Nico sat on the sidewalk and considered phoning home.
But then again, there was no one to call. He pocketed the change and began to walk. It didn't necessarily matter where…he just wanted to get away. He wanted Bianca, he wanted the acceptance of his father, he wanted to feel…loved. Sure, he could visit Bianca in the Underworld, but it obviously wasn't the same. Her hands were so cold…he could barely stand holding them in his own.
He couldn't help but feel guilty for the death of his sister. He knew that if he had somehow stopped her from accepting immortality, she might have been standing with him in the shabby internet café he stumbled into.
"Can I help you?"
The young woman, who reminded him so of Bianca smiled at him.
"Uhm…I'll have whatever has the most caffeine. And a blueberry muffin."
A few minutes later a tiny cup of espresso arrived at his table. He drank it in one gulp but savored the muffin. He couldn't taste any preservatives like the crappy ones that they had at Starbucks. He felt the caffeine seeping into his blood.
So this is why Bianca never let me have caffeinated sodas…He felt himself standing up and walking out the door.
"Taxi!" He shouted, waving aimlessly at the bright yellow cars zipping by. Finally, one of them pulled over and let him in.
"Where to? Sir…?"
"Could you take me to the nearest Amtrak station?"
The cab began to move and Nico felt bile rising into his throat. He swallowed it down and stared out of the window.
Holy crap…that's…that's…Bianca."Hey, guy, could you pull over?"
"Yeah. That'll be four dollars and twenty cents."
He paid and got out of the car as quickly as he could, slamming right into the girl that he thought was his dead sister.
"Can I help you?" The girl looked visibly annoyed.
Nico realized that she didn't look like Bianca at all, she just had the same prudish expression on her face.
"No…I thought you were someone else. Sorry."
He walked off and buried his head in his hands. Tears welled up in his eyes and he quickly blinked them back.
Don't cry, don't cry, whatever you do, just don't cry…Why did Bianca have to die? What did she do that made her deserve that? It should have been me…
"Are you okay, sir?"
He looked up to see an elderly woman with a tiny Chihuahua carrying some groceries.
"I'm fine, ma'am." He tried to smile but failed miserably. The elderly woman looked concerned.
"You can tell me. I'm a licensed psychologist."
Nico actually smiled at that.
"I'm…sorry. I can't really talk about it. It's just that…well, let's say that my family's messed up."
"I deal with those all the time, dear. C'mon."
She handed him some groceries and, after making sure that he wasn't going to run off, started to walk towards an apartment building that Nico recognized. She went in and the doorman, who she greeted as Larry, tipped his hat to her. Her apartment itself was spacious with high ceilings and smelled like fresh paint and hairspray.
"I've been doing some redecorating. I had a few nice young men renovate the bathroom, kitchen, and paint the living room."
She sat down on the antique-looking couch and patted the spot next to her.
"Sit down and tell me what's wrong, um…"
"Nico. My name is Nico." He sat down and looked past her wrinkled face.
"Okay, Nico. What's up?"
He felt himself blinking back tears again. He felt like a little boy, when Bianca would pull him into her lap and hug him. But she was gone…and he felt the floodgates that somehow stayed pasted shut begin to open.