𝗖𝗨𝗣𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗬 ➳ 𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝟮

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟑.

Night had fallen and Arthur was still by her side. Eleanor was completely lost for words after searching for Charlie for years and finally getting her family's redemption. She hadn't spoken since Arthur found her which Arthur seemed to be very understanding. He tried to make small talk with her a few times but realised she wasn't there mentally. 

Arthur had set up camp, refusing to leave her alone. They had found a tree with bottles hanging from the branches which Arthur decided would be a good spot. They had managed to put some distance away from the scene in case his wife decided to go find the Sheriff to investigate. After he had set up camp he went hunting, he wasn't gone for long as the lush grass of the Heartlands was the home to many creatures making it easy for him to find something. 

Eleanor felt horrible for not touching her food, especially after Arthur went through the effort of finding something for them to eat. He didn't seem offended at all as he tried his best to get her to open up to him but Eleanor continued to stare blankly at the fire. Arthur had moved her food closer to the fire, hoping that if she changed her mind the heat would keep the meat from going cold. 

"Eleanor," Arthur began. Eleanor didn't dare to remove her gaze from the fire. "You have to talk to me eventually. I don't know who he was or what he did but whatever that was it wasn't good. But what you need to know that it's done and all you can do is move forward."

Eleanor felt heartless. She felt like a coward. She experienced the pain of having her Father murdered and now has put another family through that. All these years she wanted to find him and torture him and now that it was done nothing changed. She still felt the same but guilt was alongside it. 

"How did you find me?" Eleanor asked quietly. Arthur was caught off guard, surprised she said something. Sitting upright, the man looked across at her from where he sat at the fire. He cleared his throat.

"I followed you," Arthur answered. "I had a feeling you were going to do something that could have ended badly for you," he explained. Eleanor finally removed her eyes from the flames of the fire for the first time in a long time, bringing herself to look at the man. "You want to talk about it?" Eleanor fell quiet, unsure. She wasn't sure if she ever wanted to talk about it but Arthur had done all of this for her, it only felt right to let the man into a piece of her life.

"I killed Charlie Tatum. He was my Dad's best friend and the man who killed him," Eleanor began. Her voice was quiet and dull, she was completely numb. "I've been looking for him ever since Mother died because she would never let me go. For years I've been searching and just when I began to think I would never find him the one guard I kill on the train happened to be his brother," Eleanor shook her head. She chuckled in disbelief as tears welled in her eyes as she looked at her hands that hugged her knees to her chest. "He had a letter on him from Charlie. Charlie wanted him to come visit them as they returned to this country, so instead of seeing his brother he saw me. I'm a fool, Arthur."

"You ain't," Arthur comforted. Eleanor shook her head at him, not allowing him to say she wasn't. "He hurt you badly. He deserved it."

"No, he didn't. He didn't and neither did his family because now they have to live in the same pain I do," Eleanor corrected him. "For years I have tried to convince myself I'm not a bad person because of the path I've chosen but this..." Eleanor paused as she squeezed her hands into fists, digging her nails into her skin. "This has made me realise I'm no better than my Father."

"Your Father was a bad man," Arthur agreed. "But you haven't done half the things he has. You lived years knowing that man was alive and breathing while he took something dear from you. I never liked my Dad much, took him long enough to die. But if anything ever happened to one of my friends, I would kill for them too and I have," Arthur muttered. "It might make us bad people, but we're better than the ones who did it first." Eleanor chuckled, Arthur's perspective of it all was something else. 

"You're one of the first people to see him as bad," Eleanor snorted. "Finally, someone who wasn't been brainwashed by some deluded author. How can anyone glorify any of this?" Eleanor pointed out. "I hate killing people but there's so many people after me, possibly more now."

"You just got to keep surviving," Arthur shrugged. He got up before picking up the wrapped steak. He walked over and stretched the steak out to her. The smell was delicious and only then she realised how hungry she really was. Eleanor took it before Arthur sat down beside her as she held it in her hands. 

"I'm still trying to figure you out, Arthur," Eleanor announced to him. Arthur looked at her as she turned to him. "I'm still trying to figure out why you would risk everything for me, why you care enough to follow me and now feed me. It was only a few weeks ago he had our guns aimed at each other in a bank!" Arthur laughed, grinning at her before he looked away awkwardly. Eleanor smirked at the man before looking at the steak in her hands, beginning to unwrap it in the old cloth Arthur had wrapped it in.

"Like I said, I don't want to see anyone die over a dispute," Arthur shrugged. Eleanor scoffed, pausing to look at the man.

"That's a load of horse shit. Arthur Morgan, tell me why you're really here and why you've been helping me," Eleanor demanded. The man sighed, looking up at the starry sky above them for a moment as he attempted to find some words. Maybe he was only trying to get close to her for information. Perhaps Arthur wasn't really the man she had thought he was all along. "What are you so afraid of?" Eleanor grew annoyed, her tone harsh.

"I've been hurt before, by women," Arthur began shortly after she got annoyed. "I got a young girl pregnant, Eliza her name was. She had our son, Isaac. They both got killed in a robbery unrelated to me, if I never got with her she would still be alive and Isaac would never have been alive to deal with this horrible world," Arthur paused, Eleanor was shocked to hear such a terrible thing. He didn't look at her but continued. "I had a girl, Mary. She eventually got sick of the life and left, married some other fool soon after. Made me question if she ever really loved me at all," Arthur looked at her, Eleanor feeling horrible for forcing this out of him. "I'm afraid to love anyone again, Ma'am. I'm afraid that they will leave or die because that's how it goes with me." Eleanor felt horrible for prying. 

"Arthur I'm-" Eleanor reached out to touch his shoulder in comfort when he grabbed her hand roughly in his. Eleanor hitched her breath in shock, unsure of what was about to happen. Arthur looked down at their hands, staring longingly. 

"I'm falling for you, if not already fallen," Arthur's voice was nothing more than a whisper, his lips barely moving as the words came out, his eyes on leaving their hands. Eleanor could see building up tears in his eyes as he stared, he was a broken man deep down. The man who appeared to be built of iron and have a jet black heart with no remorse for nothing or no one had a soft side under the impersonation of the classic rugged outlaw. He had feelings too.

Eleanor did her best to wrap her head around his confession, it made sense to why he had done all these kind things for her. But was Eleanor ready to feel loved? It had been years without seeing anyone show any kind of affection and the man who aimed his gun at her and tied her up was beside her, telling her that he had fallen for her. 

Eleanor wasn't even sure if she felt the same way. All of the things he had done for her were nice, more than nice. She actually felt cared for. She looked down at their hands. He followed her because he cared about her life. If she got into trouble he was going to help her out of it. This man was ready to risk his life for her. Without another thought she slid her fingers between his, their fingers intertwining. Arthur's eyes widened slightly, stunned. He slowly removed his gaze from their hands and at her, his blue eyes lit up in affection. Eleanor felt her heart begin to race as he stared into her eyes. If this happened, Arthur would become more committed to her than before and suspicious would get raised if not already. How would he explain to Dutch that he's been sneaking off to be with the enemy?

Eleanor felt herself being lost in his eyes as she began to lean forward towards him. Only she stopped when he shook his head, letting go of her hand and shifting away from her slightly. Confused, Eleanor stared at him.

"You're not in the right place right now. It doesn't feel right," Arthur muttered. The man cleared his throat, removing himself from the situation as he got up. Eleanor stared at him, frowning. He just confessed to her and now he didn't want to go any further? "You should eat," he nodded, Eleanor noticed he wouldn't look at her. Arthur turned his back to her as he walked around the fire to where his belongings were, picking up his repeater. "I'm going to keep look out tonight, you should have some rest after today," He mumbled before hurrying away. Eleanor closed her eyes, releasing a sigh as he left. She looked down at the steak and continued to unwrap it.