Twilight

The sun fell and the stars rose behind the buick as it charged down the highway. “Are they following?” she asked as she clutched my arm.

“Shhhh,” I whispered. “It will all be ok.”

We had not been out of the city long. The excitement of the day had drawn out into the pre-night twilight. “I’m scared,” she said as she pulled tight on my arm. I told her that everything will be fine, that she will be safe as long as I am protecting her.

The girl fell asleep while holding my arm while I drove. It didn’t bother me that I couldn’t move my arm while she slept. I was almost comforted by her reliance upon me. I had been a washed-out bumb for so long that I had forgotten what it was like to be needed.

Truth be told, I’m scared. Twenty years and thirty pounds ago I could have handled this, but now— I’m old, I’m washed-out, I’m a nothing. Everyone that I have ever tried to protect before has met a grizzly end. I had always tried so hard, but even the fate of my charges sealed the end with my long carrier with the force.

I can protect myself just fine, whether it be a bar fight or a shootout, I always seem to come out on top. It is something different when you are in charge of someone else. God only knows how much I hate an escort mission.