Lazy Lizzie

Thirteen

It took twenty minutes for Defeated Leo to admit he'd lost his gazelle. And it had seemed such easy prey.

In those twenty minutes, Lizzie showered and put a sundress on. She doubted Dale would be back too soon. If she were alone, the trouble would have been minimal. But with a new boyfriend? Not worth it. He always had Trey's couch.

As she was placing some protein bars on the outside table, Leo sat in her chair, his face not comprehending what had just happened.

"How is he... that fast?"

"You clearly haven't heard the story," she approached to console him, until her dress was inside his arms, bringing her breasts in his face. "How he accidentally shot himself in the leg, trying to hunt a buck? And how he then outran said buck, all the way through Warsa Park?"

But it was still not time for her to show him her lack of underwear. By the way his head went around her, Hunter Leo was seeing Dale again.

She turned to Dale panting in exaggerated moves, to be seen from a distance as too weak. Another one of his tricks.

But Leo didn't know that, so he left Lizzie shaking her head, not even bothering to warn him again.

Another fruitless chase through the woods ensued.

To his credit, it took a lot less than another twenty minutes for Visibly Humiliated to realize that he'd been baited again.

He exhaled, trying not to look exhausted. "I shared a cell with him for years. Worked out daily, for hours. While he just..." he was clearly overwhelmed with new, conflicting information, "Talked."

By the way his veins made the Cobra drawn on the left side of his neck dance, Leo clearly didn't understand the rat level Dale operated on. For the first time, Lizzie felt ashamed that she did.

"Listen, if it's for me," she said, as gently as possible, although a better tone would have been bored, "It's really not necessary. There's nothing you can do that could undo what he did to me. Besides," she made sure she said it out loud, "I'm seven years over it."

"But if it's for you," she allowed, "Then, by all means, go nuclear on a cockroach. See if you win."

Her words did not have the desired effect. Still Disappointed looked around. "Let's just leave," he was sudden, getting up to get the car.

"We'll eat on the way," he was also clearly not appreciating the plastic-wrapped breakfast she'd put before him. "I'll change the tires. I saw spare ones lying around."

Dale's local tire factory employment was the best few months of their time together, but he eventually got caught stealing.

"We also need to take those stairs off," Lizzie pointed out. Dale's handiwork kept the trailer grounded. "And it's not gonna be easy."

Leo was not really paying attention, he already had the best plan, and he went to his car, bringing a toolbox.

"You won't be able to cut them off," she already knew that saw would be useless. But Skeptical Stare knew better so she let him discover for himself. She started taking out things from the trailer, in the noise of his work. Things she wanted to leave behind: Dale's stuff, the too heavy items, cans, trash - all thrown on the ground. The Lair already felt cleaner.

Half an hour and two saw blades later, Leo had to ask, "What is on these?!", eyes closed in frustration. The wood looked old and thin, deceiving him.

"Some acid metal grungy thing," Lizzie explained, throwing empty beer bottles out the window. "So that they erode blades. Dale also waterproofed them. You can break them with a heavy ax, but it won't be clean. We can burn them, he wanted to test the waterproofing first."

He raised an eyebrow, "You mean burn the trailer down."

"The Lair can't catch fire," she underlined.

The common brand trailer looked old and raggedy, its exterior like a rundown shack. The definition of flammable. But by then, Impromptu Handyman knew better, so he asked, amused, "Why can't the trailer catch fire?"

"Dale sprayed something on it. The shed is full of cans of the stuff. Nothing can burn it down." Lizzie corrected herself, "I mean, you can't throw it in a fire, it will melt. But a small fire, next to it? It will hold."

Minutes later, both of them were standing by Dale's masterpiece's ashes, the last thin line of smoke signaling the Lair was free to be moved.

Leo was finally impressed. "This trailer is... resilient."

"It only looks shabby," Lizzie smiled back.

He went for the shed as if moved by a new idea, "I'm gonna take a few of those cans with us."