"I miss my Washington," Robin complained as they climbed the final set of stairs in the construction, running out of breath and legs fatigued. Rachel giggled at her panting, taking the briefcase from her hands to help the tired woman, but Robin grabbed her hand and snatched her belonging back. "Nope, thanks. This is too important to leave unprotected."
Rachel released an exhale of frustration, "can you at least give me a clue?"
"Oh, yeah," she chuckled, considering the most general definition of what was inside the metallic suitcase. As they reached the last story, the woman bent towards Rachel with a kind smile. "It's work-related."
If there was a record for the most irritated eye roll of the world, the teenager standing next to her would have won it. She let out a sigh and elected to leave the discovery for another time. Turning instead to Dick, she questioned: "who are these guys?"
"Old friends," Dick replied, a vague expression of melancholy arising on his hard face, "truth is I haven't seen them for a long time," his fist hesitantly reached up, holding it near the door, having second thoughts on his actions. Yet, when his eyes darted to the Asian-American woman, his knuckles thumped on the wood.
It wasn't long before the door slowly opened, uncovering a vast apartment and an elegant, platinum-blonde-haired woman that radiated harmony with her presence. Her smooth gaze roamed through the trio, a delicate smile tugging at her rosy lips. "Hey," her eyes were on Dick, who spoke, her brows knitting together.
She merely could muster a hi for she was still surprised by the unexpected visit. Robin and Rachel could sense the friction between them, one that came to be utterly uncomfortable. So, the youngest stepped in, holding out her hand, "hi. I'm Rachel."
"Dawn," the woman shook her hand, still maintaining a grin on her lips. At the instant their hands touched, the room's energy modified, replenishing it with hatred and sorrow. And just like it came, it went away, the last traces of shadow absorbed by the girl next to her. Dawn's kind gaze fell on her, lowering her brows back to their natural position.
Her plumped lips parted apart, revealing her whites. "Robin," she followed the girl's example and aimed to make physical contact to find out more about this woman, or at least inspect if Rachel's dark persona had done any damage to such pure human. Nothing. It felt weird to not be able to see into her mind. It felt like she was inhibited, something wanted to prevent this exchange.
Dawn's calm stare broke her out of the focusing trance, their hands pulled away from each other. The confused face remained on the younger woman's face and Dawn just had to ask about it, concerned by nature. "What is it?"
"Oh, nothing," Robin answered, a forced smile appearing on her face, accompanied by a naive giggle, "just dozed out."
Dick glanced at the raven-haired woman, a hint of suspicion building in his eyes. Yet, it was the same beautiful woman standing before all three that fogged his mind from Robin. He turned to her, instead, taking in her platinum blond in a loose braid that fell across her left shoulder. "Can we talk?"
"You're about four years too late, but sure," her tone, although it was showing clear sarcasm, remained sweet, the commissures of her lips holding up on their place. Her pale frame moved away from the entrance, permitting them to enter her household.
Rachel gawked at the huge apartment, her childish eyes taking in a new environment, watching it gracefully, contemplating every single detail. The three adults stood not too far away, looking at her enjoy such a small thing. Robin did not bother to hold back a smile, seeing her joyous burst bubbles of delight on her chest.
"We should head upstairs, to the roof. Hank's made me a pigeon coop. Come on," Dawn nodded her head towards the door they had recently walked in through. Robin called out for the girl, joining the pair of friends out, where they entered the stairs that led to the roof. As Dawn's hand pushed the thin metal door open, they were met with a simple area to spend time. There was a bench not too far away from the door and the structure Dawn mentioned a few feet away.
Nothing needed to be said, Robin simply got the cue to leave them both alone so they could talk after years of missing one another's presence. She took Rachel with her to meet the Columbidae cage, not sure of who was more eager to face the animals.
The birds flapped their wings around the enclosure, moving from one side to another, some of them curious about the two visitors, other scared, flying away. Rachel played with her finger, poking it inside the small holes of the cage, getting the attention of a few. She smiled at the small animals, letting out a chuckle from time to time whenever they did something cute or funny.
Near the bench, Dick and Dawn had begun talking, maybe a little too loud. "She killed someone?" The blonde wondered out loud. Rachel's smile slowly dropped at the question, she cleared her throat uneasily. Robin heaved out a sigh and shot a glare at the pair. "She's just a kid," were their last words heard before Dick noticed her angry glance and pulled Dawn to sit on the bench, voices lowering down.
Her gaze fell back to the fluttering birds, catching glimpse of Rachel's saddened face. She moved her hand away from the cage and gently laid it on the girl's shoulder. "Hey, you just ignore them. They are worried about you."
"They're scared," Rachel responded neutrally, seeming unaffected by the conversation they overheard. Her small fingers kept on playing with the birds. "I get it. I sometimes scare myself, too. Everyone should just run away from me."
"Don't say that," Robin chocked out, running out of words to relieve a teenager with her history. "You've got enough in your head, don't think for others. I can assure you we are not scared of you. I'm not, cause I went through the same. It's scary at first, but with the right people, you might start a path to control which leads to confidence. And then, you are no longer afraid of hurting others."
She remained mute for a few seconds, listening to the sound the birds made, eyes glued on her hands. Robin grumbled and placed her palm on the cage, feeling the beaks trying to pick on her skin. "How long did it take you, to control your abilities?"
"I'm still working on it but the hard part is over. You'll get through it, too," the girl nodded in silence, one side of her lips tugging into a side-smile. Robin grinned back, caressing Rachel's back with her hand to encourage her.
Their heads snapped to the side when the door to the roof swung open with a loud thud and a man twice Robin's size stormed in with his threatening eyes fixated on Dick and Dawn. "Hey. The hell are you doing here, Dick?"
Dawn stood up from the seat and got between the two men, attempting to unwind the newcomer whose fury was not even tried to hold. "I had a situation," came Dick's voice, defending the woman that confronted the angered man.
"Nice little reunion you got going here," he hissed, stepping closer towards the pair. Robin got to her feet on impulse, ready to interfere, Rachel didn't need to go through another drama that would make her feel troubled.
"You know it's not like that," Dick argued calmly, folding his arms over his chest.
The man's anger went away as the two reasonably spoke to him, yet one could easily tell his bitterness over the unforeseen visit. "Sure looks like it to me," he snapped. Dawn called his name one more time softly, pointing her chin on Rachel and Robin's way. His head slowly turned in their direction, "what the fuck?"
"Can we just go back inside, please?"
The group shared a daring gaze, wondering who would be the first one to step down the stairs and break the tension built between them. It was Hank who slumped his shoulders and opened the metal door with annoyance, disappearing into the dark steps. Dawn looked at them all and followed her partner downstairs.
"C'mon, we should go, too," Robin held out her hand for the teenager to take and help her to her feet. Rachel was easily pulled up, an arm wrapping around her shoulders lovingly. The woman squeezed her before letting go, watching her go down the stairs. She then turned to the last person standing on the roof -other than her- with one brow rose in question. "Are you sure we can stay here? You don't seem very welcome."
Dick shook his head, his pinkish lips tugging up. "Hank may act like an asshole towards me, but he won't leave you two without a roof," he assured the woman, bringing a hand up to her shoulder, like she had done with the young girl, and gave her a gentle pat.
A bit more relieved, Robin decided she should follow the rest of the group to the apartment, where they would hopefully talk things through. Her warm hand reached for the cold metal, flinching slightly before pulling it open and descending the short steps.
Not too far away from her, she could hear Dick's heavy footsteps coming after. In the small space, his murmurs enhanced, reaching her ears as though he spoke directly to them. "On the other hand, he'll be more than happy to see me sleep outside."
Robin halted on the last few steps, feeling Dick's body bump against hers. She spun around and noticed their proximity, so her feet went one step lower. "What kind of friends are they?" Her voice was soft but he heard it perfectly, his hand running through his hair. Her eyes followed closely his actions, getting trapped in his gaze.
"They're the kind of friends I cut ties with. That doesn't matter right now, we're here to keep Rachel safe," his eyes dug into her brown ones, searching for any sign of understatement. All she did was let out a suspire and resume on going down the steps, hearing him do something close to that.
They rejoined the group in the cozy apartment, where they were received by Dawn telling the news of their dinner: Chinese food. Apparently, no one felt like cooking -and who could blame them- so picking up the phone was easier. Their delivery came half an hour later, a long time for five people to be in the same house and not direct a word to one another. Even their gazes would break apart after a few seconds of meeting.
Dawn could only feel relief when there was a knock on the door, her body jumped at the sound and her legs moved fast to get to the door. An enthusiastic smile was plastered on her face as she handed out a box of food to each of the presents. At least, there was a reason to be quiet, now.
Robin could hardly swallow the ball in her mouth, the tension in the room too heavy to even eat. She chewed the piece around until her jaw got tired, and then she gulped it down. Right as she finished her first bite, Hank got up and went to the kitchen, disappearing into the shades.
The platinum blonde woman forced a last piece of food into her mouth before standing up as well, serving herself a glass of water. Rachel put down her small box, using the back of her hand to clean the sauce that dripped around her lips, smudging the dressing around.
After sharing an emotionless look, Dick and Robin left their boxes, too, getting to their feet. Her hands started to gather the boxes, wanting to help as payment for their free stay. Dawn's cold hand seated on top of hers, Robin's stare traveling up to meet a smile. "It's okay, I'll clean up. Why don't you start preparing the bed? Covers are in the closet."
Her brown eyes followed the woman's finger, finding its way to a set of tall doors. Then, she was pointed at the spare room for Rachel and her. She turned around to face Dawn again, this time it was her wearing the sweetest smile possible, "thank you, Dawn."
Rachel walked to the doors, pulling them both open, greeted by tall shelves filled with objects. Robin's eyes fell on the pile of covers, pulling a few of them out and handing it out to the girl. She took them gleefully, finding it hard to contain them in her arms, but trying her hardest to keep it that way.
"So, you're taking the couch again, I guess," Robin attempted a small talk with Dick, whose eyes were focused outside, gawking on the window. He responded with a nod. She stared his way for a few more seconds until he gave no other answer, she then headed for the room to help Rachel. "Here, let me help."
Rachel had done most of the job to ready the bed, but she still allowed the raven-haired woman to lend a hand with the last cover that would keep them both warm. The girl opened her mouth to talk, the corners of her lips pulling towards her glossy eyes. But her notice was caught by a third person walking in, hands resting on his hips. She looked at him for a few seconds before her grin came back to her pale face. "So, you and Dawn."
Dick's bushy eyebrows were drawn together the second those words left Rachel's mouth, eyes unfocusing like he suddenly relived moments of his life he had been trying to bury deep. Shaking his head, he found himself looking at the almond-eyed woman waiting for an answer, her face missing the interest to hear an answer. "No."
"You realize it's impossible to lie to me, right?" At this statement, Robin's brows raised, taking in as much information as she could about the girl's powers. During their long rides, a few other characteristics were revealed, all of them helped her understand the teenager.
A small beam erupted on her face at their coincidental abilities, reaching out into their weakened minds and finding out the truth. Maybe that was what Rachel saw when she first met Dawn, and what Robin couldn't.
"When we were kids," Dick's face lit up for a moment, punching the palm of his hand in a fidgety manner. His brown orbs traveled around the room quickly, making sure both girls were ready to rest. "Good night."
He was ready to leave them alone, his body in the middle of turning over his heel when Rachel's curious voice continued the conversation about his past. "Why did you hurt her?"
As though if looking for approval, he looked at the woman standing on the opposite side of the bed, a pillow clutched in her grip, a tired expression taking over her round face. She moved her gaze from the comfortable mattress to him, wanting to get it over with. "I didn't mean to," he explained, diverting his eyes somewhere else. Rachel kept defending the woman she had just met, telling him it was not an excuse. "Yeah, well, it's all in the past."
"Not for her," pushed the teenager, sitting down on her bed for the night.
Taking a deep breath, he dropped the naive smile and demanded they get some rest and switching off the lights before leaving the room for good. Rachel threw the upper part of her body into the mattress, frustrated at her failed attempt to find out more about the past relationship.
Too tired to still stand, Robin followed the girl's actions and dropped into the bed, covering her exhausted body with the cotton bedsheets. Yet, the teen's unanswered concerns stopped her from fully drifting off. She shifted around until her stomach was facing up. "Maybe what you saw were memories resurfacing with his visit. I think she's in a happy place now with Hank."
Rachel, whose stomach was also facing the ceiling, let out a huff. It was quiet for some moments until the covers shuffling around broke her sleep trance. Noticing her eyes open, the girl decided to start a late-night talk.
"So, what about you? What's your story-" Rachel's cold hand brushed her arm and a weird feeling crawled up their entire bodies, all the way to the back of their necks, bringing sweat out. The girl pulled away with a grunt, eyes wide in dismay. Robin's mind and body were no longer tired, the zapping created by their touch jolting her awake. "What the hell?"
Groaning, she raised her torso, resting her weight on her sharp shoulders, sinking slightly down on the accumulated foam. The fright on Rachel's eyes gleamed with the moonlight entering from the window, accentuating the forming tears on the bottom of her eyes. "Don't pull another stunt like that. We don't know what could happen if they meet."
"Who meets?" Her smaller body leaned in closer in curiosity, but the woman moved away, preventing anything worse to happen. If only the girl understood that she was being protected from the foreign result, perhaps she wouldn't be mad, her feelings expressing themselves in her pale face. "What're you talking about?"
Her head went blank, unable to form any explanation about her overprotective attitude. It was just a sentiment in her chest that guided her actions. "I don't know, honestly. I'm too tired. Good night, Rach."
Blatting a whine, the kid turned angrily on the bed, giving her back to Robin, who accepted it may not be the right time to attempt an explanation.
The woman laid back into the heavenly mattress, eyes open as she struggled to get her sleepiness back. It felt as though it was abruptly the morning and she was ready to take on the day, having energy for two people. So, all she could do is remain in bed, hoping for the sleep to come in like an ax tossed on the ground, quick and sharp.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Made a new cover for this book! 💕 Thoughts on it?