Riding with the Beast (an MC Fairy Tale)

13 - Beast

The Beast

I left her by the fire. She was rocking back and forth with her knees hugged to her chest and the gentle flames turning her mocha skin gold. The smoke wasn’t likely to be noticed in this kind of darkness, and even if it was, it wouldn’t matter. Lots of campers left the main roads to disappear into the forests. We’d seen a few by the fountain at the mouth of the park earlier. Sonja told them we’d lost our packs, and they gave us an extra water bottle and some granola bars. Also asked us if we wanted to join them for the night, but we respectfully declined.

It wasn’t hard to find a quiet place away from the other campers. Luckily it didn’t rain much this time of year and the weather looked like it was gonna hold up. Sonja made a place for herself a ferns and I sat beside her, waiting for her to bring up the man she’d shot.

She didn’t, though must’ve been thinking about it. She kept staring at the ground like it was gonna give her the answer to somethin’, but all it gave her was what she was giving me: silence. I don’t know what I’d have said, but sometimes you just needed to get shit off your chest. In the end, none of that happened. After a while I got up to gather supplies for a fire and made one once the sun was gone. Then, I told her I’d be back in a little while.

Sonja hadn’t liked me leaving. In fact, her soft protest as she grabbed the hem of my shirt as I started walking way was the first thing she’d said after finishing her granola bar. I tried not to be too happy about that. She just didn’t want to be abandoned, probably, but my stupid heart kept trying to make it something it wasn’t.

I liked having her around. Maybe it was because I’d saved her, or maybe because she always looked right at me. It didn’t matter that she only did it because she’d been so afraid and desperate that anyone would have suited her just fine. To my heart, those reasons didn’t matter.

Like I said, I tried not to be too happy about it.

Finally, I figured I’d put enough distance between us, flipped open my tracfone and dialed a familiar number. It was answered after two rings. “Hey. Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

Guess they’d been waiting up for me. I tried not to feel too guilty about that. I rubbed the back of my head. “Yeah…some stuff came up.”

“More car trouble?”

“Yeah…and some other stuff.”

Prez waited for me to elaborate.

I didn’t.

I heard a small creak through the phone. Prez was sitting in the wooden chair he’d gotten from his ma after she died. Wasn’t too comfortable, but he’d had good memories about it. Good memories are all that matters, sometimes.

“Do I need to sit down?” he asked.

“Sounds like you already are.”

“Well, was it good I sat, then?”

He was trying to joke. It made me more uncomfortable. I wondered if it had the same effect on him. “I’m bringing someone home with me.”

Prez was quiet for five squeaks. He must’ve been rocking back and forth. That was never a good sign. “Anyone I know?”

I reached into my pocket for one of my remaining cigarettes. “You might’ve heard of her. She’s…my old lady now.”

Prez’s chair stopped squeaking. I don’t think he’d ever expected to hear those words from me. I certainly never thought I’d say them.

“Who is it, Beast?”

His voice was soft. I rolled the cigarette between my fingers. I wouldn’t lite it yet. I’d do it after this was done. “She calls herself Sonja, but she’s better known as Bella.”