PARADISE

eight. enjoy the silence

RORY'S RESPONSE to everything that had happened was natural, and she knew that, but she couldn't help feeling embarrassed. Nobody spoke in the van as she continuously cried, only stopping for a few seconds to catch her breath before starting up again. Everything was flooding into her head; her family who she didn't know was alive or dead, her friends who she wouldn't see again; the fact that she had to kill people to survive. She couldn't keep pushing this out of her head. This was reality.

"She's gonna dehydrate," she heard Jonah whisper to Blake, before turning to her. "Rory, are you alright?"

Rory managed a quiet 'yes' and smiled, before crying some more. Blake was glaring at her with disgust, eyeing her up and down as she cried. She didn't notice, nor did she have a chance to, because Roman caught his eye. That she noticed.

Blake scoffed at Roman and looked him up and down, almost turning his nose up at him. Rory wiped her eyes and nervously stared at Roman. His jaw was clenched, and she saw him flexing his fingers. Had she missed something between them? She coughed gently, and Roman turned his attention back to her.

"You feeling okay, Rory?" he asked. He sounded and looked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah," she said, honestly, "just needed to get that out."

"Looks like we're stopping," called to them, pulling into the side of the highway. Roman opened the doors of the van and hoped out, leaving the bags in the van.

"We'll head down to Aberdale, like Blake said," Dean began as Rory walked towards him, "follow close behind me and don't stop for anyone, understand? I'd like to get somewhere decent before sundown."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Jonah said. Dean patted the hood of the van and gave Rory a sympathetic smile.

"You okay, Aurora?" he asked. She was slightly annoyed of everyone asking her if she was okay. She just needed to cry, that was all. It wasn't a bit deal. She smiled anyway and nodded, hoping she would be left along.

"About time you people listened to my idea," Blake mumbled under his breath, "shoulda done that in the first place instead of risking our lives."

Rory scoffed loudly, widening her eyes in amusement.

"Our?" she laughed, checking everyone else's reaction. Dean smiled in disbelief whilst Roman returned to the face of anger he had worn in the van. "I'm pretty sure you were waiting in the van whilst we risked our lives."

"I didn't ask you to," he retorted, and Rory glared at him. The entitlement was scary almost. Blake genuinely didn't seem to understand just how close they had been to death for the benefit of the group.

"You didn't," Roman said, "guess you won't be needing any of the shit we got then, huh tough guy?"

"Tough guy?" Blake repeated, folding his arms across his chest and pursing his lips, "aren't you the one with the knuckle brasses?"

"Aren't you the one unarmed?"

Dean moved to stand in front of Roman in an instant. Rory had her hands around one of Roman's arms and pulled up towards the van, leaving Blake to rant about how he didn't mean it like that and it's not his fault that they took it the wrong way. Rory didn't care too much about what he had to say.

"He's a stuck up asshole," Roman spat, closing the van doors behind him as Rory sat cross legged on the floor. "I know his type."

"What's his type?" she asked, curiously. Roman snorted.

"Lawyer," he said, "makes sense, right? Gay ass suit and tie. Thinks he's better than everyone cause he went to some fancy school."

"I can see that," Rory admitted. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, trying to adjust the braid. There was blood in her hair, not that she cared. It was more the feeling of it being dirty that bothered her. It wasn't just her hair, either. Her whole body felt like a strangers. She didn't feel like herself.