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“It’s not my blood. He, he just killed him.” I manage to get the words out right before my stomach clenches, and I throw up on the ground between us. Tawk seems unfazed by the mess, pulling me closer and clutching me tight to his chest.
“We need to go to the police. There’s a station here in town.” I wipe my mouth and when I see the blood from it stain my trembling finger, I work frantically to wipe it off me.
“I need to get you out of here.” Tawk grabs my shoulders and holds me out in front of him, checking me over for injury. “If your uncle knows I left you here alone we’ll both be in big trouble.”
“But what if—”
“Shaniya, get the in the truck.” Tawk sounds authoritative as he checks around us, dragging me toward his truck. The bar is noisy, but other than that, the streets appear to be dead now.
“Tawk, there's a man down there. He’s dead.”
“We have to go home, right now. I should never have left you here alone.” He cusses himself. “A tire blew out on the way back from Fountain. I had to walk back into town and wait ages to get a replacement.” He kicks the wheel of the truck in anger as I scurry up into the seat.
“We will never speak of this again, Shaniya.” Tawk takes my hand and squeezes it in his.
“But—”
“Promise me.” For the first time in my life, I see fear in his eyes, and when I think about the masked man’s threat, I quickly agree.
Tawk releases me from his grip and rounds the truck to get in beside me. Neither of us speak on the journey home, but he does slide his arm around my shoulders to drag me closer to him.
Everyone has gathered together when we pull up at the village, my furious looking uncle standing in the center of them all.
“I’ll deal with him, go clean yourself up,” Tawk tells me under his breath, pulling the truck to a stop.
“Where have you been?” my uncle bellows as he approaches, and Tawk quickly hops down from his seat and goes to him.
“Tire blew out,” he explains casually, and I make sure I stay behind the truck lights so no one can see the mess I’ve made of myself.
“Shaniya, you're tired, you should rest,” Tawk barks at me. Knowing that’s his cue, I immediately rush toward the cabin that I share with my best friend, Dyanni. Luckily she’s not here yet, and I manage to grab some clean clothes before checking the coast is clear for me to slip between the cabins and sneak into the forest toward the river.
The waterfall I use to bathe is too far away from the village for the others to bother using. It’s pitch black, but I know these woods, I grew up in them. When I get to the river, moonlight shines against the crystal surface of the water as I strip out of my sodden clothes and step into it. It’s cold but refreshing, and I let my whole body submerge in the comfort of my safe place.
The only thing missing now is him, the man who I know also visits here from time to time.
But tonight, I know I’m alone as I scrub my hands over my body and face, trying to cleanse myself of all I’ve witnessed.
The thought of him watching over me brings a comfort I desperately need, and as my tears slip off my skin into the pool of water surrounding me, I silently pray that one day I’ll feel him wrap his arms around me the way Tawk did tonight.
PRESENT DAY
There’s always a strange tranquility looming at this time in the morning. A peacefulness that my other brothers never get to experience. Mainly because most of them have only just stumbled their asses to bed.
Ever since I first saw the native girl, three years ago, I’ve run the same route every day. I’ve kept her to myself like something precious, a secret that I’ll never share, not even with the men I call brothers.
I rarely find her there, but those days that I do always remind me why I keep going back. Club business regularly takes me away from the compound, and it’s a sorry fact that I miss her when I’m gone. Especially considering I’ve never made contact with the girl.
I left flowers on a rock for her a week after I first saw her. It felt kinda stupid but I wanted her to know that I wasn’t a threat. She must have got them because the next time I ran past, she’d left something there for me. A dreamcatcher made from twigs and yarn, decorated with feathers and beads. I figure she made it herself, and liked the thought of that so much that I’ve kept it all this time.
I feel bad for the way I watch her, staying hidden feels deceptive, but I have no other option.
She’s off limits, her people close themselves off from the rest of the world. They are like no other.
I’m everything they protect themselves from.
Doesn’t stop me from breaking the rules every morning, crossing over to her territory, hoping to get a fix of her. I don’t get it as often as I'd like, and in all the time that's passed, I’ve never got any closer to her than the other side of the river.
I always stay hidden and quiet, but I’m kidding myself to think I go undetected. She feels that I’m close, the same way a deer would sense a preying wolf. The only difference is, she never runs to save herself. She bathes when it’s warm, or wraps herself up against the elements and reads when it’s cold.
