Fic: Monopoly
Had it up on FF.net...thought I'd post it here as well. Maybe re-work bits later. Not beta-ed...so there is probably errors galore.
It started with talks on the porch. Nothing special. She would talk about her day and he'd tell her about his. Some days they'd talk about other stuff. She remembered this one time they spent over an hour talking about their favorite board games. They both liked Monopoly. They both cheated at Monopoly. She had laughed challenged him to a Monopoly game. The next day, when she came home from work, there was a brand new Monopoly set on the table.
They spent six hours playing on Saturday. She hadn't laughed so much in what seemed like months. He kept robbing the bank. She knew it shouldn't have been funny, given the situation they had been in, but it was funny. At first, he tried to hide it. But after all these years, she knew not to trust Boyd near money, fake or otherwise. And after she caught on, he'd just blatantly take the money, and then lie. Straight to her face. Without batting an eye. But he would smirk just slightly. And she'd feign outrage and take the money back, but next turn, he had it again.
He won. Shouldn't have been a surprise. She pouted a bit, but he smiled and said that maybe next week they could play Clue. There had smiled at each other for a bit. And then it was kind of awkward. Because all of a sudden she remembered 'creepy Boyd'. The one that would leer at her. The one that would go out of his way to invade her personal space during any gatherings. The one that sometimes let his hands linger where they shouldn't. The one that made her cringe. The one that held her hostage. The one that was going to shot her. The one she almost shot. That Boyd.
And then she thought of the Boyd sitting across from her. The one that was nice. The one that trusted her with so much. Maybe too much. The one that told her stories about his day, about his childhood, about his favorite songs. The one that protected her. The one that was chivalrous. The one that played Monopoly with her for six hours and made her laugh. The one that was looking at her. Looking at her in a way that made her stomach curl in a way that it hadn't since Raylan had showed up at her door those months ago.
She realized at that moment she'd have to pick one. Either she could guard herself and her interactions with him by reminding herself of that old Boyd that she knew for so many years. Or she could believe that people changed. That Boyd changed. That this new version would stick around. That he wouldn't hurt her. Not in the way Bowman had, not in the way Raylan had.
She made her mind almost too instantaneously for a decision like this. She picked a tentative new friendship, with the possibility of something more. And she prayed to whatever God there was, that this time, this one time, she not get burned.
It started with talks on the porch. Nothing special. She would talk about her day and he'd tell her about his. Some days they'd talk about other stuff. She remembered this one time they spent over an hour talking about their favorite board games. They both liked Monopoly. They both cheated at Monopoly. She had laughed challenged him to a Monopoly game. The next day, when she came home from work, there was a brand new Monopoly set on the table.
They spent six hours playing on Saturday. She hadn't laughed so much in what seemed like months. He kept robbing the bank. She knew it shouldn't have been funny, given the situation they had been in, but it was funny. At first, he tried to hide it. But after all these years, she knew not to trust Boyd near money, fake or otherwise. And after she caught on, he'd just blatantly take the money, and then lie. Straight to her face. Without batting an eye. But he would smirk just slightly. And she'd feign outrage and take the money back, but next turn, he had it again.
He won. Shouldn't have been a surprise. She pouted a bit, but he smiled and said that maybe next week they could play Clue. There had smiled at each other for a bit. And then it was kind of awkward. Because all of a sudden she remembered 'creepy Boyd'. The one that would leer at her. The one that would go out of his way to invade her personal space during any gatherings. The one that sometimes let his hands linger where they shouldn't. The one that made her cringe. The one that held her hostage. The one that was going to shot her. The one she almost shot. That Boyd.
And then she thought of the Boyd sitting across from her. The one that was nice. The one that trusted her with so much. Maybe too much. The one that told her stories about his day, about his childhood, about his favorite songs. The one that protected her. The one that was chivalrous. The one that played Monopoly with her for six hours and made her laugh. The one that was looking at her. Looking at her in a way that made her stomach curl in a way that it hadn't since Raylan had showed up at her door those months ago.
She realized at that moment she'd have to pick one. Either she could guard herself and her interactions with him by reminding herself of that old Boyd that she knew for so many years. Or she could believe that people changed. That Boyd changed. That this new version would stick around. That he wouldn't hurt her. Not in the way Bowman had, not in the way Raylan had.
She made her mind almost too instantaneously for a decision like this. She picked a tentative new friendship, with the possibility of something more. And she prayed to whatever God there was, that this time, this one time, she not get burned.