An OC story in 2017? It's more likely than you think.
This is something that I could not get out of my mind, So I hope you enjoy it.
How could this happen, a young woman asked herself as she read the contents of the email. She has been ignoring this email address for months as she studied at university, wanting to focus on her future instead of deal with the people from her past. Apparently, she ignored it for too long because she got a call from Watari telling her to check it. She bit the inside of her cheek as she re-read it.
A is dead and B is in prison. How did I not see the signs when I last saw them? She was more surprised over A's suicide rather than B's serial killer escapade. She wasn't close to either of them, but she knew them enough that it affected her. She should've done something when she was over there two years ago, but even then she didn't see any signs that pointed in this direction. She knew there was something wrong with B, but he refused her help. If only I was more persistent! I could've done something to avoid this. She berated herself, biting on the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood.
She shut her laptop, pushing it to the side so she could lay down fully on her bed. She squeezed her eyes shut, putting her tongue to the spot she just had bitten, trying to keep more blood from entering her mouth. This is not my fault, she thought to herself, trying to calm herself down. They were not your successors, no the were L's. If anything, this could be his fault since he neglected them so much. She reasoned, knowing all she was doing was shifting the blame. She never met L, but from what Roger and Watari told her, he was a very paranoid man who never showed his face to anyone besides Watari. A had expressed to her that he was under a lot of stress from being the one to succeed him, that and the fact that B always harassed him about not being enough.
There was that sign, but I was so new to the orphanage and just began studying psychology that I completely ignored it. She groaned, exhausted from having to mentally fight with herself. The deed has been done and she couldn't do anything about it besides move on and help anyone else in need from taking the same actions. I should probably call Roger or Watari, though. Maybe see if I could come back to check on the other kids. With that thought, she sat up and picked up her phone, dialing Watari's number first. He picked up on the first two rings.
"Hello, Watari."
Three weeks later, winter break starts, allowing her enough time to go back to the Wammy House for a month until the next semester started. She told her flatmates about her holiday, all of them being surprised since she never went back home, or even talked about it. They held a small party for her, which she greatly appreciated since it made her forget about why she was going home for a few hours, but the next morning she felt heavy as she boarded the plane.
Roger was waiting for her when she exited the terminal, the same black car they always used whenever going into town. She gave a small frown as she got into the car after putting her luggage in the back of the car, Roger refusing to get out and help her.
"Hello, Roger." She said, keeping the frown on her face. Roger grunted in reply before starting the car and pulling onto the street. She stayed silent after that, knowing that Roger didn't really care much for her already, nor did he care much for any of the kids in the house, but Watari trusted him enough to watch over the lot, so she guessed he was alright.
The drive from the airport was about two hours long since Wammy's House was in the middle of nowhere. She hated that fact, it isolated them from the world, making it hard to adjust whenever they moved away. She kept her blue eyes on the changing scenery as it changed from the city to hillsides. The house itself was hidden on top of a hill, the only way to access it was to drive along a long dirt path.
"L's home." Roger said as they turned onto the dirt road. "He heard about you coming back to check on the kids and decided to come back as well." L came back to the house from time to time, but remained in his room the entire time, but the fact that he came back because of her shocked her. She has only talked to him once and that was to ask if it was okay for her to leave and continue her education elsewhere. He agreed as long as she used an alias and never came back unless it was necessary. She deemed that this was necessary.
"It's not like I'm going to be seeing him anyway, but thanks." She replied, keeping her eyesight out the window. She heard Roger sigh, but was grateful when he didn't say anything else. Instead, the house came into view a few moments later, making her heart swell with nostalgia.
Am I really ready to come back? I left because I hated it here, but it also made me into who I am. She thought to herself, her eyes now trained on the house as it grew closer and closer. Soon, Roger was parking the car and getting out, even taking the extra step to get her luggage from the back. She took her time to exit though, opening the door and slowly standing up, her eyes never leaving the front door.
"Drew's back, Drew's back!" A voice yelled from the inside, the door opening and Linda stood there with a wide smile on her face. Drew couldn't help but smile as the girl ran towards her, throwing her small arms around her neck. "You're back!" Linda said as she hugged Drew.
"Just for a month, but yes." Drew said, hugging the young girl back. When she let the girl go, several other arms wrapped around her. She let out a noise of surprise, but tried her best to hug the arms back, not being able to see the faces of who they belong to.
"Alright, alright, you demons, let go of her." Roger barked as he walked past them with her luggage. The kids complied, taking a step back and letting her compose herself. Standing there was five children counting Linda.
"Xavier, Arlene, Lissie, and Wyre, you guys have gotten so big!" She gushed out as she took in their appearances. Xavier smiled smugly at her, standing there in all of his eleven year old glory. His dark brown hair was longer and his green eyes shone with admiration as he looked at her.
"I knew you would come back." He said to her, earning a small chuckle from her.
"Nuh-huh, you cried like a baby when she left and said she would forget about us." Arlene interjected, jabbing a finger at him. She was ten and had a personality as fierce as her red hair. Her light brown eyes turned gold in the sunlight as she glared at Xavier.
"Do we have to fight?" Lissie whined before Xavier could say something back. She was twin, having the same red hair and brown eyes. She was more passive than her twin, often having to stop them from fighting.
Drew's eyes focused on the last girl, a six year old named Wyre. She looked a lot like Drew with short blond hair and bright blue eyes, but she hardly said anything. Instead, she just gave Drew a wide smile, showing that three of her baby teeth were missing.
"You're right, Lissie, there shouldn't be any fighting." Drew said, eyeing Xavier and Arlene who were currently sticking their tongues out at each other. This made the older woman sigh inwardly before she began to look around. There were a bunch of children who stayed at Wammy's House, but a lot of them stayed in doors most of the time. She felt eyes staring at her, quickly she looked up towards the second floor just in time to see one of the curtains move.
L, she thought. It unnerved her that he could've been staring at her, making her remember that he came back because she did. Is he going to yell at me for coming back? She chewed on the inside of her cheek.
"Drew, Drew!" Linda snapped trying to get her attention. She peered down at the girl, her blond hair in pigtails and brown eyes staring at her. "We should go inside now, Watari said lunch will be ready soon!" Drew nodded, allowing Linda to take her hand and lead her inside. Her nerves going haywire as soon as she stepped into the house.
Watari had greeted her as soon as she stepped into the kitchen. She gave him a hug and asked if he needed any help with lunch, to which he agreed to. So she began to peel potatoes as Watari worked on the carrots.
"How was university?" Watari asked, dropping a carrot into the bowl next to him. Drew refused to glance at him as she continued peeling her potato.
"Busy, thank goodness for breaks." She said, finishing the potato and putting into the bowl next to her. Watari nodded.
"Agreed, we are happy to have you back." He said, but the emotion didn't seem to reach his voice. L's mad I'm back, she gulped. She wanted to talk to Watari, but she knew L had cameras set up somewhere within the kitchen, she also didn't put it past him to install mics. She inwardly frowned, like a prison just as I remember.
"I'm glad to be back, I've missed it here. University didn't have your delicious home-cooked meals." This made Watari smile.
"You know I cook only on occasion, but we gave the cook the day off today so I could cook the meals." He finished the last carrot, putting it into the bowl. Next he began to work on peeling cabbage. She was almost done with the potatoes, the bowl almost over-filling with them.
"Roger told me L is home, as well. From what I remember, it's his first time in four years. What a coincidence that we both came home around the same time." She said, not hiding the obvious bitterness in her voice. Watari's actions faltered, letting her know that he caught where she was going.
"Well, it's almost Christmas and he wanted to spend it here this holiday." Liar, L doesn't care for holidays, she thought knowing better than to voice it. Watari was about to reply when his cell phone started ringing. He checked the ID and picked up.
"Yes?" He said, his eyes darting towards her. "Alright, I'll send her right up." He said before shutting his phone. He turned fully to her, his eyes boring into hers. "L wishes to see you."