I cant stop coughing its not him though

Its just cold.

And its only going to get colder

forget this. He remembers. He has to remember.

I want that warmth again, no matter the cost. He's alive. He just doesn't remember me.

----


His hands on my shoulders. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket, darling. Knife fighting isn't some fancy art. It's stabbing before you get stabbed. You're going to get your pretty flesh cut if'n you stay in a fight for too long. Cut first, and you get to cut last."

Maurice showed me his knives. A switchblade as long as my hand. a knife as wide as my wrist. My heart raced. Fear or excitement? I don't know.

" Y-you hurt people with these?"

Maurice smiled. Not his warm smile the one that heated my whole body, but the sick smile of a dying man.

"No. These are for me."

------

One night brian started shouting at Maurice screaming about he was endangering all of us, how it was his fault. Maurice couldn't respond, only to shake his head and stare at him and finally Brian and Maurice held each other and they

somethings are private.

------

Afterwards


They had a plan. I heard them like I had heard them all night.

"She's our priority. We protect her."

"I'm not going to do it your way. We can't all be you, you fucking-"

"I know. You do it your way and I'll do mine."

"There has to be a better way."

Maurice laughed. "There isn't."