Addicted

I Just Want To Be The One You Love

Arthur's eye floated gently open, a yawn rumbled from his mouth as he stretched his arms above his head. As his muscles relaxed he felt around the cotton sheets, reaching for the warm body he expected to be beside him. His fingers clawed at empty sheets. His eyes flew wide open as he sat up in the bed, looking frantically around. Lila was nowhere in the room. He threw his feet onto the floor and instantly ran to the armory. As he had feared, there were weapons and armour missing from the shelves and pegs in the closet. He reached for his clothes and quickly threw them on, checking his pockets. Sure enough, the inner pocket where he had kept her photobook was empty.

"Shit...," he cursed softly under his breath.

He walked with purpose, his boots clanking along the metal. A knight stood at the end of the hall, Arthur quickly approached him.

"Have you seen Paladin Smith?" he asked with a sharp tongue. His heart was pounding away in his chest. He couldn't quite pin whether it was due to anger or fear. The knight shook his head. This forced Arthur to continue on, asking any of the personnel he came across if she had been seen. Even Cade hadn't seen her, urging Arthur that she should be found quickly.

Within the hour Arthur had a VertiBird ready and set for Diamond City. He figured if anyone knew where Lila may be, or at least where she had headed, it would be Piper. When the VertiBird touched down on the outskirts of the city, Arthur hopped off and made a bee-line for the main entrance. Once within the city walls he looked around. People milled about everywhere, but what caught his eyes was the young girl selling newspapers. He remembered hearing Piper had a sister that helped her with her paper.

"Excuse me, do you happen to know where your sister is?" he asked the girl in a gentle voice. Nat cocked an eyebrow at him and looked him over as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"What's it to ya, fly boy?" she asked, voice dripping with sass. Arthur was taken aback for a second and his mouth hung slightly agape.

As if she heard the comment, Piper came from the nearby house and moved her way over to them.

"Nat! What are you doing? Don't tell me you are being rude to the Elder of the Brotherhood..." Piper spoke as she sidled up to Nat, giving Arthur an apologetic look in the process. "How about you go in and have lunch and leave the adults to have a conversation."

It was Nat's mouth that was now hanging agape, she was about to rebut her sister but saw the stern look in her eyes and thought differently, turning to go inside without complaint. Once the door shut Piper turned back to Arthur.

"What can I do for you on this fine day, Elder?"

"Where is Lila?" he asked gruffly. He didn't want to waste any more time than necessary. "I can't find her. I saw her last night and then when I went looking for her this morning her room was empty and no one had seen her."

"Did you think maybe she doesn't want you knowing where she's going?" Piper shrugged as she leaned nonchalantly against a nearby pole. Arthur clutched his fists tightly, not wanting to get mad. He wanted answers.

"Look, I'm concerned for her. She isn't back to herself yet."

"Concerned, are you? Surprising for someone who also went through her belongings and took something that wasn't theirs."

So she did know where she was, because obviously Lila had told her what she found. Arthur's shoulders deflated slightly, a sigh leaving his lips as he looked at the ground.

"I shouldn't have taken that, and I realize that. I just want to see her, apologize, and get her back to the Prydwen before something bad happens to her. Especially if she's out there alone."