up.
"Amazing." Robby laughs a bit out of breath, before ushering her in.
"Robby this really isn't that bad. It's quaint and homey."
"I really thought you were gonna bail last minute so I didn't clean much."
"It's fine. I can help you clean up later. For now, let's eat and watch a film?" Cal suggests, putting her bag down on the floor.
"Sounds like a plan."

-

"I am telling you, if King Kong and Godzilla had a showdown - Kong would win!"
"Godzilla runs on nuclear power! Are you joking? He would destroy Kong!"
"Kong is from the very depths of the earth! He's survived thousands of years on his own! He's taken down helicopters!"
"And Godzilla has destroyed entire civilizations!"
"Agree to disagree!" Cal laughs, seeing his red face.
"Fine! But I won't forget this!"
"I didn't think you would."

"Okay no more movies where we'll fight over the victor. Got any cheesy romantic movies you like?" Robby questions, scrolling through Netflix.
"God no. Please do not make me watch anything like that."
"Why?"
"Because I'm pessimistic and don't believe love exists and those movies make me gag. They're so unrealistic."

"How are they unrealistic?"
"Showing up with a boom box in front of a girl's window in the rain? Bets on who can make the ugly chick pretty? Confessing your love at the last minute before they board a plane? Oh god the stalking! Those movies where the guy literally follows the girl to figure out what she likes and then becomes that to get in her pants? Those are horrible!"
"You are very passionate about this." Robby laughs.
"It's just stupid! If I found out someone was stalking me and then lied about themselves to me? Immediate throat punch."
"Christ! You wouldn't even talk to the guy?"
"No! There is no reason to stalk me! I do nothing! Just ask me for fucks sake!"
"Noted." Robby chuckles, still scrolling.

"How about Mute? Looks kinda creepy?"
"You better not leave me alone tonight if we watch something scary!"
"Gonna need someone to hold your hand?"
"Maybe!"
"All right flower, whatever you need."
"Thank you."

-

The sex scene was the first thing that made Cal and Robby tense up, closely followed by the chopping off limbs scene where Cal gasped at the amount of blood before stating that no one could survive that.

"Did your dad ever do amputations?"
"Yeah, there was a guy who got gangrene because he was homeless and didn't have the money to get his vaccines or proper care. My dad found him while he was jogging and brought him into the ER. I wasn't there for that one, but I've been in the viewing area for some surgeries."
"Yeah? Like what?"
"Couple of appendectomies, some c-sections, a few heart surgeries, even a kidney transplant!"

"How did you not throw up or faint?"
"My dad talked to me about it at a young age. He explained what he did, helped me get... desensitized? I guess? He started slow, just seeing if I could handle watching people get shots and their blood drawn, then we moved onto being in an ICU, then the ER, then the OR. It didn't bother me. It made me sad when people died but I saw it as a job that made people feel better so I figured if there was blood it was for a good reason."
"Huh."
"Plus my mom was always in and out of the hospital on some drug or the other. We had narcan stockpiled."

"Your mom did drugs?"
"Yeah. I mean she started with just alcohol, but then she got into cocaine, and then LSD, and heroin and then she found some meth... just hasn't been the same since. She uh... she would try to trade me for drugs."
"Fuck, flower I'm sorry."
"It's not your doing. I got away a lot. Just drove until I couldn't anymore and camped out in my car. I mean the drive here was like 16 hours from New Mexico."
"Did you see her? Before you left?"
"Yeah, she was yelling at me. Threw me into a wall and told me she wished I was never born, that she should have aborted me when she had the chance. You know... fun stuff."

"I'm really glad you're here." Robby says softly.
"Me too." Cal smiles, putting her head on his shoulder.