Hitomi65- hehe thank you! c:
Cascade00- ahh! gosh you're right though, it's coming to that it looks like :c well, I'll let you find out in the later chapters dear! ouo and maybe he will uwu
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Klaviel- really? well I'm glad you found it again! and after the many,,, months, here's the new chapter uvu
I didn't sleep very well that night.
I remember getting up from my place at the door about a half hour later and dragging myself to bed, my feet trudging against the floor and the whole while, I was only starting to get angrier. It upset me because my mother didn't deserve this abandonment she was receiving; after everything she's done for us, after everything she's given us, my father hikes up and leaves and now Mikasa is starting to give up on her getting better - it just felt like my whole family was falling apart, and I didn't know what to do to keep it together.
I tried sleeping once I fell down on my bed, but in the end, I just lied there for what felt like ages.
Mikasa came home around three in the morning (I had looked at the alarm clock sitting on my desk when I heard the front door close softly behind her). I heard her walking past my room, but there was a sudden stop, and I wasn't sure where she was, but it didn't matter, because soon enough she was walking again and I heard her bedroom door close with a soft click. It was only then that I managed to somehow drift off into what felt like a dreamless sleep, even though it wasn't that long.
I felt off the following two days, whereas Mikasa was working, both at the flower shop and her second job. I didn't see her as much as I normally would, and I was sort of glad for it. I didn't want to see her, or speak to her, and the longer it was kept off, the better.
Maybe I was acting a little childish with my behavior, but she also wasn't making any chance to talk to me either.
I spent Sunday doing nothing but lying down in my bed and replaying the scene over and over; first it was Mikasa and how she admitted to believing that she would never get better, and the look on her face - she didn't show much emotion when she said it, but I knew she had to be feeling something; she couldn't have been feeling nothing, I knew Mikasa better than that (at least, I believed I did).
The next scene that kept haunting me was my mother's face, and how defeated she looked when I told her I hadn't heard from Dad at all.
I knew she was upset, and I knew I couldn't do much to help that, to make it better, even though I really wished I could. The only thing that would manage to make it better would be telling her that, "yes, I've heard from Dad, Mom, and he's sorry that he left without telling anyone, and he's coming up to see you as soon as he can so no worries there, yeah?" It wasn't as easy as that, though, as much as I hated to admit it.
On Monday, I got out of bed to shower, and it was one of the longest showers of my life, but damn did it feel good to just stand there as the warm droplets of water hit my body. It felt good to be able to just stand there, and not worry about everything that was going on in my life right now (even though I knew I shouldn't stay in there too long because Mikasa and I were paying for the water bill and we couldn't afford just standing in the shower like I was, but honestly, I could have cared less). It just felt good to let the worries wash away, along with the stress that had been sitting on my shoulders for months now, what really felt like years.
Once I finally dragged myself out of the shower and threw a towel around my waist, I found that Armin had texted me - 3 times, actually.
From: Armin
So I went up to see your mom today and she seemed pretty happy!
From: Armin
She did ask me where you were though. Mikasa came up on Sunday, and she came in while I was there, actually, but she said that she hasn't seen you in particular since Saturday.
From: Armin
Make sure you at least let her know you're alive, Eren.
Both nights, Sunday and Monday, Mikasa came home late, and the following morning she would leave home early. It was a normal routine, but there would normally be some sort of note, or she would text me at some point during the day, and sometimes drop by for something. But, I haven't gotten anything, and I don't care, to be frank. I know I should, but if she was going to avoid me the way she was, then so be it.
It was when Tuesday rolled around that I had to leave my house to go to work, and I was almost late for it because my alarm never went off - but I was silently glad that Armin never did call me, like he said he was going to make a habit of. Yeah, right.
It was relatively cold when I left the house, which was five minutes before my shift started, and it was colder than it had been on Saturday, I noted. It sucked, but I wasn't going to run back in for a scarf when the shop wasn't even two blocks away. Mikasa would have ran back in herself if she was there with me, but, she wasn't, and I was sort of glad for that too.
When I got to the shop, I was greeted with a gust of warm air, and the tips of my ears and nose were severely thankful for it.
"'Bout time you showed up, kid!"
Hannes poked his head from around the corner, a grin gracing his features the moment his eyes fell on me. "Been wondering if you weren't gonna show up or what," he laughed. "We've been surprisingly busy today, so hurry and get your apron on and come help me out here."
I groaned and closed the back door before even thinking about taking off my coat. There were days this place was as vacant as the desert, and then it was as busy as New York City. And of course, today, it had to be busy.
Quickly, I pulled on my apron and walked out to join Hannes, only to find Mikasa talking to a customer.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
I didn't want to deal with Mikasa right now. Sure, she was talking to a customer and would probably keep her mind on work, but all in all I was still pissed at her.
Perhaps, I shouldn't be as upset as I was; maybe I was just overreacting and she was just having a crisis on Saturday night and it slipped out of her mouth without her really intending for it to. Maybe, she didn't mean it.
But, there wasn't much time to dwell on the thought, because the door to the shop opened, the bell ringing to signal another customer was coming in.
"Aw, Levi, c'mon, I need to grab a bouquet! It'll only take a second, so stop your whining."
"I'm not whining, shitty glasses."
As I pulled up a seat to sit down in behind the counter, a woman with glasses on came in to the shop with her brown hair up in a high, messy ponytail. There was a smile on her face, and it was a pure stark contrast compared to the grumpy short man beside her, with a frown clear on his face-
A face that I've seen before.
I remember seeing him on Saturday, which was only a few days ago, so it baffled me seeing him again in just a few days time. Yet, he didn't look as surprised to see me, which, why would he be anyway, and kept his gaze focused on a bouquet as his friend came to a stop before me and gave me a kind smile.
"Hello! I need a new bouquet that oh, I dunno, gives off a happy vibe?" she said.
"Anything in particular?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Whatever you think is best."
I nodded and pushed myself away from the counter, holding up a finger to them and then disappeared in the back room.
I didn't feel like I had the "flower groove" today (my mother called it that, and would always tug on my ear when I was feeling down and not in the "flower groove" and tell me to spill the beans so she could lift my spirits). Normally, I'd know exactly what flower to grab and I'd feel pleased with myself, but really, I kind of felt clueless.
A flower that gives off a happy vibe? Don't they all give off a happy vibe in their own right? I mean, really.
I was scanning the room as I heard footsteps come up from behind me, and out of the corner of my eye I saw it was Hannes. He walked into the room, and got to work with wrapping up a bouquet of daisies for his customer, which, I didn't know he was tending to any customers, so it surprised me a little.
"What're you doing?"
Hannes looked over his shoulder at me and grinned. "My job? What does it look like, kid?"
I shrugged my shoulders in response, and he laughed. When he was done with wrapping up the flowers, he left the room, but not without ruffling up my hair. Typically, I would throw a fit (even though my hair was always a mess, and ruffling it up wasn't that big of a deal because it really didn't look that much different), but I was focused.
Daisies.
Daisies.
"Daisies it is," I clapped my hands together and walked towards the daisies. I was about to grab a few of them to wrap up, but I stopped myself, and looked at the colorful daisies beside the plain ones.
Colorful daisies it is.
I went through the normal routine of wrapping up the flowers before leaving the room, and when I got back to the front desk, the woman and man were still there, bickering it seemed.
"I hope this pleases you," I piped up, stopping whatever argument they were having (though it seemed to be irritation more on the man's part than anything, but of course, that was just a hypothetical guess).
"Oh, those are splendid! Perfect, thank you," she grinned, reaching into her pocket to pull out some cash. "How much will it cost?"
"12.99," I replied.
She handed me the money, along with a few extra bucks, adding, "Keep the change."
I grinned. "Thank you!"
I expected to them to have left by the time I had put the money into the cash register, and the few extra bills into my apron, but when I looked back up, the woman was looking around, and the man looked even more agitated than before. He was glaring at her, as if he was silently saying "Come the fuck on, I want to leave already."
The woman looked back to me then, tilting her head to the side a bit. "Where's the woman who always works here?"
"Pardon me?"
"She has brown hair, it's always in a side ponytail?" she described, lifting her hands up to show an imaginary side ponytail on herself. "Oh, she's so sweet, gosh what's her name? It's..." She trailed off, scratching her head in thought. "It's on the tip of my tongue... Carla! Carla, that was her name."
"Oh," I laughed softly, a little awkwardly though. "That's my mom, she's in the hospital right now because she's sick and it got worse. Really... yeah."
"Aw, I hope she gets better," she frowned and all I could do was look away.
I saw Mikasa out of the corner of my eye, with her head hung and her lips pressed tightly together, as if she was trying to not say anything and butt in the conversation. And, if I knew her, I knew she wouldn't, she was polite enough to not do that.
"Oh!" the woman perked up suddenly, and I jumped at the sudden raise in her voice. "Would you want to come with me and my friend out to lunch? I want to ask you a few questions about your mother, if that's okay, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to get to know you."
"Uh," I reached up to rub the back of my neck, chewing on my bottom lip in thought. I literally just met this woman, and she wants me to go out to lunch with her and her friend?
By the looks of her friend, though, I didn't feel very invited.
"I dunno, I mean I don't even know your name-"
"I'm Hanji," she interrupted, and then gestured to the man standing beside her. "And this is Levi."
Oh, so his name really was Levi (of course it would be Levi, Eren, people don't just say random names when talking to someone).
"I still don't know, I gotta work and I highly doubt Hannes'll let me go-"
"'Course I will!" Hannes walked in then, dying his hands off with a towel. "I overhead, so you can go early, Eren. Besides, I got Mikasa here, we'll be just fine."
I groaned. God, I just can't stop getting interrupted, can I?
"I guess I can then, if you're sure you want me to come."
"The more the merrier! Right, Levi?"
Levi grunted, "Whatever."
Hanji turned back to me, waving her hand in a dismissal manner. "Don't mind him, he's just a grumpy pants."
Levi rolled his eyes. I looked at him for a moment once he looked off to the side, and thought about it; I thought this guy had really nice eyes, and he was really handsome, so maybe spending time with him and Hanji might not be such a bad idea? I mean, maybe it could turn out good if I go, or, of course, it could turn out for the worse.
It'll probably turn out for the worse, this is me we're talking about.
"Go get your coat!" Hanji shooed me away, reaching over the counter to give me a little push. "We'll be waiting right here!"
I frowned and took one last glance between the two of them before giving up completely. "Alright, I'll be right back."
As I went to go grab my coat, I made eye contact with Mikasa, and I could see the need to talk to me in her eyes, and it was made clear when she parted her lips to mouth, 'We need to talk later.'
It's felt like she's been ignoring me like the plague ever since she told me about my mother's - well, our mother's - condition. It pissed me off, it really did, and I really didn't want to talk to her, even though it's been a few days, and I've had time to cool down, but, I wasn't sure in the end what was the best idea to do.
I looked away with a shake of my head and went to grab my coat.
wow sorry this is so so late! I have had major writer's block with this and no matter how hard I tried, I could not write anything for it. But, hopefully that's over and I can start updating more often! ouo I hope this chapter's okay? Things will start picking up next chapter and hopefully they'll start being longer too ugh (I also might change my username so yeah, letting you guys know now uwu I've also started a new fic for these dorks so I'll post the first chapter here sometime soon!)
~ Lovely Kacey Faith