Steal My Heart (Victor Blade)

Chapter 19

VICTOR'S POV

I came back with a couple of bandages, as Avril silently cried, her back to the bench on the side of the field. I hadn't managed to get anything except tears out of her, and after seeing her wounds wouldn't stop bleeding, I'd sat her next to the bench and went to the nearest drug store.

"Hey." I whispered softly. She didn't turn to me, staring in front of her, eyes empty of any emotion. "I'm going to bandage your hands, ok?" I waited for a nod, but Avril didn't move.

I sighed, opening the package and softly taking her hand. She jumped, startled, finally looking at me, tears silently rolling down her face. "Vic..." she whispered.

"Shh, it's alright." I whispered back. "Then we'll talk, ok?" She bit her lip but nodded, looking at her hands as I worked.

I wasn't as good as Avril, but I still managed to do a decent job. Her hands were full of deep cuts and bruises, probably from hitting the football cage so hard. Her knuckles were also bleeding heavily. I made sure to properly disinfect the wounds with water, before gently wrapping the bandage.

Once it was secured and I was done with her right hand, Avril gently passed me her other hand, not daring to look at me in the eye. I repeated the process, getting the hang of it, and quickly finished the bandage.

"There." I said as she took her hand and softly massaged it. She then wiped away the tears from her face, and placed her head on my shoulder, as we both stared at the river flow.

She wasn't crying, only sadly whimpering from time to time. I put my arm around her, trying to warm her up. She was only wearing a tank top, and her arm was freezing cold.

We stayed in this position for a long time, not daring to say anything that could upset her.

"Avril." I finally said after awhile, and she pulled away from me, finally looking me in the eyes. Her green eyes were still red, but at least her hair had gone back to normal.

She sighed, closing her eyes and holding her head with her hands, as she recalled the night's events.

"I got into a bad fight with my mum. About Colton." She finally murmured.

Flashback, Karasu house, 9PM

Avril and her mum were eating in silence, the young girl still lost in her thoughts about her brother who'd recently passed away.

"Avril." Her mum had finally said, noticing her silence. "Are you ok?"

"Fine." The girl weakly smiled.

"You know, you don't have to pretend with me. We're honest here." Her mum had said.

The verb "pretend" had set Avril off though, who'd loudly dropped the fork on the table.

"What do you mean I don't have to pretend?" Avril replied, slowly raising her voice. "Isn't that what we do all the time? Pretending?"

"Avril, honey, what are you talking about?" Her mum said, eyes saddening.

"We pretend literally all the time mum!" The young girl shouted, exasperated, as tears formed in her eyes. "We pretend that this house doesn't have an extra room that should have been Colton's, we act as if pizza night isn't missing a person, we act as if all the boxes with his stuff weren't there!" Tears were now flowing down her face. "Pretending sucks, mum. And we keep pretending that he's not gone, and that it doesn't hurt!"

She had then screamed, running out of the door, slamming it shut as her legs carried her to the soccer field near the river.

End of Flashback.