Forty-Four

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Your heart was beating wildly inside your chest as you urged the horse to run as fast as you managed to handle.

Even though you had little to no talent for horseback riding, you still made the animal run. You struggled to stay on top, but the fear of arriving too late was bigger than the fear of falling.

Your eyes jumped over the road, trying to keep track of the footprints.

Arthur had advised you to stay away from the main road, but as you held onto the saddle for dear life, you couldn't help but take the easiest route.

Dust filled the air as you chased past the house that you had called home for a long time.

The bag full of money weighted heavy around your shoulders.

Somehow, it made you feel like the point of no return had been passed long ago.

Arthur had insisted that you'd take the money in case he wouldn't make it back.

But you couldn't care less.

You didn't want to think about the ifs and when's, but squeeze your eyes tightly shut and hold onto the believe that he'd run away with you and the boys.

Of course this was just wishful thinking, a desire that came from your lonely heart.

But in the end you weren't able to change it.

Your heart yearned for that man ever since he had been nice to you when nobody else was. His smile never foaled to take your breath away.

And the way he touched you, so fearless, so loving, was something you had missed many years.

You needed him.

The question was if he needed you just as much.

Or if he even wanted you.

With bated breath you spotted the bushes that kelt the secret hideout secret.

Without paying a single thought to your feet or ankles, you jumped off the horse while it was still moving.

The impact chased a sharp pain through your legs.

Pulling a face, you shut the feeling of breaking bones out and ran on.

The wooden colour of the doors appeared between green leaves and bushes.

Breathing heavily, you dropped to the floor and knocked in a way that only Ginny could tell it was you.

Your racing heartbeat echoed inside your ears.

Used air burned inside your lungs.

"Ginny...", you mumbled as nobody answered. "Ginny!"

You knocked again.

Something moved behind the closed shutters.

Tense, you looked around to see if someone was watching. It felt like eyes were glued to you.

A cold shiver made your body grow goosebumps.

Out of habit, you knocked again without looking.

It felt like the air to breath got thinner.

Your throat was tied.

The thought of Ginny not answering was like a knife in your flesh.

Panic started to rise inside of you.

You jumped back up.

Your eyes caught a movement in the shadows of the trees.

"Ginny?", you asked and wrapped your fingers around the bag full of money. "Ginneth, are you alright?"

The shadow didn't answer.

A low sound wandered through the tense silence. It was as if someone was groaning in pain and exhaustion.

You wanted to move towards him, but your legs were as stiff as stone.

Another shadow moved at the edge of a tree.

Something inside your mind started tingling.

The hairs in the back of your neck stood up straight.

"Ginny!", you called out. "Come here."

He didn't move.

Instead, a new sound of pain made your ears tingle.

It was as if someone was choking on their own blood.

Concerned, you frowned and took a careful step towards the trees.

Something moved in the corner of your eyes.

Your head twitched.

All at once, a strange force grabbed you by the sides of your head and yanked you back.

There was barley a second left to react.

With a gasp of surprise, you were torn from your feet and thrown into the dirt.

A sharp pain chased through your shoulder as you hit a rock.

A few bills fell out of the bag.

Look who we have here, a drunken voice purred.

With your eyes squeezed shut and trembling in pain, you managed to sit up straight.

A shadow crawled over you.

It made every inch of your being tremble and shiver.

"Y-you...", there was so much disgust in your voice it was shaking as if you were afraid. "I- I thought you were with the others..."

The feeling of warm blood ran down your face.

Your forehead was aching.

A disgusting chuckle escaped the man who was towering over you.

Karl's poor excuse of a father.

"I expected you to come to safe your brother.", he said, his breath reeking of alcohol and cigarette smoke. "So I figured we could get rid of two problems at once."

His eyes fell onto the bag of money.

Cooing, he bend over to reach for a dollar bill.

Still shaking with pain and shock, you snatched it from his hand.

"This is my money!", you hissed and reached down to press the barrel of the gun to his stomach.

Unimpressed, he raised an eyebrow.

His eyes were clouded, influenced by the alcohol that he held as dear as nothing else in his life.

"I don't fear a rat like you.", he said and grabbed you by the wrist to push further into the metal of the weapon. "You won't do it anyways. Look at you. You're shaking."

It was true, your hands were trembling gently.

But it wasn't because of fear.

It was anger that blurred your vision and clouded your mind.

For the longest time this man had terrorised your saloon, had betrayed you for loads of money and had hurt your brother and now he even threatened to kill both of you.

And he still had the nerve to laugh in your face.

It made you shake with anger.

But at the same time you feared to pull the trigger.

You weren't a killer.

But you needed to kill this man.

It was the only way to break free from this cursed place.

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