Borderlines

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Fawn's eyes flashed open. She could hear people shouting all around her, cocking weapons, she figured Travis must have been one, but she didn't turn to look. Instead, she looked her attacker in the eyes. The man was immediately recognizable. It was hard to forget the face of someone who tried to shoot you before. The man stared at her angrily, taking heavy breaths.
"You should have been dead already." He growled. Fawn kept her posture straight, not moving.
"Well I'm sorry that didn't happen." Fawn should have been more cautious, but frankly she was tired of all this. The man didn't move, everyone was dead silent, afraid one move would set him off.
"Do you know why I joined the Black Ivy? Because I had to sit and watch my wife die while the crown sat on their comfortable pedestals. They did nothing." The man's face twisted into a snarl. Fawn glanced to the right and saw Travis with his gun pointed at the man, but his gaze look horrified.
"Your little section ate right out of the palm of the crown's hand, getting whatever you wanted. You let all of this happen and didn't do a thing." He hissed. Fawn looked at the man closely.
"You're right." She said, the pressure lessened on the gun for a second.
"I don't think what Garth is doing is right, but give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you." The man demanded. Fawn swallowed.
"I can't." The man look confused.
"I never did a thing. I watched people die and I sat back and did nothing." Fawn spat the words out.
"If you kill me now, you've already let Garth win. I've seen first hand what my ignorance has done and I can't fix it, but we can stop him. You kill me then who else will try and stop him, you? You'll be dead the second you pull that trigger." The man had broke out in a sweat and Fawn could see he was indecisive.
"So shoot me and let him win, or join us in bringing him to his demise." The man looked away and ground his teeth.
"She died right in my arms." Fawn took a risk and placed a hand on his gun, he didn't shove her away.
"Then make sure her death meant something." She whispered. The man's grip loosened on his gun and Fawn slowly drew it away from her forehead. A few rebels immediately grabbed the man, he didn't put up any fight, tears streaked down his cheeks. Fawn handed the gun to Willow. Travis pushed forward, wrapping his arms around Fawn. Fawn sighed into his embrace, the tightness in her chest lifting. It wasn't the first time she had almost died, but it still scared her.
"I don't know how you did it." Travis whispered.
"Me either." Fawn said to him, burying her head in his shoulder. Claus came toward them.
"I had no idea." He said. Travis let go of Fawn.
"How did those sharpshooters work for you?" He said lowly. Claus's expression changed into a scowl.
"I didn't expect someone to walk up to her." Claus responded, he seemed to be getting tired of Travis's remarks. Fawn put a hand of Travis's chest to stop a retort that was bound to come.
"It doesn't matter. I'm fine now and that's what counts." She said firmly, eyeing Travis. She saw him biting back an answer and then sighing. What was it with male's and having to be bold? Once Claus walked away Fawn turned to Travis.
"You could make yourself a little easier to work with." She said lightly. Claus was at least fifteen years older then Travis and smarter. He looked at her for a moment.
"I'm sorry, I'm just-"
"Worried, I know." Fawn smiled. She leaned up and kissed him softly.
"I'm still here and I'm okay." Travis smiled.
"Thank goodness for that.

~

The rest of that day mostly consisted of helping the new recruits get accustomed to the armoury and where they would be sleeping. Claus had retreated somewhere, already beginning to plan what would be the group's next move. They had only a small window to move before Garth found out that the group had been given weapons. This meant that they just hoped the new joiners knew how to fire a gun. Fawn could feel tension rippling through the building as the group grew. It was only a matter of time before they clashed with the Black Ivy. The sun was beginning to set in the late afternoon when Fawn saw Willow standing in one of the arsenal's doorway, looking outside. Fawn walked over to her, waving hello. Willow gave a small smile and waved back.
"Enjoying some quiet time?" Fawn asked her. Willow shrugged.
"Trying to anyway, before you ruined it." Willow had a playful gleam in her eye. Fawn rolled hers.
"Well thanks." She scoffed. Willow turned toward her.
"How are you feeling?" She asked. Fawn touched the side of her head. She still had stitches.
"These will take awhile before they come out, but other than that I feel pretty good." She responded. Her ribs hadn't bugged her much today. Willow's eyes grew serious.
"I was scared when that man pulled his gun on you. You didn't even seem to flinch." She said. Fawn crossed her arms over her midsection, leaning against the doorway.
"I guess I'm used to looking down the barrel of guns at this point." She said sadly. Willow narrowed her eyes.
"People our age shouldn't't be." She said angrily. Fawn could see a hurt expression on the girl's face.
"People our age shouldn't see their parents shot in front of them while they stand helpless either." She said quietly. Willow let out a shaky breath.
"They never did anything wrong. How could someone be so heartless? He's killing children, Fawn." Willow was already shedding tears. Fawn touched her arm lightly before pulling her into a hug.
"I don't understand it either." She whispered.
"If I had known before all this, I would have killed him." Fawn could barely keep her hate contained. Willow pulled back.
"Don't you dare blame this on yourself." She said sternly. Fawn looked away, not wanting Willow to see her anger. Willow moved so that Fawn could see her.
"Fawn, I swear, don't you do this. It won't make anything better." Fawn squeezed her eyes shut.
"I feel like part of this is my fault. Like I should have seen it coming. I married him. I was supposed to know him better than anyone else." She said quietly. Willow tsked her tongue.
"Don't blame yourself." She said lowly. Fawn sighed. She noticed Willow look away and her eyes narrow slightly. Fawn followed her gaze. When she saw who Willow was looking at, she broke away from her. They looked horrible.
"Cassie! Nelson!" She cried, running straight into their arms.
"My daughter!" Cassie said when Fawn wrapped her arms around them. Just seeing their faces sent a fresh wave of tears down her face. Cassie was breaking down too. She and Fawn began firing off questions at the time. Nelson broke in to stop the babbling. Fawn took a deep breath, wiping her eyes.
"We're so glad to see you alive. We thought Clay might have done something to you after Garth..." Cassie covered her mouth. Fawn looked at Nelson wide-eyed. They both hadn't known that their son was a killer. Fawn embraced Cassie again.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered. Cassie sniffed.
"How did his own parents not see it coming?" She asked aloud. Fawn bit her lip. Everyone seemed to have the same question. Fawn looked at them both, they looked haggard.
"Come inside and get something to eat." She encouraged them, pulling Cassie's arm. Nelson grabbed his wife's hand and gave Fawn a small smile. Fawn led them into to the building to where some people were still eating. If she could get their minds off their grief it would help them all. Fawn had them sit down and brought them both food. She had just stepped back when someone leaned over and kissed her cheek. Fawn turned her head to look at Travis.
"Hey." She said softly. Travis looked at Cassie and Nelson, giving her a questioning look.
"They're Garth's parents." She said quietly. Travis narrowed his eyes and Fawn smacked his arm.
"They didn't know!" She hissed. She did love Travis, but he always jumped to conclusions. Travis only looked slightly apologetic. Fawn grabbed his arm and brought him over to the table. Nelson looked up.
"Travis, right?" He asked. Travis glanced at Fawn.
"Yes, that's me." Nelson looked him up and down for a second.
"Travis, meet my Stepmother and father." She said with a smile. Cassie almost dropped her spoon.
"Oh Fawn, you don't have to call us that now." She said. Fawn shook her head.
"No, you two are my family now and you always will be." Fawn said sternly. Cassie smiled at her. Travis looked at them both.
"If you'll excuse us." He said politely and pulled Fawn away from her in-laws. He stopped when they were out of Nelson and Cassie's hearing range. Travis pulled Fawn to face him.
"You know that you're not really bound to them anymore right?" He said quietly. Fawn felt insulted.
"If all you're going to do is show up and badger anything that has to do with Garth, then you might as well leave now. Cassie and Nelson are the closest thing I've ever had to parents. They didn't hurt me, they're son did, stop acting like you're a child." She growled angrily. She yanked her arm away from his.
"If you'll excuse me." Her words had bite to them. Fawn didn't walk two steps before Travis had latched back onto her arm. She wanted to curse him for being tall and strong.
"Leave me alone." Fawn said. Her emotions were all flowing together badly, like a terrible rush. To her surprise, Travis actually let her go. Fawn didn't look back at him. She took the shortest route to her bedroom and curled up onto the mattress. The weight of all her emotions crashed down on her in one fell swoop and she started crying uncontrollably. Tears rushed down her cheeks in a hot stream, sprinkling her legs and arms as well as her clothes. After a solid fifteen minutes Fawn could feel her mood almost lightening. Someone had told her it was never good to keep your emotions locked inside and apparently Fawn had done just that for too long. Now she just felt drowsy with an odd calmness settling over her. Someone opened her door, but she didn't have to guess, Travis never knocked. He looked at her, his eyes softening.
"I thought I heard you stop." He said quietly, pushing the door shut. Fawn blinked her swelled up eyes.
"Were you out there?" She asked. Travis nodded his head.
"Despite feeling terrible, I managed to stay out there for your sake." He said while he sat down on her bed. Travis went to pull her into his chest. Fawn pushed away.
"I'm a mess." She complained. Travis touched her face.
"You're a beautiful, wonderful mess." He said softly and kissed her forehead. Fawn closed her eyes and let out a long and tired sigh.
"I can't lose you too." She whispered. Travis pulled back.
"What do you mean by that? I'm not going anywhere." He said.
"What if we both don't make it out of this alive?" Fawn shuddered. Travis kissed her lips."Don't talk about that." He told her and kissed her again. Fawn wrapped her arms around him and despite the sweet taste of his affection, the tightness in her chest never left.