Bleeding Hearts

Chapter 21

*Aaliyah's P.O.V*

Zero sits down on the edge of my bed, letting me climb into her lap. I cling to her, her hand rubbing up and down my back gently. It's clear that she doesn't mind how clingy I am which I greatly appreciate.

"Poor darling," Zero murmurs as she presses a kiss against my head. I shake my head slightly, not wanting her to think of me as a child. Although it may be a bit late for that since I'm currently curled up in her lap.

"So you used to stay here when you were younger?" Miachel asks, making me nod my head slightly as I peek out to look at him. He's standing by my dresser, looking at all the stuff that was on top of it.

"Yeah, my stuff," I mutter, wanting to make sure that he knows that all of that stuff on there is mine and he can't have it.

"I see that. You have a lot of nail polish on your dresser," Miachel says as he picks up one of the bottles of nail polish. It was a pretty yellow color, one that my mother had often painted my nails with since she liked for my siblings and I to wear bright colors. She said it was so we would be easier to find when we wandered off, not that I would ever do that.

"You can't have it," I inform Miachel, just to make sure that he knows that all of the stuff on the dresser is mine and that he can't have any of it.

"I think Miachel knows that," Zero chuckles, making me glance up at her. Maybe he did know that but it was always good to let him know anyways.

"Nail polish isn't really my thing," Miachel comments as he sets the nail polish down. He picks up one of the numerous stuffed animals that are sitting on my dresser, this one was a small penguin. One that kind of had paint stains on it's body from me carrying it around almost everywhere and it being often used as a subject of my finger paintings.

"Don't touch him," I huff, reaching for the penguin with one of my hands. I can feel my magic trying to reach out, trying to entangle around the penguin. However it fails...something that leaves me shocked. My magic should be strong enough to float a stuffed toy for penguin to me. It was only like 10 feet! That was a very short distance.

"Here," Miachel says as he underhand tosses the penguin to me. I barely mange to grab him, holding him close to my chest as I glare at Miachel.

"Don't throw Waddles," I huff, turning slightly to shield my penguin from the meanie that had thrown him. I could tell that Waddles feelings were hurt from being tossed around.

"Waddles?" Miachel asks, raising an eyebrow with a slightly amused tone. There was nothing funny about him throwing Waddles! He could have hurt my poor fluffy bird friend.

"Miachel, don't laugh. It's a very cute name Aaliyah," Zero tells me, smiling down at me. I smile back up at her, proud that at least she liked his name. I had been very creative with naming him, something that Zero clearly appreciated.

I rest my head on Zero's shoulder, hiding my face slightly as she rocks me slightly. Her hand rubs up and down my back, humming softly. I don't know why she's doing that, it's just some trick I bet. My thoughts are proven right when a small yawn escapes me.

"Is someone getting sleepy?" Zero asks, making me shake my head slightly. I was not at all sleepy! How dare she suggest such a thing. Despite my mumbled protests, my eyes feel heavy soon after her words. I fight to stay awake, my head bowing down slightly as a yawn escapes me.

"So sleepy," Zero whispers as she continues to rock me, making my head feel even fuzzier. I yawn in protest, hiding my face into Waddles as I start to drift off. Zero seems to understand what is happening since she carefully lays me down and tucks me in. I whine in protest, reaching out for her. She grabs my hand, squeezing it gently before pushing my hand down onto the bed. She keeps holding my hand as I drift off to sleep.

I don't know how long I sleep, all I know is that I'm woken up by the sound of the door opening. My eyes open as I turn my head to look at who entered. I blink a couple of times, surprised to see Rana.

"How?" I ask, my voice soft and still very much tired from sleep. She doesn't seem to notice though as she walks over, sitting down on the bed next to me.

"Levana told grandma, grandma told everyone else. I wanted to see for myself," Rana says softly as she smiles softly at me. She glances at Waddles, her smile softening when I wrap my arms around him.

"You see. Now leave," I point to the door, giving her my best stern look.  A small part of me doesn't want her to leave, not yet anyways.

"I will in a minute," Rana murmurs as she tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. I shake my head, trying to make it fall out of place which only makes her smile softly.

"When leave?" I ask, my ability to form full sentences escaping me as I focus on Rana. My head feels all fuzzy and I just feel so little at the moment.

"Do you have to go potty first before I leave? I remember you used to have accidents at this age, especially when you're stressed out," Rana says, making me furrow my eyebrows. I shake my head although once I start thinking about it, I do have to go potty. Like really bad.

"Potty," I finally agree, holding out my arms to Rana. That seems to surprise her but she lifts me up, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"You're so adorable," she murmurs before carrying me out of my bedroom. I cling to her, keeping my arms wrapped around her as she hums while carrying me down the hallway. I can't help but close my eyes, starting to fall asleep in her arms again.