What You Are Is Beautiful

I Call Middle

Beatrice hadn't noticed how hard she was holding Ava's hand until the halo bearer had to wrench it away from her. Anxiety was stirring in her stomach and her head felt like it would explode.

She had almost forgotten about the other Sisters while she sat in the bed of the truck indulging in the feeling of Ava's warmth against her and her scent surrounding the two of them. She almost forgot her mission and her vows as Ava's hot breath stung against her cheek when she spoke.

Mary had found a random trash bin to dump the old man in and put his junk with him. As much as she hated the situation, they had to get rid of his body.

"Well," Mary wiped her hands on her pants, "that was disgusting and morally challenging. But we have a truck now and we aren't letting it go to waste."

"We're taking his truck?" Camila gasped at the idea.

Beatrice closed her eyes to take a breath before opening them and speaking with her usual confidence. "What happened here was very unfortunate. We must make the best of this situation."

"And we gotta get rid of that smell," Ava wrinkled her nose. The cigarette and fast food funk was really getting to her. "It's dead awful," she winked.

"Priorities," Beatrice reminded her. It was hard to not let a smile creep onto her features.

"Too soon?"

"Yeah, dipshit." Mary scolded. "Too soon."

Ava glanced over to Lilith who still hadn't spoken a word. Camila stood by her side, hand on her shoulder for comfort.

Mary made her way around the front and hopped into the driver's seat. "Get in."

Lilith crawled into the passenger seat and no one dared call shotgun from her. Beatrice and Ava made her way to the back seat and Camila enthusiastically called middle.

"Why would you call middle seat?" Mary ridiculed Camila, eyeing her in the rear view.

"If you can call shotgun, why wouldn't you call
middle seat?"

"Because it's horribly cramped," Ava chortled. "You're such a dork."

And with that, they were off. Mary cranked on the radio and switched it to one of three stations they could find where they were: Jazz. It wasn't horrible, it was background noise, but the silence was unbearable nonetheless. It gave her too much time to think and she really didn't like thinking. Ava much preferred doing.

She couldn't help but let her mind wander to Beatrice. She wanted so badly to be sitting by her, but she wouldn't voice that. She sat back and watched the scenery outside her window. All she saw was trees and grass for about an hour before a cliff appeared about 50 feet away from the road. Ava tried her best to look over the cliff from where she sat inside the truck.

Mary cracked a window then, letting the air circulate around them. Ava enjoyed the fresh air as it cooled her face and refreshed her. She tried to pinpoint every smell, but they felt so new to her. She had missed out on a lot being paralyzed for so long, and she was just now getting to love and enjoy it all.

Mary eventually pulled onto a busier road and stopped at a small convenience store. "I saw some park benches not far from here. Well get some food and eat there."

The group chorused a round of Okays and nods. The answer was sufficient to Mary who nodded and closed the door. The group sat in silence waiting for Mary to get back. It was more difficult to not talk without any music on.

"So, Lilith, your powers are pretty cool."

Beatrice nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. She had gotten so used to the silence that the sound of another voice other than her internal monologue seemed very out of place to her ears. Beatrice turned her head to see Ava awkwardly making an attempt at conversation with Lilith. She looked like an absolute dork, smiling nervously and fiddling with the seam from her cuff.