Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Runaways ❯ Chapter 4
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Saiyagurl87 
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 05.30.2009 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.7K | Visits: 177 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 05.30.2009 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.7K | Visits: 177 | Status: Completed
Thanks so much for the reviews you guys!
Disclaimer: Don’t own Sm
Serena shifted in her sleep, thrashing out wildly, a light sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead. She suddenly shot up in her bed with a small cry, hands clutching at her throat, fear embedded in her crystalline blue eyes. Taking a few shaky deep breaths, she ran a trembling hand through her sweat soaked bangs.
“It was just a dream.” she whispered, willing her rapid heart beat to slow its pace. She suddenly furrowed her brows and looked around her.
“Where am I…Amara?” called out Serena, not seeing her sister in sight. She frowned deeply as she felt fear creeping up the back of her neck, looking about the dark room frantically. A sudden noise struck her attention, her body stiffening as she tried to listen for it again. When the noise came about again, the small blonde crawled out of the bed.
“What was that?” she whispered, falling silent again to hear the noise once more. When it came she began walking down the rows of beds, the noise becoming louder and more frequent. As she got closer to the noise, she realized that it sounded like someone was crying. Becoming worried, she quickened her pace and stood before the bed at the very end of the spacious room.
She came around the bed as the person began shifting in their sleep. She stood beside the person and was able to see that it was a boy with unruly short ebony hair and an ace bandage wrapped tightly around his head. She leaned over, placing a hand on his shoulder and gave him a light shake. He jumped up startled, grabbing Serena by the shoulders and slamming her down on the bed, hovering over her and staring down at her with dazed wild eyes.
His labored breathing hitched in his throat as his dark midnight blue eyes stared into terrified crystalline blue. He slowly released his painfully tight grasp upon the girl’s shoulders and slowly pulled away from her, running a hand through his disheveled locks. Serena cautiously sat up and scooted back a few paces from him, crossing her arms over her chest and rubbing her hands over her throbbing shoulders with a frown.
“What was that about?” snapped Serena.
The boy turned to the blonde with cold eyes. “Why were you standing over me?”
“I was trying to wake you!”
“For what!?”
“You were crying in your sleep!”
“Wh…” the boy paused, rubbing at his moist cheeks. He frowned deeply, rubbing the tears between his finger tips.
“I’m sorry.” he suddenly whispered, an awkward silence following afterwards.
Serena shifted her eyes to the bed, nervously nibbling on her bottom lip. “Why were you crying?”
“I don’t know.” he snapped, scratching at the back of his head in slight irritation.
Serena frowned, “Well…why are you here?”
The boy turned and shifted his eyes upon the curious blonde with a frown of his own. Why was she still here and not off to bed? What right did she have to be asking him all of these questions? Although…there was something quite intriguing about her and he was rather curious to learn a little about her too, but there was something about her frown that made him want to push her buttons.
“You have some nerve asking me all of these questions.” The boy inwardly smirked as he watched the blonde’s jaw tighten and a fire spark in her eyes.
“I think I have every right to ask questions with you slamming me down on the bed like you’re crazy!”
“I didn’t mean it!”
“Well you did it none the less.”
“You are the most aggravating person I have ever met!”
“Oh! And you’re not aggravating!?”
“Grrr! Go to bed!”
“Not until you answer my questions!”
“Fine!”
“Fine!”
“Fine!”
“Get to talking then!”
“Grr!!!” growled the boy as he clenched his hands into tight fists; this girl is impossible! He glared at her as he tried to calm himself down by taking slow and steady breaths. He closed his eyes for a moment and took one last deep breath, exhaled and than slowly opened his eyes.
“My family died in a car accident Friday.”
Serena gasped, eyes welling up with tears. “I’m sorry!”
The boy nodded. “Yeah…” He was taken a back when the small blonde leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. She pulled away from him and gave him a lop sided smile.
“You at least have good memories to remember them by.” The boy bowed his head, his heart constricting painfully in his chest as tears started welling in his eyes; he shook his head.
“No memories.”
Serena arched a brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I hit my head in the accident.” He replied, pointing at the ace bandage around his head. “The doctor said that I have amnesia”
“Well what do you remember?”
“My name’s Darien Chiba…and that I’m 9 years old…that’s it…”
“It’s going to come back…right?”
“The doctors said it will…but they don’t know when.” Serena arched a brow a little stunned, never hearing of such a thing. She tilted her head to the side and looked upon Darien.
“There are a lot of things I don’t want to remember…but I wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t remember my Mom.”
Darien scooted himself a little closer to the blonde. “What is she like?”
Serena smiled as she lost herself in some of her most cherished memories. “She was great! She always knew the right thing to say to make me feel better…She used to always make me and my sister these awesome chocolate chip pancakes! She used to always sing and dance in the kitchen while she cooked…I…I miss her.”
“She sounds like a nice person.” replied Darien, shifting a little uncomfortably as Serena’s eyes began to water with tears. “Where is she?”
Serena sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “She died two years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah…” whispered Serena.
“So…whose your sister?” asked Darien, wanting to change the subject upon seeing the blonde‘s eyes darken.
Serena suddenly perked up. “Oh Amara! She’s 9 too…but I don’t know where she is. I remember going to the hospital with her and Setsuna…then I woke up here…”
Darien suddenly smiled. “Well she’s probably sleeping and you will see her in the morning.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Well…I told you why I’m here, so why are you here?”
Serena sat up, crossing her legs beneath her. “My daddy is a bad man and me and my sister ran away. Some lady took us in and we stayed the night over there. Her husband called Setsuna and here I am.” The young blonde suddenly yawned, stretching slightly.
“You look tired..” murmured Darien as he too tried to stifle a yawn. Serena nodded, rubbing at her drooping eyes. She climbed off the bed, giving Darien a lop sided grin.
“I’m going to bed…talk to you tomorrow?”
Darien nodded with a smile. “Yeah.”
Serena giggled and turned, beginning to walk away. “Night!”
“Night,” replied Darien before furrowing his brows. “Hey wait!”
Serena paused in mid step, turning to look upon the boy. “Yes?”
“What’s you’re name?”
The blonde grinned. “Serena.”
Darien shared her grin with a nod of his head. “Serena…”
Serena giggled once again and turned away. “Good night Darien.”
“Night…” he whispered., navy blue eyes lingering upon the blonde’s retreating back. Once she was out of his sight, Darien lay back on his bed, covering himself up with his comforter, a warm smile upon his face; tonight was the night that he wasn’t going to have nightmares about plummeting off a cliff by a head on collision…he was going to dream…dream good dreams and wake up with a smile on his face.
--
A.J groaned, rolling over in his bed as he heard his cell phone insistently ringing. He snatched the device from his side table, flipping the phone open and bringing it to his ear.
“It’s 2 in the morning…what the hell!?” he snapped. There was a moment of silence before A.J’s look of irritation turned to that of shock as he sat up quickly in his bed. The sudden movement caused his sleeping wife Laura to shift awake and she slowly say up, looking upon her husband worriedly. Her concern tripled when she saw her husband’s eyes welling up with tears.
“Are you sure its him?” whispered A.J.
He sighed heavily. “What about his wife and two boys?”
There was another moment of silence before he spoke again. “Okay…thank you. I will be there first thing in the morning…bye.” He hung up the phone and buried his face into the palms of his hands as the tears rolled down his cheeks. Laura leaned forwards, pulling her husband to her chest and rubbed his back soothingly.
“What’s wrong?”
A.J. wrapped his arms tightly around his wife. “That collision in the mountains Friday was Donny.”
“Oh my God!” cried Laura. Tears welled up in her own eyes as she covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “What about the boys and Mallory…oh my God…Mallory is pregnant, they weren‘t with him were they?”
A.J shook his head solemnly. “They were with him; Donny was taking his family up to the mountains for Darien’s and Talon’s 9th birthday. He was supposedly hit head on by another vehicle and was pushed off the mountain…no witnesses and no leads…just skid marks to prove there was another vehicle involved.”
“Please tell me they’re alright.”
A.J shook his head once again “Darien is the only survivor and he’s at the orphanage with a head injury. His grandfather is away on a business trip, but he has been informed of what has happened and will take custody of Darien within the next few days.”
“That poor boy.” whispered Laura.
A.J. shook his head. “I can’t believe this…I just spoke with Donny Thursday…we were talking about having another party for Darien and Talon at dad’s arcade…Christ…and Andrew…” A.J. shifted his eyes towards his wife. “How do you think Andy is going to take this? Darien and Talon are his best friends.”
Laura shook her head not knowing what to say. Her son would be devastated, he’s lost Talon and may now never see Darien again when he’s in the custody of his grandfather. She sighed heavily, hugging her husband more tightly.
“I don’t know…I will talk to him in the morning. Do you think that Andy can go and see Darien at the orphanage?”
A.J. sighed. “I don’t know…Darien’s head injury gave him amnesia. All he knows is his name and age.”
“He doesn’t remember his friends or family…or the accident?”
“No.”
Laura sighed deeply, running a hand through her brown locks. “We will talk about this in the morning…let’s get some sleep honey.”
A.J nodded, lying back, both he and his wife staring up at the ceiling lost in their own thoughts; neither one of them getting any shut eye that night.
--Next Morning-
Serena groaned as she rolled over, placing a hand on her aching head. She cringed as she opened her eyes to the harsh sunlight and buried her face into her pillow. With a heavy sigh she raised herself from her pillow and slowly opened her eyes. Rubbing the sleep from them, she blearily looked around her until her eyes settled upon the opening bedroom door.
A woman who looked to be in her mid 40s walked into the room holding a tray. She smiled when her dark brown eyes landed on Serena and she made her way over to the weary blonde. She placed the tray down on a side table beside Serena’s bed and picked up a small cup that had 3 different pills in them. She handed the small paper cup to the child and gave her a glass of water.
“I am Tassy, please take your medicine.” Serena nodded numbly and swallowed the pills one at a time with a sip of water. Once finished she handed the glass and paper cup to the woman whom placed the objects down on the tray and in turn handed the child a sandwich. Serena ate on the bologna sandwich silently as she eyed the woman who had went and sat on the vacant bed to the left of her. Finishing off her food, she suddenly cocked her head to the side.
“Where’s my sister?”
Tassy stood from the bed and picked up the tray. “She is still in the hospital. She is fine, just need a few more days.”
Serena nodded her head with furrowed brows as Tassy suddenly cleared her throat. “Come along child, you need to get cleaned up so you can go outside with the other children.”
The blonde gulped, a sudden nervousness overwhelming her. She tried not to think about being around so many new people at once and hoped that she didn’t panic…especially since Amara wasn’t here. Sighing deeply, she slipped out of the bed and straightened up her covers and pillow, than followed Tassy out of the room.
--
Serena stood in the door way, eyes locked onto the massive amount of children running around in the playground of the orphanage. She nervously chewed on her bottom lip as her heart began to thump wildly in her chest. A bead of perspiration trickled down the side on her face as the palms of her hands became sweaty. Her breathing started to come in short gasps, panic creeping through her veins as something suddenly appeared before her. Taking a startled step back, Serena realized that something was Darien.
The young boy giggled and placed a hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “You alright?”
Serena flashed a weak smile with a nod. “Yeah…why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well…you looked a little freaked out just now.”
The blonde shifted her eyes to the floor, rubbing at the back of her neck. “I get a little freaked out when I’m around crowds and loud noises.”
“Oh…” replied Darien before flashing a grin. “I don’t think anybody is going to bother you and if they do they’ll have to answer to me!”
Serena giggled when he buffed out his chest as if he was the strongest man in the world. He suddenly reached out and took a hold of her hand and pulled her out of the building.
“Come on, we can sit over by that big tree over there.” exclaimed Darien as he pulled Serena along with him. As they got closer, Serena looked up at the gigantic tree in child like amazement.
“Wow! It’s so big!”
“I know!” gushed Darien, taking a seat at the base of the tree; Serena following in his lead. The pair sat in comfortable silence, staring up at the bright blue sky without a care in the world. Serena shifted her eyes away from the sky and scanned the playground slowly, stopping when they landed upon a boy sitting by himself up against the picket fence. The blonde frowned and turned towards Darien, tapping the boy on his shoulder.
“Who is that boy over there?”
Darien turned towards the direction with an arched brow. “I don’t know.”
“Hmm…let’s go talk to him.”
Darien looked upon the blonde with narrowed eyes, wondering why she wanted to talk to him so bad. “What makes you think he wants to talk to us?”
Serena shrugged. “We won’t know until we try.”
Darien sighed and stood to his feet. “Alright, let’s go talk to him then.”
Serena grinned and stood to her feet as well. “Cool! Come on!” The small blonde latched a hold of Darien’s arms and tugged him along with her. In a matter of seconds they were standing before the boy as he sat pressed up against the fence, knees drawn up to his chest, face buried into his knees.
“Why are you sitting here all by yourself?” questioned Serena. The young boy raised his head revealing grotesque burns from his neck to his chin. He had long shaggy brown hair that hid his eyes from view; he cocked his head to the side with a smile.
“No one wants to talk to me.”
“Why not?” questioned Serena as she took a seat beside the boy, Darien sitting on the other side of him.
“Look at me…I’m a monster.”
“No you’re not!” Serena frowned, placing a hand upon his shoulder. “Don’t say things like that.”
The boy turned from the blonde and looked down upon his lap. “I can if its true…I hear them whispering about me…” an awkward silence fell afterwards and Serena began to twiddle her thumbs together as she wondered how he had gotten those wounds or at least find out what his name is. Unable to take the silence any longer the blonde decided to question her thoughts but was cut short.
“I’m Chad by the way.”
“Serena.” grinned the blonde.
“Darien.”
Chad nodded with a small smile, than bowed his head once again. “So…I guess you’re wondering how I got these wounds, huh?”
“If you feel like talking about it…” replied Serena sincerely, but Chad could tell the blonde really wanted to know.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, whatever.” He combed his fingers through his shaggy hair, pulling back his bangs and momentarily revealing navy blue eyes.
“My mom did it…she was always so mad at me…”
.::Flash Back::.
Chad was sitting in his bedroom, working on his homework, sprawled out across his bed. He tried to tune out hearing his mother moving about in the hallway outside his door as he felt a sudden uneasiness welling in the pit of his stomach. Although, he really couldn’t figure out if he had done anything wrong…the chores were done, he read his bible for three hours, his room was spotless…what was wrong?
“CHAD!” he jumped up startled and quickly made his way off the bed and smothered out the creases in his blankets. He stepped out of his bedroom as he heard his mother call upon him again with her loud screeching voice.
Cringing, he called out. “Yes Mother?”
“Come here!” she called out sweetly, causing the boy to pause in his steps. He furrowed his brows not liking her tone of voice…there was something wrong. Swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, he slowly made his way down the hallway and stopped in the door way of the bathroom. His mother stood in the middle of the room, hands behind her back, feet a shoulder length apart, a tight smile on her face.
“Come in here boy…”
Chad gulped and chewed on his bottom lip before taking a couple of steps into the bathroom. “Yes Mother?”
His mother‘s smile broadened, which didn’t bring him any form of comfort. “What have I told you about bringing sinful things into my home?”
Chad furrowed his brows, not sure of what she was talking about. “What sinful things Mother?”
Chad’s mother glared down upon the boy as she revealed what was behind her back. His eyes widened as she pulled out three of his comic books he had stashed in the garage. He nervously bit on his bottom lip wondering how in the world she had found those. He felt his eyes narrow as his mother’s face twisted into a look that sent shivers of fear up and down his spine.
“I’ve told you time and time again not to bring such garbage into this house…” She took a menacing step forward and Chad involuntarily flinched. “God does not like disobedience…you’ve been a bad boy and shall be punished for your sins.”
Before the boy could react, his mother had him by the back of the neck and was dragging him towards the bath tub as she was muttering religious versus under her breath. Chad suddenly started fighting back when he felt the hot steam from the bathtub that was filled with boiling hot water. Sweat beaded across his forehead and he frantically pleaded with his mother.
“I’m sorry! I’ll be a good boy!” he screamed, desperately trying to break from his mother grasp.
His mother frowned, shaking her head. “Sorry isn’t good enough.” with that said, she clutched the boy by the collar of his shirt and pushed him back, causing the back of his legs to his the tub and fall back towards water. He screamed as he felt the burning water boiling his skin as he tried to thrash his way out. Fortunately, his hands stopped him from being entirely submerged and he kicked frantically at his mother as she held him down, burning herself too. Her eyes were wild and her muttering became louder to the point of shouting, telling God to cleans her son of his evil ways.
Chad was able to land a fierce kick to her to his mother’s abdomen and the woman gave a startled yelp. She released her hold on her son and stumbled a couple of steps back, slipping on a puddle of water and ramming her head on the side of the toilet. Chad took this time to jump out of the tub and he hightailed it out of the bathroom.
He began to strip off his pants and shirt to relieve some of the burning sensation throughout his body. He looked down at himself mortified at his blistering red flesh and turned sharply when he heard his mother’s low drawled out moan. Without a second thought he made a mad dash down the steps and out of the house.”
.::End Flashback::.
“I ran to the neighbor’s house and they called the police and I was rushed to the hospital.”
“Where’s your mom now?” questioned Darien, completely horrified by the story.
“She went to prison and was stabbed to death by a prisoner.”
Serena‘s widened. “And your dad?”
“He left us when I was four and got remarried and started a new family. He didn’t want anything to do with us. When he left, mom told me that it was my fault that he left…that I was a bad boy and that God hated me for my sinful ways…”
“You don’t believe that…do you?” asked Darien.
Chad smiled and shook his head. “No…but sometimes I wonder…” There was a moment of silence before he suddenly cleared his throat and leaned back up against the fence. “So what are your stories?”
Darien shrugged. “My parents were killed in a car accident and I can‘t remember anything.”
“My dad hits me and my sister so we ran away, got caught and was brought here…and my mom died 2 years ago.”
Chad shook his head. “That’s pretty messed up…” he murmured softly.
“Children! Come along, it’s snack time!” called out Tassy as she stood in the doorway. Serena jumped to her feet, with a wide grin upon her face.
“You going to eat with us Chad?”
The boy grinned and gave a curt nod. “Yeah!” He jumped to his feet, followed by Darien and they both quickly took off after the running blonde.
--Later That Evening-
A black stretch limousine pulled up in front of the Orphanage and the driver stepped out and walked around to the back door. He opened the door and a man in his early 60s stepped out of the vehicle, wearing a top dollar black business suit, graying black hair neatly cropped upon his head. He firmly grasped his cane with a wrinkled hand and silently made his way into the Orphanage as his driver stood posted up at the limousine.
He stepped into the building, startling Tassy who was listening to the radio and snacking on a Butterfinger candy bar. Rewrapping the candy bar and placing it on the table, she quickly stood to her feet and made her way over to the man.
“Hi! My name is Tassy, what can I do for you sir?”
The man smiled. “I am Dorian Chiba. I am here to get my grandson Darien.”
“Oh right this way Mr. Chiba.” replied Tassy as she led the man to the bedroom. They entered the room filled with sleeping children and they walked to the very end of the room. Dorian stopped and stood at the end of the bed as Tassy awakened the boy.
“You need to wake up Darien.”
The boy slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “What is it?”
“Your grandfather is here to take you.”
“My Grandfather?”
“Yes.” replied Dorian as he stepped around the bed and stood before the bed. “Now come along and I’ll take you home.”
Darien smiled with a nod of his head as he enthusiastically jumped off his bed and began to gather his stuff. He suddenly paused in his actions and stared off down the rows of beds. He turned towards his side table and pulled out a piece of paper and a crayon. He scribbled down a small message and folded it before gathering his things and heading towards door. Before reaching the door, he stopped at Serena’s bed and placed the folded up piece of paper on the side table beside her bed.
“See ya Serena…” he whispered, than turned and left the room with Tassy and his Grandfather.
Author: That’s all for now, hope you enjoyed! Please Review!
Disclaimer: Don’t own Sm
Serena shifted in her sleep, thrashing out wildly, a light sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead. She suddenly shot up in her bed with a small cry, hands clutching at her throat, fear embedded in her crystalline blue eyes. Taking a few shaky deep breaths, she ran a trembling hand through her sweat soaked bangs.
“It was just a dream.” she whispered, willing her rapid heart beat to slow its pace. She suddenly furrowed her brows and looked around her.
“Where am I…Amara?” called out Serena, not seeing her sister in sight. She frowned deeply as she felt fear creeping up the back of her neck, looking about the dark room frantically. A sudden noise struck her attention, her body stiffening as she tried to listen for it again. When the noise came about again, the small blonde crawled out of the bed.
“What was that?” she whispered, falling silent again to hear the noise once more. When it came she began walking down the rows of beds, the noise becoming louder and more frequent. As she got closer to the noise, she realized that it sounded like someone was crying. Becoming worried, she quickened her pace and stood before the bed at the very end of the spacious room.
She came around the bed as the person began shifting in their sleep. She stood beside the person and was able to see that it was a boy with unruly short ebony hair and an ace bandage wrapped tightly around his head. She leaned over, placing a hand on his shoulder and gave him a light shake. He jumped up startled, grabbing Serena by the shoulders and slamming her down on the bed, hovering over her and staring down at her with dazed wild eyes.
His labored breathing hitched in his throat as his dark midnight blue eyes stared into terrified crystalline blue. He slowly released his painfully tight grasp upon the girl’s shoulders and slowly pulled away from her, running a hand through his disheveled locks. Serena cautiously sat up and scooted back a few paces from him, crossing her arms over her chest and rubbing her hands over her throbbing shoulders with a frown.
“What was that about?” snapped Serena.
The boy turned to the blonde with cold eyes. “Why were you standing over me?”
“I was trying to wake you!”
“For what!?”
“You were crying in your sleep!”
“Wh…” the boy paused, rubbing at his moist cheeks. He frowned deeply, rubbing the tears between his finger tips.
“I’m sorry.” he suddenly whispered, an awkward silence following afterwards.
Serena shifted her eyes to the bed, nervously nibbling on her bottom lip. “Why were you crying?”
“I don’t know.” he snapped, scratching at the back of his head in slight irritation.
Serena frowned, “Well…why are you here?”
The boy turned and shifted his eyes upon the curious blonde with a frown of his own. Why was she still here and not off to bed? What right did she have to be asking him all of these questions? Although…there was something quite intriguing about her and he was rather curious to learn a little about her too, but there was something about her frown that made him want to push her buttons.
“You have some nerve asking me all of these questions.” The boy inwardly smirked as he watched the blonde’s jaw tighten and a fire spark in her eyes.
“I think I have every right to ask questions with you slamming me down on the bed like you’re crazy!”
“I didn’t mean it!”
“Well you did it none the less.”
“You are the most aggravating person I have ever met!”
“Oh! And you’re not aggravating!?”
“Grrr! Go to bed!”
“Not until you answer my questions!”
“Fine!”
“Fine!”
“Fine!”
“Get to talking then!”
“Grr!!!” growled the boy as he clenched his hands into tight fists; this girl is impossible! He glared at her as he tried to calm himself down by taking slow and steady breaths. He closed his eyes for a moment and took one last deep breath, exhaled and than slowly opened his eyes.
“My family died in a car accident Friday.”
Serena gasped, eyes welling up with tears. “I’m sorry!”
The boy nodded. “Yeah…” He was taken a back when the small blonde leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. She pulled away from him and gave him a lop sided smile.
“You at least have good memories to remember them by.” The boy bowed his head, his heart constricting painfully in his chest as tears started welling in his eyes; he shook his head.
“No memories.”
Serena arched a brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I hit my head in the accident.” He replied, pointing at the ace bandage around his head. “The doctor said that I have amnesia”
“Well what do you remember?”
“My name’s Darien Chiba…and that I’m 9 years old…that’s it…”
“It’s going to come back…right?”
“The doctors said it will…but they don’t know when.” Serena arched a brow a little stunned, never hearing of such a thing. She tilted her head to the side and looked upon Darien.
“There are a lot of things I don’t want to remember…but I wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t remember my Mom.”
Darien scooted himself a little closer to the blonde. “What is she like?”
Serena smiled as she lost herself in some of her most cherished memories. “She was great! She always knew the right thing to say to make me feel better…She used to always make me and my sister these awesome chocolate chip pancakes! She used to always sing and dance in the kitchen while she cooked…I…I miss her.”
“She sounds like a nice person.” replied Darien, shifting a little uncomfortably as Serena’s eyes began to water with tears. “Where is she?”
Serena sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “She died two years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah…” whispered Serena.
“So…whose your sister?” asked Darien, wanting to change the subject upon seeing the blonde‘s eyes darken.
Serena suddenly perked up. “Oh Amara! She’s 9 too…but I don’t know where she is. I remember going to the hospital with her and Setsuna…then I woke up here…”
Darien suddenly smiled. “Well she’s probably sleeping and you will see her in the morning.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Well…I told you why I’m here, so why are you here?”
Serena sat up, crossing her legs beneath her. “My daddy is a bad man and me and my sister ran away. Some lady took us in and we stayed the night over there. Her husband called Setsuna and here I am.” The young blonde suddenly yawned, stretching slightly.
“You look tired..” murmured Darien as he too tried to stifle a yawn. Serena nodded, rubbing at her drooping eyes. She climbed off the bed, giving Darien a lop sided grin.
“I’m going to bed…talk to you tomorrow?”
Darien nodded with a smile. “Yeah.”
Serena giggled and turned, beginning to walk away. “Night!”
“Night,” replied Darien before furrowing his brows. “Hey wait!”
Serena paused in mid step, turning to look upon the boy. “Yes?”
“What’s you’re name?”
The blonde grinned. “Serena.”
Darien shared her grin with a nod of his head. “Serena…”
Serena giggled once again and turned away. “Good night Darien.”
“Night…” he whispered., navy blue eyes lingering upon the blonde’s retreating back. Once she was out of his sight, Darien lay back on his bed, covering himself up with his comforter, a warm smile upon his face; tonight was the night that he wasn’t going to have nightmares about plummeting off a cliff by a head on collision…he was going to dream…dream good dreams and wake up with a smile on his face.
--
A.J groaned, rolling over in his bed as he heard his cell phone insistently ringing. He snatched the device from his side table, flipping the phone open and bringing it to his ear.
“It’s 2 in the morning…what the hell!?” he snapped. There was a moment of silence before A.J’s look of irritation turned to that of shock as he sat up quickly in his bed. The sudden movement caused his sleeping wife Laura to shift awake and she slowly say up, looking upon her husband worriedly. Her concern tripled when she saw her husband’s eyes welling up with tears.
“Are you sure its him?” whispered A.J.
He sighed heavily. “What about his wife and two boys?”
There was another moment of silence before he spoke again. “Okay…thank you. I will be there first thing in the morning…bye.” He hung up the phone and buried his face into the palms of his hands as the tears rolled down his cheeks. Laura leaned forwards, pulling her husband to her chest and rubbed his back soothingly.
“What’s wrong?”
A.J. wrapped his arms tightly around his wife. “That collision in the mountains Friday was Donny.”
“Oh my God!” cried Laura. Tears welled up in her own eyes as she covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “What about the boys and Mallory…oh my God…Mallory is pregnant, they weren‘t with him were they?”
A.J shook his head solemnly. “They were with him; Donny was taking his family up to the mountains for Darien’s and Talon’s 9th birthday. He was supposedly hit head on by another vehicle and was pushed off the mountain…no witnesses and no leads…just skid marks to prove there was another vehicle involved.”
“Please tell me they’re alright.”
A.J shook his head once again “Darien is the only survivor and he’s at the orphanage with a head injury. His grandfather is away on a business trip, but he has been informed of what has happened and will take custody of Darien within the next few days.”
“That poor boy.” whispered Laura.
A.J. shook his head. “I can’t believe this…I just spoke with Donny Thursday…we were talking about having another party for Darien and Talon at dad’s arcade…Christ…and Andrew…” A.J. shifted his eyes towards his wife. “How do you think Andy is going to take this? Darien and Talon are his best friends.”
Laura shook her head not knowing what to say. Her son would be devastated, he’s lost Talon and may now never see Darien again when he’s in the custody of his grandfather. She sighed heavily, hugging her husband more tightly.
“I don’t know…I will talk to him in the morning. Do you think that Andy can go and see Darien at the orphanage?”
A.J. sighed. “I don’t know…Darien’s head injury gave him amnesia. All he knows is his name and age.”
“He doesn’t remember his friends or family…or the accident?”
“No.”
Laura sighed deeply, running a hand through her brown locks. “We will talk about this in the morning…let’s get some sleep honey.”
A.J nodded, lying back, both he and his wife staring up at the ceiling lost in their own thoughts; neither one of them getting any shut eye that night.
--Next Morning-
Serena groaned as she rolled over, placing a hand on her aching head. She cringed as she opened her eyes to the harsh sunlight and buried her face into her pillow. With a heavy sigh she raised herself from her pillow and slowly opened her eyes. Rubbing the sleep from them, she blearily looked around her until her eyes settled upon the opening bedroom door.
A woman who looked to be in her mid 40s walked into the room holding a tray. She smiled when her dark brown eyes landed on Serena and she made her way over to the weary blonde. She placed the tray down on a side table beside Serena’s bed and picked up a small cup that had 3 different pills in them. She handed the small paper cup to the child and gave her a glass of water.
“I am Tassy, please take your medicine.” Serena nodded numbly and swallowed the pills one at a time with a sip of water. Once finished she handed the glass and paper cup to the woman whom placed the objects down on the tray and in turn handed the child a sandwich. Serena ate on the bologna sandwich silently as she eyed the woman who had went and sat on the vacant bed to the left of her. Finishing off her food, she suddenly cocked her head to the side.
“Where’s my sister?”
Tassy stood from the bed and picked up the tray. “She is still in the hospital. She is fine, just need a few more days.”
Serena nodded her head with furrowed brows as Tassy suddenly cleared her throat. “Come along child, you need to get cleaned up so you can go outside with the other children.”
The blonde gulped, a sudden nervousness overwhelming her. She tried not to think about being around so many new people at once and hoped that she didn’t panic…especially since Amara wasn’t here. Sighing deeply, she slipped out of the bed and straightened up her covers and pillow, than followed Tassy out of the room.
--
Serena stood in the door way, eyes locked onto the massive amount of children running around in the playground of the orphanage. She nervously chewed on her bottom lip as her heart began to thump wildly in her chest. A bead of perspiration trickled down the side on her face as the palms of her hands became sweaty. Her breathing started to come in short gasps, panic creeping through her veins as something suddenly appeared before her. Taking a startled step back, Serena realized that something was Darien.
The young boy giggled and placed a hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “You alright?”
Serena flashed a weak smile with a nod. “Yeah…why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well…you looked a little freaked out just now.”
The blonde shifted her eyes to the floor, rubbing at the back of her neck. “I get a little freaked out when I’m around crowds and loud noises.”
“Oh…” replied Darien before flashing a grin. “I don’t think anybody is going to bother you and if they do they’ll have to answer to me!”
Serena giggled when he buffed out his chest as if he was the strongest man in the world. He suddenly reached out and took a hold of her hand and pulled her out of the building.
“Come on, we can sit over by that big tree over there.” exclaimed Darien as he pulled Serena along with him. As they got closer, Serena looked up at the gigantic tree in child like amazement.
“Wow! It’s so big!”
“I know!” gushed Darien, taking a seat at the base of the tree; Serena following in his lead. The pair sat in comfortable silence, staring up at the bright blue sky without a care in the world. Serena shifted her eyes away from the sky and scanned the playground slowly, stopping when they landed upon a boy sitting by himself up against the picket fence. The blonde frowned and turned towards Darien, tapping the boy on his shoulder.
“Who is that boy over there?”
Darien turned towards the direction with an arched brow. “I don’t know.”
“Hmm…let’s go talk to him.”
Darien looked upon the blonde with narrowed eyes, wondering why she wanted to talk to him so bad. “What makes you think he wants to talk to us?”
Serena shrugged. “We won’t know until we try.”
Darien sighed and stood to his feet. “Alright, let’s go talk to him then.”
Serena grinned and stood to her feet as well. “Cool! Come on!” The small blonde latched a hold of Darien’s arms and tugged him along with her. In a matter of seconds they were standing before the boy as he sat pressed up against the fence, knees drawn up to his chest, face buried into his knees.
“Why are you sitting here all by yourself?” questioned Serena. The young boy raised his head revealing grotesque burns from his neck to his chin. He had long shaggy brown hair that hid his eyes from view; he cocked his head to the side with a smile.
“No one wants to talk to me.”
“Why not?” questioned Serena as she took a seat beside the boy, Darien sitting on the other side of him.
“Look at me…I’m a monster.”
“No you’re not!” Serena frowned, placing a hand upon his shoulder. “Don’t say things like that.”
The boy turned from the blonde and looked down upon his lap. “I can if its true…I hear them whispering about me…” an awkward silence fell afterwards and Serena began to twiddle her thumbs together as she wondered how he had gotten those wounds or at least find out what his name is. Unable to take the silence any longer the blonde decided to question her thoughts but was cut short.
“I’m Chad by the way.”
“Serena.” grinned the blonde.
“Darien.”
Chad nodded with a small smile, than bowed his head once again. “So…I guess you’re wondering how I got these wounds, huh?”
“If you feel like talking about it…” replied Serena sincerely, but Chad could tell the blonde really wanted to know.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, whatever.” He combed his fingers through his shaggy hair, pulling back his bangs and momentarily revealing navy blue eyes.
“My mom did it…she was always so mad at me…”
.::Flash Back::.
Chad was sitting in his bedroom, working on his homework, sprawled out across his bed. He tried to tune out hearing his mother moving about in the hallway outside his door as he felt a sudden uneasiness welling in the pit of his stomach. Although, he really couldn’t figure out if he had done anything wrong…the chores were done, he read his bible for three hours, his room was spotless…what was wrong?
“CHAD!” he jumped up startled and quickly made his way off the bed and smothered out the creases in his blankets. He stepped out of his bedroom as he heard his mother call upon him again with her loud screeching voice.
Cringing, he called out. “Yes Mother?”
“Come here!” she called out sweetly, causing the boy to pause in his steps. He furrowed his brows not liking her tone of voice…there was something wrong. Swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, he slowly made his way down the hallway and stopped in the door way of the bathroom. His mother stood in the middle of the room, hands behind her back, feet a shoulder length apart, a tight smile on her face.
“Come in here boy…”
Chad gulped and chewed on his bottom lip before taking a couple of steps into the bathroom. “Yes Mother?”
His mother‘s smile broadened, which didn’t bring him any form of comfort. “What have I told you about bringing sinful things into my home?”
Chad furrowed his brows, not sure of what she was talking about. “What sinful things Mother?”
Chad’s mother glared down upon the boy as she revealed what was behind her back. His eyes widened as she pulled out three of his comic books he had stashed in the garage. He nervously bit on his bottom lip wondering how in the world she had found those. He felt his eyes narrow as his mother’s face twisted into a look that sent shivers of fear up and down his spine.
“I’ve told you time and time again not to bring such garbage into this house…” She took a menacing step forward and Chad involuntarily flinched. “God does not like disobedience…you’ve been a bad boy and shall be punished for your sins.”
Before the boy could react, his mother had him by the back of the neck and was dragging him towards the bath tub as she was muttering religious versus under her breath. Chad suddenly started fighting back when he felt the hot steam from the bathtub that was filled with boiling hot water. Sweat beaded across his forehead and he frantically pleaded with his mother.
“I’m sorry! I’ll be a good boy!” he screamed, desperately trying to break from his mother grasp.
His mother frowned, shaking her head. “Sorry isn’t good enough.” with that said, she clutched the boy by the collar of his shirt and pushed him back, causing the back of his legs to his the tub and fall back towards water. He screamed as he felt the burning water boiling his skin as he tried to thrash his way out. Fortunately, his hands stopped him from being entirely submerged and he kicked frantically at his mother as she held him down, burning herself too. Her eyes were wild and her muttering became louder to the point of shouting, telling God to cleans her son of his evil ways.
Chad was able to land a fierce kick to her to his mother’s abdomen and the woman gave a startled yelp. She released her hold on her son and stumbled a couple of steps back, slipping on a puddle of water and ramming her head on the side of the toilet. Chad took this time to jump out of the tub and he hightailed it out of the bathroom.
He began to strip off his pants and shirt to relieve some of the burning sensation throughout his body. He looked down at himself mortified at his blistering red flesh and turned sharply when he heard his mother’s low drawled out moan. Without a second thought he made a mad dash down the steps and out of the house.”
.::End Flashback::.
“I ran to the neighbor’s house and they called the police and I was rushed to the hospital.”
“Where’s your mom now?” questioned Darien, completely horrified by the story.
“She went to prison and was stabbed to death by a prisoner.”
Serena‘s widened. “And your dad?”
“He left us when I was four and got remarried and started a new family. He didn’t want anything to do with us. When he left, mom told me that it was my fault that he left…that I was a bad boy and that God hated me for my sinful ways…”
“You don’t believe that…do you?” asked Darien.
Chad smiled and shook his head. “No…but sometimes I wonder…” There was a moment of silence before he suddenly cleared his throat and leaned back up against the fence. “So what are your stories?”
Darien shrugged. “My parents were killed in a car accident and I can‘t remember anything.”
“My dad hits me and my sister so we ran away, got caught and was brought here…and my mom died 2 years ago.”
Chad shook his head. “That’s pretty messed up…” he murmured softly.
“Children! Come along, it’s snack time!” called out Tassy as she stood in the doorway. Serena jumped to her feet, with a wide grin upon her face.
“You going to eat with us Chad?”
The boy grinned and gave a curt nod. “Yeah!” He jumped to his feet, followed by Darien and they both quickly took off after the running blonde.
--Later That Evening-
A black stretch limousine pulled up in front of the Orphanage and the driver stepped out and walked around to the back door. He opened the door and a man in his early 60s stepped out of the vehicle, wearing a top dollar black business suit, graying black hair neatly cropped upon his head. He firmly grasped his cane with a wrinkled hand and silently made his way into the Orphanage as his driver stood posted up at the limousine.
He stepped into the building, startling Tassy who was listening to the radio and snacking on a Butterfinger candy bar. Rewrapping the candy bar and placing it on the table, she quickly stood to her feet and made her way over to the man.
“Hi! My name is Tassy, what can I do for you sir?”
The man smiled. “I am Dorian Chiba. I am here to get my grandson Darien.”
“Oh right this way Mr. Chiba.” replied Tassy as she led the man to the bedroom. They entered the room filled with sleeping children and they walked to the very end of the room. Dorian stopped and stood at the end of the bed as Tassy awakened the boy.
“You need to wake up Darien.”
The boy slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “What is it?”
“Your grandfather is here to take you.”
“My Grandfather?”
“Yes.” replied Dorian as he stepped around the bed and stood before the bed. “Now come along and I’ll take you home.”
Darien smiled with a nod of his head as he enthusiastically jumped off his bed and began to gather his stuff. He suddenly paused in his actions and stared off down the rows of beds. He turned towards his side table and pulled out a piece of paper and a crayon. He scribbled down a small message and folded it before gathering his things and heading towards door. Before reaching the door, he stopped at Serena’s bed and placed the folded up piece of paper on the side table beside her bed.
“See ya Serena…” he whispered, than turned and left the room with Tassy and his Grandfather.
Author: That’s all for now, hope you enjoyed! Please Review!