MORNING WAS quick to arrive. Vance woke up to an empty bed which surprised him. He sat up quickly once he realized she was gone.
He rubbed his eyes, standing up and running out into the hallway. As he was running he hit his arm on a sharp corner of the dresser. He groaned but still ran out.
He looked down the hallway but there was no signs of people. The boy ran a hand over his face, stumbling out and down the stairs.
"Hello?" He asked tiredly. No response. He walked into the kitchen to see Noah. "Hey." Noah mumbled as he sipped his coffee. Vance waved awkwardly.
"Where is everybody?" The curly head asked, leaning against the counter. "I think Ali said something about grocery shopping. I don't know, I was half asleep." He responded.
Vance looked confused. "But they'll be back soon." The other blonde added. "This place is sick. Ali's your mom, right?" He nodded. "Are y'all rich?" He asked again, placing the cup down. Vance stood up straight, looking around before back at him.
"Not at all. We're anything but rich." The younger boy answered. "Then how'd she pay for this?" Noah asked another question.
"She won't tell me. She's acting real weird right now and I seriously have no idea why." Vance told him honestly. "We're home!" Ali yelled as she walked in.
The boys walked out of the kitchen, looking at the group. Blue gave Vance a hug and he hesitantly hugged back. "Sorry I left so early. I didn't want to wake you." She apologized, looking up at him.
"It's fine. What did you guys get?" He asked. Blue pulled away from him, standing at his side. "Bullets." Ali replied nonchalantly. Vance's eyes widened, looking over at Mason.
"We're gonna practice our aim." She smiled. Blue looked at Vance, knowing he was probably angry at his mother. "Can we talk?" He asked Ali. "Sure sweetie."
~~~
A few hours later, they all stood outside, aiming and shooting at targets. Blue moved the gun up towards the red target, Ali besides her to help get her aim right.
"A little up. Shoot." She did. Blue felt uneasy about this but if the time came, she'd be able to protect herself. The others went and when Vance's turn came he completely shrugged off his mom.
He raised the gun with a firm hold, pretending the target was Nolan. "A little to the left." Ali tried to instruct him but he didn't listen.
Instead he shot it right into the middle left. Right where someone's heart would be. The woman clenched her jaw, adjusting her over coat.
"You didn't listen to me." She told him with a frustrated tone. Vance threw the gun on the ground, angrily turning towards her. "And you didn't listen to me. Who even are you?" He asked, his voice clear.
Ali narrowed her eyes at him, anger building up at his tone of voice. Everyone watched as this argument slowly got worse.
"I am your mother. Don't speak to me that way. It's your fault you messed that shot up." She seethed. Vance scoffed, backing up before throwing his hands in the air. "Yeah, because it's always my fault!" He yelled, pointing at his chest.
"It's my fault I have a shitty life! It's my fault dad left! It's my fault Blue got shot! It's my fault I can't, for once, have comfort from my own mother!" He yelled, letting anger cloud his mind. He kicked down one of the targets, not caring about anyone else's reaction.
He looked at his mother before storming inside and rushing into one of the bathrooms. He looked at himself in the mirror. With Blue, he thought he had finally learned how to contain his anger but that left him as soon as he looked at himself.
Without thinking he punched the mirror, glass cutting his knuckles, blood pouring out from his hand. He immediately turned around when he heard the door open.
He thought he'd see Blue but instead he saw Sadie. The boy looked at her and she looked at him with worry.
"Where's Blue?" He asked, his jaw tightening. "Um... apparently Ali didn't want her near you." The anger in his veins surged again and he went to punch the wall but was cut off with Sadie hugging him tightly. He thrashed around a bit before just letting her help him.
He leaned into her embrace, turning around and wrapping his own arms around her. Surprisingly, he wasn't crying. It took a lot for him to cry and this wasn't the occasion.
The blonde held him close, running her hand over his hair and holding onto him tightly. Sadie never really had a close relationship with the boy but she knew if Blue couldn't help, she would.
"It'll be okay." She whispered, placing a hand on the top of his head, her other one rubbing small circles on his back. She looked at the cracked mirror before at the wall in front of her.
After a moment, Sadie grabbed his shoulders, making him look at her eyes. "Let me take care of your hand, okay?" She asked, her voice soft. He hesitantly nodded before sitting on the closed toilet seat.
Sadie left real quick to grab the first aid kit before coming back, sitting on the floor besides his leg. She held her hand out for his and he gave it to her. She carefully used tweezers to remove the glass. The pain didn't bother him. Not even for a second.
She poured some alcohol on a cotton pad, rubbing it softly over his knuckles so it wouldn't hurt him to much. He felt the stinging sensation but tried not to think about it. Lastly, she carefully wrapped a bandage around his hand, smiling up at him once she was done.
"You're all good buddy." She stood up, throwing away the glass and the cotton pad. "Thank you." He got out, looking at her. There was no smile. Even if there was, he'd have to force it.
He was very grateful for what Sadie just did for him and wanted to smile but he couldn't. "Why'd you help?" He asked, swallowing hard.
"You're like the little brother I've always wanted. I wanted to help you and Blue and I did. I know it puts me in danger but you know what they say, live it for the thrill. You're important to me. Both of you." She smiled at him, carefully cleaning the broken glass.
"If you ever need anything, I'm always here to talk." She said, being as serious as she could. He looked at her, the hard look in his eyes disappearing.
"I don't know what your relationship with your mom is like but I just want to let you know, no matter what happens you always have me." She said, holding out her hands. He grabbed them and she yanked him off the seat.
"Now, promise me you'll talk to me whenever you want." She asked, holding up her pinky finger. He looked at it before breaking out into a smile and hooking his around hers.
She smiled, giving him one last hug. "I'm gonna go make a smoothie, you want some?" He nodded, following her out of the bathroom. Mason looked at her from the table. "He's okay." She mouthed, holding up her thumb.
~~~
Blue sat on the bed, her feet resting on the bed frame. She put her hands in her hair, thinking about Vance. She felt terrible. Ali had held the girl back when she tried to run after Vance, telling Sadie she couldn't be near him.
The woman proceeded to tell her that Vance had issues that he had to deal with by himself. Blue didn't listen to her. The girl had been by Vance's side more than Ali had ever been.
She liked Ali. Blue thought she was trying to be different for Vance after Joesph but she just got worse.
There was times when Ali wanted to be there for her son but the other times she was doing it for herself. She wanted to be at Vance's side as soon as he started yelling but she couldn't.
Listening to the thoughts in her head was just about driving her crazy. The door opened and she looked up to see his face.
She immediately stood up, running into his arms. He returned it, holding her tightly. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you." She apologized.
"You're not the one who should be apologizing." He whispered back, kissing the top of her head. After a few minutes she pulled away, looking up at him.
"I'm sorry about my mom. She's never acted this way and she didn't listen to me when I was trying to talk to her." He explained, placing a hand on the side of her face.
She grabbed it with her hand, feeling the bandage. "What happened?" She asked quietly. "Mirror got in the way of my hand, no big deal." He shrugged.
"Well than I need to thank Sadie for helping you." She smiled, leaning up and kissing him. He returned it, grabbing her waist.
"Smoothies!" They heard Sadie yell from downstairs. Vance pulled away. "Can't turn away smoothies." He laughed. Blue smiled, following Vance out of the room.
~~~
A/N: I feel like that's the Vance in the movie and the closest I've gotten to it this whole book.
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