Slender fingers unlocked the door to the apartment with precision. The keys slipping back in her jacket pocket, she held the door open for Beca.
"Sooo…" the brunette drew out, stepping through the doorway, "What's your name anyway, Moose?" The blonde grunted, shutting the door behind her. Pieter was already headed for a different room, and the small girl raised a brow. "He's going to his room," the German stated simply, dropping her bag at the doorway. "You two aren't a thing?" Beca asked, slightly surprised.
"What?! No?" the blonde chuckled, clearly amused; "My name is Luisa, he is Pieter. Now Maus, do I have the delight of knowing your name?" The two had wandered into the living area, Beca exploring and taking everything in. For an apartment, it was actually pretty large. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a combined kitchen and dining area, along with a living area complete with a fireplace. The wooden floors clicked underneath her ratty shoes. Running her fingers along the furniture she realized that the material that the couches were made of was extremely soft.
A small fire crackled in the fireplace, and the smell made Beca remember…
"No, stop!" she begged, a small girl, maybe seven was backing into the corner. Trapped by walls, there was nowhere to run. "Please, I won't ever do it again," her voice was a wail now. "What. Did. I. TELL. YOU. ABOUT. STEALING?!" the man raged, holding up the half eaten chocolate bar in one hand and a steaming hot iron rod in the other.
In the background, the fire place could be heard crackling. "How fucking dare you eat this, you little cunt!" he screamed at her, raising the metal and striking her with it.
Beca flinched, rubbing her arms. The scars were still there, they hadn't even taken her to the hospital for the burns, why would they? The 'parents' she had, were only taking care of her to feed off of the government's money.
The blonde had been watching, not daring to interrupt as the brunette relived a moment that wasn't pleasurable. Luisa had crept up behind her, and brushed smooth fingers across her face. Beca jumped, not expecting the touch, and definitely not expecting it to be so soft. Everything in her life had hurt, and then she crashes into this woman, and she starts to learn that everything isn't so painful, so rough. "I-I'm Beca," her voice was a whisper, eyes looking around the room uncomfortably.
Luisa softened, feeling like butter, around the tiny girl. "Beca…" the name slipped from her lips, causing the smaller girl to pull away. Luisa felt awkward and unsure. "I- uh, would you care for a warm shower?" she offered, pulling her hand back and scratching the back of her head. The brunette nodded, and shrugged her bag off, setting it next to one of the couches. "It is, uhm, down the hallway, into my room, and on the right. I promise you don't want to use Pieter's shower; the, uh, the towels are in the cabinet, feel free to use anything in there."
Beca turned and headed that way, leaving Luisa by the warm fire. Since when did the business woman get flustered? This was nothing, she told herself, slipping out of the heels she was wearing, and setting herself down on the couch. The Italian leather was velvety, and warm against her skin, and she sighed contently.
Looking down she spotted the faint brown stain on her shirt. Grunting she stood from the couch, and walked to the sink in the kitchen. Grabbing a small cloth she wet it and tried scrubbing the stain out. Untucking her blouse she tried again, applying more pressure. It was no use, the blonde woman groaned, tilting her head back.
The water felt nice. Different from the swims she took in the pond, or that one time when she was able to sneak into the YMCA locker rooms. The pond was usually cold, and that one trip… well, that didn't end so well either.
The dirt and grime was all washed away down the drain after about thirty minutes of steaming hot water running down her body. Turning the tap off she stepped out and grabbed the towel she had pulled from the cabinet earlier that evening. Her eyes took in the reflection that looked back at her in the mirror. Even though she was clean, her fingertips brushed the protruding cheek bones, and her sunken in eyes. She looked horrible.
To her surprise there were fresh clothes lying on the bathroom sink, and she felt suddenly self-conscious. What is the woman had seen her? It was doubtful; the curtain was thick, and Beca would have seen it move. Beca threw on a t-shirt far too large for her, and the sweatpants that had been lying there, and grabbed the nearest brush in an attempt to straighten out her hair. Huffing at the failed attempt she slowly returned back to the living area.
The tall blonde was fast asleep, the only thing lighting the area were the remaining embers of the fire pit, and one small desk lamp in the corner of the room. The German's hair had been pulled from its tight bun, blonde locks falling against bare shoulders. The woman's button up had been pulled from her skirt, and was wrinkled. Beca's eyes soon noticed the smudged coffee stain and she felt still pretty bad about the incident from earlier that day.
The tiny girl moved quietly, climbing on to the other half of the couch, which she easily fit without disturbing the blonde. She didn't dare wake her up, remembered what happened whenever she had awoken her foster parents. Curling up into a ball, she rested her head on one of the pillows and felt her eyes get heavy immediately. "Goodnight, Moose," she mumbled, closing her eyelids.
Then came a soft whisper, making Beca feel more at home. "Goodnight Mäuschen."
