Play Along With It

The Only Medicine

Sean

I drove Norman back home in silence. He didn't even want to play the radio anymore, which I was slightly relieved about. Norman hadn't said a word to me since the hug, hell he hadn't even looked at me. It hurt to see my baby brother look so hurt and pained. But what the hell could I do about it? Tiffany had made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with Norman any more, or with what we did. Shit, I need to talk to her about that.

I pulled up in the driveway, where Norman hopped out without another word. "I'll be back in a bit." I mumbled quietly. I didn't get any sort of response as Norman headed inside of our little log cabin. I sighed and backed up, turning my truck around and heading back down the highway, towards Tiff's temporary place.

Tiffany

I was heading back to my little room from the managers' office. The owner, Margaret, had agreed to hire me, and I would even get to stay in my room for a low price. I felt a little better knowing that I had some sort of income and a roof over my head. And all I had to do was clean out rooms and sometimes run the front office. It seemed easy enough, thankfully, and the pay wasn't awful. Sure it was only minimum wage but it could be a lot worse.

Just as I approached my door, I heard the sound of a truck turning into the motel. I glanced over my shoulder out of curiosity, only to see a familiar white truck with a familiar face in the driver seat. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't necessarily surprised, but I had had hopes that Sean wouldn't try to convince me to get back with that lying scumbag. Still, I waited for him to park in front of me and hop out.

"I'm not going back." I growled as he approached.

Sean raised his hands a little in defense. "I know, but I'm not here for that." He said, stopping in front of me. "Can we talk inside?" He asked, gesturing to my door.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. But this was Sean. He wouldn't hurt me, I knew that, and he wasn't a liar, so I knew he wouldn't try to tie me up and take me back. Plus even if he did decide to try something, Margaret would see and call the police.

I cautiously held my door open for him, in which he thanked me and stepped inside. I shut the door behind us and crossed my arms over my chest, keeping my eyes on his sturdy frame. Then I heard him sigh and saw him turn around to face me.

"I'm gonna cut past the small talk and get straight to the point." He said. "You can't tell anyone what we do, alright?"

I was taken aback for a second. The thought of ratting Norman and Sean out hadn't crossed my mind. "I won't." I mumbled. I had no intentions of causing Norman or Sean any suffering.

"Good." Sean grunted, leaning against the dresser, his eyes never really meeting mine. I leaned against the window sill, waiting for the inevitable. Then Sean cleared his throat. "You know, Norm didn't-"

"Stop. I'm not going back." I stated, crossing my arms in front of my stomach, very aware of the life inside of it. I felt a small tear beading in the corner of my eye as I thought about what would happen in a few weeks.

Sean nodded briefly, biting his lip a little. "He's an idiot."

I rolled my eyes, wiping my cheek free of the tear. "He shouldn't have gotten drunk."

Sean chuckled, though there wasn't any humor behind the laugh. "I know. It's my fault."

I scoffed. "You didn't tell him to cheat, did you?" I demanded.

"No. He really did think it was you, though."

I sighed and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath through my nose as I tried to regain my patience. "But it wasn't me."

The room was silent for a long time. Then Sean sighed. "He's broken-"

"Sean, I don't want to hear it." I growled, sitting up straight. I glared hard at him, clenching my jaw in pure irritation. "Get out of my room."

Sean nodded and stood up straight, heading for the door. As he opened it, I called out. "I won't tell anyone."