The Little Things

Chapter 17: Open Up...

He was already there when she arrived. His brow was lined with concern as she'd never been late before, unless she was away for a holiday or unwell.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming," he said.

Vy's gaze remained averted as she tried to hide the redness of her eyes, but she could feel Arqan studying her.

"What's happened, Vy?"

The tenderness of Arqan's voice was enough to make the tears Vy thought she'd gotten under control pool in her eyes once more. She swiped at them quickly, but it wasn't enough to disguise her distress.

"Won't you tell me?" Arqan's asked.

Anger and shame welled up within Vy as the tears began to come with more force now and a sob broke in her throat. She was tired of being strong--tired of hiding her emotions from her family and friends. She never wanted to burden them with her struggles. But the kindness in Arqan's face was too much.

Vy buried her face in her hands as if this would somehow disguise the fact that she was losing it. She covered her face for many moments, working hard to collect herself. However, she stopped crying when she felt Arqan place his hand over hers. He gently removed it from her eyes, intertwining his fingers with hers. Vy knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was nothing in the world that could have comforted her the way the gentle squeeze of his fingers did as their eyes met.

Arqan offered a small, encouraging smile, silently inviting her to confide in him.

"I'm sorry," was all Vy said, her voice thick with tears.

"Don't apologize," Arqan said.

A moment of silence elapsed before he continued.

"You haven't been this sad in a long time. Are you crying tonight for the same reason you were crying the night I met you?"

Vy hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Tell me." The command was enough to cause Vy to finally give in. She needed to tell someone and Arqan sincerely wanted to know--she could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice.

"You know, Arqan... actually, I was born premature and malnourished," Vy started, hardly able to believe that she was speaking to him about this. She hadn't even told Jofin and Larnie how deeply these things affected her. "It made me weak from the start. My mum has done everything she can over the years to keep me safe, but I've been sick a lot.... In and out of the hospital...." Vy shrugged, helplessly. "It sort of became a way of life."

"I'm sorry, Vy."

Vy jumped when she realized that Arqan had crossed over the invisible barrier between them and had come to sit next to her.

Her eyes flew to his, startled. Arqan looked a bit surprised at first too, but simply moved in a bit closer, continuing to hold onto her hand.

"Are you okay with this?" he asked, quietly, motioning their interlocked hands.

"Yes. But just for a minute. It's kind of hurting....today," Vy responded, clumsily.

Arqan's brow lowered in concern as he opened his hand, cradling hers in his palm as he studied it before his gaze locked with hers once more. There were unmistakable questions in his dark pupils.

Seeing no way around explaining what she meant, Vy took a deep breath. "I.... I got some scrapes and cuts on it today. They just happened to have this stupid compass divider..."

"Who?"

"The kids at school."

Arqan continued to watch her, waiting for her to go on.

"They.... They used it to poke my back and my arms."

"Why would they do that?"

Vy shrugged. "It's funny to them, I guess." She paused for a moment, thinking. "You know how in school we learn about predators picking off the prey--the weaker animals and such?"

The look on Arqan's face made it clear that he already didn't like where this analogy was going, but he nodded.

"Because I have health issues and am weak....they've always picked on me." Vy averted her eyes, unable to stand the tenderness in Arqan's. She forced herself to continue. "At first they just poked me a little and I figured they were just trying to annoy me, but then they started to do it a bit too hard--they were all taking turns. It shocked me and when I pulled my arm to get away from it it scratched me and I started to bleed."

Vy continued to look away from him, but her heart pounded when she felt him lean in closer.

"What's that on your neck?" he whispered.

A chill ran down Vy's spine when his pointer finger caressed her neck. His touch was feather-like.

"After I pulled away one of the kids tried one more time to get me with the compass and he scraped my neck." Vy released Arqan's hand, carefully rolling up one of the long sleeves of her shirt to reveal the bruises around her wrists.

"They gave you these?" Arqan's voice was toneless, as if he were mortified, shocked.... Vy couldn't quite tell what he was feeling.

"Yes. They were from this morning." A mirthless laugh escaped her lips then. "It hasn't been an easy day."

Arqan didn't laugh. He simply held her gaze with strong, steady eyes. He watched her for a moment before shaking his head. "I think that's one of the worst things I've ever heard, Vy."

Vy shrugged once more. "It's alright."

"No, it isn't," Arqan protested. "Those kids are a bunch of bullies. They are getting worse! They don't know what they are missing.... If they weren't so mean they would have time to realize what a fantastic person you are."

The outright compliment caused Vy to blush in spite of the seriousness of the topic.

"They shouldn't get away with that," Arqan said. "You should tell your parents or teachers again or go straight to the Principal."

Vy shook her head. "It's fine." She knew that Arqan would deny this once more, so she rushed to change the subject, not wishing for her precious time with him to be all about her troubles.

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