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PREVIOUSLY ON SACRIFICE ═══════════════
"Heard you and Maria had... quite the night last night," Robin prompted with a gleam in her eye.
Tommy internally groaned and closed his eyes with annoyance. "Look... it was just a little argument." Robin scoffed. "Everything is fine."
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"Texas? Really, Tommy?" she blurted out.
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"You two are like an old married couple- no, wait- an old divorced couple who can't stand being in the same room as each other for five minutes."
Tommy chuckled, "Try two minutes. Maria hates my guts."
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"Hey, Maria? What route are we takin'?"
The blonde woman cleared her throat before answering, not looking back. "Along the river. That old bookstore in town collapsed during that big storm the other night. Just need to make sure no unwanted attention wandered in."
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When they made it into downtown Jackson, the sky had begun to darken and the wind was picking up. Jeanie clutched at Tommy's flannel as he watched Maria look up at the sky.
He began to wonder if they should have waited until the storm passed.
"Storm looks about fifteen minutes out. We can make it to the bookstore by then. It's just up ahead." Maria pointed ahead as they rode along the rushing stream.
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After searching the drawers in the cafe, and only finding a postcard from Colorado that was addressed to a Michael, he shoved the card in his pack thinking it was nice. Maybe he'd begin collecting them. The thought of having a niche hobby like that made something in him warm.
Then, in his natural boredom, Tommy's eyes glanced over to the woman standing in the opening of the wall, the sun now shining on her face while the sprinkle of rain still blew in.
Maria Allen was a very interesting and intimidating woman. She was a born leader- head strong, independent, and confident in everything Tommy had seen her do. And if he wasn't lying to himself, he could definitely see where Jeanie got some of her traits from. He didn't know many personal things about Maria, despite knowing her for around two years now. Of course he'd heard the campfire stories: how she'd been a sergeant in the Marines and that's where most of the people who were around now came from. And of course how the Fireflies had been a major part of a lot of her past traumas. But most recently, Tommy had noticed how much she truly cared for his daughter. Jeanie would go to Maria about things she wouldn't come to Tommy about. And while a part of him absolutely despised her for that, another part admired her. Because through her rough exterior, her cold, bitter glares, Tommy knew that Jeanie truly saw her as a mother, and he wasn't so sure he could disagree anymore.
