Pines, Reporting for Duty

Chapter 21

(Dipper pov)

I get jerked awake, the car jolting and Bill cursing under his breath.

"Fucking shitty piece of bllshit road."

"Nice driving." I sarcastically remark.

"Shut up. This road just fucking sucks balls."

"Where are we?"

"Seatlle, Washington. Big city, new state."

"Lots of cops in a big city."

"Well we changed our looks decently enough and it's a big city. Hopefully not every cop will be looking for us. As long as we keep our heads down, we should be fine."

"You really think that you'll be able to go long without committing more murder again?"

He just shrugs. "I don't know. I guess we'll just have to see."

"Where are we going to live? We don't have any money."

"I stole some from the last motel that we stayed in."

"How much did you take?"

"Around $2,000 so enough to get some food and spend a while in a motel."

"What are we going to do when we run out of money?"

"We won't for a while."

"But we will eventually."

"Then we'll just steal more money."

"Wouldn't it be easier if we both got jobs and made money like normal, honest people?"

"If we do that then it's more likely that someone will figure out exactly who we are."

"If we keep stealing and committing crimes, people will eventually figure out who we are anyway."

"Pinetree, it is easier if we just do things my way so for once in your life just fucking shut up."

"Okay okay,......sorry....."

He sighs and it's silent for a few minutes before he speaks up again. "....Don't apologize. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

He pulls into the parking lot of a motel. The whole building looks super sketchy.

"Are you sure about this? The whole building looks like a crack house."

"It wouldn't surprise me if people only checked in here to get high or laid."

"Isn't there a different motel we could stay in instead?"

"This is the best one for us."

"Why? It looks like shit."

"Exactly. That means that it's less likely that anyone will figure us out in a shit hole like this dump. And it will take the authorities much longer to figure out which motel in Seattle we're even in."

"What if someone breaks into the room to try and kill us or something?"

"Then I'll kill them first. Simple as that."

"Then we'll have to be on the run again."

"As long as we're together, we are always going to be on the run for the different crimes we've both committed. This is just our lives now and forever. Like it or not, we're stuck with each other."

We get out of the car and I follow him into the office. He holds my hand, his thumb rubbing the back of my hand.

"Just let me do all the talking. It's going to be just fine."

He rings the bell on the main desk a few times before a tired and balding man finally comes to the desk. He gives us a dirty look when he sees us holding hands.

"We don't take your kind around these parts of town."

"And what is that supposed to mean? That you only give rooms to huge, homophobic assholes such as yourself?"

"Listen kid-"

"Relax, Sir, we aren't even like that. He's my cousin. I'm just holding his hand because he has supremely bad anxiety. We just need a room for a few nights."

The guy hands Bill a key. "Room 29. It's $60 a night."

Bill sets a wad of cash on the counter before leading me out of the office.

He unlocks the room door and only lets go of my hand once we're inside the room and the door is shut behind us.

I flick the light on as I sit on the bed.

"So what now?" I ask after a few moments of silence.

"You stay here. I'm going to use one of the vending machines to get us some food and drinks. Do not go anywhere and don't break anything unless you really want to piss me off."

He leaves the room, the door clicking shut behind him.

I sigh, my fingers tapping on my knee before I stand up pacing the length of the entire room.

My eyes glance at the phone on the nighstand.

I take a quick peek out the window making sure that the coast is clear before going over to the phone. I hold the receiver to my ear as I dial in the all too familiar number. I anxiously bite at my thumbnail as it rings. This is a bad idea, why the fuck am I doing this? I really really should just hang up before he answers it. It was a stupid idea to think anyone would pick up the phone.

I'm just about ready to hang up when I hear someone pick up on the other end. "Hello?"

"H-Hey, Ford...."

"Dipper, where are you? Mabel called us when she realized that you were missing again and now she's....."

"I know.....he came to the apartment. Said that if I didn't go with him then he would hurt her. I tried to escape him but I couldn't and then he......I couldn't save her no matter how hard I tried....."

"Just tell me where you are and I'll have a whole SWAT team there in 5 minutes."

"I can't. He can't be stopped and if I try to get away again then he'll kill you and Stan."

"If you don't do anything then that psycho will kill you."

"Not if I just do whatever he wants. It's the only that no one else gets hurt."

"Dipper, this is fucking insane."

"I know. And I don't like it either. But it's the only choice I have if I want to keep you and Stan out of harm's way."

"Pinetree, I'm back." I freeze like a deer in headlights as he comes into the room. I see his calmness change into anger almost instantly. I quickly hang up the phone as he comes over ripping it out of the wall and throws it across the room.

"Bill, I-"

"Shut the fuck up!" He backhands me hard sending me to the floor. "You fucking bitch, always fucking everything up!"

He grabs the back of my neck forcing me onto my feet and dragging me into the bathroom.

He throws me on the bathroom floor and I cry out in pain as my head cracks open on the floor.

He grabs my wrist handcuffing it to the pipe under the sink before he walks out, slamming the door shut behind him.