And so continues the sad story of a broken heart, stone heart, and now...
Disclaimer at bottom!
Lucy woke up a few hours later to Natsu in her face.
"Yo, school's out. We should head home."
She nodded groggily, letting him pull her up. He led her down the stairs and to the nurse's station. She glared half-heartedly, but let him push her in. Mirajane jumped when she saw the two of them.
"Are you accepting my help?" she asked nervously. Natsu nodded and made Lucy follow Mirajane into a back room. Mirajane pushed Natsu out and pulled the blinds shut before turning to Lucy.
"May I see your leg?"
Lucy sighed and pulled the sweatpants off. She had spandex shorts on anyway. Mirajane gasped at the mottled bruise Lucy's thigh.
"Oh, sweetie! How did you get that?"
"Some guys were playing with a girl in the alley near my apartment so I stopped them," she shrugged. "One of them got lucky with his gun and hit me with it since he couldn't figure out the safety."
Mirajane frowned at the girl's easy manner in such a discussion, but put it off for later. She pulled out an ointment and knelt in front of the blonde.
"This might hurt."
Lucy scoffed. Mirajane rubbed the ointment onto the bruise absently, taking note of all the scars on her legs. When she was done, she wrapped the bruise up and let Lucy get dressed.
"You should probably take some of-"
"I have some at the apartment," Lucy interrupted. She pulled the door open and led Natsu out of the station and the school. They walked in silence for a while, with the unvoiced question; will you stay with me? Lucy led them on the route she always took to the complex. Natsu followed her unquestioningly. When they arrived at her door, she turned to him.
"Want to come in?"
He smiled and nodded. She unlocked the door and let him in. She pointed him to the kitchen with a simple 'help yourself.'
Lucy sighs as she walks into her room. She grabs a change of clothes and enters her bathroom. Natsu stops his fridge-raiding as the sound of running water reaches his ears. He straightens with a dark blush scattered over his cheeks and the leg of a cold chicken hanging from his slightly opened mouth.
A/N okay this part is the cutting so if it triggers you, skip to the next bold print. Sorry to anyone offended by this!
In the shower, Lucy reached automatically for the razor she knew to be sitting on the top shelf. The events of the past few days pile up in her chest and boil over in the form of salty tears. Another threatening letter, another angry phone call, another attack. More tears fell from her reddened eyes as she drew the shiny blade in clean, straight lines on her thighs. A specific event pushed itself forward in her mind.
Lucy sighed as she realized she had another tail. She quickly ducked into the alleys and led the stalker in a trail that would take a tracking dog to follow. Lucy climbed up the side of one building and perched on the low gutter. The man who'd followed her wandered casually into the thin street. She drew a breath. It was one of her old friends, from her childhood. She leaped from the perch and surprised her stalker by landing in front of him. In an instant, her hidden knife (the one she always had, school rules be damned) against his throat.
"What are you doing here?"
The man smiled, a tired look. "I have to bring you home, Lu. He'll hurt them if I don't try."
Lucy nodded in understanding. All of the men who'd come after her had said the same thing. "Then try."
He wasn't skilled, so she beat him pretty easily. He only managed one hit; her leg. HIs supplied gun (that he didn't know how to use, let alone get the safety off of) was only good as a hammer, so he hit her, hard. She dodged, so it was only a glancing blow, but it still knocked her off balance. A few minutes later left him unconscious in the dirt. The sight of her old friend, beaten by her hand, sickens her. She hurls her dinner in the alley and wipes her mouth, gazing sadly at the broken man. She turns and leaves him there. He probably had a mike on, so her 'father' would know to come collecting his baggage.
Lucy leaned over in the shower, the urge to purge her stomach overbearing. She swallowed roughly and rested her head against the shower wall. A sharp pain reminds her that she still clutches the razor. She clenches her hand around it as another batch of tears join in the water swirling in the drain. She brings it up and slices at her wrist, both in a frenzy and at peace. She'd had to do that, to remain free.
A/N It's over. You can look now. Lucy just cut cuz she felt bad for having to beat up an old friend to protect him and her from her dad.
Natsu had reacted as soon as he smelled blood, running to Lucy's bedroom and gazing about. His onyx eyes fell on the three picture frames that sat on her dresser. Blood forgotten for the moment, he approached them. The first held a beautiful blonde and a baby. The second, a slightly older version of the previous blonde, this time with a miniature copy of her in her lap. The third was a family portrait. The blonde woman sat in a chair with the mini-me in her lap again. Behind them stood a stern looking older man.
"What are you doing in here?"
Lucy's angry tone breaks him out of his trance. Natsu stares at her for a second, the smell of blood still lingering around her. He can't see any injuries other than her hand because she wears sweats and a navy blue sweatshirt.
"I smelled blood."
Lucy sighs, gesturing with her injured hand. "Just a small accident. Nothing I couldn't take care of."
Natsu nods, not entirely convinced, and turns back to the pictures, studying them.
Lucy comes up behind him and leans over his shoulder. Natsu became distinctly aware of every inch of cloth that touched. "She was my mom," she whispers sadly, leaning into him further to point to the older blonde. She moves her finger over to point to the smaller blonde. "That's me when I was younger." Her voice held the hint of a sad smile.
"And the man?"
Lucy stiffens. Natsu could almost feel the anger seeping out of her. "Her husband."
Natsu nods and excuses himself from the apartment, leaving Lucy to her fury. Lucy sighs in frustration, smacking her head. As much as she wanted to let Natsu in, she still held to that small part of her that said "No one cares, Lucy. They don't care about you," like her father had told her everyday for years. She locks her front door and crashes to the floor, withholding her sobs. She scolded herself. A girl with an iron heart shouldn't cry or she'd rust and break.
So SOPA is trying to stop fanfictions. Please sign the petition if you haven't! No pressure though :) As always, I don't own FT however much I wish I did. All rights to the respective owners. (I don't know the site but I'm sure many recent updates have it!)
