I wave softly at Violet who enters Gin's apartment just as I enter Vern's. Almost immediately, I'm engulfed in an almost bone-crushing hug as Vern attempts to squeeze the life out of me. I see something move from the corner of my eye but I ignore it.
"Where have you been?" he asks, worry in his voice and the slight scent of alcohol on his lips, not enough to get me worried. He pulls away and holds me at arms length, his eyes glistening with worry and relief - more the latter now. "Why was your phone off? Were you driving?"
"Yeah." I say, dropping my keys onto the kitchen counter. "Violet and I just went to get take-outs and go for a drive, that's all." my voice is soft. Today was actually good for me. I no longer fear driving. I no longer see the burning bodies of my parents as I accelerate down the street.
"It's nine at night." Vern says. I face him, my gaze stern.
"A long drive." I say. "My phone was off because I didn't want to speak to you anymore." I head to the kettle to prepare some coffee for myself. "I bumped into your old friend, Shredder. He's real scary. How do you propose on stopping him this time?"
"Jules." he says. I turn to face him, my mouth open to say something sarcastic or witty, but I close it when I see Leonardo behind my brother.
"Hey." he greets with a nod. I do the same, my heart practically pounding in my throat. He continues speaking. "I uh, really have to speak to you. On behalf of Raph." he drums his fingers on his leg nervously.
"On behalf of Raph?" I ask, confused. I step forward, my brows crossed. "Is he alright?"
"Perfectly fine." he says almost immediately, stepping forward past Vern and towards me. He nears me so that I can clearly see his dark blue eyes boring into my dull ones. "Um, Raph won't be seeing you again...for a while."
My breath nearly catches in my throat and I step forward instinctively, my face showing nothing but confusion. "What?" I ask.
"He...uh...how to say this?" he asks himself. I'm too confused to tell him to hurry up. "With Shredder's escape, we need Raph to be fully devoted to helping us stop him. You're a, well, a weakness."
"A weakness?" I retaliate, unafraid to hide my sass and irritation. "He- he couldn't come to me himself?" I spit. "To tell me I'm a weakness?" I try to bite back tears by pressing my tongue to the roof of my mouth. "Why didn't he come? When will I see him again?"
"The more he sees you, the more human he becomes, the more irreversible the effects. If we're lucky, you'll see him again in a few months, when the chances of this is slim or even impossible."
"So that's it?" I ask, tears forming at the corner of my eyes, but I blink so hard they disappear. It's funny how I couldn't cry before I met Raph. Now he's the very reason. "Tell your asshole of a brother that I hope I never see him again." I gulp in anger, knowing very well I don't mean those words. That I want nothing but to see Raphael tonight, tomorrow and every day after that. "And remind him that when nobody else would want him, I did. Human and turtle." I breath in shakily before storming to my room. As I pass Vern, I bump his shoulder.
When I reach my room I shut my door, not bothering to lock it, refusing to cry.
That was a breakup, right? Raph basically said he doesn't want to see me again. I feel as if I'm reliving my parent's death, though on a much lighter scale. I feel like I'm having someone I care for taken from me. I look out my window, at how it's bolted shut - built that way, and I wish I could just open it and jump out.
It seemed that I was making progress with my life. That I no longer wanted to jump off the fire escape for quite a while, and I wasn't going to allow a man to take that from me. A turtle, actually. I suck in a breath before heading towards my laptop bag.
