We all imagine life as though we can understand it all. The deaths, the births, the hatred, the love. But in reality, we can't understand any of it entirely. We choose to delude ourselves from the truth and imagine a new world. One where only we can feel emotions, like everyone else is just a figment of our imagination. But we can't say for sure whether these beings are like us. Whether they have emotions or are a single being with no way to tell the difference between happy and depressed. Whether they can memorize events or they just go off what you say and pretend to remember. What ever the reason, we all acknowledge one another on this over full world. This is the story of eighteen people. They met through unforeseen circumstances, but all together, they have created a bond no one can destroy.
It all begins in the small desolate town on Reno, Nevada. In the dead of night there was a family of two, pulling into a crusty motel with a clunky blue car, known to the locals as Wonder Lounge. It was the best he could afford. Who is he? The father of the young girl, whom in this story is the third youngest of all the characters. Nepeta Leijon. She sat in the back of her fathers run down old car and huddled her feet together, holding her knees as she waited to be let out. All night she and her father had been running from the CPS. They had gone from Toronto, Canada to Seattle, Washington, and now here, to Reno, Nevada. Over the past few weeks, her father had been accused for abusing his daughter which he firmly denied. Saying what he was doing was helping her grow stronger in life, and his poor young daughter believed him.
He lit a smoke and unrolled his window, puffing the smoke out. "Nepeta," he spoke softly and looked back at his young daughter. She looked up, brushing back a few stray strawberry blonde hairs. "Yeah papa?" She responded kindly. He looked back out the window and inhaled more smoke "Go get me the motel keys, like a darling please?" She always liked being called a darling. She was hardly ever called that anymore.
She nodded and exited the vehicle, and followed the flickering lights of the motel. The man behind the counter was probably in his early twenties, at least five years her senior. He had tasseled dark brown hair that looked nearly black without the help of the light. He was napping behind the counter when Nepeta tapped the bell that gave no ring but a rather loud "CLANG!" The boy, startled by the noise, fell from his chair, with a loud grunt and a loud yell.
"Fiddlesticks!" Nepeta quickly rushed around the desk and helped him up, "Sir, are you alright? Are you hurt?" She exclaimed fearful she might have hurt him. He rubbed his head. "No, I'm fine," his voice was deep but soft and calm. She was taken a back, guessing he sounded manly and robust. "Oh dear, my sunglasses..." He picked up the broken pair of rectangular shades. "They must've cracked when I fell."
Nepeta stared at them and apologized " I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to startle you sir." She bowed her head and her hair fell forward, looking like lava was flowing from her head. He chuckled slightly as he began picking up the shattered glass and sweeping them into a little trash bin under his desk, "Oh, don't feel sorry, young fowl. It's not your fault. I shouldn't have been asleep on the job." He patted her head and smiled at her. She looked up and he put on the glasses. "And besides, now I look way cooler." She stared at him as he smiled with his toothy smile. She smiled back, and rubbed the back of her head nervously "Yeah, you do." She looked at his name tag "It's nice to meet you Equius! My name is Nepeta!" She held out her left hand, waiting for him to shake. With another toothy grin he took the young girls small hand in his larger callused one and shook gently. "It's nice to meet your acquaintance, Nepeta." "Yours as well!" As they released their hands she received the key to her and her fathers motel room and went out to the car with a smile on her face.
"What are you so chipper about?" He blew smoke from his nostrils as he stared through narrow brown eyes. She shrugged and handed him the silvery keys through the window. "I met a new friend. He's really nice." He got out from the car and parked it. "C'mon, we've gotta get your delusional ass to bed." He took her wrist and pulled her forward. Equius looked back through the window to see his new friend. She was being pulled along by a large white man. He furrowed his brow as she seemed less than pleased with the way he was holding her. He checked what room he had given them as the man tugged the small girls arm in through the door. Room 413 on level A. The man sighed and checked the clock, hoping he could turn in for the night. 11:07. Impatiently he waited for his junior to take his spot. She was an odd young lady but she was good at her job.
The rooms felt eerily silent, before there was a yell from one of the rooms. Equius was startled and quickly looked around. A muffled yelp could be heard every few minutes with the addition of a man yelling. This of course was normal around this time of night. Most couples were fighting right around now, so he let it slide, but his heart was oddly pounding very hard. It didn't sound like a grown woman's scream, and in fact it wasn't. It was the scream of a young girl "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" The girl helped helplessly as new gashes on her skinny back were made with the belt "You better be sorry, you good for nothing little shit!"
When he stopped, the young girl lay on her side, trembling in fear with blood making a river down her back. The girl held herself together as she wobbled back up onto her legs a few moments later, getting a dirty used rag and running it under cold water, cringing deeply as she sponged up the dark crimson fluid from her back with the filthy rag. The man lit a cigarette and smoked for a few minutes before releasing her to bed.
"I hope you have nightmares, you fucking cunt." He spat with a hiss. She pulled on one of her many baggy shirts, and slumped to one of the bedrooms with a mattress. It was cold as she curled into her fetal position, no pants, only her underwear and shirt. Her long red hair spread around her, almost long enough to be a makeshift blanket. She fought back tears as the door closed, hoping she was going to be able to sleep tonight.