Eva was abruptly awoken the following morning by the sound of a car horn, blasting far too loudly in her ears. It took her a long moment to realise that it had sounded so close because it was, and when she remembered where she had slept she felt her heart sink ever so slightly.
"Mello." She nudged the boy beside her lightly and he bolted awake. Eva thought that he was perhaps the lightest sleeper she had ever known but found comfort in the fact, given the danger of their situation. At least Mello would realise if anyone tried to kidnap them whilst they slept. Eva, on the other hand, could sleep through a nuclear explosion.
"What time is it?" He asked her, pushing himself to his feet and stretching dramatically. Eva gazed at the small watch fastened around her wrist and read the time to be just after seven. "I need to leave straight away. I don't know how long it'll take me to find the guy I'm looking for." Mello glanced back at her at the sound of her grumbling stomach and she clutched it quickly, trying in vain to hide the obnoxious sound. "You're hungry?"
"No! I'm fine." Eva replied quickly, desperately wanting not to be a burden. Mello let out a sigh and hung his head for a moment before turning back to face her.
"While I'm gone I want you to stay here. Do you understand? I'll try to be back before dark." Eva furrowed her eyebrows because that sounded entirely absurd. How could she just sit around for ten hours and do nothing?
"Shouldn't I be doing something? I could find us food, or-,"
"I don't want you to get hurt. It's dangerous by yourself, so try to stay out of sight." Mello paused then, and crouched down. He slid his hand into the pocket of the jacket that lay lopsided on top of Eva, retrieving a switchblade from inside. "If anyone tries to touch you, use this." Eva nodded her head slowly as she carefully took the blade, sliding it into her pocket. She tried not to imagine that she would ever have to inflict pain on someone, but her pessimistic side told her that was probably wishful thinking.
"Fine. I'll be here, waiting." Eva finally told him and Mello gave a curt nod, looking her over for another moment before he quickly straightened and headed out of the small alley. Eva watched as he walked, his silhouette getting smaller and smaller before he disappeared around the corner and out of sight.
Almost immediately Eva stood, shrugging on the jacket Mello had left behind and heading towards the opening on the other end of the alley. Like hell she would sit and do nothing all day, she thought. She would find them some food, at the very least.
She walked slowly through the streets of Winchester, busy with early morning traffic as people rushed to work or school, or wherever it was they had to be. She vaguely wondered what it would be like to have a normal life, to go to a normal school, but quickly discarded the thought. A short while into her walk she noticed a small fruit stand on the side of the road, the vendor busy as he engaged in small talk with a customer.
If I could just swipe a couple of apples… Eva thought, quickening her pace as she approached the stall. She surveyed the owner carefully as she passed him and was relieved to find he was completely distracted, caught up in whatever conversation he might have been having. She walked briskly past the tray of apples, conveniently placed at the very front of the store on display for passers-by's. As she passed the juicy red fruit she extended her hand and carefully took hold of two, returning them to the pocket of Mello's large coat.
Her heart nearly stopped beating when she felt a hand grab a hold of her arm and for a moment she thought Kira had gotten her. She was turned roughly around and found herself face to face with an older man, although thankfully not the owner of the store. This small fact did not relieve Eva in the slightest and she held her breath as the man looked at her with angry eyes.
"That's dangerous business these days, girlie." The man told her gruffly before his eyes quickly darted around. A moment later he was pulling her across the road and further down the street, his hand still holding tightly to her arm. Eva panicked and reached her free hand into the pocket of her jeans, her fingers finding the switchblade that had been hidden inside. She pulled it out and quickly opened the blade, not taking a moment to think before she stabbed it into the man's large hand.
He withdrew his grasp immediately and Eva took off the moment she was free, running in the opposite direction. She heard him mutter a curse behind her and turned to find him chasing after her and, to her horror, gaining speed on her rapidly. He caught her not a moment later and wrapped both of his arms around her middle, lifting her carefully off of the ground to immobilise her.
"Let go of me!" Eva screamed before he placed his hand over her mouth, muffling her cries. She tried to stab the blade into his arm but he took it from her with his free hand and she realised how weak she really was. If she got out of this alive, she decided she needed to lift some weights or something.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." The man told her hurriedly, carefully lowering her back onto the ground. "Please, calm down. You're homeless, aren't you? I can help you." She thought about his words for a long moment before she nodded her head slowly, figuring it was at least worth a try. If worst came to be, she could probably scream loud enough to draw some attention.
He hesitantly withdrew his hand from around her mouth and, when she did not scream, he let go of her entirely. She turned around the moment she was free and looked at the man with narrowed eyes. He looked harmless enough, she thought. She noticed his hand bleeding and found herself feeling bad for the guy. After all, if he really did mean what he said then he was just trying to help her.
"What do you want?" She asked quickly, her stance defensive.
"You gotta be pretty desperate nowadays to risk thieving. If you're not homeless, then you're insane." Eva studied the man carefully as he spoke because she'd always had good intuition as to whether someone was lying or not. It was one of her talents back at Whammy's. She relaxed slightly when she saw no faults in what he said.
"What's it to you?" She replied and the man smiled slightly.
"You sure are feisty for one so young, aren't you?" When Eva didn't reply, he promptly continued. "I was much like yourself not too long ago. A home just up the block took me in. They have a spare room at present, if you're interested." Eva felt a glimmer of hope at his statement, although it was quickly eradicated when she thought of Mello. He would be furious if he discovered that she had so easily trusted a stranger on the street. No, she could not risk it. She eyed the switchblade that the man now clasped in his hand, inching slightly closer towards him.
"Please, give me back my knife. It's all I have to defend myself, I'm sure you can understand that." She told him carefully, appealing to his sympathetic side. She saw his eyes soften and he looked between her and the knife for a moment before he extended it towards her. She promptly grabbed it and stuffed it back into the pocket of Mello's coat.
"I'm sorry about your hand, I really am. And thanks for the offer, but I'm doing just fine on my own." She told him curtly, taking small steps as she slowly backed away. Eva noticed the look of sadness in his eyes but didn't dwell on it. After all, this man hadn't a clue as to her situation. She had Mello.
She turned around entirely and took large steps as she walked back towards the alley she had been instructed to wait in. When she returned, she slowly sat back against the wall and let herself drop to the ground. Her hands immediately retrieved one of the apples that she had swiped and she eagerly bit into it. She didn't think she had ever tasted an apple quite so satisfying.
She waited all day, staring numbly at the empty space around her as she waited begrudgingly for Mello to return. As the hours ticked by, she couldn't help but feel her worry growing steadily inside of her. What if something happened to him? She panicked when she realised that he probably didn't even have a weapon, having given her his knife. Although she hoped that he would not be that foolish, Eva knew that Mello often did strange things to protect her.
She remembered once, back when she was new at Whammy's, he had made another boy eat a Lego because he had teased Eva. Thinking about it now, she realised that Mello had always been quick to protect her from anything that tried to hurt her. She would have to remember to thank him for that, when he returned.
It was just after sunset that she finally saw a figure appear around the corner of the alley. She was concerned for a moment that it was a strange man coming to take her, but relaxed when she saw his blonde hair bobbing up and down as he approached her. She smiled widely at him, relieved that he was still in one piece.
"Mello!" She chirped, stumbling to her feet to greet him.
"We're leaving." Mello told her abruptly and Eva blinked.
"What? I don't-,"
"We have to go to L.A. Tonight." Eva stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Why?! Did something happen?" She asked quickly and Mello shook his head. She looked him up and down quickly, searching for something that could be wrong, anything that could give her a hint as to what he was talking about.
"If you must know, I found the man I needed to talk to and he advised me the most powerful mafia groups are in America. He made a few calls, there's a man in Los Angeles that's willing to meet with me. We need to leave right away." Eva felt a swell of emotions inside of her at his words. This was her home. She didn't know if she was really prepared to leave it, not entirely, not yet. She felt herself slowly shaking her head and Mello let out a sigh, almost as if he were expecting that reaction.
"I understand. The plane is leaving in one hour, so I need to go." Mello looked down at her coolly, refusing to let his emotions get the better of him. Not this time. He couldn't succumb to the throb in his heart because this was his only chance to beat Near once and for all, and there was absolutely no way that he could pass it up. Eva swallowed thickly and realised that there would be no negotiating with him, no talking him out of it. She realised that he had set his mind on this, and Mello's determination was one of the most intense things she had ever seen. She sighed, pushing her feelings back down inside of her and doing what she had to do.
"No, I'll come." She told him curtly as she shrugged off his jacket, quickly giving it back to him. She didn't feel like being so close to him right at that moment, and his scent on the jacket was sending an array of unwanted emotions through her.
Mello shrugged it on and pushed his hands into the pockets, feeling both the blade and the apple inside. He carefully pulled at the apple and glanced at it for a moment before he looked up at Eva, entirely ignorant as she walked a few paces ahead of him. He was far too tired to argue with her so he let out a small sigh, reluctantly giving in and taking a bite out of the apple.
As he chewed, he pulled out the switchblade and opened it quickly, faltering when he noticed the blood that had dried on the blade. As much as he tried not to, he couldn't help the tangent that his mind ventured onto, full of horrid ideas as to what she had possibly done. For a brief moment, he wondered if she had killed someone for the apples. But then he realised that was absurd because she was Eva and besides, no one would kill for apples.
Mello forced the thoughts aside and stuffed the blade back into his pocket, feeling the need to remind her that he was in charge. He would never forgive himself if she did something like this again and was hurt in the process. She had to learn to listen to him.
"I told you not to go anywhere. If you don't start listening to me, I'll leave you behind." Mello noticed the way her shoulders slumped as she listened to his harsh words and he briefly wondered how far he could push her before she broke, and left him once and for all. As much as he tried not to be, Mello was selfish when it came to Eva and, if he could help it, he would make sure that she stayed with him forever.
Thank you to everyone who has favourited and followed this story so far, I'm glad people like it! Things are going to take a bit of a turn in the next chapter, so it'll be a little darker (fair warning). Still, I hope you enjoy! Leave a review! x
