Alden was sitting on the floor, head in his knees, and Therese hurried to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her. He was breathing fast, hyperventilating, but he shook his head quickly, knowing what she was afraid of. She squeezed his shoulder and left him to come down from it.
"Well, we need to leave," Vive said, trying not to look at the locked door. "I guess that's kind of a moot point now."
"I'm... I'm not going," Mona said quietly.
"What? You can't stay here," Vive said, almost infuriated at the thought of that kind of stubbornness.
"No, not here," Mona answered. "I think you were right. I'm going to find another store, but I'm not leaving the mall. I just... I can't go out there."
"Alright, if you're sure," Vive said. She looked over to Therese instead.
Therese met her gaze, and then turned away, moving to sit next to Alden. He looked like he was breathing easier, and she wrapped an arm around him. Leaning into him, she place her mouth next to his ear, and his face turned white.
Vive watched them for a second, murmuring to each other like they always devolved into. Then she looked away. She couldn't even imagine how much money they'd destroyed in one night alone. She was glad they'd never see the bill.
"I'm going to go," Therese said, standing.
"What?"
"She's going to leave," Alden said softly, like if he whispered it it made it less real. "Trust her own instincts."
"I'm sorry," Therese said, looking at him.
"No, it's okay."
"You can text me. I'll make sure you know I'm alright."
"Thanks." He smiled weakly. "I'll do the same."
She kissed him, and leaned her forehead on his. He was holding her hand, tight, and then released it, just index fingers wrapped around the other.
They watched together as she grabbed her bag- technically Vive's- and moved the wardrobe with Mona. Then, they walked out the door.
Alden deflated as soon as she disappeared, and Vive gave him a moment to himself as she took inventory of her stuff. She emptied the bag out twice, trying to bide her time. Then she grabbed her's as well as his, and approached him. For a few moments she stood next to him, waiting. Then she put her hand on his shoulder.
He jumped a little, then fell back into himself, and she tried to make him stand up. When he finally did, she shifted the bags to one side and put her hand back on him, leading him out of the doorway too. He shuffled his feet, hardly lifting them up.
They stopped in front of a hunting store, and she left him at the door as she went in. She circled it first, and then began to grab what looked useful. She took a few knives of different lengths, more travel food, and two tacky camo shirts just for hygiene's sake. She stared at the tents for a few minutes, envisioning carrying the largest one out and taking it to the mountains somewhere. She dismissed the idea and nearly walked away all together, but then turned back and picked up the smallest one, that came with a travel bag.
She grabbed a few cans of bug spray off the shelf. It felt like too easy a solution to do any good, but she couldn't let the opportunity pass without trying to take it. She put some anti-mosquito candles in her pockets, too. There wasn't much she could find that seemed bee-oriented. At the last second, she grabbed a few feet of mesh, the kind you were supposed to hang around you before you went to sleep to keep the bugs out. She could imagine bees cutting their way in, but shrugged to herself and took it anyway.
