FO4 | Book 0: The Diaries of Anarchy ✔️

September 8, 2267

 It was nearly two in the morning when I got to Diamond City. I knew the one person I was countin' on seein' would still be awake. He didn't sleep, after all.

I walked through the still familiar paths of Diamond City. All was quiet. A few guards patrolled the area, but the shops were closed for the night. Most folks were in bed. The only other foot traffic were a few people comin' and goin' from the bars. I walked down the alley where Nick's office was and knocked on the door.

After a moment, the door opened. Nick stood in his button-up, slacks, and suspenders with a cigarette in hand.

He blinked. His eyes looked me up and down. "John?"

"Hey, Nick. Mind if I... come in?"

"What the devil are you doin' here?"

"I needed to get outta Goodneighbor. I... don't have anywhere else to go."

"Well, damn, son. Come in and have a seat, and we'll talk about it."

"Thanks."

He shut the door behind me and led me to the chair in front of the receptionist's desk. He sat in the chair on the opposite side.

"We'll have to keep our voices down — Ellie is upstairs asleep. Now, tell me what's going on, kid."

I almost chuckled at the way he still called me "kid." I was twenty-six. Still, he offered me a cigarette, and I took it from him, hopin' it would ease my nerves. He had to light it for me — I left what few belongings I had back in the hotel room in Goodneighbor.

"I won't tell you everything," I admitted, "but I'll tell you the basics. Me and Maggie, we ain't together anymore. I left her."

"I was wondering how long that would take," he said, lighting his own cigarette. "She wasn't the most well-mannered woman I've ever met..."

"You ain't kiddin', but that's not why I left her. She basically went raider. Gettin' a gang together with her brother."

"Lovely. Just what the Commonwealth needs — another gang of raiders."

"I refused to take part."

"Well, I noticed you didn't bring anything with you when you got here, save for your shotgun. You don't have anything?"

I shook my head. "Nothin' aside from a lighter, some chems, and some cigarettes back at the hotel room."

"No caps?"

"Maggie controlled most of the finances. I had enough to buy drinks and food now and then."

"What about your books? I know you were reading there for a while."

"She sold 'em."

"Oh, John. I'm sorry to hear about all of this. For what it's worth, you did the right thing."

"Then why do I feel like shit about it?" I blinked back tears and my lower lip trembled.

"It's never easy, walking away from someone who is toxic for you, especially if you love them. But believe me, you're better off without her. And don't you worry. We're gonna get you set up with a decent job, and I'll personally see to it that you can get a place of your own right here in Diamond City once you've saved enough. For now, get some rest. I have a bed you can use for tonight."

Those words echoed through my mind: It's never easy, walking away from someone who is toxic for you, especially if you love them. I was under the impression that it was easy for my brother to push me away, but after what Nick said, I wondered if it was actually harder for him than I assumed.