Marie opened one eye sheepishly, and looked around. She was still in the same disgusting room, but it looked a little nicer somehow. Sunlight was shining in the tiny window, and everything felt warmer. She closed her eye, and pulled the blanket over her head. She really needed this sleep. Logan pulled her closer to him, and she felt his cold body against hers, even though her clothes. She let out a loud scream, and pried herself free of his grasp. He yelled and sat up quickly, having been asleep. She stood from the bed, and stared down at him.
“What the hell?” she asked angrily.
“What did I do?” he asked, confused.
“You were… WERE…” she wracked her brain for the right word. “You were SPOONING me!!” Logan grew quiet, and looked at Marie.
“Well....” he stayed quiet again for a second. “Sorry.” He turned around and pulled the blanket back over himself. Marie stared down at the lump on the bed, and slowly caressed her own arms. Too close, she thought. If he had touched her... She didn’t even want to think about it. She watched Logan sleep for a moment longer, then made her way to the bathroom.
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The reflection looking back at her seemed vague, almost as though it were someone else. The air in the small bathroom was cold and stale, giving her a slightly uncomfortable feeling. So far he hadn’t killed or raped her. So far, so good she supposed. She began to pull at her now tangled hair, trying to rid it of any knots. From outside she could hear Logan beginning to snore. He slept like a baby. I giant, hairy baby. Although he had done so much for her, she still got the creeps from the strange man. His secrets, his constant anger, his...claws. She cringed a little at the thought of him screaming in the snow, unsheathing the deadly weapons right in front of her.
She continued to untangle her hair with her fingers, having no brush with her. Each small tug felt almost violent on her cold scalp, yet she continued.
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She emerged into the small ugly room, moving as slowly as possible to keep from waking the sleeping man in the bed. The blanket moved up and down slowly with each of his heavy breaths. He would grunt every few moments, as though he was having some sort of nightmare. She stopped about three feet from the bed to watch him sleep, the same way you would watch a dog. Wondering just what he might be dreaming, but never being able to figuring it out. She couldn’t see his face for the covers, but she imagined he must look pretty uncomfortable.
After a moment or two, she decided to inspect the room a little more. Figuring he was sleeping so soundly an express train wouldn’t wake him, she moved at a more human pace across the old dank carpet. In the far corner of the room was a small table with drawers. It stood about three feet tall and had obviously been there for awhile. She knelt next to it, and slowly pulled the first drawer open. It squeaked ever so slightly, but somehow Logan seemed to have heard it. He grunted loudly and turned over, twisting the blankets violently around himself. Marie stared over at the bed for about a minute not moving. She felt a little like a thief or a spy, although she knew she was supposed to be there. Or, at least now she was. She thought back to the train the previous morning. Where would she be if Logan hadn’t stopped her? Probably in worse shape, but still what if...
She looked into the drawer only to find a small copy of the book “Little Women”, a few candles and a matchbook with six matches in it. She pulled out the dusty book. It had a pink cover with a painting of four girls circled around a larger woman in a chair, all seeming to be reading. They looked like a family, and they all looked hopeful. In spite of herself, Marie opened it to the first page and began to read.
“‘Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
‘It’s so dreadful to be poor!’ sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.
‘I don’t think it’s fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all’ added little Amy, with an injured huff.”
If only Marie’s problems were as simple as Christmas presents...
From behind her Logan stirred, grunting loudly and pulling himself up. His hair stuck up in all sorts of directions, and his eyes remained closed making him look especially angry. Marie slowly closed the book and placed it back in the drawer, closing it. Logan yawned big, stretching his arms out and inhaling loudly as though he was alone. Marie slowly stood and stared. His body was even hairier than she remembered, but almost as muscular. He ran his large hand through his hair, then opened his eyes.
“Mornin’” he said with a disgruntled grin.
“Morning.” She responded quietly. The said nothing for a moment.
“Did I wake you?” Marie asked almost inaudibly. Logan shook his head no. Again they remained silent for awhile. Neither moved. It was painfully awkward. Marie stared right into Logan’s blue eyes, and they pierced right back through hers. She broke the eye contact for a moment, looking around the room for an excuse to talk. In such an under furnished room it was difficult. Then she looked right back at him. It was about a minute before he spoke.
“I gotta take a piss.” He stood from the bed not bothering to make it, and made his way to the bathroom. Upon the door shutting Marie felt a sort of relief. She had never expected it to be so awkward. She slowly made her way to the bed and began to flatten the sheets. They smelled a little like him, but mostly like dust. After quickly making the bed, she sat on it. It was harder than she remembered, but she had been so tired the night before a rock would have been comfortable.
She waited a minute for him to come out of the bathroom. He was certainly not a morning person. Somehow he had acquired a cigar since entering the bathroom, which he was now steadily smoking. It looked good on him though, as though you wouldn’t be surprised if he had been born with a cigar in his mouth. The stink from the cigar soon surrounded her. Speechlessly he gathered his shirt and jacket from the floor and put them on, then made his way to the window.
Upon opening it, the room was drowned in white light. The actual lighting of the room had done it no justice. Logan stared out the window for a few seconds, smoke circling his head. Marie slowly rose from the bed and made her way to the window.
“What are you looking at..?” she asked nervously.
“Snow.”
“Oh.”
He looked out the window a little more before heading towards the door to put his boots on. Marie watched him do so, watching his thick fingers manoeuvre the thin laces. For such a short guy, he was pretty thick all around. After tying a sloppy knot in his second shoe, he looked back at her.
“You hungry?” he asked. Marie looked out the window into the whiteness. She hadn’t noticed before but her stomach was practically wrenching.
“Kinda, yeah.”
“Ok, get some warm clothes on. We’ll grab some grub then see if we can get some cash.”
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In a short few minutes they were on their way through the town, trudging through the thick, new fallen snow. It was much warmer than the day before because of something Logan had called a Chinook. Warm winds from the mountains. Whatever it was, Marie liked it. The snow was barely falling, and it gave Marie a chance to observe the town for the first time. Everything was small, but quaint. The insides of shops and houses looked very cozy, and the smells of breakfast foods were floating over her. Her stomach gave a loud heave.
“Boy, you are hungry” Logan commented. As usual, he was being too quiet. She supposed this was about as good as their conversation was going to get, so she simply stopped talking. The town was really beautiful in this light, like the ones you see on Christmas cards. They walked farther down the street, passing a dentist, a coffee shop, a clothing store and a bar. To the left Marie could see the McDonalds they had gone to the first day. It amazed her the way McDonalds’ could pop up in even the smallest places.
“Want Mickey Dees again? It’s pretty much all we can afford for now...” Logan asked.
“Sure.” He lead to the door, and walked in. This time he held the door open for her to walk through.
“Thanks” she said, a little curious as to this sudden act of caring. He said nothing.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry it's taken so long to update. Enjoy!
Chapter End Notes:
Don't worry, next chapter will be significantly less awkward :P Rate and Comment!