𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐭 ~ 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐝

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐧 her bed, staring at the ceiling as her mind raced. She knew how risky it would be to run away like this. She knew what happened to the people who were disloyal to Jesse and his gang. But she didn't care. She had to at least try to leave. The side of her face from when Jesse had struck her still hurt, and the young girl knew it was most likely bruised as well. The moon shone brightly through her opened window, a gentle breeze blew the curtains ever so slightly as Laurie sat up. If she left now, maybe she could find Billy and catch up with him, leave for Chihuahua with him and start a new life there. Away from her current life.

Laurie turned to her window, hesitating for a moment before she hopped out of her bed and quickly packed her bags. Not like she had a lot of stuff she could take anyways, just a compass, her sketchbook, a pair of extra clothes and a stuffed goose that she couldn't sleep without. Once she had done all of that she snuck out of her room, quietly opening the creaking door and creeping down the stairs slowly. She needed some food and a gun. She knew that Jesse stored an extra pistol in the pantry, and she took full advantage of that. Opening the pantry and stuffing her bag with whatever she deemed necessary as well as snagging the pistol hidden in an empty cookie jar.

When Laurie was sure she had everything that she needed she quickly left through the front door and booked it to the barn where Artax would be. She ran into the barn, an owl hooting in the distance as a few of the ranch horses stuck their heads over their stall doors, nickering in dismay as they watched the runt girl take their buddy out of his stall and saddle him up before galloping away.

Laurie didn't know how long she and Artax had been riding before they came to a stop, noticing a camp in the distance. A single man camp. Laurie coaxed Artax into a slow trot so that she could get a closer look, her hopes rising about the fact that this could be Billy. The only adult in her life that didn't treat her like she was lower than the dirt they walked upon. Artax stood on a twig, causing it to snap and the man who was sitting by the small fire to turn around with his gun drawn and ready to fire. Laurie panicked and pulled Artax to a stop, trying to show she wasn't a threat. It was dark, the only light came from the moon and the small campfire. It took Laurie a moment to realize that this man was actually Billy.

And it took Billy another moment to realize that this scrawny figure on a 16.0hh horse was actually Laurie. He breathed and holstered his weapon, causing Laurie to relax as she dismounted her steed and led him over to the camp.

"You're lucky I didn't shoot your ass," Billy sighed as he sat down, watching as the teenager loosely tied her horse next to the mare he was borrowing from Jesse.

"I know," Laurie said softly, patting Artax's neck before she sat down next to him, staring into the flames. "I decided to take up on your offer of going to Chihuahua. Maybe I'll be able to find my Ma there." Billy noticed the nasty bruise on her face and his face creased with concern as his mind raced. Did someone seriously hit her?

"What happened?," Billy asked, studying the young girl's bruise. "Someone hit ya?"

Laurie froze for a moment. No way in fucking hell would she tell Billy what had actually happened, her thoughts raced, trying to come up with a valid excuse as to way her face is bruised. An excuse that didn't involve being physically abused.

"I was galloping Artax and a tree branch was lower than I expected, socked me in the face," Laurie lied, not meeting the older man's gaze as the fire crackled in front of them.

Billy didn't buy it, and he really wanted to know who had hurt this kid so that he could put a bullet in their skull, because nobody should be putting their hands on a child. But he could also tell Laurie really didn't want to talk about it, so he dropped the subject. Instead, he went back to reading The Iliad. Laurie looked up, noticing the book and she looked over at the words on the paper.

It wasn't like she could understand what was being said on the papers since she couldn't read. She had never learned how to, her parents were always working and they could never afford to send her to school, and as said previously there was no time to teach her themselves so Laurie was pretty much left high and dry when it came to education. Billy noticed the staring and he tilted his head.

"I'm not really sure if I enjoy you readin' over my shoulder like that, kid," he said with a slight chuckle, subconsciously leaning away a little bit.

"It's not like I can understand what's being said anyways," Laurie replied, pulling back a bit as she shifted, bringing her knees to her chest. She was always sitting like that since it was most comfortable for her.

"What'd you mean?," Billy asked, closing his book once more as he stared at the little red head next to him.

"I can't read," Laurie admitted, looking away. Not knowing how to read had always been one of Laurie's biggest insecurities. Not being able to enjoy books like other people could, and she really wanted to learn, but Jesse never bothered to teach her how to read either.

Billy's small, confused smile fell at the revelation. "You can't read?"

Laurie shook her head, inhaling as she finally turned her gaze back to him, laughing humorlessly as she shook her head. "I know. What kind of 13-year-old girl doesn't know how to read?" She exhaled, looking down again as she pulled grass out from the ground, ripping it up. "It's so pathetic, honestly."

Billy thought for a moment, he was perplexed. He could tell how much of a sore spot this was for the kid next to him. "It's not pathetic, kid." He set his book to the side so that he could give her his full attention. "How about this, I'll teach you how to read once we get to Chihuahua."

Laurie's head pricked up, her eyes brightening for a moment as a smile crossed her face. She wasn't sure if he was being serious or not. "You're serious?" Her voice shook slightly as if she was about to start bawling her eyes out.

Billy chuckled at the reaction, nodding. "Yes, I'm serious, kid."

Laurie smiled, her eyes were glossy as she sniffled, blinking away her tears as she stared at the man next to her. Still in pure disbelief that he would be willing to attempt to teach her how to read.

Maybe this was what she needed to be normal, maybe this was the rulebook to be able to fit into society and be a normal teenage girl.

Billy also smiled, watching as the young girl processed this information. Something about this kid reminded him of Joe. Maybe it was her smile, maybe it was the fact she was small and scrawny for her age, maybe it was her eagerness to learn. Maybe it was all of it.

But whatever the reason was didn't matter.

All Billy knew was that he had to protect this girl.

A/N:

CHAPTER THREE BITCHES!!!

Word Count: 1280