1. NEW ARRIVAL
"Hey, she's waking up?" Lily asked, putting her colouring pencil back in the tin.
"I think she is" Robert confirmed, looking up towards the sofa. The blanket shifted slightly, letting out a small groan. Lily giggled.
"She's a light-sleeper, isn't she?" she asked, popping a jelly bean into her mouth, chewing contemptely.
"Yeah, but she look in a great deal of pain when we found her" Robert comtemplated, copying Lily and throwing a jelly bean into his mouth.
"Where must she have come from to be injured like that?" she inquired, changing her position so her legs were out infront of her. He frowned and turned his gaze towards the bundle on the furniture.
"Nothing's of certain, but but wherever she was, it wasn't good".
More shuffling and groans came from the blanket. It slide off the sofa a small bit, revealling a pair of small, delicate feet.
"Are we being too loud, Robert?" Lily asked. He turned to her with a qustioning gaze.
"No, we're being quite quiet actually" he said. He patted her on the legs and pulled himself into a standing position. He wiggled his foot as if he had pins and needles then shook it out gently.
The floorboards creaked as he walked towards the sofa. He hunched over a little to see better. He took a deeper breath as he pulled the cover away.
The girl was dozing, her black hair streaked with purple was falling across her face. The red in her cheeks was fading with contact with the milder air. Robert pulled the blanket down further. Her shoulder was bruised, tinged with a purple-brown colour.
"She's still asleep. That bruise on her shoulder's nasty though" he explained, pulling the cover back to her neck.
"That's good. You know, maybe we should tell Roger about her . . " Lily trailed off, biting her bottom lip and looking out of the window from across the room.
"No" Robert said forcefully, turning and looming over her.
"But why? Can we not just tell -" Lily stopped in her tracks.
The door had opened to reveal a slim frame hunched in the doorway. Robert closed his mouth and pulled the cover over the girl's head, making it appear like a bundle of bedcovers.
"My apoligies for barging in like this, but maybe my curiosity got the better of me" he said. Robert held his breath at the voice. Lily just froze in place. They knew that voice.
"May I ask who you're hiding under that bedcloth?" he continued, shuffling in slowing, pointing a long finger at the sofa. Robert breathed a sigh of defeat. Lily was still frozen.
"Fine, I knew someone would find out eventually" Robert sighed. The voice became a figure in the dimly lit room.
Why did you have to find out first, L? You'll just go and tell Roger. Lily was fixed on his gaze. He walked up to the bundle on the sofa and stood for a moment, hunched over the bed linen, taking in the atmosphere. Then slowly, ever so gently, with just his fingertips, he pulled the cover back. His eyes widen in slight suprise. The girl had turned onto the shoulder that was bruised and immediately tried to flip over. At the touch of their skin, her eyes shot open.
GIRL'S POV
He was hanging over me, his large grey eyes absorbing my every movement. And possibly my every thought. It was disturbing but I never scream at these things. I started to take in the atmosphere. Mmm . . . sweet. I knew the exact smell. It's . . . cheesecake. Strawberry cheesecake. My favourite. But . . this guy smelt of it. I liked the feel of that moment, that exact moment, but I knew I had to move. My shoulder killed. I wiggled a little, using my feet to push myself up into a sitting position. He moved cautiously, taking a step back away from me. I scanned the room, taking every detail and remembering it. Then I started to get flashes of mermory. Or were they mermories? A hotel room. Bathroom. Blood. Water. The knife. Droplets of liquid dripping from every object. I brought my hands to my temples, rubbing them gently. I wanted the flashing to stop. The images to stop. Just all this pain to stop.
"Are you okay, Miss?" said a small timid voice from the floor. I looked round to the rug on the floor. A small, cute curl-covered face filled my vision. She smiled at me, quetioning. I dropped my hands in my lap. But as I opened my mouth, I froze. What do I say? What do I do after this? They were obviously hiding me from this man. But why? By then I had thought of a battle plan.
"Yes, I think I am. Ouch" I said, craning my neck to try and see my shoulder. It was starting to match my hair.
"That's how we found you" a voice said behind me. I swiveled so my feet were grazing the floor. A younger boy was standing there, leaning against a small armchair. He looked up at me, pushing his glasses up the brigde of his nose
"I'm Robert, by the way. I thought I'd introduce myself since you might be here for a while, just looking at the bruise on you shoulder". He pointed at my left shoulder. I went to touch it with my fingertip, when I felt somethingelse. Another hand. I looked round. The guy I first saw, he had stopped my hand. I looked at him, tilting my head slightly, questioningly. He moved my hand away, dropping it onto my lap. He tilted his head to match mine. His hair lighten slightly, where he had tilted his head. The raven black bangs hung, un-brushed in all directions, falling the way he moved. It was interesting.
"Don't touch it, you'll leave fingerprints" he said, crouching onto the opposite end of the sofa I was sitting on. He gave me a knowing glare. Like he knew something I didn't.
"You can called me Ryuzaki" he informed, switching his glare towards the window. I nodded approvingly.
"So, Robert, Ryuzaki . . . " I was cut short by the girl laying on the floor. She giggled insanely.
"And I'm LILY!" she introduced, flinging her legs around and flipping herself onto her back. She was really cute. She couldn't have been more than about nine or ten. She giggled again. It was like looking at a rainbow. Her face was covered in streaks of highlighter pens and her fingers were the same. She had obviously been colouring for a while.
"Nice to meet you, Lily" I said calmly. Her smile grew. I recognised her from somewhere, but where from, I didn't know.
"Jelly bean? Lemon drop? Or are you not a sweets person?" she continued, holding a bowl out in front of me. It was filled to the brim with sweets. All the ones I liked.
"Thank you" I thanked her, pulling out a lemon drop. I stared at it for a moment. I didn't recognise the style, it was new to me. But it was a lemon drop, and I was craving the sugar. After plopping it in my mouth, I felt it fizz on my tongue. Heaven.
"May I ask what your name is?" Robert asked, coming closer to me. I thought carefully about my next answer. Do I tell them? I guess I should. They might need medical records or something.
"I'm Rosa-Rai Waters, pleasure to meet you all" I said, giving a small bow "But you can called me Rai".
"The pleasure's all ours" Ryuzaki said, changing his gaze towards me. His gaze cut through me. He DID know something. I knew it.
"Now, where did you find her, Robert" he asked, looking past me. I heard the thoughtful breath Robert took.
"Down near the forest. I didn't realize she was there till we took a closer look" he explained, walking and sitting next to Lily, in my view. He took a jelly bean and chewed it "Why? Are you deducting again?". Ryuzaki shrugged. He was strange. For a younger guy, he was mature. But it was definately just another layer that he'd created. As well as being a strange Personal Space Invader.
"You must be the girl Roger was speaking to on the phone, correct?" he asked, leaning in slightly towards me. Lily was intrigued with his interested. She was giggling more.
"I was looking for Roger, yes" I anwsered, slightly disturbed. He's good. Too good.
"Should I escort you to his office?" Robert asked, standing up and offering a hand. I shook my head, standing up. I came to his nose height. One and a half inches off. Oh, I feel short now. Suddenly my balance took a tumble. I fell foward, my knee buckling from underneath me. I threw my arms foward, trying to break my fall. This made my shoulder burn and ache like the hinges on the gates of hell.
"Got ya" he said, with a small chuckle. I opened my eyes. The floor. But not touching me. A good half a metre away. What? I looked up. Ryuzaki holding me up on the left arm. And Robert holding the right.
"Umm, maybe yo-o-u could help m-m-e up?" I stuttered, trying my hardest on push myself up, but it was no use. My shoulder had relaxed so much I couldn't move it.
"Maybe we should take her to Roger" Lily said, twisting her hair around her finger nevrously "I did say this before".
"You're right. She need medical attention" Robert said, pulling me up with Ryuzaki.
"No, I don't. I just need a good massage" I said stubbornly, staggering a bit to my left. Lily looked at me concerned.
"L . . . Ryuzaki. You take her" she said, propping me up slightly. He turned to her with a dark glare.
"And why, may I ask, should I take her?" he questioned, standing completely still.
"Because you woke her up. Yeah, you can tell Roger we found her and hid her, but you woke her up" Robert explained, his plascid tone changing to a stern one.
"And you're the only one who could carry her the whole way" Lily noted, looking to her feet. I could see she was trying to conceal a smile. She saw something I didn't. Oh I wish somethings people would let me in on secrets. Maybe I would of gotten here unharmed.
"Okay, if you insisted, but don't blame me when you hear a scream from the bottom of the corridor" Ryuzaki said, sarcastically but defeatedly. He my non-injured arm so I would come closer to him. Wonderful. Creepy and silently commanding. In a flash, he had pulled and manovered me onto his back. He pulled himself out of his hunch and up to full height. He must have been about 5ft 8, 5ft 9. Another three or four inches. Now I really feel short. He started to shuffle out of the door, taking me with him. He mumbled something to the children in a language my brain couldn't translate, which was a pity, because I did know a lot of languages. 12 in fact. He gently gripped the handle and pulled the door to. Was he planning to be silent the whole way? I couldn't help but ponder more about him. He was . . interesting. A strawberry cheesecake smelling, large grey eyed, raven black haired mystery to me. Not to mention I think I might end up living with him. The other two were of less important to me at this time. But I wondered. I wanted to know more. I needed to know.