Crescent Smile ~ John Marston Story

✽.✫☽ 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟺 ☾✫.✽

(Unedited)
Word count: 3821
{Listen while you read?~I recommend Mustang by Jessta James}

☽✫.✽✦✽.»»——⍟——««.✽✦✽.✫☾

The days that followed were filled with tension and silence between John and Dixie. Dixie had managed to get her forearm and hip stitched up at the nearest doctor, but the physical wounds were nothing compared to the emotional distance that had grown between them.

John couldn't shake off the guilt that consumed him. He blamed himself for Dixie's injuries, convinced that if he hadn't asked her to join him on this dangerous mission to Mexico, she wouldn't have been hurt. The weight of that responsibility weighed heavily on his shoulders, and he couldn't bear to face Dixie, knowing that he had put her in harm's way.

Instead of opening up to her, John chose to push her away. He became cold and distant, his anger masking his guilt. He avoided eye contact, barely speaking to her unless it was necessary. He thought that by distancing himself, he could protect her from any further harm.

But Dixie wasn't one to be treated like that. She had put her life on hold for John, risking everything to help him find his son. The anger within her grew with each passing day, fueled by the pain of being treated like she didn't matter.

As the sun began to set and they made camp in the desert on their way back to Chuparosa, Dixie reached her breaking point. Frustration and hurt filled her voice as she confronted John. "What's wrong with you, John? I've put my life on hold for you, and this is how you treat me? Like I'm some burden you have to bear? Just days ago, you wouldn't even let me leave your embrace in bed before noon."

John's gaze hardened, a mixture of guilt and anger bubbling up inside him. He struggled to control his words, knowing he would regret what came next.

"Damn it, woman," John's voice echoed across the desert as he glared down at her, "I can't do this anymore. I can't pretend that what happened between us meant anything. It was a mistake, a shameful mistake! I regret it, every damn moment!"

Dixie's heart sank, tears welling up in her eyes. She had anticipated this day would come, but hearing those words from the man she loved was unbearable. She had hoped their connection, their stolen moments beneath the starry sky, held meaning for him. But now, it seemed like nothing more than a fleeting illusion in the vast desert.

"You don't mean that, John," Dixie whispered, her voice barely audible. "I know you better than anyone. I've seen the fire in your eyes, the tenderness in your touch. Don't tell me it was all a lie."

John's face twisted with anger, his voice rising to a crescendo that reverberated through the wilderness. "You think you know me? You think you understand what loyalty means to me? Well, let me tell you something, Dixie. You mean nothing to me. Nothing! I am loyal only to Abigail and my son. They are my world, and you... you were just a distraction, a momentary lapse in judgment."

Dixie's heart shattered into countless fragments, her breath catching in her throat. Deep down, she had known that John's loyalty lay with his family, but to hear him say it so callously tore at her soul. She had given everything for him, risked her life time and time again, and now she felt like a discarded pawn in a game she never truly understood.

"You don't get to dismiss me like this, John!" Dixie's voice quivered with a mix of anger and pain. "I've stood by your side through thick and thin, faced danger head-on, and all I ever wanted was to be there for you. But if you want to pretend that what we had meant nothing, then fine. I'll saddle up my horse and ride alongside you, but don't you dare think I'll forget the way you've treated me."