Realism Fan Fiction ❯ White lies ❯ Fireflies ( Chapter 7 )

Author's Note: Hey everyone! About time I got around to updating this story. Hope you all enjoy this chapter that was rudely interrupted by a three week period of writer's block. Oh! And read and review!

 

White Lies: Chapter Seven

 

Vince leaned into the pale blue room, gripping the wooden window frame as he peered into the dimly lit room. For a moment, Vince thought he had the wrong room, with so many boxes how could anyone live in such accommodations. Dropping down into the room, Vince took extra caution not to make any more noise than what was necessary...He still had yet to discover whether or not Chris was even present at the home.

 

The room was meant to be an attic, a small one at that. But someone had taken the time to attempt to make it a real room. Now that Vince was actually in the room, and amongst the boxes, the mountain of boxes took on more friendly shapes. A makeshift table, some boxes stacked to make seats, some even used as shelving. The ingenuity of it all seemed to be unlike Chris. From the very few encounters he had with the older man, Vince already knew the man lacked any sense of resourcefulness. This had to be Mimi's room.

Amongst the shifted boxes, a thin mattress laid on the floor, a bedside table consisting of, you guess it, storage boxes, held a bag and the only picture in the room. And as Vince reached over to pick up the bag, his eyes could not help but rest on the photograph.

 

A younger strawberry blonde, who could not be mistaken for anyone else but Mimi, sprawled out along a picnic blanket, sticking her tiny pink tongue out at the camera, an older man and woman laughing and the girl's slightly ridiculous pose for a family photo. Mimi could not be younger than thirteen in the photo, but her eyes still held the innocence of a small child. A look Vince had never seen in the girl's eyes before.

 

“You had two parents who loved you very much... You were sweet and fragile...And what did this bastard do to you? Stole your innocence...Kept you locked away in this room like some sort of...Monster.” Once an unsure, timid voice now hissed almost dangerously. The treatment was unfitting. Mimi should be like the rest of the females in West Canyon, spoiled and happy, not forced to live in such a way that Vince himself had...

 

Vince's ears seemed to perk up immediately to the faint sound of footsteps. And a ghost of a menacing smile hung on Vince's thin lips. Placing the, Vince ducked behind a tower of boxes, safely out of sight of the drunken idiot who slammed through eh door.

 

“Where did ja go...Ya useless brat!” Harsh words spewed forth from the man's lips as he tried to steady his steps, holding onto the wall for support as he took a step further into the room. Vince seemed to hold his breath, watching the man's shadow stagger on the floor as he called out for the girl he loved to torment so much. “Ya know betta than to...Hide from me!” A sudden crash of boxes signalled the fact that not only was the man drunk, but angry at that. Perfect. The shadow became larger on the floor next to Vince, growing until the owner of the drunken shadow stood next to him.

 

“Showtime...” Vince muttered as he reached deep into his pockets, forcing himself to stand next to the man.

 

“Wha? Who the fuck are you!” The heavy scent of alcohol rolled off the man in huge waves. How much did Chris consume? Or more importantly, what would this of meant for Mimi if she here instead of him. With that thought in mind, Vince allowed his lips to turn into a dark smirk, a thin metallic blade glistening in the dim moonlight.

 

“Your worst nightmare.”

 

~*~

 

“Shirts, jeans...Various other...Belongings... I really hope I got everything...” Back on the streets again, Vince rummaged through the two bags he had assumed to be Mimi's. The boxes would be another story. So many of them and none of them labelled, how was he to know which Mimi's were and which were Chris's. Hopefully, he managed to grab the essentials that she needed. He could always go back if needed.

“I only hope Kevin is comforting her better than I could...” Tightening his grip on the straps of the bags, Vince thought back to when Mimi had appeared on his doorstep, and only Kevin could think to get her the first aid kit. “Then again...It's not like I had much experience with comforting others...” The thought brought many memories to mind, none of which he wanted to deal with at the moment...Or at all.

Shaking his mind clean of the unwanted memories, Vince turned onto the corner where his home stood tall, one of the only apartment complexes located in the small town. It wouldn't be long now, and hopefully he had done enough for Mimi.

 

Since when did babysitting and protector become a part of his work? He hardly had to do anything like this for the girl. She even begged him not to do anything rash. But what did he do? Went out prepared for a full frontal assault on the man who had caused so much pain for her. It hardly seemed logical. He wasn't naturally an angry person...Not anymore. But...Something had to be done...He couldn't just sit back and let Mimi suffer...Not when he was there to protect her. He couldn't even try to imagine what would have happened to her if they had never met those many weeks ago.

For a moment, his stomach seemed to tense, and there was a gentle pang in his chest where his heart was located, and Vince found himself pausing at the stairwell door.

 

“I...Must be catching a cold.” Yes. That was logical. Dismissing the feeling, Vince opened the door and stepped onto the floor, quickly making his way into his own apartment.

 

“Cut that out Kevin!” Mimi's soft soprano tone echoed through the small apartment, this time, the joyous edge having returned. Melodious laughter soon followed, and Vince found himself drifting into the living room, where an odd sight laid before him.

Mimi's thin frame, now adorned with many bandages was sprawled on the hardwood flooring between the dining table and couch, her shirt lying just above her abdomen. Above her, Kevin was strategically placed so that he could keep the girl pinned to her spot, while another hand fluttered as her side, causing more laughter to fill the apartment.

 

And another pang in Vince's chest.

 

“Hello you guys...Am I...Interrupting anything?” Vince forced the words to come out calmly, though the undeniable feeling of anger seemed to run through him as rapidly as when Mimi had first come to him for help. The source behind the sudden surge of anger remained unknown, but Vince new better than to let his emotions dwell in any matter.

 

“Vince! Thank you so much...How will I ever repay you?” Mimi smiled brightly up at the boy, though her eyes quickly fluttered back to Kevin as he decided to tickle her again, causing her to yelp and squirm under him. A part of Vince seemed to ignite as he watched to two interact, almost ignoring him in all their playfulness. But who was he to stop their fun? The times Vince had seen Mimi smile, it had been forced every time; it was painfully evident in her eyes. But now, Mimi's eyes...They nearly sparkled with a carefree happiness, oblivious to the sorrows of today.

 

A sparkle Vince found himself wishing he had brought to the girl.

 

“It's okay...What are friends for...” It was all Vince could say, gently placing Mimi's bags on the floor before slipping into the bathroom, the door kept ajar behind him.

 

Vince faced a sad, pained version of himself in the dirty bathroom mirror. Checking behind him, Vince stretched out his leg to firmly shut the bathroom door as he dug out the bloodstained knife that had lingered in his pocket for far too long now. The blood has become caked onto the metallic surface of the knife, already speeding up the rusting process. Turning the hot water on full blast, Vince hurried to clean the soiled tool, not bothering to flinch as the water turned too hot for him to take.

 

“What am I doing...I shouldn't be mad...Not over Mimi's happiness. She only came to me for help. I did just that. Hell...Even Kevin could make sure she was never harmed like that again...” Laughter floated in from the living room. And there it was again. That annoying pain. Sometimes in his chest, sometimes in his stomach. It seemed to occur more and more. Maybe he really was getting ill.

 

“This will shut it up...” Vince grumbled, turning the clean blade onto himself, hissing lowly as the blade bit into the skin. For a moment, the world was silent. No pain in his chest, no memories to repress, no laughter. Just him and the throbbing pain in his wrist. Vince didn't consider it to be pain however; it was merely an escape, a valuable one at that, Vince had a lot to hide from.

 

However, that blissful silence was broken all too quickly.

 

“Vince, you're too quiet. What's up?” Kevin called from the door, causing Kevin to jump and thrust his hand deep into the full sink, thankful for the bubbles that hid the knife and blood from view.

 

“Just tired that's all. How is she?” It was best to move the topic off him as quickly as possible. Vince even spared his best friend a sideways glance, his posture lazy and exhausted. But Kevin only glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, concern in his honey brown eyes.

 

“She'll live. Her physical injuries have been well cared for...The rest...Well I'm not sure what we can do about that...” Kevin paused, taking another step into the bathroom, causing Vince to visibly stiffen, his hands braced against the porcelain bottom of the sink. At first, Vince was sure that Kevin had been able to read him like a book, and was now going to go make a scene about him. But instead, he smirked, a devilish glint in his eye.

“Oh, and another thing. Chill will you? I'm not making a move on her. In fact, I'm leaving right now. I have work tomorrow; I'll come back afterwards to check up on her.” With that, Kevin disappeared from the bathroom, a murmuring of a farewell heard faintly from the hallway before the clicking of a door signalled his leave.

 

“What...Why would I...?” Vince muttered to his own shocked reflection. Why in the world did Kevin mean by that? He certainly didn't think that Vince was...Jealous of him did he? What could he possibly be jealous of Kevin for! Then Vince remembered, that gentle laugh that filled his apartment, uncaused by him but by Kevin himself.

“What a silly notion.” Vince shook his head, pulling his now-wrinkled hands out of the warm water. Oh yes, Mimi was still out there, alone now without Kevin...And here he was hiding in the bathroom. Well, at least the knife was clean again. His wrist would need a bit of tending to however...

“Did I get everything you needed Mimi?” He called out, plucking a pair of pants to wrap the knife in. He would retrieve it later, when he didn't have so many things to worry about.

 

“Uhm looks like it! Thanks again Vince...Is there anything I can help you with? You've done so much for me...” Mimi's voice replied softly, though the happy edge to it had remained. Though Vince could not see her, he could tell by her tone that she was smiling. It was almost infectious, and Vince found himself digging through yesterday's laundry to find a long sleeved shirt so that he could return to the same room as her.

Tugging on a burgundy long sleeved shirt, Vince stumbled out into the living room, finding Mimi sorting through her bags on the floor.

 

“It's okay...If I need anything I'll ask...” Mimi looked up at the raven haired boy, her gentle smile nearly exploded into a full grin as her eyes locked with his. Vince felt his cheeks grow hot, and suddenly he knew he was undeserving of such an adoring gaze. So Vince continued on, walking right past Mimi and into his bedroom, sitting on the bed with more force than what was necessary.

 

“Er...So...When would you want me out by?” The words caused Vince to sit up straight. She followed him in here? Turning to the direction of the voice, Vince found the girl shyly curled around the doorframe, the look on her face more uncertain than it was before, as if she were expecting some slap in the face. Vince wondered for a moment if Mimi was aware of how transparent her emotions were.

But back to the question. When did Vince want Mimi out of his home? It was an odd question to ask himself, as he had just recently come to grips over the fact he was mildly attached to this girl. But, strangely enough, the thought of her leaving brought a feeling of anxiety over him. His chest tightening until the next sentence practically flew from his lips.

 

“You may...Stay here with me...Until you can get your own place...Or find another alternative...” As soon as the words were out, Vince found himself on his back on his own bed. What just happened?

 

“Oh you mean it Vince? Really? Oh thank you so much Vince! You have no idea how much this means to me! Are you sure I won't be a burden to you?” Glancing down with wide eyes, Vince found a very enthusiastic Mimi clinging to his chest, her face buried against the fabric of his shirt.

 

“O-Of course n-not...” There was that sparkle in her eyes again. But this time he had caused it. He wasn't exactly sure why, but there was a sense of completion with just that mere sparkle, that smile. Hell even the contact wasn't all that bad, though he still found himself blushing furiously, Until Mimi giggled and moved off the boy, a yawn escaping her slender form. Though her chosen position lying next to him on the bed was no better. To spare his burning cheeks from anymore suffering, Vince pulled himself up into a seated position.

 

“Oh goodness. I need sleep... Better work on making that couch my own...Or would you prefer...Me to take the floor?” Yawns constantly interrupted her speech, and it became painfully evident that Mimi had been repressing a lot of her drowsiness. But who could blame her, when you live with a monster, why would you want to sleep?

 

“Mimi we went over that. I won't sleep in a bed if you have to settle for something less.”

 

“Vince! That's okay for...A...One night thing! But...I can't just kick you out of your own—“

 

“No Mimi, it's not just me trying to be nice to you. It's just my morals. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I knew you had to suffer on that bloody couch. You've been through enough tonight you can at least have a good night's...Sleep...” Turning to Mimi, Vince found himself ranting at an already dosing girl, her eyes shut tight, and her breath already slow and steady. There was something odd about how easily this girl slept...But was already evident that sleep was not a comforting thing back in her old home.

 

Vince found himself gazing over the sleeping girl's face, so content, so blissful. In her sleep, you could never guess the hardships she had endured over the past few months. Her slight smile, the way she curled her body, innocent and almost...Stunning. Vince found himself reaching out, brushing some of her strawberry locks away from her ivory face, a gentle smile on his own lips.

 

“Heh...Sweet Dreams...Beautiful...”