The Lucky Ones - Arthur Morgan x Reader

Chapter 7

You make me crazy you make me wild
Just like a baby, spin me round like a child
Your skin so gold and brown
Be young, be dope, be proud
Like an American.

To my intense disappointment, when we had got back to camp everything was as normal. A good morning from Arthur and not much else. He had kissed me in the woods and then all I got was a good morning? He made me feel like I was special and then now that feeling was gone.

"What you sitting around moping for?" Karen looked over at me with a smile, everyone else was up and I had not gotten up yet. It was a few days since Arthur had kissed me. I just lay there on my bedroll staring at the sky. She came and sat next to me when she realised something was wrong. "Talk to me darlin."

"Don't tell anyone." I told her. "Arthur kissed me in the woods the other day and now he's acting like nothing happened. I'm so confused." I sighed, keeping my voice hushed.

Karen frowned and nodded "Oh dear. Well I guess you gotta talk to him, figure out where y'all stand."

"I don't want to that's embarrassing." I put my head in her lap and she stroked my hair softly "I really like him, but I won't ever want anyone enough to beg for them."

"I think there's a difference between begging and then telling a man to sort his shit out." She shrugged. "Want me to talk to him?"

"No, thanks though. I guess I'll have to." I said and got up.

"Maybe brush your hair first." She chuckled. Karen was gentle and kind but she was also honest. She would not let me go up to him without looking my best.

I laughed a little and nodded before brushing my hair and putting on a blue dress. "Thanks Karen, I'll let you know how it goes."

"You do that honey, good luck." She smiled and I went to find Arthur.

He was over by his tent writing in his journal. I wanted to know what he was writing but I would never be nosy enough to sneak a look. "Oh hey
Y/n." He closed it and looked up when he saw me.

"Hi." I didn't really know how to go about this. I didn't really know what to say. Awkwardly, I just stood there for a bit.

"You okay?" He asked confused.

"No not very." I said and crossed my arms. "I don't like when people act a certain way and then act different."

He sighed "I'm sorry. I just- it's complicated."

"What is? What are you sorry for? I've been wondering so much over the past couple days I wanna know what's going on." I spoke calmly but I clearly was not pleased.

Arthur took a deep breath "You're a great girl y/n you really are. I like you, I care about you. Really I do. I love talking with you and just being around you. But-"

"I've learned anything that comes before the word but doesn't really count. Just make your point." I sighed dreading what he was going to say next.

"It's complicated." He said simply.

"I'd be with you right now if you asked how complicated is that?" I frowned and crossed my arms. "What is there someone else or something? Why won't you say anything." I hated when people didn't speak it was so frustrating. I remembered when I would beg my father to at least speak when he was passed out drunk the first time. Just say something.

"There's no one else. This life ain't an easy one, I don't wanna put you in danger by being with you." He took my hands and looked into my eyes. "I don't want anything to happen to you because of me."

"For a man who's been in the same gang for twenty years, I never took you as someone afraid of commitment. You want me or you don't Arthur make up your mind." I was bitterly disappointed, I had never felt like this over a man before and it was a waste. If he didn't want me fine. But he shouldn't have kissed me and made me believe different.

"Y/n you know it ain't like that." He sighed. "You probably don't wanna hear about this but I had a kid once, his mama was just some girl I met at the bar. They were good people." I felt a pang on jealousy at him talking about another girl he met before me even though it was unreasonable, he didn't even know I existed but still. "She wasn't as bright as you, she wasn't fierce like you are, it was just a one night thing but she had my son either way. I'd go and visit every now and then and one time I went to visit and someone had killed her and the boy to get to me. I'll be damned if I let anything like that happen to you." As he explained I felt bad for being so harsh with him. He really was just scared, the poor man had been through a lot.

"You don't need to be afraid Arthur. We're all going to die anyway we may aswell." I said softly and sat next to him.

"I can't let anything happen to you. You're a little annoying and you tease me and you never shut up but you have a heart of gold and god dammit I care about you so much." He put his hand on my face.  "Being an Outlaw is a dangerous game. You win or you die."

"But we play that game together." I held his hand.

"I'm sorry y/n it can't happen." Arthur sighed and shook his head. "Don't think I don't care about you though or that you're not good enough because it ain't like that. You'll always be special to me."

I stood up and sighed. "Alright then." There was no point pushing it anymore I didn't want to make a fool out of myself or hear any more. "I'll see you around Arthur." I went over to Dolly and rode off to go hunting. Hunting always cleared my head because of the amount of focus it required and right now, I needed to focus on something that wasn't Arthur.

It was nice to have a moment to myself. The sun was shining and the grass was blowing in the breeze. I could see rabbits running around ahead of me in the field not far from camp.

When I saw the trail of a deer I got off Dolly and took my bow, going on foot. I was so focused on the tracks ahead of me I did not notice the footsteps slowly approaching behind me until I felt a hand clamp round my mouth and the cold steel of a pistol against my head. "Don't even think about screaming." I could not see the face of who was behind me but I could hear the thick Irish accent.

My captor was without a doubt an O'Driscoll.

I felt a sharp blow to my head and then everything went black.