Chapter XIX: Fury

Rose becomes violent when she finds out that Fawna told Travis her secret.

                Fawna woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. Her and Rick had really kissed last night. It had been wonderful and she felt so free and relieved that Greg no longer haunted her in the back of her mind. He was just a bad memory... nothing more now. Rick was the present and Fawna wasn't going to let such a wonderful person slip through her fingers because of a bad memory. Hopefully, Rick would become her future as well.

                She got up and dressed, then went outside to tend to the chickens, Mutt and Martini. Come spring, if she had enough money saved, she might be able to buy a cow or a sheep. She would have Travis help her do that, since he ran the Farmer's Shop with his dad. Thinking of Travis, Fawna bit her lip and sighed. She had no idea how he was holding up after what she had told him yesterday. She hadn't spoken with him since he left the farm. The feeling of not knowing what was going on with that gave her a pit of worry in her stomach.

                Deciding that she needed to get her mind off of Travis and Rose, she headed to Mineral Town's Poultry Farm to see Rick and Popuri, but mostly Rick. She brought an egg for Rick, an old but pretty dress she didn't want anymore for Popuri and a flower she had picked at the end of fall but hadn't begun to wilt yet for Lillia. Rick's whole face lit up when he saw Fawna walk in the door and walked purposefully towards her, about to kiss her but stopped himself at the last second, realizing that his mother and sister were in the room. He opted to hug her instead and chuckled, going a little red.

                "Hey Fawna. I'm glad to see you," he told her with a smile. Popuri giggled and interjected.

                "He sure is! He wouldn't stop talking about you last night after you left," she laughed and Rick shot her a nasty glare. Lillia smiled and chuckled weakly.

                "Popuri, don't tease your brother," she chided gently then turned to Fawna with a sweet smile. "Hello Fawna. It's very good to see you," she told her a little breathlessly. Fawna noticed that she looked thin and pale and seemed weaker than she had been when she had first met her back at the beginning of the summer.

                "It's good to see you too," Fawna told them, giving out the gifts which they all loved. Rick took Fawna's hand and led her outside, saying that he wanted to go on a walk with her. Once they were outside, Rick smiled and leaned down to kiss Fawna softly. Fawna returned the gesture eagerly. When they broke apart, they were both smiling. He chuckled. "That's better," he said quietly and Fawna giggled, standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He made her so happy. "Say, have things worked out with you, Travis and this other person?" he asked and Fawna sighed.

                "I don't know," she admitted. "I haven't talked to either of them since I told Travis that thing he didn't want to hear yesterday," she said sadly. Rick squeezed her shoulder protectively and nodded towards Mineral Town's path.

                "I think you're about to get your chance," he told her in a worried tone. Fawna looked in Rick's direction to see Travis running up the path, looking completely overwhelmed and frazzled, with a furious Rose stalking angrily in front of him. It seemed like Travis was trying to stop her. Rose neared Fawna and pushed Rick aside, standing menacingly in front of Fawna until their faces were inches apart. Fawna could smell the whisky on her breath and see her bloodshot eyes.

                "YOU PROMISED!" she screamed. "YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T TELL HIM!" Fawna wanted to shrink away. It looked as though Rose were about to hit her. She was vaguely aware of Rick and Travis working together to try and pull them apart from each other, but Fawna stood her ground. This was crazy!

                "I PROMISED I WOULDN'T TELL HIM ONLY ON THE CONDITION THAT YOU WOULD!" she screamed back. "YOU WERE LYING TO HIM AND HE'S MY FRIEND!" she yelled. "I think my friend at least deserves to know he's with a drunkard!" she spat, knowing that she probably wasn't helping things but she was tired of this. Rose recoiled as though Fawna had struck her, then flared up; she hit Fawna hard in the face. Rose, being much more of a tomboy than Fawna, had the advantage and Fawna went down to her knees with a cry of pain. Immediately, she felt Rick's arms around her, but couldn't see anything. All she could see was black and stars and feel the blood pounding in her head.

                "TRAVIS! CALM HER DOWN!" Rick yelled, still holding onto Fawna tightly.

                "I'm trying, Rick!" Travis yelled back desperately. There was much more shouting after that, but Fawna was slowly fading in and out of awareness. Slumping against Rick's chest, she gave into the blessed wave of unconsciousness that took away the thundering pain in her head.

                When she woke up, she was lying in a bed in a white room. By the smell of sanitizer and the sight of medical tools, she was in a clinic. Rick was holding her hand and when he saw that she was awake, leaned over and kissed her forehead very lightly so as not to hurt her head. "How do you feel?" he asked her quietly and Fawna groaned.

                "Not too good..." she mumbled, feeling the roaring pain in her head come rushing back. A young woman who wore a nametag that said 'Elli' placed a cold damp cloth on her head which brought her some relief and Fawna closed her eyes. "Where's Rose... Travis... is he mad at me?" she muttered softly and she felt Rick squeeze her hand gently.

                "My mom saw what was happening and called Harris. He took her to his house where he's holding her in custody. Travis is there, trying to explain everything to him, but he came here first to make sure you were okay. He's not angry with you, Fawna," he told her and Fawna began to nod, but stopped, because it made her pain worsen.

                Just then, Travis walked into the clinic, shaking the snow off his boots. He looked utterly dejected and hugged his best friend when he got to Fawna's bedside. "Hey. I'm so sorry about this, Fawna," he told her miserably. Fawna tried to open her mouth to speak but both men gently shushed her.

                "Fawna, just go to sleep for now. Everything can get explained once you've recovered," Rick said. Too weak and in too much pain to protest, Fawna nodded off to sleep, listening to the whispers of the Doctor, Elli, Travis and Rick.