𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬━𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡

Ⅹ

REAGAN ENTERED HER HOME AS QUIETLY AS POSSIBLE, as to not wake her mother. She quickly filled a bag with clothes that were easy to grab. She grabbed box that had her gun and bullets from underneath of her bed and threw it into the bag.

She grabbed a pen and paper from her desk and scribbled down a note to leave for her mother to read in the morning. The note read:

Mama,
I'm sorry for leaving without saying anything. I need to find Arvin, he left. I'll call as soon as I can. Know that I will always love you and I'm leaving to keep you safe. Please don't be mad at me. I love you.

Reagan

She set the note down onto the table, grabbed her bag and headed out the door to her car.

Reagan threw her bag into the backseat and sped off. She drove for what seemed like hours before she needed to stop and rest. Reagan pulled into a small motel off the side of the road. She paid for the night and headed off to the room that she had paid for. It was a small room, but it was livable.

There was a couple in the room next to hers, yelling a lot. She tried to tune out the noise as she tried to get ready to sleep. After she was all washed up and ready to sleep, she laid down, and as soon as her head hit that pillow, she was fast asleep.

***

Reagan woke early the next morning. Preparing to leave and go find Arvin. It was light out, but it was well before noon. Eight, nine am maybe. She packed everything that she had come with and put it into the car. The people in the room beside her were leaving too.

Before she left, she dropped the room key off at the front desk and headed back to her car. Right as she was leaving the parking lot, the car that was next to hers, left. As she drove, she tried to not make it seem like she was following them, but she wasn't. She was looking for the one person that mattered the most right now.

As she drove, Reagan saw a car that looked oddly familiar and saw a person standing right in front of it, holding his thumb out for someone to pick him up. As the car in front of her got closer to the person, she realized who it was. "Arvin..." She whispered to herself. This time--after he had gotten in the car and all--she was following them. She was making sure that Arvin was okay. That nothing was going to hurt him. She might've been wrong.

The car that was in front of her, went to a strange part of the road that they were on. It drove into a little embankment in the woods. Reagan pulled over, trying to not make it seem like she was following them. Once she was out of sight, and was sure they couldn't see her, she grabbed her gun from her bag and shoved it into her back pocket. She got out of the passengers side, as to not be seen carrying a gun from the side of the road.

And then, ever so quietly, she walked through the woods. She could hear the chattering of the voices and the car engine. Before anything else could happen, she walked out of the woods into the clearing where the voices were coming from.

The man that was standing there looked up at her. Reagan saw Arvin look at her and then shake his head. "Can I help you, young lady?" Reagan nodded, trying to be convincing. "Yeah, I'm...uh... lookin' for someone. JJ Montgomery, do you know him? He was comin' back from Cincinnati on a business trip. Sayin' he had a little girl."

The woman inside the car peeked out and looked at her. "Yeah. I remember him. He was a nice one, wasn't he Carl?" The man--who she assumed was Carl--nodded. "Why're you askin' about him? Wasn't that fifteen years ago or somethin' like that?"

Reagan sighed as she looked at the boy in the car and then back to the man. "I'm the little girl he was comin' home to. I'm the baby. That man...he was my daddy."

The two looked at each other before the man reached into his pocket as he went to talk to Arvin. Without hesitation, Arvin shot two rounds in his chest. Reagan stood there and watched as the woman pulled out a gun and pointed it Arvin. He did the same.

"Don't do anything stupid.." Reagan practically whispered. She just stood and watched as the two had their guns aimed at each other.

Then, another loud gunshot went off. Reagan rushed over to Arvin's side of the car, making sure he was okay. "Arvin, that's three people. You killed three people. That ain't gonna sit well with a judge."

"That's why I'm leavin' and you're goin' back home, Reagan. I told you not to follow me." Reagan scoffed as she stared at him. "Damn Arvin, you've known me ten years. When have you ever known me to do what you said. I'm comin' with you. No matter where you go, I'm comin'."

The boy looked at her, trying to read her expression.

"Why?"

"Because I'm in love with you, Arvin Russell."