The Moon and the Stars
Chapter 8
When Relena arrived home, the house was dark. She turned on the light and called for her mom and brother.
"They're in here." John's voice called from within the dimly lit kitchen. The darkness was more inviting then the sound of his voice. When Relena entered she was overwhelmed by the cigar smoke and began to cough. John was sitting by the table, his legs propped up on top of it and he blew out more smoke, looking at his cigar with a smirk upon his face. Relena looked around after her coughing fit ceased and exclaimed angrily,
"They're not in here."
"Got ya," John bellowed and he laughed fervently, which soon turned into a coughing fit.
"Well where are they?" Relena said angrily.
"Your mom" John began but coughed, "overtime and your brother, a meeting or some crap." Upon getting her answer, Relena proceeded to walk away when he called out, "Wait," he choked out, "A glass of water, if you don't mind." Relena thought it better not to get it for him but against her better judgment, got a glass from the cabinet and poured him some water. All the while he stared her up and down. "Such a pretty thing," he sang under his breath which Relena heard and cringed at. Her body grew out in fear, she felt very uncomfortable. He put his cigar back in his mouth and she walked over, handing him the water. He reached for it but instead grabbed her wrist. Relena, stunned tried to free herself from his grasp but he wouldn't lessen his iron grip. "Why are u so scared? I just wanna feel that soft supple skin under these hard rough fingers." He said smirking even more.
"Let go," Relena breathed, her face hot and she tried to pull away more vehemently.
"Have you ever touched a real man," he began and Relena immediately dropped the glass of water, which fell on his lap, trying more intently to free herself from his unrelenting grasp. John stood up, looking at the water that fell all over his blue jeans. "Look what you've done. Tsk, tsk," he said strengthening his grip. "Bad, bad girl."
SMACK
Relena smacked him so hard the sound echoed in the house and it left a red mark on his pale left cheek. The sudden hit stunned him so bad that he let go without realizing what he'd done and at the freedom, Relena fled for the door.
She unlatched the first lock,
The second
Opening the door…SLAM
John slammed the door, grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the knob and turned her around to face him. He pushed her against the door, pressing himself against her, breathing down her neck.
"You'll be a good girl and give me what I want. You hear me." He demanded. Relena struggles, she raises her other hand to hit him but he grabs it. She closes her eyes, still moving to free herself. She begins to see images.
The park.
The swing.
Her dreams return to her. She's there alone, sinking into the water. Two figures grab her down into the abyss of dirty water and garbage. One a woman and the other a young boy, already lost to its depths. She looks up and sees Heero, reaching his hand out to her. "I can still reach you." She hears his voice echo in her ears.
She reaches.
Reaches.
Just a little further…She feels John's hand journey up her leg, up her skirt.
"Me too!" Relena screams and she knees him in the crotch. She opens the door as quickly as she can and runs out into the night air.
She runs, runs as fast as she can.
She turns to the right, and runs.
To the left she turns and runs.
Where she runs, she has no idea but at this point it doesn't matter. Beneath her unyielding tears, she gazes up at the moon. And the stars. She opens her arms out wide as if to embrace this new friend, the freedom…the freedom of the night.
When Heero returns home, all the lights are on and the door was left wide open. There is a sound of shuffling upstairs.
Click.
He closes the door behind him. This stops the shuffling and the stomping of footsteps could be heard nearing the top of the stairs. Heero looked up and saw a figure of wild brown hair and bruised skin that faintly resembled his mother looked down on him. She was shaking, her short cigarette in her right hand and a glass of liquor bordered with her red lipstick in her left.
"You" she said angrily pointing a finger, from the hand holding the glass, as if it were a dagger. "Where have you put it?" She walked drunkenly down the steps and stumbled, only to catch herself on the rail with her cigarette hand. She reached the end of the stairs, her black and blue bruises on her face and body became more evident.
"You!" She bellowed as she stumbled again at the bottom of the steps. She fell down and dropped her glass on the floor, swearing under her breath as she struggled to get to her feet.
"You've been gone for months." Heero said looking down at her. She finally was able to get to her feet and she angrily took a drag, blowing it in his face.
"So you admit it, you've taken my drugs," she said her voice was shaking and Heero just stared at her. His silence made her snap and she hurled herself at him, grabbing for his hair. Heero caught her hand and she yelled, spiting, "You've thrown them down the drain haven't you?!!" The stench of alcohol was on her breath and she continued her pursuit to rip him apart but Heero keeps her at a distance. After her efforts proved futile, she freed herself from his grasp and turned her back to him, laughing maniacally then stops. "Leave here," she whispered almost demonically.
"Leave here and never come back," this time she was loud with venom in her voice. Heero stared at her and said, "You should go to the hospital." At this his mother lunged at him and burned the cigarette in his arm, he took it unflinching. She threw the cigarette at him, spat on the floor at his feet, then wiped the left over spit on her lip.
"Get out!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. Heero stared at her but finding no chance of helping her, turned around and exited.
"Good riddance." She yelled at the door when he walked out. "Au vois! Fruit of my loins, bah! Get lost, you are no child of mine, useless. You're nothing!" she hollered to him even though he was far away now. "Nothing!" She repeated and laughed evilly again.
Heero walked out into the night. The night was so dark he could get lost in its shadow hovering above him but the moon. And the stars they light the way. They give light to what really matters. They give light to finding the way out of uncertainty and the unrelenting night.
Story written by Despair's Desire
