Astrid would like to talk.

“I’m more a cigarette after sex kind of girl.” Astrid winks.

“You don’t smoke,” you say, and she makes a cute expression.

“OK. I don’t smoke, but I’d like to talk to you still,” as soon as she’s on her feet, she’s fully dressed and clean. You’re dressed now too. She reaches for your hand and leads you out. “I have wanted to talk to you for a while, if I have to be honest. But, things always get a little, uhm, distracting whenever we meet up.”

You both look where you are, just done making loving. Steam emits from the bushes still, and every breath you take still feels heated as it did a few moments ago when you were balls deep in Astrid. When you look back at Astrid, you know she recalls the same things.

Astrid smiles, her cheeks reddening again. “So, anyway… every time we get together, we always get distracted.” She shrugs, admitting that she sometimes lets it get out of hand.

“Listen… I’m going against the rules, especially with all the sex, but I digress! You’re treading into some dangerous situations, and I’m going to implore you to remember to continue to do what’s good.” Astrid looks away, considering her following words carefully. “I’ve been watching everything, you know? I chose to take a more direct approach when you fell through the floor in the airport, but now I am responsible for everything that happens.”

“Speaking of which,” you start. “Everything that I have done, you know, drugging Scarlet, helping Alexandra, and then assisting Kenji…Is everything I am doing considered good in your eyes, or am I just doing everything wrong? Everything feels so simple when I’m with you, but when we’re apart, I fall into this mindset for Flora and–”

“You really should have…” Astrid stops herself. “Alexandra…you put yourself in a tricky spot. But, honestly speaking, things have been going downhill for you since you tried to kiss Flora…”

You cringe. That long? You think, and Astrid nods. “Yes, Warren. For that long.”

You start talking more, but Astrid doesn’t say anything in response. And then you realize you’re back in the forest, walking straight back to the camp you set with Kenji.

Kenji is already up, and from what you can tell, he’s with Stephani. He spots you and strolls over. “I thought you already left.”

“Without my horse?”

Kenji smiles. “Well, it was either assuming you left without your horse or were dumb enough to walk around the forest alone.”

“You don’t think I’m stupid now, do you?”

Kenji grins as he shakes his head slightly. “Nah, of course not. Here, let’s eat and drink some coffee.”

One awkward breakfast later, the three of you sit in a tight circle around a fire, slowly chewing the remnants of your freeze-dried meal. You look up at Kenji and burp slightly. “So, what’s the worst thing that has ever happened to you?”

Kenji dug out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. “Eh, I’ve got a couple of bad things. But the worst thing that has happened to me?” He lights his treat and lets out a puff of smoke, his eyes drifting over the snow, before bringing his cup of coffee to his mouth.

“Amara mentioned that you only had one incident—“ You try, but you’re cut off.

“I almost got married when I was in Japan,” Kenji said, his voice somewhat low as he sucked on his cigarette. “The girl I was dating at the time was a little younger than me. She was 18, and I was 22. At the time, I was in the military, and I was considering retiring from it when I met her for the first time. I ran into her because her brother was someone in my unit, got done with a tour in Northern Korea, and was on leave.”

He thought for a moment and sipped on his coffee. “We dated for about three years when I proposed to her. I was 25, and she was 21. Our backgrounds were different, she was preppy and all about image, and I was from the working class, doing the grunt work and getting dirty. Then, the night of our wedding, after we said our vows and got together.”

He looked at you and smiled. “Her family ran a business in California, so it was more western than usual, less traditional and lively than what was usually suspected from her lineage, but I digress.”

“She was beautiful that night. I’ve seen amazing women before, but she’s absolutely stunning. Easy on the eyes and perfect to talk to, and she was mine, you know? All mine. My wife!” Kenji has a stupid smile on, but when he glances at Stephani, also listening, he grimaces. “Closing ceremony... We’re dancing after our dinner, and for some reason, I’m gone for roughly 10 minutes, probably less. But, my wife vanishes from the building. I ask and ask and ask and finally run into her brother. He looks confused when I ask him this. He tells me that he thought he saw me walk out with her.”

Another cloud escapes his mouth. He shakes his head and mutters something under his breath, a curse, no doubt, before continuing. “Looking back at it, I know I should’ve resisted it, but she invited her ex to our wedding. I kind of got off on the fact I was cucking somebody, but when she vanished, I’ll admit he was the first person I thought about.”

Kenji leans over and offers a cigarette when you go to drink your coffee. You take it and light it over the fire. Kenji seemed much more ****. It was weird seeing him be so human about something.

“Later that night,” Kenji continued. “We had sex, but it felt different. I was fucking my wife, and it didn’t feel right, I was too focused on where she had disappeared to. It took forever for me to finish, and sometimes I couldn’t keep myself up. I lived with that for months, asking her day in and day out about it. And then, one day, I got her drunk, drunk enough for her to be giggly and dumb. She told me that she slept with her ex…”

A simple “sorry” doesn’t do, so you remain silent. He continued.

“She acted sober for a couple of seconds, but I laughed with her, acting plastered and wasted. I asked where he lived and what he did and found out he was married too with no kids. So the next morning I went to his home and killed him. His family, too,” Kenji lets the smoke sit inside his system for a few seconds and blows it out. “When I got home, I killed my wife. I strangled the life out of her and left her naked in the shower. I burned everything I got from her and then torched the house. The government protected me from punishment and used me as a lap dog for a while for personal assistance and less-than-legal purposes. I met another girl, Sachio was her name, but I never remarried because I never loved anyone again.”

Kenji snuffed out the butt of his cigarette in the snow, making a face of displeasure. “I guess there are just some girls out there that like to use men's feelings for their own purposes, huh?” He stares at you, waiting for you to piece together his simple puzzle.

“I’m not doing—“

“I’m not saying anything,” Kenji cuts you off. “Just offering some food for thought.”

…

…

On your way back, you consider Kenji’s words and worry. Flora has always seemed genuine to you, but what other options does she have aside from playing you? These thoughts continue to torment your mind until you pass Tiny’s Tavern; you pause at the front and look around. No one is here, and all that occupies the street is white powdery snow that drifts in the breeze.

This is the first time you’ve been here without anything to really do or anyone to talk to; plus, as far as the girls know– you’re still with Kenji,