He's a Demon, He's a Devil, He's a Doll

Chapter 2

The generator roared to life. With the right parts it only took me about an hour to get it running. Edward was smart enough to keep his distance while I worked. Although, I did catch him watching me from the corner of my eye more than once. Dumbass should be watching his kid. Not me.

I wipe the sweat off my brow with the back of my hand. The sun is high in the sky and, as if on queue, my stomach growls. I grab my tools and walk over to my scavenging station. I instantly hated it when Nick first showed me my job all those months ago, but for some reason it grew on me. It gave me a lot of alone time. I had only planned to stay a couple days after Nick and the SS left but I ended up staying. Something kept me here. Probably the bed.

I put my tools away and grab a mutfruit from my cooler. The tart juicy fruit glistens in the sunlight. "Something to wash it down?" April says as she hands me a can of purified water.

"Thanks," I say.

"I love the energy around this place when he is here," she says as she stares at the SS from afar. I shake my head, this girl is head over heels. I wonder if she would feel the same way if she had witnessed him throwing body parts into a fire. "He really is one of a kind," she continues. I nod in response. She is distracted enough that I don't have to worry about formulating a reasonable response.

"You've got some drool," I say as I point to my chin.

"Oh shut up Lexi," she says playfully, but wipes her mouth just in case. "Did you hear the rumor?" She asks quickly.

"Let me guess, he walked on water to save a boat full of puppies from a Mirelurk, wait sorry, a Mirelurk Queen!" I say. April rolls her eyes and smacks my arm.

"No! Damn, sometimes Lexi I just don't..." she starts to say, but stops. "Nevermind. No. Word is, he is on his way back to Sanctuary and made a stop here to collect some of our surplus supplies. Apparently, he is planning an attack on NukaWorld," she finishes.

"I hear it's crawling with some of the nastiest Raiders out there," I say skeptically.

"Well anyone who can take down the Institute AND the Brotherhood will make quick work of a bunch of disgusting Raiders," April says with a smile. I force myself to smile back.

"You are probably right, April."

~

The Settlers pull out all the stops to show the SS how well the settlement is doing since he established it. There's enough people around that my absence isn't noticed. I climb up the tower to access the roof of my quarters. It's close enough to hear the conversations in the courtyard, but far enough away to relax and not worry about being bothered. I pop the top on a bottle of vodka I've been nursing for the past month. There's not much left. I will have to connect with Carla when she comes through and replenish my stock. She usually has the best stuff. The sun begins to fall beyond the horizon and the first star of the night appears.

I take a swig of the vodka, the familiar burn coats my throat as I swallow. Instantly, I feel warmer. I stare out at the emerging night sky and try to count the stars as they appear. 15. 16.

The laughter from the courtyard interrupts my counting and I have to start over. 32. 33.

My eyes drift close. I hear footsteps on the walkway below. They stop and the next sound I hear is boots on metal rungs. I sigh. They are too loud to be Max and I can hear April's laughter below. I don't know what I have to do to get Edward to realize I'm not interested. The sound on the ladder gets louder and I roll my head towards it, preparing to shoot him my best 'leave me alone' face. It's not Edward.