Doc's expertise in medicine paled in comparison towards his knowledge in dreams. Turns out during his time in college, Doc paired a medical degree with one in psychology, of which dreams are quite an integral part to decipher how the brain works. However, when Dustin described how his 'friend' was waking up with injuries from characters in their dream, Doc gave no conclusive answers.
He glanced at me, eyeing the bruises on my neck, then clipped his bag shut and headed for the door rather quickly. No further questions, but no answers either.
"Well that was unhelpful." Dustin murmured, returning to my side to inspect Doc's handiwork. While I'm sure the doctor wanted to provide more assistance, he wasn't able to do much considering the bruises had already been inflicted. All Doc could do was make sure the bruises weren't too severe and that nothing below the surface was damaged.
Doc also checked over Dustin's ribs, offering another strict warning for Dustin to take things easy for a while. But in the end, Doc was only able to supply more painkillers which Dustin disregarded on the nightstand.
I shrugged, more to myself than to the Vice, "I didn't expect him to know anything anyways."
Dustin noted the relatively somber tone to my confession and draped his arms around me, tight enough to be secure but not so tight that I felt suffocated, "I'm right here, Sadie. You're not alone in this, okay? We're going to figure this out."
No we weren't. I was going to figure this out. Dustin is the Vice to a group of motorcycle gang members, and on the top of every wanted list from here to the east coast. He already has too much to worry about, some of which are life threatening matters. He didn't need to waste his time searching for an answer I wasn't even sure existed. My dreams are my own problem and I'll be the one to stuff that skeleton back into the coffin he crawled out of.
I told Dustin at least, now he knows and that's enough. I won't ask him to put his life on hold to try make sense of mine.
With a fake smile stapled to my face, I pulled him close for a quick kiss, mainly because I can do that now. I can kiss him whenever I want without having an ethical dilemma, "We can talk about it later."
Though his lips remained planted against mine, I heard a choppy breath escape him in the form of a muffled laugh, "I know what you're doing, Dimples. Distractions will get you nowhere."
"Oh really?" I asked, letting my hands fall onto the curve of his hips as he stood at the edge of the bed. From where I sat, Dustin still towered over me and had to bend at the waist to kiss me, but I saw the way his focus unraveled when my fingers gripped at his hips, "You sure?"
"Um ... well no, I'm not entirely sure." Dustin answered truthfully, running his thumb in a line just below my bottom lip, "But I'll tell you this. Keep kissing me the way you do and I can almost guarantee that distractions will most definitely get you somewhere."
I laughed at how easy he was to break, at how eager he was to kiss me again, "How the tables have turned."
"What?"
"You're like my pet now. Come on boy, roll over."
Dustin's eyes glimmered with devilish mischief, "Oh ha ha, very funny. But may I remind you," He pushed me back just forceful enough that my shoulder blades hit the bed, with him now positioned over me, leaning from the waist so that his chest resided wholly over mine. Pinning me to the sheets. He smirked at the way my breath caught, "You're still my pet."
"I've told you before, I'm no one's pet." I won't even try to pretend that my declaration was stable because it shook like a flag in the wind.
He glanced down at the position of our bodies and chuckled, "Now where do I remember this from? Oh yes, that's right."' His smirk grew, "From the first night of the ceremony when you were practically begging me to kiss you. Do you remember that Dimples? I gave the option to say no, and you didn't."
I rolled my eyes at his power play, and forcibly ignored the way his fingers dug both painfully and pleasurably into my shoulders, "Okay, fine. You win this round."
He beamed and boyish charm peeked through that made my heart stutter, "I win all rounds, sweetheart. That's the perk of being Vice."
I laughed in his face, "That's actually really funny, because I could have sworn just an hour ago you were complaining to Lumiere about how much you cared for me, how much I was torturing you," I leaned a little closer, just enough for my sly eyes to become the only objects in his line of sight, and I purred out, "How much you wanted me. Isn't that right?"
His mouth fell open to argue but when he realized I only spoke the truth, his lips snapped shut with a heavy scowl on his face. Scratching at the back of his head, he stepped away and sighed in defeat, "Yeah, okay. I'll admit, you got me on that one. How about we just call it even for now?"
"If you insist." I sang back, jeering at the look of irritation on his face.
He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "You're childish."
"You're just upset because I won." I answered to which he replied with grumbles of contempt.
With his hurt ego branded across his chest in full exposure, I slid off the side of the bed to stand before him. Though he was feigning annoyance, his arms instantly came forward as if to catch me should I crumble. But my legs felt stronger, my muscles regaining vigor after having the chance to rest from my most recent nightmare. So instead of falling, I stood steady and stepped into him enough for my arms to hang loosely around his neck.
"Don't be mad." I said, leaning in because we both knew a single touch, a single kiss, would resolve his pride.
But just as our lips met, I felt legs get swept out from under me as my body lifted, flying through the air. For a mere heartbeat I was weightless, then my back hit the bed, delivering a soft landing that cushioned my decent. Dustin leaned over me, laughing at the way my mouth had fallen open in a yelp of surprise.
"Apparently all those lessons were a waste if I can catch you so easily. How many times do I have to tell you, Dimples? Don't let your guard down." He bowed forward, placing a breath of a kiss on the tip of my nose, "Even for a handsome devil like me."
My jaw slackened further, "Oh and I'm the childish one? Were you even upset?"
"Not for a second, sweetheart. Although I have to say you certainly took a shot to my self- esteem. Going for the enemy's weakness huh? That's my girl." Dustin laughed again and the very sight was beyond confusing. It brought forth such heated emotions at the gorgeous smile carved onto that flawless face, however it also brought forth petty anger at losing to Dustin. Again.
I acted on retaliation and flicked him in the forehead.
Ha! Take that.
"Ow." He chirped, standing tall while rubbing at the skin just above his eyes. I rolled onto my stomach and smiled sweetly, taunting at his own lack of preparation, but I only managed a few mocking insults before Dustin's phone started buzzing on his dresser.
His eyebrows knitted together as he read the incoming text, then his shoulders slumped with a sigh. I already knew what the look of impending dread on Dustin's face meant, I've seen him wear it day after day since the moment I arrived at the compound. But maybe I was too naive after all because despite what I knew the answer would be, I asked, "What's wrong?"
"Trust me, I'd love to stay here and be insulted all day by a beautiful girl. But I have to meet with my uncle." When I started arguing against the notion, he silenced me with a gentle laugh that broke past my assertions. He checked the clock behind him, "I'm already late."
My alleviated mood plummeted drastically and I willingly let my head fall against the sheets below me, "Meet with him about what?"
"You're not going to pout, are you?" He chided, shooting me a playful wink as he ushered me into a sitting position then helped me stand, "Our current deal with the Reapers only lasted until the ceremony's end. Now that time has passed and Donovan believes tensions will rise."
The clipped edge to the ending of his sentence startled me, "Why would tensions rise? Why can't both gangs just leave each other alone and agree to disagree?"
Dustin gazed down at me, inspecting every inch of my face while wearing a tender smile that brightened his face from the darkness we were both too familiar with, "I wish I still saw the world the way you do, a lot of us have lost that faith." His hands rose to hug my cheeks, dragging the tips of his thumbs just under my eyes, "Hold onto that, Sadie. It's far too easy to lose."
My fingers curled around his wrists, keeping his hands at my face in case he tried to pull away, "I don't understand why it always has to be a payment of blood. Why can't the past be enough to see that if you continue like this," Images of the Dustin from my dreams flashed before my eyes, molding with the man standing before me, "Someday it will ruin you."
"The things I've done ... the crimes I've committed ..." Dustin paused his eyes darting back and forth between my own, searching, "They've already ruined me. I don't want that to scare you but if we're going to do this, I mean if we're going to try to make this work with us, then you deserve to know what you're getting yourself into."
I could feel him forcing this truth on me, as if he actually expected me to accept his transgressions. But I didn't believe it, I refused to.
The man standing before me was not the one of my nightmares. This Dustin was good, even if he didn't think so. Even if the whole world told him otherwise. What I saw standing here was a man trying to protect his friends and family at whatever cost, despite how it might destroy him.
My grip on him tightened, this time willing my own beliefs into him as he had to me, "You're not the evil man people think you are, Dustin."
"No." He mumbled, resting his forehead against mine, "I'm much worse."
"Don't say that-"
"Don't deny it." Dustin countered. Through his false assurance, he truly believed that he was a monster. But he didn't see what I did, he didn't see the good, "What I've done in the past, and what I'll do in the future, it's all evil."
He didn't say it outright, but I detected the concealed meaning of his words almost instantly, "What happened to Katrina wasn't your fault Dustin."
I expected some sort of reaction from him, whether that be anger or sadness. But he remained absolutely still, blank in expression and dull in eye contact. Only the subtle twitch of the muscle in his jaw indicated that he'd heard me, "At its most fundamental level, this way of life is embodied freedom. But even that freedom comes with a price. People like Donovan and I pay that price so others don't have to, but in the end," He glanced down, "The price gets paid, sometimes by those unwilling to do so."
He was trying to help me understand, trying to help me grasp how he could possibly think so low of himself. How he could possibly blame himself for what happened with Katrina and his family all those years ago. But no matter what he said, no matter what he did, Dustin King wasn't a bad man. He was fighting against a power too strong to beat and diagnosed himself as a vile human being for doing so.
My mouth was dry when I said, "You're a leader, Dustin. That means you keep your people safe at all costs. Sometimes ..." I searched for the correct word, "Sometimes sacrifices happen, mistakes happen. And there's nothing you can do to stop it. But the fact that you're still here, after all the bullshit you've face and all the death you've seen, that means you're strong. That shows everyone else that nothing can stop you."
"There are things that can stop me, Sadie." Beneath the surface, spiraling in those violet irises at a depth far too great to measure, I saw unbearable torment. Years of anguish and death piled so high that it blocked out the light from getting through. With a smile displaying the weight of his past, Dustin brought me closer and kissed my forehead, "A man doesn't get to cheat death as many times as I have without there being a few consequences."
I pressed into him, desperate to ease the pain he's felt for so long, "Tell me how I can help. What can I do?"
This time when he pulled back, he let his fingers trail down my arms to take my hand in his, "The only thing you need to worry about is keeping yourself alive. I can't ..." His face tightened, writhing in both sadness and confined pain, "I can't lose anyone else."
It was obvious now. I couldn't see it before but with him standing so close, I saw the way guilt and fear speckled in his gaze. That's why he fights so hard to protect his people, not because it's his job or because that's what is expected of him. He protects them because what remains of this gang is his family, his only family, considering the rest are dead.
From Donovan and Corinth to Sam and his friends, they're all Dustin's kin, and he can't bare to lose any of them.
"You're not going to lose anyone Dustin, least of all me." I told him, praying that the absurd amount of belief I wove into that sentence was enough to convince him.
But Dustin was far beyond easy comprehension at this point. He only shook his head, reliving far too many times when he lost those most important to him despite his certainty that he wouldn't. He's fought for too long and lost too many battles. As he said, he's lost his faith.
Dustin sighed, giving a small shrug that wasn't meant to show how far he's fallen into his domain of darkness, "You'd be surprised how quickly you can lose someone."
I could tell this conversation was over, by both his tone and his gaze, but I wasn't done. If Dustin can't see his worth, I will see it for him. If he can't make sense of his morals, I will present them with unwavering conviction. And if the time ever comes when his burdens finally crush him, I'll be there to dig him out and bring him back.
Dustin may have given up, but I won't let this be his undoing.
And let me just say, my stubbornness is a force not to be reckoned with.
Dustin led us from his room and down the hall towards the lobby. More members had filed in since this morning and the bar was no longer crowded by just Elders. The television blared from an old western movie and the clink of glass against glass sounded every few moments as the bartender refilled the rack. Pool games were well underway and couches were occupied by bodies, both awake and unconscious.
Another normal day in the life of the Tribe.
Once outside, the ominous gravity of my conversation with Dustin faded. The sun was high in the sky, greeting another gorgeous day without the interference of clouds. Members were cleaning off their bikes while their riders lingered close by, and the children swarmed around where a familiar face was showing off a new hairstyle.
It took me a moment to realize it was Sam. The last time I saw him, he was cowering behind me but now he was sporting the biggest smile known to man with a short buzzcut atop his head save for the tall line of hair running down the center of his skull from the start of his forehead to the nape of his neck.
When he spotted Dustin and I, he squeezed through his group of friends and ran towards us, "Sadie, look! Look at my hair! My mom let me get a mohawk!"
I couldn't help but laugh, "Wow, it's looks pretty awesome."
Sam nodded and crossed his arms, mimicking the Vice beside us, "And guess what Aubrey Johnson told me at recess yesterday? She said she liked it!" If one could possibly decipher the key to happiness, it would be the look on this boy's face when he said that last part out loud.
Dustin chuckled to himself then leaned down to inspected Sam's mohawk, "Don't tell your mom I said this, but it looks badass. The chicks will dig it for sure, kiddo."
Sam about exploded.
His mouth fell open in awe at Dustin's words and his wide eyes stared at the Vice in worship, "Really? You think so?"
Dustin nodded and slipped me a wink that Sam couldn't see, "I know so." Then Dustin straightened and took my elbow in his hand, nodding towards the other side of the lot, "Lumiere is over there. Hang out with him for a bit while I meet with Donovan. I'll find you later, okay?"
I agreed and watched him go, with a kid beside me watching him leave with just as much wonder.
"Dustin likes my hair." Sam whispered to himself, the shock wracking through him slipping into the features of his face second by second. First his eyes bulged wider, his smile flourishing in waves of pure admiration, then he turned to me with arms flailing in the air while he jumped around in sporadic movements, "He said my hair is badass!"
Oh no ... "Hey, watch the language, buddy. Your mom won't be happy if she hears you saying that-"
But Sam was already halfway across the lot, back towards his friends, calling out for the entire compound to hear, "My hair is badass!"
I had half a mind to warn him further but Sam's mother was on the move long before I made up my mind. With a quiet giggle at hearing her scolding him even from where I stood, I started off towards where Lumiere was lounging in the sun as usual. When I approached, his seemingly comatose body burst to life.
"Welcome back to reality." He slid the sunglasses down his nose, revealing two emerald eyes shining with far too much interest, "How did the talk go? You and Dustin have been gone for quite a while. And are those bruises I see on your neck? Damn, I know Dustin has his kinks but I thought you two were just going to talk."
Unmistakable effort drove me past the word 'kink' as I examined the way Lumiere was sprawled across his lawn chair, boots disregarded to the side and an empty beer can balanced on his forehead, "You know, you don't strike me as a cold blooded criminal."
"That's what makes me so good at it, love." Lumiere replied, cracking a grin, "You didn't answer any of my questions."
I sat down in the lawn chair beside him, glad to use the excuse of the warm sun to explain the way my cheeks dusted a light pink, "Well it's really none of your business."
Lumiere sat up, knocking the beer can from his forehead in the process while he stared at me with the sunglasses still hitched on the bridge of his nose, "It's cute that you think anything pertaining to you or our Vice is none of my business. Now, why don't you cut the crap and put me out of my misery." His smile grew, "How did it go?"
I couldn't hide my delight, "It went ..." This was going to be a mistake, "Good."
"I knew it!" Lumiere threw a fist into the air, his feather soft hair shining in the sun so brightly that it lit his entire face in a joy unrivaled by my own. Then he cupped two hands around his mouth and shouted, "Hey, bet's over! Pay up bitches!"
Utter humiliation marched throughout my body when I heard a collective groan of those who lost and a few cheers from those who won. I swept over the lot to survey which ones had partaken in the bet so that I could keep tabs on who to mutilate later, but my inspection was cut short when I noticed a particular busty brunette glowering from where she stood beside the other members.
I'd forgotten about Heather, she was practically shunned after what she did. Dustin decided Andy paid enough from the beating he received, but Dustin has yet to find a punishment worthy enough of Heather's crimes. I've been told that's the only reason she's still allowed to step onto the premises, because her penance hasn't been sentenced yet.
Was it bad that the idea of her being reprimanded made me smile, knowing that Dustin chose me over her? Probably, but I had other things to worry about in that moment.
I smacked Lumiere's arm rather hard, "There are other ways you could have announced that."
He shrugged and held his hand out as those closest to us arrived to pay their dues, "Where's the fun in that? Besides, this way is faster and much more effective. Like ripping off a bandaid."
There was a scream from the warehouse doors.
Lumiere winced, "And sometimes, the bandaid comes running right back."
"What?"
My question was answered a moment later when a mighty force hit the center of my chest, knocking both me and my assailant over as my chair flipped. Though I was thrown across the ground, I turned to face my attacker with burning rage, expecting to see Heather in all honesty. But a curtain of black hair flashed through the sun and a set of particularly vibrant eyes graced my own.
"You better not be messing with me, I will kill you if you're joking around." Corinth warned through giddy laughter than spilled from her uncontrollably.
Eli peeked around her, "She's not lying."
Corinth ignored him, "Did you and Dustin really hook up? Tell me you did, tell me you're a thing!"
I laughed too and pushed her off of me, allowing me to sit up and face her squarely, "Don't have a heart attack ... yes-"
Corinth threw her arms around me, screaming again which caused both Eli and Lumiere to cover their ears. But I didn't mind. I might be a little deaf, but I still appreciated the ecstatic reaction. When Jake and I started dating, Kendra wasn't nearly this happy. I didn't know it could feel so wonderful to have other people supporting you, even if it was a little overwhelming.
"I'm so happy for you guys!" Corinth said in my ear as she hugged me, her arms in a choking embrace around my neck. Eli untangled his me from his girlfriend's hold while Lumiere helped us both to our feet. But once we were standing, Corinth hugged me again, "Seriously, I'm so happy for you guys."
"I think she gets it, babe." Eli intervened, separating us again before pulling me in for a much more comfortable embrace before Corinth could attack once more. Eli held me close, "Congrats, darling. You'll make one hell of a rider." He pulled back with a roguish grin at the connotation behind his words.
Corinth's hand curled around mine and was pulling me away before anyone could object, but the boys knew better than to defy Corinth. We slipped back inside the warehouse, racing past the the lobby and the hallways until we were in the confines of her room. She squealed again, too happy to contain, and directed me towards her vanity.
"What are you doing?" I asked, nervous that her joy had brought on a relapse of delusion.
She clapped her hands together, "I told you I was going to fix that godawful haircut and that's exactly what I'm going to do."
I glanced at my reflection, at the lifeless strands that hung around my face at different lengths. Looking at it now, I realized I resembled a someone who stuck their head in a wood-chipper. My nimble fingers flicked at the chopped clump that used to hold so much beauty, "I'm not sure you can fix it, Corinth. It's pretty much done for."
She tsked at my skepticism, "Nonsense. I'll have that hair looking so incredible that Dustin will wonder why he didn't confess his love the night he met you."
Though her words brought on exhilaration, I'd be lying if I wasn't worried, "But it's already so short."
Her mirth dissipated only a little, and she kneeled in front of me with a seriousness I've yet to see in her, "Listen to me. Your long hair was for a girl who lived with her family and went to school with her friends and dated a boy she's known all her life. But you're not that girl anymore."
"But-"
"Do you trust me?" Corinth asked, holding my eyes with hers, "I can't make your hair grow, the same way you can't go back to the girl you were before you came here. It's time to move on."
She was right, I knew she was right, but it's hard to let go of the past when you're not fully ready to say goodbye. Jake was in the past, my home was in the past, but Toby wasn't. Toby was a constant reminder that there were things I left unfinished, people I left behind too early.
But even if I hoped to return to Toby someday, maybe to bring him with me to a better life, I couldn't face him like this. With the remnants of a crude haircut given to me by a man who thought women were lesser than him. I didn't want my brother to see me like that.
I didn't want to look my reflection and hate who I saw.
So I nodded to Corinth and turned away from the mirror, "Go ahead, I trust you."
She smiled again and stood up, grabbing a pair of scissors and a comb, "No peeking until I'm done."
"I promise." I replied.
When the first clump of blonde hair drifted past my face, I felt tears threatening escape. It wasn't the fact that she was cutting my hair or that it was shorter than I've ever had before. My sorrow came from the realization that with each tuff of hair Corinth cut away, I was losing my mother. My memories of her, my similarity to her.
But she was yet another reminder of my past, and that's where she had to stay. I missed her and I despised her and I loved her, all at the same time. But my future couldn't be based on her as it has been in the past. My future was for me and me alone. I'll always remember her, that much was certain, but I can no longer live by the constant worry that I'm not living up to her expectations or that she wouldn't approve. That time, like everything else, was in the past.
I'm no longer a child and I no longer have a mother.
As Corinth said, it's time to move on.
More hair fell, gathering at my feet, but I realized that with each snip of the scissors, I felt lighter. Whether it was because of the hair now resting on the floor or the acceptance of leaving behind the life I endured while living under the reign of my father, I'd never know. But what I did know in that moment, was that sometimes miracles come to you at the most random of times in the least obvious of places.
Almost an hour later, Corinth set the scissors down and combed out what remained of my hair despite the considerable amount that lay below us. I may have been worried about the outcome of this makeover but from the smile both on Corinth's face and in her eyes, I knew that whatever remained was certainly a sight to see and that pushed down the fear.
"Ready?" Corinth asked. Excitement swelled, peace emerged, and I've never been so eager but also so anxious. I nodded, not trusting my voice to speak for me. Corinth gripped my shoulders delicately and slowly twirled me around. I kept my eyes closed until I was completely facing the mirror then waited further until I heard Corinth say, "Alright, honey. Open your eyes."
I did.
The person staring back at me from the mirror ... she wasn't the Sadie I've known for seventeen years. This version of her was more exposed, vulnerability resounding in the short pixie cut that hugged closely to her head like armor waiting to be engaged. With her hair so short her cheek bones protruded, unyielding, reinforced by an elegant jawline that supplemented the sharp angles in her complexion. It was clear she'd lost weight, whether that be from not eating enough or due to the near death experiences plaguing her for months, but the slender proportions on her face resulted in one conclusion.
She has faced a lot, she has lived through a lot. The woman in that mirror had to give up an entire life; a brother, friends, an education. She had to give up a sense of security. But she's still here, she's still fighting, and despite it all, she's still standing.
The woman in that mirror was strong, confident.
That woman was me.
And for the first time in a very long time, I felt like me again. I felt comfortable in my own skin, I felt powerful in my own body. I didn't see a failure, I didn't see a girl who had given up. I saw someone willing to do whatever it takes to survive, especially in a world where survival was rarely granted.
"You're not saying anything ..." Corinth prompted, biting at her nails apprehensively, "You hate it don't you? Oh god, Sadie, I'm so sorry-"
"It's perfect." I whispered, barely audible but enough to silence us both.
My lips turned upwards in a smile, a genuine smile that has been hidden inside me since the moment I turned away from that window and saw my mother's lifeless body laying with a similar grin eternally sewn on her face. That smile, my mother's smile, lived on in me.
Maybe I haven't lost her completely after all.
Corinth threw herself down onto her bed, holding two hands over her heart, "I've never been so scared in all of my life. I thought you were going to cry."
I almost did, but not from sadness. From staggering veneration.
Before either of us could react, I had risen from the bench seat in front of the vanity and skipped across the room to collapse beside her. My arms constricted around her waist, hugging her as tight as I possibly could, burying my face into her shoulder while I thanked her. Corinth thought she just cut my hair, but what she did was much more than that.
What she gave back to me was precious, irreplaceable.
"You're welcome, babe." She said, returning my embrace.
Oddly enough, we laid there for a while just hugging one another while expressing gratitudes and flurries of delight. When our compliments for one another finally dwindled with the passing time, we sat up and shared another laugh.
Corinth's fingers picked at the strands hanging across my forehead then slid down the side of my face and off the tip of my chin, still smiling when she said, "You look good, Sadie, and I don't just mean the hair. I don't know how to say it but you just look different than when you first got here."
I nodded, "I know what you mean."
Her bright eyes held firm, "Are you happy here?"
The question took my be surprise and my hesitation drew forth a side of Corinth that left me reeling, "I once tried convincing you to stay here, that you belonged with us. But you were dead set on getting back to your old life. And now ..." She glanced towards her door, as if her cousin were standing there to witness the conversation, "Well, now you seem better."
There have been very few times when I've ever seen Corinth so timid. I slipped my hands into her hold to calm the turbulence in her voice, "I am better. I'll see Toby again, I'm sure of it, and someday I'll explain all of this to him. But for now, especially with the Reapers so adamant about hurting Dustin, it's safer if I just stay away."
Corinth flinched at that last part but her grip turned to stone when she said, "Dustin is better too, you know. You're helping him and by doing that, you're helping us all." She licked her lips in preparation, as if her next words were never meant to be spoken aloud, "I know you didn't want to believe it when I told you, but I'll say it again for the sake of what I hope you'll get out of it. The Tribe needs someone like you, someone uncorrupted by the past."
She trembled, she was scared. But I didn't know why. She was stronger than most of the people here and she could fight like no other. Corinth of all people was protected, her father was leader and her cousin was Vice, what could harm her?
Unless ... the position of her family was what she feared.
"What can I do to help?" I questioned, fishing for answers to questions I've had since the moment I saw Dustin in that alley, "I'm an outsider, I have no influence here. I don't see how anything I do could possibly help."
Her eyes darted around again, as if she sensed someone else was in the room that might reveal her secrets. But when no one appeared and no other sound was heard, she leaned forward and whispered, "You're going to fix everything. I just know it. Dustin, Eli, Lumiere, even me, we're all a product of how we were raised; a product of war and bloodlust and this ridiculous vendetta for revenge. But you," Her face creased in longing, "You're different from us. You're better."
My head was shaking in confusion, a strange sensation flickering in my chest when I realized I had no hair to brush against my cheeks with the movement. But remarkably, that made me happy, "I don't know what that means, Corinth."
She only sighed in relief, as if telling me her cryptic message had somehow lessened a weight on her shoulders. She patted my hands, careful of the casted one, and sat back, "It's okay. You will." Then as if someone flicked a switch inside her, Corinth was back on her feet and heading towards her closet, "Here, let me get you some clean clothes."
As if the last five minutes had never happened, Corinth vanished through the doorway then reappeared with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Luckily, both were comfortable enough that they didn't irritate the road rash along my back. Halfway through getting dressed, I caught a glimpse of my reflection and was nearly floored by the sheer unfamiliarity of my reflection.
But I liked it. I liked not recognizing myself.
And I couldn't wait for Dustin to not recognize me as well. A whole new side of me has been revealed by this haircut and it sparked new fire within me, a fire that was near extinguished from the accumulation of the stresses this compound bestowed upon her residents.
Corinth opened the door for me, pulling me in for another close hug as I passed, "You look good babe, compliments to the stylist."
As we stepped out into the hallway, a world of possibilities opened up. I didn't know where this life would lead, but I was significantly less worried than I was an hour ago. Now I was ready, to face whatever troubles come our way.
But the funny thing about being prepared, is that there is no way to be fully prepared. If only I had known that.
Because one thing leads to another, and soon enough, those troubles I was so prepared for would be stacked against me.
And all hope is abandoned when lives are on the line.
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Yes, I know I'm posting late. Yes, I'm super very incredibly sorry! And yes, I know this is just a filler chapter and that you guys are begging for more death, suffering, and sadness. Duly noted, I'll get right on that ;)
As always, please vote, comment, and follow please!
Thank you my darlings!
xoxo