Page 15 of Sloth

The menfell and I watched them die. I didn’t know how many more men were in my father’shouse but the help that Arlo had requested, finally showed up. The men weredressed in black with their faces completely covered by black masks. They movedthrough the house, making sure no one was alive.

“Wehave to get out of here.” Arlo’s voice was rough and there was an air about him.He was pissed that I had taken control. “No I’m not pissed over that.”

Ididn’t realize I had spoken out loud.

“I’mpissed because you did something stupid. Taking control is one thing but youhad no idea if they would shoot back.”

Forthe first time that night, I could actually see the fear in his eyes. They werewide, searching my face, for what I wasn’t sure. I was surprised he didn’tcheck out the rest of me to make sure that I was in fact fine.

“Butthey didn’t shoot back,” I told him.

“Youare not invincible,” he reminded me.

“No,I’m not but they are the stupid ones who were in my home, my father’s home, mygrandfather’s home.” I could have continued listing all the men who had livedhere before me but decided against it when the scowl deepened on Arlo’s face.

“Weneed to leave,” was all he said.

Ididn’t bother arguing. So, I let him lead me out of the house.

Arlopulled his cell phone from his pocket, pressed a button, and placed it againsthis ear. “Yeah, I’d like to place an order.” He gave the address anddisconnected the call, shoving his phone back in his pocket.

Thatorder was the cleaning crew. They would clean up the mess and my dad’s houseand they would make it livable again, but Arlo was right. I couldn’t stay there.Not for a while. Maybe never again.

When Arlobrought me to his car, another string of curses left him. Under normalcircumstances, I would have laughed but I knew better. Sure, I liked gettingunder his skin, but I also knew when it would be a bad idea, especially whenthe tires of his car had been slashed.

“Lookslike we were going to have to walk.” Arlo grabbed my hand and brought it up tohis mouth. His lips brushed over my knuckles, igniting a yearning I had alwaysfelt for him.

“Whereare we going from here?” I asked him.

“We’regoing to go home, grab some things, take my SUV, and just drive.”

“Whereare we driving to?” I asked but a part of me really didn’t want to know. I justwanted to leave and get away from there.

“I don’tknow, Bunny.” He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “We’re just driving.”

-Ginny-

It had been overa year since that fateful night at myfather’s house and I hadn’t been back since. The house was still standing, andit had been fixed up by the cleaning crew.

Idecided to rent it out as a bed and breakfast. I hired maids and cooking staff anda few security guards. I set up a Facebook page and rented it out to families,college students, anyone who wanted to just get away. The only rule I ever hadwas not to trash the place. From what I could tell, no one knew about thesecret passageways through the house or if they did, they never said anything.

Arloand I were now somewhere in the middle of Mexico. No one knew where we were. Arlohad befriended a few members of the local cartel after saving one of them. We didn’ttrust them but it was nice to have protection even if they were shady andunstable like half the people we knew.

I hadgiven in to Arlo’s request to be with him officially. I spent years fighting myfeelings for him. Maybe it was because he was the only one I knew in this partof the world. That was what I tried telling myself. Truth was, I was thankfulthat it was just him and I, and that he never gave up on me.

Ikept to myself most days. Said hi to our neighbors, was polite when needed butI made sure not to get close to anyone. It would be too dangerous for them andI couldn’t handle having that on my conscience if something happened to them. Ihad already lost my dad because of who I was. Neither of us had control over mebeing born but that still didn’t make me feel any better.

Arloand I got married at a small church in a local village. The ceremony was in Spanish,and we had some local witnesses to help make it official. It was quick,romantic, and exactly what both of us needed.

Hewas still working on getting me pregnant, but I wasn’t sure if that wasactually what I wanted. I tried telling him this, but he wouldn’t listen. Itwas like as soon as we got married, his next step was to get me swollen withhis child. I couldn’t blame him really. Especially since he never had a familyof his own. My father and I were the closest things he had to family, and Iknew it was why he wanted to have children.

Oneday, I was sitting in the kitchen, holding a pregnancy test in my hand. Lookedlike Arlo’s wish had come true. I actually thought I would be upset but seeing thosetwo tiny lines on the test indicating that I was pregnant, I was actually happyand excited to be carrying his child. I was nervous but elated.

Thesound of the front door opening and closing a moment later made my heart skip abeat.

“Hey,Bunny.” Arlo came into the kitchen and placed a kiss on top of my head. “How’smy—wait. What is that?”

Ihanded him the pregnancy test. Before I could say anything, he had me up and inhis arms. He spun me around, placing gentle kisses all over my face. I couldonly laugh and wrap myself around him.

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