Emily paused for a breath, ignoring Mello's stare as he asked, "What happened next? What did Beyond do with the girl next?"
"He put her down on her home's doorstep. He knew that he would be making a big change in his life if he took her away. He also knew... that she'd have to decide for herself..."
The small girl blinked away her sleep as she felt something cold fall on her nose. She blinked again when suddenly she heard a piece of ice hit the alley wall. She jerked up, to her feet, defensive and ready to try to defend herself. She was scared though, and the cold was making her scars-her fresh scars from the fire punishment- hurt and ache. She felt as if she would break skin if she twisted too fast. She did so anyways as she whirled around at the sound of footsteps behind her. She winced at the pain, but then relief flowed through her as she saw it was him.
Not the tall man with auburn eyes and messy black hair- no, she knew it probably would never be him again: the chances of that were one out of a thousand. No, the him she saw was the only other person who understood her- the blond boy named Mihael. He stood only a few feet away, chewing anxiously on a chocolate bar- the girl knew that his mother, his poor young mother, must have given it to him, to try to make up for his father's behavior ... The girl's heart ached as she saw the band-aids on his face, knowing that these tiny wounds meant that his mother had took most of the abuse last night. She sighed as she stared at Mihael, knowing that he could see the look in her eyes. She was smiling for once.
He smiled back, taking a step towards her carefully before reaching for her sleeve. He was, after all, the one who had realized first that she had been hurt. The girl watched him tug at her sleeve, feeling slightly empowered- and why not? This boy had been her bully only a few months before... and now he was her protector when she was out of her abusers' range. She smiled and stroked his hair, the look in her eyes whispering to him "You won't believe what happened..."
"Your parents are dead?" He asked excitedly, disappointment marking his face as she shook her head "no" violently. He watched in awe as he watched her shiny raven colored hair flow past her shoulders in ringlets as she kept shaking her head, the only thing pulling him back to the guessing game being her sudden yank on his hair and her perturbed glance. She yanked again, feeling frustrated that he wasn't guessing correctly. How she wanted to tell him! She opened her mouth, trying to will forth words of perfection, words that were perfect in length and syllables, that were poetic and did the matter justice. She raised her hands to her mouth, though, as she coughed and then spat up blood. Mihael grabbed her hands and shook them gently. "Don't do that! You don't need to talk! Your condition..."
The girl hung her head. Of course. Her condition. She didn't quite understand what it was, but she knew what it meant- she couldn't speak without this happening. She couldn't speak at all without her lungs sending something to stop her- in most cases, blood. In minor cases, phlegm. She looked up at Mihael with tears stinging her eyes, using her blue irises speak for her. "I talked a couple days ago..." "Yeah, and what happened? You got beat up and shoved in a car trunk, where no one could hear you cough up blood until you nearly died! It's better if you don't speak at all! Don't you see? You're safer when you don't talk- I can protect you better when you don't talk..." The girl looked up at Mihael surprised. Scared. She saw the look on his face- he was confused, he was worried... he was caring. She hadn't seen his face like so. That was potentially the reason why she let out a shriek, despite her throat screaming in defiance against it, as he reached to hug her, bolting out of his grasp and sprinting down the alley, unheeding to his yells of shock and concern.
Her feet ached and her lungs screamed in pain as she continued to run, finally halting when she tripped over something, her focus getting blurred as she felt agony surge through her body, feeling the rough chain fence she had fallen against rip her coat and arm to shreds. She winced and coughed, her shriek finally catching up with her as ruby red droplets stained the snow by her face. Panting, she struggled to her feet, adrenaline pumping and giving her courage to wander back to the rundown apartment she was forced to call her own. She glanced at the door before pushing it open, grimacing as she heard drunken laughter from her foster father and his poker buddies in the kitchen, the main room of the small apartment. The girl sighed as she marched forward, into the condemned room, glancing indifferently at them as she heard the slurred words of "The little bitch is back!" from one of her "father's closest friends, turning away as the bloodshot eyes tried to focus on her. She glanced around as she ignored the drunken ramblings, her eyes catching hold of something.
A sprawling figure. Her foster mother. The little girl picked her way across the room, kneeling and poking at her cheek. The mother didn't stir- her fingers were clasped around a pill bottle. Overdose- too late to save her. The girl turned away in disgust, finally focusing on the only other guardian she had left, staring wide eyed as she realized that the other men had left, had been thrown out. She stared, and she gulped, letting out a painful scream as she was grabbed, and shook like a rag doll...
Several stories below, the only one who heard her scream, was Mihael. He stared up at from where the scream had been uttered, and he knew. He hurtled across the alley and up the stairs to the apartment he had only seen once, in secret...He held that memory close, thought about it every time he was getting hurt. In that memory, SHE was invincible. But now, as he sprinted, he knew she wasn't all the time. He burst into the room, his eyes darting wildly, looking for her. "Lily!" He yelled, the only name he knew her by, the only name she had given him that spring day when they had met, both holding the flower she had received her name from.
The girl's head snapped up from her position of being thrown around the room. She was against the wall now, blood trickling from her mouth and her eye bruised. She saw that the drunken man's head snapped to the sound as well, and she shrieked out in fear. "No!" She was silenced by a swing of the brute's hand that left her breathless and her ears ringing... She slumped against the wall now, feeling faint. She closed her eyes for a fraction of a second...and was unconscious within the next fraction. The foster father grinned lazily before turning to the boy... or, at least, where the boy had stood. The boy had taken advantage and was now hurling himself at the large, ape-like man, jumping on his back.
"You ass! You bastard! Leave her alone!" The boy shouted, remembering the swears he had picked up on the street, shocked as the man fell forward, wondering what had happened as the brute fell, facedown into a blood puddle-his own. Before Mihael stood a man. He was dressed simply, but his messy hair and auburn eyes set Mihael ill at ease, and yet in awe as he quickly got up, staring at him with a glare. He wished he had been the only one who had heard the girl's shriek- he had wanted to play hero. "Who are you?" Mihael spat out, despite his gratitude to the man for practically saving the girl he called "Lily."
The man or, much rather, Beyond didn't answer- instead he looked past the young boy, his brows furrowing as he spied the young girl he had named just the night before. His gaze focused back on the boy who stood in front of him, who now crouched by the girl, looking scared as he pulled the little body into his arms. "Lily? Lily? Wake up! Please! Please!" Beyond was silent as he stood over the pair, the little boy looking up at him, his glower daring Beyond to take the girl. It shocked Beyond- and made him angry in a way he wasn't used to. He accepted the challenge, reaching down and prying the boy's fingers off "Nameless", looking at her.
She looked so cold, so alone.
She looked so cold, alone... dead.
Beyond felt a lump in his throat as he felt fear for the first real time. He glanced at the boy, surprised to see a glistening had softened the glare in his eyes. The boy glanced up at him, whispering coldly, cold like the color of his eyes, "Thanks for finding her- help her. Now!"
"Why not you?" Beyond saw a tremble in the boy's frame as the boy stuttered "I-I can't. I'm worthless. I mean... I always wanted to protect her... but she always gets hurt because of me. So does my mom." The boy hung his head, looking up at Beyond ruefully as he said, "Lily is so smart- she can figure out stuff that other kids can't. I can do that too...but not like she can. She's special- she's my best friend...even if she can't talk. If she wants to live a different life... I don't blame her! She deserves it..."
Beyond looked at him surprised as the boy pushed Nameless fully into his arms. "I'm trusting you to take care of her- when I get older, and smarter, and better... I'll come and take care of her so you won't have to worry anymore."
Beyond let a tiny smirk show as he stood, cradling the girl he had just been entrusted with as he muttered, "If you don't, I'll keep her." "I WILL come back!" Beyond smirked a little longer before turning to the door, glancing at the boy over his shoulder as he said, "Go home- You played hero long enough today." And in a flash, the girl and her new guardian were gone, leaving Mihael alone in a deserted apartment. 'All the better' the boy thought bitterly, lowering his head and sniffling, trying to hold back the sob that had built up inside his chest.