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Fabian was having a session with Dr. Cassius then getting carted off to the nearest rehabilitation center. Rip was… well, Rip had just disappeared. He’d taken her virginity in front of a crowd of people on the set of a movie, and then he’d walked off into the sunset.
He’d looked so angry when he saw Fabian. Clearly, he hated the thought of her having given birth. As though her precious virginal body had been destroyed with a baby’s head.
Maybe Rip was bored of her already. They were no longer working on the movie, so their contract had become null and void. She had just been a bit of fun for Rip while he was stuck in Liberty. Now, he was heading back to the city to find some other virgin to claim.
Not that he ever truly claimed her. All the times that she’d felt him come, but not once had it been deep in her sex. The place that felt the most intimately connected with her heart.
Never mind.
Mabel was strong. She was a survivor. That’s what she did.
She was used to being abandoned and let down and taken advantage of.
Who cared? There was an entire wilderness out there for the taking. Sure, it would be rough over winter without money or a roof over her head, but she’d make it work like she always did. She could trust herself.
She packed a few things in her backpack, reminding herself to travel light. She had to restrict herself to the absolute basics. Tent. Sleeping bag. Water. She had no idea how far she’d end up walking, how difficult the terrain would be. Couldn’t afford to get weighed down with unnecessary luxuries like her queen’s crown and minions.
“I’ll miss you guys,” she said. “You made me feel very important for a while.”
She kicked one of the toy soldiers across the floor with a sigh.
“Oh well. I’ll just have to make some more.”
She grabbed her whittling knife and put that in her bag too, then looked around the shack one last time. It hadn’t been much, but it had been home. It had been hope.
*
Here he was. Ready to prostrate himself on the floor to her, to bow down before her and tell her he had done her wrong. She didn’t deserve a Daddy as bad as him. A Daddy who was responsible for her getting thrown out of the town she loved. Losing the job she excelled at. Getting humiliated in front of her peers.
He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for it all. How he wanted to try again, to try harder.
But here he was, knocking at the door to the grubbiest-looking shack in all of Liberty, and it seemed… she was gone.
“Mabel!” he called out again, more desperately this time. “Mabel, I screwed up! I need to talk to you.”
He knew he wasn’t talking to anyone, though. Just an empty shack.
“Alright, Mabel,” he said. “I know you’re not in there. So it makes no sense that I’m talking to you as if you are. I just want you to know that…” He slumped against the door. “I love you.”
The extra weight of his body against the door caused the decaying wood to weaken and crack, sending him falling into the shack head-first. Christ. The Littles had been right when they called him clumsy. It was getting beyond a joke.
Inside, the shack smelled musty and looked even dirtier than the outside. Had she really been living like this? No windows, rotting wood, mess everywhere?
There were traces of her among the mess. A chipped mug and a plate, with some wilting green leaves on the plate. Some kind of foraged plant, no doubt. There was a photo pinned to the wall above a crate on the floor, perhaps next to the spot where she used to sleep. He crouched down and looked at the photograph. Straight away, he noticed Fabian. Then another woman who looked similar to Mabel, but different. Taller, less striking in his eyes. Her sister, no doubt. She was holding a baby in her arms, and, a little way to her left was Mabel.
He sighed deeply, kicking himself for being so quick to judge her when Fabian turned up. It took all sorts to make a family. What Mabel had done for her sister was nothing short of remarkable. And even if Mabel’s situation had been different, and shehadbeen lying about being a virgin, he should have talked to her about it. Given her a chance to explain. Mabel didn’t know him very well yet. Why should she have to reveal everything about herself to him straight away?
Something else caught his eye, glinting over on the table. It was a silver necklace. No — there were two of them. Huh. They were military dog tags. He picked them up and took a look. On one of the tags, he saw the word “babygirl”. His heart caught in his throat. On the other: “Daddy”. With them, there was a note. Was it a message from her? No, it wasaddressedto her.
Mabel,
Here’s your commission! Hope they came out like you imagined.
Billie x
Rip looked around, hoping for a minute that he’d made a mistake and Mabel was here after all. Were these dog tags for him and her? They had to be, right? But if so, did that mean she’d left without them? Maybe she hadn’t left after all, and she’d be back here any minute to…
No. Her backpack wasn’t here. Or her tent or sleeping bag. He knew that it was fruitless to hope. She could be anywhere by now.
