The Acts of Desperation
-a prequel to 'Acacia'
"I need out, Reno."
Why? Why… what was wrong…"This isn't healthy."
She was already throwing clothes into her green suitcase. I remember I bought that for her. She said it was her favourite. I was always amazed that anybody could have a favourite suitcase, but I never commented. If she was happy, I was happy.
But she wasn't happy now. There was no smile on her face, no twinkle in her eyes, and only silent tears building on her cheeks. She refused to look at me as I stood in the doorway, staring at her, my mag-rod resting where it had fallen from my shock on the floor beside me.
"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
"Everything, Reno! You're just… everything… it's too much!" She wiped her tears away. "I need my space."
I stepped forward. "For how long?"
She sighed, and gave me a sad smile. A smile, but not the kind I wanted to see. "For good. I'm sorry." Then she sniffled, and averted her eyes from mine, as if the brief eye contact had pained her somehow. "My mom's picking me up once she gets off work, since my car's in the shop, at around 10 tonight. Then I'm leaving."
I nodded, not really hearing what she was saying beyond 'For good.' I stared at her some more, and then turned, walking out of our house and slamming the door behind me.
When I came back with the blonde… what was her name… Rouge? Rudolf? Ranger?… I could hardly recall the conversation Acacia and I had had earlier that day. It was only 9PM, not late at all for my standards, but something in my head was telling me to come home now. Either way, I had the whore, so I would be set.
When we both stumbled into my living room, I saw her sitting on the sofa, staring out of the nearby window. When she heard us enter, she snapped her head our way, and then I could see the tears in her eyes. Her lips started to quiver as she stood up, and she stared. I stared back. It felt like I would never see more pain than I was already seeing in her eyes ever in my lifetime.
"Acacia?" I mumbled, more than a little groggy.
She clenched her fist, and cried out, "Why are you like this, Reno? You're a player. I know that. And no—don't talk. You're un-human. You're vile, and you're cruel. Yet I still loved you! And I'll be damned but I had thought you loved me back! Was I just another one of your conquests? A little side mission of 'let's see how long we can string alone this one'?" She paused, and more tears flowed, "How can you keep doing this to yourself?" She whimpered, and placed a hand over her mouth as she stifled a cry.
My mouth opened, and words were forming in my head. I'm sorry. Don't leave. I'll never do it again. I can change. It'll be different; better. Just don't leave. Don't leave me. Please.
She walked to me, and she stood in front of me for a moment. I stared into her eyes, and saw as the pain and the betrayal nestled there turned to something more desperate; angrier. She slapped me across the face, and in my drunken state, my reaction time was lessened down quite a bit. It's not like I would've stopped her anyway. I probably deserved that slap. Then she cried out again, and punched me. Again and again, Acacia punched me. It was only then that my Turk instincts kicked in, mixed with the lower number of brain cells the alcohol supplied me with, and I took out my gun, and slammed it over her head.
She fell to the ground, and I gazed at the blood pooling around her, and the spatters on my gun and shirt.
What had I done?
Everything is wrong.
More in depth look at the one-shot, 'Acacia', which you can find in my user info. I love Reno's darker side. People always think Reno's all cocky!humorous which, yes, he is; but he's more than that. One doesn't become a Turk and still maintain all of their sanity. There is a line, and Reno's was Acacia.