Two weeks earlier
Harley Putnam blew a plume of smoke from her mouth, her face contorting a bit as she handed off the blunt to the male across from her, “So, you’re pretty fucked up. I’m pretty fucked up. I think we have a bit of a mutual agreement here…”
They both laughed, hers tapering off into a content frown as another plume of smoke was blown into her face.
“You’re not fucked up. You’ve been fucked over…”, the boy whispered, “I think you’ll get out of here and make so much of yourself. You just need a chance.”
Harley laughed, her eyebrows raising, and snatched the blunt from his fingers to bring it to her lips. As she exhaled once more, she narrowed her eyes, “You really believe that bullshit? People like us…we don’t get out of places like this. This is my last year I can come here, before they send me somewhere worse. And you…You’re too nice to end up here. I figure the streets will kill you, like that one kid. I’ll save your newspaper clipping…”
As if he wasn’t phased at all by her harsh words, the boy laughed and picked up her empty hand, running a thumb over her knuckles, “Promise?”
Snatching her hand from his, Harley rolled her eyes, “Why do you have to ruin everything with ‘moments’? I’m pretty sure you’re aware by now that they’re onto you. Hayden can only keep covering for you for so long, before you catch another charge. You’re a month away from eighteen. Don’t fuck this up for yourself. It’s kinda hard to be a dreamer, if you can’t stop fucking up…”
“So, being in love with you is fucking up?”
“Yes. Because you can’t love me. Like…seriously, just don’t.”, Harley scoffed, as a loud knock reverberated through the steel door next to them. Jumping up, she slammed the window closed, tossing what was left of the blunt out through the bars and into the empty gravel lot behind the center.
“Is everyone decent?”, Hayden Singer’s familiar voice rang through the steel door, before it creaked open. Harley took a deep breath, letting it out in a shaky sigh as she realized they weren’t in trouble, “Dear god it smells like straight pot in here. Where the hell did you get it?”
“Moms are good for some times…you know…for people who have them.”, Harley snarked, pushing the door to where it wasn’t wide open on them, “So, are you here to break up the party, or join it, chief?”
“Stop it, Harley. I shouldn’t even let you two have contact. I could lose my job. Last thing I need is to be caught smoking with you guys. C’mon Hank.”, Hayden scolded like a parent. Harley rolled her eyes, reaching out to Hank with both hands. She leaned in and placed a rough kiss to his lips, before shoving him toward Hayden, whose jaw hardened in awkwardness as he pulled Hank away, “Dinner in a few…”
Present day
Harley was ripped out of her memories by Hayden’s boots padding across the ground. She replaced her look of whimsy, with one of annoyance, and pulled her hair behind her ears, “Find anything?”
“Just some chips and these…”, Hayden murmured, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. He tossed them to her, and sat down on the ground across from her, picking her legs up to place them on his lap, “Look, I know that seeing Hank…well…the way he was…”
“Shut up.”
“I’m just saying that maybe you need to take a little time to grieve, and I’ll give you space, but you need to eat…and you need to stop the bullshit…”, Hayden continued, causing Harley to scoff.
“Do you ever…shut…the fuck up?! I’m fine. I’m…I’m just fine. I don’t need you to babysit me. Those freaks are pretty slow, you know.”, Harley cried out, echoing through the empty alleyway. Hayden fought the urge to clap a hand over her mouth to quiet her, but as she calmed and crossed her arms across her chest, he sighed.
“I just think you should think about the affect of the cutting, out here. That’s all I’m saying. Things are dirty. I have blood on me, and I haven’t even killed anyone.”, Hayden explained.
“You pushed that old bitch off the balcony of the hotel. That’s killing.”
“She was spitting all over my face and snarling. She looked possessed or something. I didn’t have a choice.”, Hayden retorted, his eyes almost bulging out of his head as he tried to save face and explain, “I would never kill anyone…ever.”
“I would. I’d kill you for the right reward.”
“I know you would.”, Hayden sighed. They sat in silence as Harley pulled out one of the cigarettes and her zippo, lighting it up with a small cloud of smoke.
“So where do we go from here? I mean…we’re eventually going to starve, at this pace. You’re shitty at scavenging.”
“Is that all you know how to do?”, Hayden snapped, his eyes wide with annoyance and hurt feelings, “You just put people down. That’s what you do, and I can handle it, but dammit. I’m attempting to keep you alive. You’re my burden…not the other way around. Who else is going to protect you?”
“Who says I need protecting, my knight in shining armor. Look. I’m sorry, alright? I don’t say it often, and I wont’ say it again, but I’ll work on it. Just stay out of my hair, and I’ll work on being…n-nicer to you.”, Harley struggled to get the words out of her mouth, as a noise sounded from beside them.
“We should go. Th-there’s…we can go up this way. Surely there’s something here, and not just a random road. Last thing we need is to be out here tonight in the snow.”, Hayden whispered nervously, standing from the ground. Equally nervous of the rustling bushes near them, Harley stood from the ground, grabbing Hayden’s sleeve, and they made their way up the road.
It wasn’t long until they reached a mailbox, and a few yards further, a clearing in the trees, leading to a massive house. Hayden immediately recognized the building and started laughing like a maniac, his voice echoing through the trees. Harley raised an eyebrow, staring over the empty lot to the house as she allowed him to celebrate.
“Holy shit! It’s the lodge. We used to come here when I was a kid, all the way up until last year. It’s huge on the inside and…if it’s empty, we could stay there.”
“And food?”, Harley asked, her eyes narrowing.
“That will come. Let’s go.”
