When I woke up today, my head felt better then before. The heaviness in my chest had gone and I didn't feel any nausea. That doesn't mean I felt strong enough to get out of here. Not that I can. I had a promise to keep.
Which is why here I am, following Charlotte tentatively, looking around at the rough muddy track, ironically brightening sky and thick evergreen trees and their robust stumps.
"How exactly do you even come here?" I ask, before I could catch myself.
I could almost feel her frowning, "What do you mean?"
I shrug, avoiding a large root sticking out of the grass, "Well, isn't it too....rough? To walk on."
"I'm used to it." She says, flatly.
"Of course."
There's a long silence, tightening my chest so much that I dared to speak again.
"So...come here often, huh?" I start.
"What else did you get from, 'I'm used to it'?" She says, bitterly, pushing away a branch, which hits back on my face.
"...Right."
Before I could say anything further, Charlotte interrupts me, as if expecting I won't give up so easy.
"Listen," She jumps through a small stream, turning back to look at me, her eyes dull, "As much as I 'love' to make small talk with you, I'm kind of in a hurry here, ok? So let's go and get it done with."
'Sure." I mutter, stopping at the other end of the flowing water. "Sorry."
She nods knowingly, taking a long pause to let her words settle in.
Which they do.
When we start waking again, I have an urge to hit myself.
You Idiot, Joey. Why the hell were you trying to talk to her, of all people?
Just because she got you out of a messed up situation, doesn't mean she wants to talk to me.
Neither do I, I decide, fuming. She thinks she's so bold and mighty. As if.
***********************
"Wait that's it?" My brows pinch together, "That's all I have to do?"
"All you have to do for sometime." She corrects, "Trust me, it's not easy. As soon as you're done with this, I'll give you another thing to do."
"Why am I not surprised?" I mutter.
We stand in an exceptionally large barn, filled with fodder, farming tools and other supplies.
"Aren't you supposed to keep the animals in here?" I ask, as Charlotte takes a broom and raises it towards my direction.
I grab it with my sweaty palm, gripping it harder so it doesn't slip, as she points out, "We bring them in if its too cold. Today is warm, for an autumn afternoon so their stables will do."
I nod, not really getting her explanation.
"Although, we'll bring them in when you get done with the cleaning." She adds.
I roll my eyes, sighing in frustration, "I have to clean this all today? And then do MORE work?"
She crosses her arms, "You're the one who wanted to do this. Jason gave you options."
"Yeah, real shitty ones if you ask me." I snap, lifting the light broom and aiming it towards a corner like a gun. If it was real, things would have been a lot easier.
"Which is why you're here." She says, taking out her phone, from her jacket's pocket. "Why don't you get started then?"
"Wait- you're not helping?" I says, trying to stay cool but my voice squeaks with a hint of desperation. "I thought we were doing this together."
"You thought wrong." Charlotte says with a humorless smile. "I'm in charge remember? Meaning, you're going to do the work while I-"
"'Do absolutely nothing'?" I complete.
"Make sure you don't cause any trouble." She glares, hand gripping tightly at her phone.
I observe her for a while as she scrolls through her phone, eyes scrunched together.
"You frown a lot." I say, resting my chin on the broom's end.
"And that's your business, how?" She hisses, but doesn't take her eyes of the screen.
"Considering you're here making sure 'I don't cause any trouble'," I mimic her voice, "Shouldn't you be focusing on what I'm doing?"
"I would, if I cared." She grumbles to herself. This explains a lot. She probably wanted to hang out with her friends but instead is forced to work with me.
"Would you care if I run out and get the hell out of here?" I stare outside, wondering if I mean it. "I can, since the exit is right there. And no way are you fast enough to get me."
She finally looks up at me, questioningly, wondering if it's a challenge. Then, she says, "You won't do that."
"How are you so sure?" I retort, pissed that she thought I wasn't capable of rebelling. If she knew about how I got here in the first place, she'd think differently.
"You would have already escaped if that was true." She smirks as if she's right.
I open my mouth to object but then I realize she IS right.
"You won't go out, since your last incident in the forest wasn't...pleasant." She continues, enjoying every second of my sly expression melt into dismay.
"Wha- Actually- You" I try to come up with a good come back but fail, miserably.
She grins, "Give me a break! You know I'm right!"
I immediately start pretending to do my chore, ignoring her as she chuckles lightly, but from the corner of her eye, I see her focus back on her phone.
I continue sweeping, coughing several times because of the dust.
"Ugh." I groan, covering my coughs with my arm, "How long has it been since you last cleaned this place?"
"Long enough."
"I can see that." I sigh, brushing off all the dust in a corner, shoving it in a small crack, traced on the wall.
There's no sound between us except for the whispering wind and the swift movement of the broom.
I gape at the boxes, placed in the corner, and judging by their rickety tower and weak wood, they've been kept here for a long time.
"What're in those-" I start
"How long are you-" She says at the same time.
"Sorry-" I say hurriedly, "You first."
I lean against the wall, partly for a short break and partly because I wanted to prepare myself for whatever she wants to say. Usually, her words always hit the mark so I want to be ready, just in case.
She glances up from her phone, pausing for some time, before questioning, "How long are you planning to stay here?"
My lips part with wonderment. She's asking me something reasonable. How much longer am I to live here?
Days? Weeks?
Joey, Miller is looking for you. I think, What are you doing here? There's a chance he's arrived here at this moment, if not that then probably on his way?
Why am I not afraid that my life is in danger?
Is it because I just don't care if he kills me? Or is it because...
I look at Charlotte, who's tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for an answer.
Or is it because I'm actually starting to like living among people who don't know me? These people who're giving me time, comfort and patience and even helped me (well apart from Jason).
In the end, I muster out the words, scratching the back of my neck, slightly shaken my thoughts. "I...don't know."