Outlaws - An American Youth - [Charles Smith x OC]

Chapter 61 - We won't run away

After John's death, time continued to run wild. Charles barely slept, getting up several times a night to peer around. I tried to reassure him. If they killed our friend, they were probably thinking they shot everyone. Otherwise, they would have kept him as a leverage. My words were often enough to appease him, and he would come back to bed next to me, always after checking that our little girl was sleeping peacefully.

But one evening in February 1912, we heard a noise in the snow. His blood only swirled around, and he picked up his gun, slipping out onto the balcony after ordering me to go get Alice. Without a hint of hesitation, I rushed to her room, taking her in my arms. At this contact, she woke up, not understanding what was happening to her.

I took her back to our room, asking her to hide in silence under the bed and to not get out of it under any circumstances. I then grabbed the rifle always present next to my bedside table and walked over to Charles silently.

Three figures stepped forward in the dark. Charles fired a warning shot, ordering them to introduce themselves. They responded with a string of racist slurs that is too painful for me to transcribe here. A shot was fired in our direction. We didn't hesitate for a second, fighting back to defend our house. Without too much difficulty, we overcame these pests.

When the last one fell, I put down my gun and rushed towards Alice. I pulled her out of her hiding place and hold her tight. She began to cry, completely lost in the face of these unusual events. I rocked her gently, stroking her beautiful black hair, whispering reassuring words. Charles remained alert by the window, watching for any suspicious movement. It was only when our child called him with her voice full of sobs that he turned to us. The fury in his eyes evaporated in an instant. Now worried, he looked at his beloved little girl. Without waiting, he joined us on the ground to surround us with his large protective arms.

After a long embrace, Charles went down to tour the house while I lay our child in our bed. We would all sleep together that night. Or at least we would all be lying together. Charles stayed awake all night while I alternated between light sleep and wakefulness.

---

The next day we put the corpses in our cart before heading into town, guns on our belts. We stopped in the middle of the street to get everyone's attention. As Charles went down to unload the bodies, I stood up, my little girl hanging on my skirt, to address the curious who had approached.

"Last night we were savagely attacked in our own home. We defended ourselves, as it's our right. These men were on our land, threatening our lives and that of our child. Those of you whose hearts shelter hatred, not daring to come forward during the day to shamefully attack us at night, open your eyes wide. This is your fate if you try to come after us again."

The men who attacked us came from a hamlet several miles away. After a too drunken night, they had probably decided it was time to clean up this city too open to what they considered decadent. The sheriff accepted our story, not questioning it. I dared not imagine what would happen the day he would no longer held this position. What degenerate could take his place? That day we'll have to go, I thought then.

---

A few days later, a woman came to my office, a child clinging to her petticoats. She was the wife of one of our victims. I tensed when I heard it, immediately thinking of the gun hidden in the folds of my robe. But it was unnecessary.

"You did me a favor, he was a freaking bastard. He was drinking and hitting me, I won't miss him one second."

I sighed quietly, relieved that I didn't have to face more hate. I watched her little boy, barely older than Alice. His face was all dirty and his feet bare. I walked over to my office, where I drew some money. The woman was offended, she was not there to ask for charity. But I insisted. As compensation for lost income, even though her late husband was probably spending his meager wages on alcohol and betting. She ended up accepting before leaving.

I decided to go to the cafe for my lunch. When I entered, all heads looked up at me and silence fell. As I walked past them, everyone bowed their heads. This behavior would last several more weeks. No one had expected this from us. We were already the object of curiosities and questions. Where did we come from? How did I become a doctor? Why this union between two people of different color? And now we had managed to shoot down three men without batting an eyelid, and with insane precision. That was something to wonder about.

One evening when we were eating our soup in silence, I finally dared to ask the question that had been burning my lips for days.

"Do... do you think we should go? We were already a strange couple, and now with this attack, the rumor may swell...

- No, we won't move. I don't want to run away anymore. We didn't do anything wrong. It's our home and we will stay there."

Silence fell again. I played with my spoon in the liquid, still dubious. I watched my husband. He had changed too. A few years ago, he would have made us flee into the night, leaving everything behind. Of course, I didn't want to leave. I didn't have the energy to start all over elsewhere, and moving somewhere else didn't mean finding peace there. But maybe we should have tried our luck anyway.

---

"DADDYYYY !!!"

We were sitting quietly in the living room, enjoying this balmy summer evening, when we heard Alice scream. It didn't take long for Charles to grab his gun and rush upstairs to our daughter's room. I wasn't at the top of the stairs yet when I heard him laugh.

The cause of this terror was not an intruder, not even a nightmare, but a tiny spider roaming the ceiling. Relieved, I sighed as I leaned against the hallway wall, listening to their conversation.

"Crush it Daddy!

- Come on, it didn't do anything wrong. It has the right to exist too. There is no reason to kill it."

He took the critter gently in his big, rough hands before pulling it out the window. When I think of the number of hits, murders carried out with these same hands delicately holding a simple spider. In the hallway, I chuckled softly at the idea before going back down to my seat. When he returned, I teased him.

"If she knew what her daddy did in his youth, she would hate you for not killing it.

- I never killed without a good reason, you know that."

I nodded, pulling him against me. I knew it perfectly. He lay down, resting his head on my lap. With my fingertips, I stroked his long black hair. His voice tightened, he confided in me.

"I don't want to kill anyone anymore Anna. I've had enough of this life, I want it to be behind us.

- Don't worry, it is. Now that everyone knows we can defend ourselves, they will not dare to come and attack us. You'll never have to kill again, I promise."

---

Life ended up resuming its course. At the end of the summer, I finally made up my mind to break the news to Charles. I was pregnant again. This time it was going to work, I could tell. We would see the face of this child. He was overjoyed.

I risked sending a letter to my sister's grocery store to let her know, but asking her to burn the letter and not answer me. After long hesitation, I decided to send nothing to Abigail. I hadn't heard from her since that famous phone call months ago. I could only imagine the sadness and pain that must have animated my friend. I didn't want to make them worse by throwing our happiness in her face.

---

After a particularly good summer, September was mild, the sun still playing on the now golden-brown leaves. With his head resting on my shoulder, Charles caressed my rounded stomach.

"It'll be a boy, I'm telling you.

- You look very sure of yourself.

- A father feels these things.

- You will look smart if it's a little girl again!

- It's okay. I will be the happiest of men."

I pulled his face to mine, kissing him tenderly. After the turmoil and sadness of the past few months, my life finally seemed complete, finally serene. I relished this peace, surrendering myself completely to my lover's embrace.