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say-hwaet · 5 months ago

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High Sierra: A Red Dead Redemption Story

Synopsis: Set in an alternate universe, the story begins in a different time. In the 21st Century, Arthur Morgan works diligently as a game warden but seems to be having trouble in his personal life. Trying to find a balance and learn how to be honest with himself, he is swept into a discovery of dark secrets when he discovers a body in the woods. Most attribute it to a hunting accident, but Arthur and his friend Charles think there is something more sinister. As he tries to find the reason behind the series of killings, will he lose sight of what's important, or will he choose the life that is best for the ones he loves?

Chapter One: Yes or No

He didn't have a lot of time, but if he was late to work, he knew not to worry about it. He was loyal to his job, as a game warden, and was respected by the higher ranks. That was something that his son was proud to boast about at school.

His son. That is what he was there for.

He finally knocked on the door.

After a few moments, the door calmly opens. A woman, with her hair hidden in a tied-up towel, stood before him in a bathrobe, her face still glistening.

"Eliza..." he blushes. Even after all these years, she makes him shy. "Is this a bad time?"

"Hi, Arthur." She steps back. "Come in."

He takes off his brown warden's hat, revealing his short, slicked-back, fawn-colored hair, and sets it on a small table as he enters. The smell of warm pancakes fills the air. Eliza closes the door behind him and heads to the kitchen. He follows.

"Isaac is just having breakfast."

She veers off into the kitchen and he heads for the dining room. Being at her place many times, he knew his way around. However, he was careful this time not to make himself too much at home, as he was on borrowed time in her good graces.

The brown-eyed, lean, eight-year-old boy, with a close-shaven head, looks up and sees his only hero.

"Daddy!" He pushes himself from the table and runs into his father's arms. Arthur, filled with a bittersweet feeling, picks him up carefully and holds him tight.

"How're you doing, kiddo?"

"Great, Daddy! I've been to school!"

"Oh, you have, have you?" After being nearly choked to death, he sets his son down on the floor. He squats down to look at him face-to-face. "And how has that been?"

"It's been good, Daddy. I am making As and Bs!"

"Well, how about that?" Arthur scratches the boy's fuzzy head. "I knew you were a smart one!"

"Yeah, Mommy has always said I got my smarts from you!"

He turns to see Eliza, who has her back turned, and she flips another pancake. "Well, maybe she was doing me a favor, but we both know you are much smarter than me."

Isaac giggles, not fully sure of what Arthur really meant.

Arthur stands up and Isaac takes hold of his hand.

"Did you just come and say hi? Can't you stay for breakfast?" Isaac pleads, his eyes like a puppy's.

"No, son. I gotta go to work soon, but I need to talk to your mama for a bit."

"Oh," Isaac lowers his head.

"Now, now, don't be like that. If it is okay with your mama, I can come by and see you after work. How is that?"

"And you can take me to see Copper?"

He shrugs his shoulders and grimaces softly, afraid to disappoint the boy. "I don't know about that."

"Oh."

"Let's think on that one, alright? Why don't you go on and eat your pancakes, huh?"

"Okay, Daddy." Isaac turns around and lifts himself back onto the chair. That's when Arthur catches a glimpse of the stitches on the back of the boy's head and feels an empathetic pain shoot up through him. Arthur turns around and walks to Eliza, who still hasn't turned around.

"Eliza, can we talk for a minute?"

Eliza lifts her head and turns to him. "I gotta do my hair."

"That's fine. We can still talk, right?"

She looks over to Isaac while turning off the front burner on the stove. "Baby, I am going to my room for a minute, let me know if you need me."

"Okay, Mommy."

Eliza turns to walk out of the kitchen and down the hall while Arthur tails behind her. He cannot help but watch her body move and the gracefulness of each step. He begins to feel anxious and confused. More confused than he had accepted this morning while preparing to talk to her.

Alice heads to her master bathroom and unravels the wrapped towel on her head, the wavy curls of her chestnut hair falling out. She tousles it softly, then takes some mousse and begins to apply it.

"How is the boy?" he begins.

"Fine. Stable for now. He is now off the painkillers and his stitches were taken out. The doctors say that the worst is over."

"I am glad to hear that."

"Why are you here, Arthur?"

He looks into the bathroom mirror and they lock eyes. "I felt that we couldn't just go on like this. Us not talking."

She looks down and doesn't respond.

Seeing that she isn't shutting him out, he continues. "I know how it must have looked, but I didn't do anything wrong."

She stands up, throwing her hair back. She tousles it some more, with a little more gusto than she usually does. "Then what was that, Arthur? Did she just magically end up in your arms?"

She is still angry with him.

"She came onto me. She was drunk, I guess still mourning the death of her husband, and I..." he listened to what he was saying. He wasn't making good headway at explaining the situation. She was a part of his past, and he wanted to explain that to Eliza. "I was confused and shocked, is all. I didn't expect her to kiss me out of the blue."

Eliza goes silent again. She brushes past him into the bedroom and walks by her closet. She finds something to wear and goes behind her antique dressing screen. She was always fascinated by historical things, particularly the Wild West. That was her passion and should things have been different, she might have pursued it.

"That isn't what bothers me, Arthur."

He walks closer to the screen and stops himself. He's lost that intimate privilege. "Then why did you stop answering my texts, then? Why have you refused to talk to me? Why that outburst in front of all those people?"

"It was only three people out of that entire party, first of all." She comes out from behind the screen. Arthur eyes her small figure and feminine shape. Even in a simple t-shirt and long skirt, she is a remarkably beautiful woman. "Second, I needed time to think."

"But does that mean you should keep me from news on Isaac?"

"I would have said something if it was an emergency. You knew about these recent appointments, anyways."

He opens his arms and claps his hands against his pant legs in frustration. "Can you tell me what bothers you, then?"

"What bothers me is her."

They're getting to the meat of it now. Arthur takes a step back, running a hand over his face. "She is an ex-girlfriend. I was young, she was young. Her dad hated me because I was a no-name country boy, so she ended it. If I remember correctly, you actually saw that part."

He isright. She was there, all those years ago. Her mind begins to think back on that day at the restaurant. On that day, he didn't even know that she existed, she is surprised that he even remembered her there at all.

"I know, but now, after all this time, she can just throw herself at you, and then you are 'confused.' I thought–" she pauses, carefully trying to choose her words. Eliza has always had a wall. She always had a part of her hidden safe and tucked away. She never told Arthur how she really felt about him. Ever since that first day, they met at the restaurant, she loved him. And now, when she thought things were finally happening between them, at a difficult time like this, a woman of his past had to come and threaten everything. "I know that I don't have the right to be mad at you, Arthur. We aren't married. We aren't...together. I also know that I cannot compare to her, her successful career in advertising, and her rich family–“

"Eliza–"

She holds her hand to stop him. "I could have been a history teacher, had I been able to stay in school, but I couldn't. I had a son, Arthur. We had a son. I could have made my life something different, but instead, I made something more precious than a teaching career. Isaac is a good kid, a beautiful, happy boy. Who also loves his parents."

"I know that..."

"Do you love her, Arthur?"

He looks back at her and blinks. "What?"

"Do you love Mary?"

He is silent for a moment, which is long enough to make her heart ache.

He looks away from her towards one of the walls. Anything to avoid seeing the sad look in her eyes. "I...I don't know."

"That isn't good enough. I need a yes or a no from you, Arthur."

"It ain’ that simple.”

And to him, it isn't. He had thought he had left that part of his life behind. Things were going well between him and Eliza. They were connecting, and it was even before Isaac was diagnosed with cancer and eventually had his recent surgery. They were spending time together, in fact, he was spending more time at her place than he ever did at his. And it wasn't too long ago that they shared a night together, and to Eliza, it really meant something to her. Perhaps, a sign of hope, that they could finally be a complete family.

But they went to that party, in celebration of John and his band's new contract with one of the biggest record labels in the country. His father and manager, Dutch, were thoroughly excited. Though it was a small gathering, everyone was having a good time enjoying themselves, especially Eliza, as she was finally coming out of her skin. But she was also there. And when she kissed him, so many emotions and hurt came flooding back. For both Arthur and Eliza.

Eliza rests her hands on her hips. "Then if he didn't get sick, would you still be involved as much as you are? Would you still care?"

Arthur furrows his brow and takes a step toward her. "What kind of a question is that?"

"An honest one."

"I promised you, at the very beginning, that I'd do right by you and our son. I haven't let off on that promise, have I?"

Eliza doesn't answer. She can't argue that point.

"I care about the boy. He's my son," he reiterates.

"So, it's just the boy..." her voice trails off. She is resolved. He must never have cared for her the same way. Sometimes love means letting go, and she was going to need to learn how to do that.

He shakes his head, lowering his voice to bring in sincerity. "That isn't what I mean."

She waves him off. "Yes, it is, but I won't push you about it anymore. I just need you to promise me something."

He wants to argue her belief. He does feel something for her, but he can't explain it well, he isn't even sure if he understands it. "Okay."

"I don't want Isaac to know about her. Not until you are sure that she is who you are going to spend the rest of your life with. He needs something steady and constant. He needs his father's love and support. He doesn't need to see us argue or fight. He needs me to be happy. He needs to see you happy. Whether it is with her, or with someone else." Eliza struggles with those last words, as having to say them at all makes her feel sick.

He wants to ask her if she loves him, as he feels it only right to ask her that question. She always gave off the impression that she did, but she would never say it. In fact, neither of them really did. Maybe that was the problem.

But one thing that he is certain of, is that he loves his son, and he is going to figure out what he wants.

Arthur exhales, relenting. "Okay."

"Okay."

There is a silence that fills between them. It was time for him to leave and get to work.

"I need to go now. Can I come by and see Isaac later?"

"Sure. We will be back home by then."

"Are you working today?"

"No. Remember, Isaac has another appointment today, so I took it off."

Arthur shakes his head softly, suddenly recalling what she had said earlier. "Right. Are you going to be okay?"

Eliza turns and begins to swipe at some wrinkles in her comforter, shielding the roll in her eyes. "I may be just a manager at Bronte's, but I can afford to not work once in a while."

"I didn't mean that. I meant if you wanted me to go with you."

She pauses. "Oh. No, it is just another post-surgery check-up to answer any questions. I will call you if there is anything."

"Okay."

Satisfied that there are no more wrinkles, she turns to look back at him. Those beautiful brown eyes of hers, so calming and warm. They could always ground him and bring him back from the clouds he was always drifting in. Now, they remind him of the canyon that has developed between them. "Did you want to ask them anything? I could--"

He shakes his head again, leaving the trance. "No, I don't, but when there is another appointment, can you let me know?"

"Yes, I will text it to you."

"Good. I'll say goodbye to him." He turns to walk out of her bedroom and they both find Isaac sitting on the couch watching cartoons.

"Isaac, come give your daddy a love-bye," Eliza sighs.

Isaac turns off the TV with the remote and slides off the couch. Walking slowly, as if to drag out the farewell, he finally flops into his father's chest. He has always felt safe in his daddy's strong arms. Arthur is a big man, which has made him seem more hero-like than ever.

"Goodbye, kiddo."

"Bye, Daddy," a muffled voice could be heard.

Arthur releases his son from his embrace and stands erect. Without thinking, he leans over to kiss Eliza but stops himself. She notices this, and steps back, mutually feeling the same about the encounter.

"Bye. Tell your mom and dad I said hi," she says quietly.

"Alright. Bye." Arthur picks up his hat and puts it on his head. He lets himself out.

He doesn't know it, but as he gets into his car, Eliza pulls back the curtain and watches him go.

#fanfiction #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #red dead fandom #red dead au #arthur x eliza #ao3 writer #Arthur Morgan on the 21sr century #alternate universe fiction #Arthur is a game warden #first chapter #I tried to draw the cover with a movie poster vibe

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