Revelations of the Heart

The Seasons of Change.

Raphael, 18 years old
New York, New York 2017
The morning after the party, I woke up to the smell of bacon frying and the sound of Mikey humming in the kitchen. I got up and stretched, walking down the hall to my room. I heard the shower running in the bathroom and remembered why I was on the couch in the first place. None of my brothers would take a shower this early before training. I pushed the curtain to my room aside, intent on grabbing a fresh pair of boxers and some deodorant, when I saw something under the bed. Picking it up I saw that it was a sketchbook with Aella's name in bubble letters on the cover. I should have stuck it in her backpack and left, but I listened a minute to hear the shower still going, and opened it instead. There were some basic sketches; flowers, animals, landscapes, all beautiful and all with her chicken scratch signature at the bottom. But then there was an unfinished one, a side profile of one of my brothers. Or I thought it was one of them until I saw the bandana. I was the only one to wear a complete head covering. She had put incredible detail into it, capturing every mark and line, the scar on my lip, and the crack in my plastron. I knew she watched me. I could smell her vanilla body spray every time she thought I was oblivious, spying on me from the door of the dojo. But it gave me a thrill all the same, knowing she actually saw ME and not just a mutant monster. Just then, I heard a quiet gasp, and I turned to see her in the doorway, a towel around her head and her shower bag in hand. When she saw what page I was on she snatched the book from my grasp and stuffed it into her bag, not meeting my eyes. Before I could apologize, she grabbed all her things and fled, losing the towel in her haste to exit the lair. I picked it up and stepped out, sniffing is subtly. It smelled like green apples. I liked it. Mikey came out of the kitchen, spatula in hand, wearing a Kiss the Cook apron with the Cook crossed out and replaced with Turtle in black sharpie. 'Was that Ells? What's her problem?' I just shrugged and walked back into my room, dropping the towel into the hamper and falling back onto my bed. The faint scent of vanilla wafted over me, and I inhaled deeply. Shit.

Aella Jones, same day.
Crap crap crap. I ran all the way to school without stopping for a breath. By the time I got there I had a stitch in my side and my heart was pounding in my ears. I was always thin, but that had more to do with genetics and a high metabolism than being athletic. I was mortified. He had seen my sketch, the one I barely remembered drawing in my tired state last night, and now I couldn't ever face him again. He would know how much I actually paid attention to him, and he would be creeped out. School hadn't even opened yet, so I sat on the concrete steps and brushed my hair out, braiding it down my back. It was long, and I had been thinking about a change. Maybe now was the right time. I could cut it, dye it, change my name while I was at it, and disappear. Turned out I didn't need to. In homeroom I got handed a permission slip for a two week trip to Washington D.C. along with a select few others in my grade. This was perfect. Two weeks of not seeing me and he would forget all about it. Hopefully. I rushed home after school, got together all my babysitting money and my most convincing 'I've earned it' speech and waited by the front door for Casey to get home. Before I could even get on a roll he agreed. I paused. 'Wait a minute, you're not even gonna try to talk me down? I think I should feel offended that you're not gonna miss me.' He chuckled. 'Of course I'm gonna miss you, I just trust you. April has been telling me I need to back off a little with the overprotective brother thing. I trust you to handle yourself.' A light bulb went off in my head and I raised a brow. 'Uh huh. You sure it has nothing to do with getting your baby sister out of the loft for two solid weeks?' The tips of his ears got red. 'Ok fine. Maybe a little. But you really do deserve it, and you're paying for it. I need to let go a little. You are becoming a strong, independent young woman. Mom would be proud.' I smiled. 'Mom would be proud of both of us.' I rubbed my hand over his cropped head. He used to have long hair too, dark and shoulder length. He would let me braid it sometimes when I was little, sitting in front of the TV, usually with a frozen bag of peas on some part of his body. He got in fights a lot when he was younger, plus he played hockey, street and ice. He had anger issues inherited from our father, and kids could be cruel. From the age of 15 on he had to listen to people talk crap about our mom for having a baby so late in life, and then it was the older brothers of kids who teased me, or worse, the stray member of the Purple Dragons. He dropped out of high school, and stayed out later and later. Then one night, when he was 19, my mom and I got mugged coming home from the corner market. The guy didn't really hurt us, but he took everything and scared my mother into a panic attack. I was only 5, but I told Casey everything I remembered as soon as we got home. He lost it, hunting down the guy and beating him almost to death. He was never charged, being the guy couldn't id him through his hockey mask and a black hoodie. But when he came home with my mom's purse and bloody knuckles she begged him to get help. And he did. He got into anger management, took night classes, and got his GED, and got a nice paying job at a plant near us. Our dad died first, and then mom, and he took custody of me. We didn't have any family left that we knew, so we were alone. He got the job as a corrections officer. Then came Gabrielle. She was beautiful and kind, and she and Casey dated for almost two years before she left without any notice while he was at work one night. He was torn up inside for months. He started drinking a little, and I noticed he didn't come home right after work at night. The news started talking about a masked vigilante on the loose in Brooklyn taking out petty crime, and somehow I knew. I never brought it up, because his mood started improving and I was selfish. And then came April and the turtles and things were great again. He quit drinking with April, and I noticed that Raphael had taken it upon himself to be my brother's anger management. They had clicked much the same way Mikey and I had. Crap, Mikey. I shot him a text, explaining that I wouldn't be around for the next 2 weeks, and started packing my bags. A little while later Casey and I were eating dinner when we heard a tap on the fire escape window. He went over to unlock it and Mikey, Leo, and Donnie piled in. Mikey immediately said 'Ooh, burritos!' and snatched one up before seemingly remembering what he was here for in the first place. He fell to my feet, clutching my leg and crying 'SWEETCHEEKS! You can't leave me for two whole weeks, I'll just die of boredom. And who is gonna protect me from Raph when he gets angry? I'll be defenseless without you there!' Leo pulled him up by the back of the shell. I laughed at the pouty expression on his face. 'Chill, Mikey. We just came to see you before you leave tomorrow night. We hope you have fun and Mikey will be just fine. Donnie wanted to give you this.' He handed me a revamped black sports watch. 'April picked it out and Donnie fitted it with a tracking device and alert button. It's more inconspicuous than a bracelet or necklace, so if you're in trouble we know where to find you.' Seeing the look on my face he added, 'And no Casey had nothing to do with it. We would all just feel better if you wore it.' I thanked him and slipped it on. Casey thanked him too, asking where Raphael was. 'We left him outside on lookout. I was gonna stay and let him come in but he insisted.' Mikey gave me a suspicious look. 'Yeah, he's been acting weird all day. You wouldn't happen to know why would you, Cheeks?' I felt myself turning red and hastily answered 'no' before turning on my heel and flying up the stairs like the Foot were behind me. At the top I stopped to catch my breath, my heart racing all over again. I knew it, he hated me. He didn't even want to see me. I flopped down on my bed and threw my arms over my eyes. Maybe I'd be able to explain myself when I got back from Washington. Before I knew it I was asleep.

Raphael, same day.
I watched from the opposite rooftop as my brothers gave Aella her gift. Then she moved out of sight and I saw the upstairs lamp turn on and I watched as she got in bed. God, I was such a creep. But I couldn't help it. I tried to be as subtle as possible, but it was hard. She was beautiful. She never wore makeup, and she didn't need it. Her long dark hair was always up in a messy bun or in some kind of braid. She had big expressive light grey eyes that danced when she was happy and stormed when she was mad and sometimes she wore blue light glasses when she was using her computer. Her eyes had this dark outer ring that made them pop, along with long, thick lashes and dark brows. She had a beauty mark beside her right eye, and a full mouth that went nonstop when she was excited or upset. She barely wore jewelry except for studs in her ears, but for her sweet 16 Casey had agreed to 2 piercings of her choice, which turned out to be a helix in her right ear and a conch in her left. As soon as they healed she picked out a small hoop for her helix and a silver stud and chain for her conch. That along with a silver rose on her left ring finger, something April called a 'purity ring', was all she ever wore. She painted her nails black, regularly, because she couldn't keep them out of her mouth. It was her bored or nervous tick. And last week she had been in the lair, reading on the couch with her bare feet crossed over the arm. I had half expected her toes to be black too, but instead they were dark red. My color. I had brushed it off because it just happened to be her favorite color and her birthstone too, but after seeing that sketch I wasn't sure. It didn't matter anyway. She was younger, and my best friend's baby sister. Not to mention human. She had no future with me, or any of us for that matter. Though I knew none of the others were attracted to her in the slightest. Even Mikey never flirted with her, not even jokingly. They all saw her as a surrogate sister, as they should. As I should. I shook my head to clear the thoughts and heard my brothers come out on the fire escape. I quickly ducked out of sight and headed back to my post. Two weeks without seeing her should be enough to straighten out my priorities. I knew my duty, and I couldn't let a girl mess with my head.