Chasing Arizona

Vice

Let me know what y'all think.

Caine

Forgetting how to breath seemed to be easier than one would think, Caine thought to himself as he steadied against the nearest solid object within reach. His lungs were screaming for him to take in a breath but his brain couldn't seem to compute the command. It was almost as if the link between the two had been severed suddenly and the organs were scrambling for guidance. His hand collided with the hard marble of the kitchen counter, a loud clink echoing through his head as the ring on his finger banged against the hard material.

His eyes traveled from the two blurry bodies occupying space in his home before zoning in on the thick band on his fourth finger.

He still wore the ring, even though it had been nearly thirty years since the last time he'd lain eyes on her. He'd been asked many times through his life why he even bothered, mostly by those who assumed she was a woman who'd run off on him in the middle of the night, but to those who'd never known the truth of his Lily, it was a simple answer despite the complexity of the situation. The ring on his finger was more than a silver band they'd exchanged during their brief ceremony all those years ago, it was a piece of her, a piece of the woman who had taken more than his children with her when she'd gone; she'd taken a piece of his soul the day she'd disappeared. Caine had lived the last three decades believing that every one of the people in his life he'd ever loved were gone from this Earth, but now he knew that the sentiment no longer held true. Looking up into the eyes that mirrored his own, he knew that he had pieces of his Lily walking this earth, that she'd never truly left him. His heart shuttered in his chest, an off beat staccato against his rib cage reminding him of the first moment he'd ever set eyes on Lily Dixon.

*

It wasn't her beauty that captured his attention the first time he saw her, no, but it was definitely the second. The first thing Caine noticed was the dark bruise forming across the sweep of her ivory skin, the sickly dark shade calling notice. She stood huddled into herself against the crowd of people surrounding her, clutching at the sleeves of a worn sweater -- one she was wearing despite the almost unbearable heat of the day. Throughout the day he watched her, hiding behind her dark hair and shying away from people as they tried to connect with her. Never did he stray too far wanting to keep her in his line of sight, the urge more than a nagging feeling in his mind, one in the pit of his gut. During a brief conversation with someone he recognized from the rodeo circuit, his eye caught on a very familiar figure -- one he'd hoped he would never have to see again.

Gavin Havinbaker.

Caine's entire body language changed in a flash as Gavin neared the woman he'd been eyeballing all night, noting how her demeanor went from cautious to downright fearful in the blink of an eye. Having grown up on a household where the only form of affection came in the way of a fist to the face, Caine knew exactly what was going on. He'd seen his own mother cower in the same manner many times before. He' d often heard from buckle bunnies that Gavin was the type to put hands on a woman, but he'd never seen it firsthand. Now seemed to be enough proof for him. Taking the last swallow of beer from the bottle in his hand, he made a split second decision.

*

In the end, it took six days to realize he was falling in love with Lily Dixon. An now, nearly nine months of pretending to get along with the pretentious bastard who couldn't keep his hands off of the object of Caine's affections. It wasn't just blatant jealousy, though that was some if not most of it. It was that Caine's suspicions and the rumors had been confirmed. Just this morning Lily had shown up at the Cafe she worked in with a fresh bruise settled across her cheek and a slight limp. It seemed that no one bothered to ask questions anymore, probably figured she wouldn't answer truthfully anyway. Seeing her covered in fresh bruises renewed his anger and he wondered how he had refrained from killing the bastard in the last few months, but he knew the reason why. 

Bitterly, Caine took the last swig of his coffee just as a familiar grey uniform shirt rounded the corner. His Lily. In her delicate hand she held a carafe of coffee, piping hot from the looks of it. Just like always her head was down and her hair cascading around her shoulders, her protective curtain shielding her from the outside world. When she cozied up to his table and grabbed his cup, he saw the small curl of a smile on that gorgeous set of lips -- lips he couldn't wait to get a taste of again soon. 

And soon it would be. They'd been planning since the night she'd told him she loved him, too. Starting off as no more than a fleeting comment and ending up as a full blown plan. Caine already had a home locked down, a place for their family to grow -- it had taken time to convince her to come with him, but from the moment they'd realized that there was a child growing in her belly, she'd begged him to take her away from Gavin. She'd revealed to him, in the most heartbreaking of manners that she'd already lost one baby to the hands of the careless man she was with. After comforting her in the best way he could Caine had started off in the direction of where he knew Gavin was, gun in hand. He'd accepted the fact that he was likely going to end up in prison but if it meant that Lily was finally safe, he'd give up his freedom in a heartbeat. 

"Tonight?" She whispered softly, just as the butt of his cup hit the table once again. 

"Tonight." He echoed, promise hanging from each syllable. 

Arizona 

"and it's gone before it ever melts the ice..." 

I was back where I had started. Holed up in that same bar, with Chance the bartender sending double shots of whatever the house whiskey was my way. From the taste of it, it was Ten High, and I wasn't going to complain -- hell, at this point I wasn't certain I could even speak. I'd been sitting here for countless hours, at first only staring at the neon signs hanging above tables which slowly turned into racking up what I was sure would be a decent sized tab. It had taken twenty minutes of Caine staring unseeingly at me before I had dashed out of there, doing my best imitation of Usain Bolt to get to Rhett's truck. It hadn't taken long for the vehicle's owner to follow. Our ride to town was silent and our goodbye even quieter. I hadn't even bothered to hop in my own truck to get to the Neon Bottle I'd opted for walking, a safer bet since I knew without a doubt that I'd end up too intoxicated to drive. I wasn't certain of the time but I knew it must be dark outside, and it was likely late, the crowd was beginning to thin -- only a few stragglers remaining. 

"Want another, Miss?" 

I'd been asked the same question a dozen times tonight, it seemed, but the answer never changed. 

"Ye-"

"I think the lady's had enough for the night boy. Tab her out." 

That voice had my spine straightening. I'd only heard him speak once but I knew that voice and in an instant, my spinning head and the swimming in my veins disappeared. Just like that the buzz I'd worked so hard for was gone and reality came crashing down. 

Right on top of that was my tab and a throbbing headache.