Charity//BILLIE EILISH

Chapter 6

I hold her hand on my thigh, "Thank you... so much."

"You're welcome, Sweetheart."

1575 words

We arrive at the canyon, and I look over to Billie, "Okay, I'll go get my things. It may take a couple trips."

Billie unbuckles her seatbelt, "I'll help you."

I shake my head, "Billie, you know that's not smart."

Billie shakes her head back, "No, I'll just text Sully and tell him to be on standby. I'm sure nothing bad will happen."

"Famous last words."

"Oh, hush," Billie chuckles, opening the door and getting out of the car.

I sigh and exit the car as well, leading the way down the makeshift path to the camp. Don is the only one around. He doesn't leave the camp much, but everyone else is probably out and about.

"Holy shit," Don walks swiftly towards us, "She came back."

As Don approaches, too quickly for my liking, I put my hand up, "Don.. no touching, remember?"

He eyes Billie then looks back at me, "What if she wants me to touch."

I turn and look at her, "Do you want him to touch you, Billie?"

She shakes her head, "No, thank you."

I tilt my head at him, "See?"

He tries to take a couple steps closer, and I back up the same amount, leading Billie with me, "Don."

He exasperates, "Jemma! I want to-" He makes a groping gesture with his hands.

I sigh, "I know, Don. But we don't touch people when they ask us not to."

One of the reasons Don is homeless is because he never got proper mental health care. He struggles to express his emotions without getting physical, and if you act emotional, so will he.

He only really listens to me, because everyone else in the camp just picks fights with him. Sometimes I think they're purposefully poking at the weak spots of his mind.

Don continues to make the gesture with his hands, but sighs in defeat, putting his head down, "I'm sorry."

Billie speaks up, "Thank you, sir."

At her words, his hands make the gesture more aggressively. I can see he's fighting with his mind, making a strong effort to control his impulses. It's scary, knowing what those impulses are, but I appreciate the amount of effort he is making.

"You're welcome, ma'am."

He backs away, putting his twitching hands behind his back, and I smile at him, leading Billie to the safety of my tent.

Billie frowns slightly, "I feel bad for him."

I nod, "Me too. But he doesn't feel bad for himself, so I try to just let him be. He's okay with where he is in life, at least that's the impression I get."