𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐔𝐩 ✧ 𝐑𝐃𝐑𝟐

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧.

Audrey's stomach ached from laughing so much. Beside her Karen laughed with her, placing a hand on Audrey's shoulder to hold herself upright. Audrey took a sip from the bottle she held, she had been drinking since and now it was dark and she was drinking more. Just with Karen, Sean and Uncle this time.

"Blood dog fucker jumped me, I tell ya! You wanna know what I did?" Sean's drunken voice slurred aimlessly. He paused to take a drink before looking at the three friends who sat around the fire with him. "I...well," Sean paused, frowning at himself. "I... can't remember!" He laughed, Uncle scoffing.

"Boy don't kid yourself! Probably never happened!" Uncle laughed, Karen snickering. Sean gave an offended look at the old man. 

"I do more than you, old man! Don't you start with me," Sean ranted at him, Uncle sighing as the Irish man continued to talk, Uncle, Karen and Audrey all blocking him out as Sean eventually just started talking rubbish.

"We need a song!" Uncle cheered, raising his bottle in the air. While his hand was up, a hand swiped his bottle out of his hand. Uncle gasped in shock, spinning around to look up at the thief. Above him stood Arthur who was tipping the alcohol out onto the grass behind him. "Hey!" Uncle scolded. Arthur stared at the old man before tossing the bottle away, the shattering sound of glass was heard as it landed further away.

"Party's over, get to bed," Arthur grunted at them all. Audrey chuckled, looking at Karen who was pointing at Arthur.

"Who do ya think ya are, Arthur? God? I ain't think so!" Karen hissed between her teeth. The woman swayed on the log beside her, struggling to stay upright. Arthur ignored Karen's insults as he called for Charles. "Just because you're Dutch's favourite doesn't mean you can ruin our fun! You know, you use to be fun!" Karen continued, Sean still bickering with himself in the background before falling backwards onto the bedroll behind him, passing out. Uncle however was the only one who obeyed, crawling on the ground all the way to a tree he could sleep under. Uncle never had a permanent spot to sleep, he always woke up in some different spot in the camp. 

"Can you get Karen to bed?" Arthur asked Charles who looked down at Karen and Audrey in annoyance. Maybe the whole drinking all day wasn't the outlaw life that she had pictured. Charles nodded, waving a hand at Karen to get up.

"Come on, you need sleep," Charles explained to the tempered blonde woman. She frowned at him, leaning forward as she growled at him. 

"You ain't my pa! Neither of you two," She scolded, looking back at Arthur before turning to Charles again. "Let us two ladies have a bit of fun!"

"She's goddamn grieving! This ain't no way to get over grief!" Arthur hissed at Karen, disappointed that the group had encouraged Audrey on. Audrey sat quietly as she felt a gross taste building up in the back of her throat. Charles extending a hand out to Karen but she slapped his hand away, springing up to her feet.

"Don't you dare touch me!" She yelled angerly. Charles threw his hands back in defence, showing her he wasn't going to hurt her. "You try and touch me again boy and I'll cut your goddamn hands off!" She continued. Charles looked at Arthur, sighing as he raised his eyebrows. It seemed like drunk Karen was a usual appearance for them as they didn't take her threats seriously. Karen walked two steps before collapsing, Charles quickly catching her before she could hit the ground.

"Come on, let's get going," Charles muttered to the woman who found her feet, this time accepting his help. The two of them walked away to where Karen slept. Arthur looked down at Audrey, his frown fading away into a sympathetic look.

"What were you thinking?" He asked, his tone sounding saddened. Audrey kept her mouth shut, the gross feeling building up. "This ain't like you. I get it, you're going through something but you can't just turn to the bottle!" Arthur pointed out. He sighed, taking a break as he realised Audrey would just forget everything he was saying anyway. He held a hand out for Audrey to take and she took it, Arthur pulling her to her feet. Once she was standing beside him, he snatched the bottle from her hands. He took a drink this time before tossing the bottle away, unable to help himself. "Come on," he insisted. Audrey walked with him, clinging on his arm for support as he helped her to her tent. The sick feeling only grew stronger and stronger before she couldn't hold it back anymore. She quickly ran towards the trees before throwing up, her throat burning. She heard Arthur's footsteps approaching her, a sigh escaping his lips as he folded his arm as he watched her. She stepped away from her vomit, wiping her mouth with the back of a hand.

"Ugh my head hurts," Audrey stated, holding a hand to her head. Arthur chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he led her to her bed. 

"You're gonna feel it worse tomorrow," Arthur muttered jokingly. Arthur helped Audrey down into her cot, the woman sitting in her cot with a thud. "Wait here," Arthur stated, walking backwards out of her tent. "And don't go anywhere, drunk fools seem to have a thing with running off and getting into trouble," Arthur muttered before turning around and heading away for a moment. Audrey frowned in confusion at his comment. Audrey looked around her tent, clueless on what to do now that she didn't have a bottle in her hands. This was the most she had ever drank. Why did she think this was a good idea? Drinking didn't make the pain any easier. Audrey stared at her shoes in disgust with herself before Arthur came back with a cup of water. "Drink this," Arthur handed her the cup, demanding her to drink. She knew better than to argue with Arthur, he was a stubborn man. Audrey took the cup carefully from his hands, slowly taking a drink. Arthur grabbed a wooden chair from outside her tent and brought it in, sitting down across from her. 

"What am I doing, Arthur?" Audrey chuckled after she finished drinking the water. "Drinking myself stupid and for what? To make my problems go away?" She shook her head in disappointment. "I'm a bigger fool than I thought."

"You ain't no fool," Arthur corrected her. "You're struggling. There's a difference, but it will get easier," Arthur explained. "Sure, I don't really remember my mother's passing but with my father, well, we didn't always see eye-to-eye but it was hard knowing he was gone. I still think about them both, Isaac too. There ain't a day where I don't think of that kid. I didn't see him much because of the gang but I loved him," Arthur nodded to himself, like he was trying to convince himself. "I've seen too many fools turn to the bottle and now they can't get off it. Don't be one of them," Arthur finished with a sigh. Audrey stared at him. He rose from the chair, looking down at her. "You need sleep," Arthur insisted. Audrey looked away from him, wishing he could stay and open up to her forever. It was interesting listening to his life story and listening to how he really felt about things. But just like that, he left and she was alone once more.