Heart of Patchwork

Chapter 8: Incident at Work

The next day, Kitsune sat behind the counter at the antique shop. Business was slow as usual, but that was alright. She didn't mind it too much. At the moment, Chris was doing something in one of the backrooms- leaving her to watch the shop. She had figured that he was looking for some items to put on the shelves. Maybe some dolls, as the shelves that contained them only had three dolls remaining.

As she waited in silence, she thought back to how much her life had changed this past week or so. She went from sleeping in a cold, abandoned house on the floor to sleeping in a warm bed. She had started calling herself 'Kitsune Peteal' as a way to separate herself from her family name, and Lily was flattered that she took her last name. It was as though Kitsune had become her adopted daughter- and they both accepted it.

Norman also got quite attached to her it seemed. He was proud of how much progress she made within a week and a half.  She still stuttered every now and then, but not as bad as she did. When he heard about the intruder that Kitsune fought, he immediately left the house and came back with three bottles of pepper spray. Just in case, he told her.

And of course, there was one of her closest friends as well as employer- Chris. He was definitely intimidating when she first met him, but he proved to be very kind and polite. She thoroughly enjoyed having him around- and she always felt safer whenever she was near him. Sure, he definitely loved teasing her, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't like the pet names he'd use for her.

She finally snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing a loud noise, making her jump. What the hell was that? Was that glass breaking? She looked up, eyes immediately going to the windows in front of her. Nope, not broken. That's when she realized where it came from. That noise... It came from the backrooms- where Chris was. Kitsune froze up as one thought consumed all the space in her head.

What if Chris was hurt?

And just like that, she immediately stood up- nearly knocking her seat over. She bolted to where she knew where Chris was. The way the backrooms were set up were like this- it was a fairly big room which was commonly used as a break room. In there, there were four other rooms- only three of them having oak doors. The ones with doors were a bathroom, a storage room, and a small office for Chris to call clients and file paperwork. The last room, instead of a door... Had a blood red curtain. She had never been in that room, and she wasn't sure if she should've asked what it was.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though that's where the noise was coming from. She had no choice- she had to go in there. Now that she was closer, she could also hear panting. The breaking noise was so much louder now. Slowly, she walked up to the curtain and pulled it open. Her eyes widened at the scene in front of her.

The room was decently sized, but it was hard to see what color the walls were since it was so dark. The only light that was visible was coming from the mirrors- all of which were broken. Chris stood in the center, holding a bent metal bat in his hand. He panted, the hand gripping the bat shaking. Kitsune felt chills as she heard an unseen woman's voice.

"I'll leave for now... But I'm still not done with you..."

And just like that, the mirrors stopped glowing. Chris collapsed onto the ground, hand over his eyes. "Chris...?" Kitsune whispered, frowning as he harshly flinched. She had never seen him this... upset before.

Slowly, she walked over- sitting beside him. He was still covering his eyes. With a soft hum, she leaned over and hugged him. Chris tensed up a little before hugging her back- burying his face into her shoulder. For the split moment his hand wasn't over his eyes, she could see it- He was... crying..

He didn't make any noise, but there were tears. They were more noticeable since they were black, most likely from his eyeliner. He shook slightly, gripping onto the back on Kitsune's dress. "Hey, hey... It's ok... I've got you..." The redhead whispered, rubbing his back.

'I never thought I'd see him cry... I wonder what happened...' She thought to herself, looking down at the male who remained hiding his face from her. She hummed to him, resting her head on his back. 'I'll ask him when he feels better...' She decided.

After a while, Chris had calmed down. He pulled back a little, looking away from her. He was embarrassed for allowing himself to look so weak in front of someone. Kitsune reached forward, using her thumbs to wipe away the dark gray tear stains from his cheeks. Chris sighed, leaning against her hand. "I'm sorry... I didn't want you to find me in this state..." He said.

"You don't have to apologize for that... It's completely ok..." Kitsune responded, running her fingers through his hair. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, Chris... But if I may ask, who was... that voice I heard? The woman?" She asked.

Chris froze. Great, he thought. She heard Lilith. Now he has to explain what he did... With a deep breath, he began explaining- bracing himself for the inevitable reaction of horrified and hatred. He really liked her, too...

"So.. When I was twelve, I did something that I'm... not at all proud of... I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell anyone this, but especially you... Anyways, I... That girl's name was Lilith... She was my childhood friend... When we were twelve, I suggested... a suicide pact... I-I have no idea why... When time came for us to die, I... backed out last minute... And she suffocated... She hates me now- more than anything... And you know what...? I completely deserve it..."

He sighed, looking away from her. "I'd completely understand if you didn't want to be near me anymore..." He said, unable to help his voice cracking at the end.

Kitsune stared at him a bit, processing. Sure, that definitely sounded not ok, but... He sounded so upset, like he regrets it. She was certain that he did. Maybe something happened that made him like that? She scooted closer, giving him a hug- tighter this time.

Chris froze up, surprised. "Kitsune...?" He looked at her as he mumbled her name. "Just because you did something bad doesn't mean you never did anything good... You've been nothing but nice to me, nicer than I could've expected... I can look at you and say with certainty that you are NOT the same person you were back then... You clearly regret it, so why would I hold it against you?" Kitsune said.

Chris was silent before hugging her tight- hiding his face in her hair. He stayed silent as the redhead rubbed his back, trying to comfort and reassure him. She was right- he was a different person now. He smiled just the smallest bit, nuzzling into her shoulder.

She was making it very easy for him to fall more and more in love with her.