Hey all! So there is a lot going on in this update, so I hope you can keep up haha. This is a really long chapter that I enjoyed writing and I hope you enjoy it too. Thanks for reading!
K held a wet rag to his face, carefully wiping the blood from his skin. She was cleaning him, again. The skin beneath B's left eye was already bruising, and she made sure not to put too much pressure on it. She wiped his hair from his brow and cleaned off his forehead. Blood started to come out of his nose again, and B just let it drip down his face.
K narrowed her eyes at him. "B I thought I asked you to keep a tissue in your nose."
"I don't care." He said stubbornly.
"You should care." She said, tugging his hair. "You should also be thankful your nose isn't broken, A hit you so many times..." She wiped the blood from his nose.
"A deserves to get his face smashed in." B muttered, clenching his fists.
K sighed. "Lay down." She said, placing the bloodied rag on the nightstand.
He did what she told him for once and reclined onto his back, sighing loudly and looking up at the ceiling. K looked at him for a long time. She wanted to ask him about what happened, but every time she went to speak, her tongue was in knots. B probably didn't want to talk about it either; why would he?
"Stop staring at me like that." He said.
"What are you talking about?" She questioned, suddenly sitting up straighter.
He was watching her from the corner of his eye. She was frowning at him. "That look of pity on your face is making me want to vomit." He groaned, rolling onto his side so his back was facing her. His stomach still hurt badly.
"I'm just... worried about you." She said sadly.
"That's understandable." He sighed. "I just tried to out myself... after all." He held his hand out in front of his face. His knuckles were bruised and covered in cuts where pieces of the mirror had lodged themselves earlier. "But I'll be fine... you know how I am, I tend to overreact."
"I'm sorry..." She whispered.
B rolled back to his previous position and stared at her in confusion.
"Don't apologize to me. You didn't do anything wrong." He said.
"I'm.. I mean I didn't know what to say... I'm sorry-"
"K, stop."
She then took his hand. She stared down at their hands together, gently caressing his. He was still so cold. B's face was getting hot as he stared up at her.
"I don't want to lose you, B...I feel like you're slipping out of my grasp..."
B frowned, but then began to laugh, a small, quiet laugh. K narrowed her eyes at him.
"Beyond it's not funny." She insisted, squeezing his hand.
"Yes it is. It's so ironic." He said with a sigh and looked up at her. "That's the same way I felt when you first befriended A... you were just slipping away from me."
B bit the inside of his mouth, he knew he had said too much. K looked down at him.
"Beyond..I.."
He sat up quickly before she could finish speaking and pulled his hand from her grasp.
"I need to shower." He announced. "I smell like vomit and there's blood crusted on my arms."
…
B didn't care for a shower, he just wanted to stop that conversation from continuing. He stood in the shower letting the hot water wash over his body. He needed to clear his mind. His arms began to sting as the cuts became saturated with water, washing the coppery stains from his skin. He took his bar of soap and began to lather it, scrubbing the grime from his body.
"B, I love you."
The words echoed in his head and he dropped his soap. He growled, not wanting to pick it up, and grabbed the shampoo and began pouring it on his head. He scrubbed his scalp vigorously, trying to silence his mind as bubbles spilled down over his face.
Love.
What the fuck did that mean? K was crying, shaking as she said that. Did she realize what she was saying, did she even know what love meant? B didn't know what it meant. He had never felt love. Was she just saying that to talk him off the ledge? B was trying to comprehend how she could even stand to say that word, let alone say that word in regards to B! There was nothing to love about Beyond Birthday, he was the opposite of likeable. He was rude, impulsive, unpredictable, bitter, unpleasant... But isn't this what he wanted? Acknowledgement? She was acknowledging him so why was he being so difficult? Why was he always pushing her away, always questioning things?
"B...?" K called from the door, knocking softly.
B snapped out of thought and pressed his hand to the wet tile beside him. He had been standing under the faucet there for a while now. He just hummed in response to her, turning off the shower head. He stepped out carefully, still feeling a bit weak. B dried himself off with a towel and pulled on a pair of clean boxers, navy blue colored. He left the towel on his head and opened the door, breathing in deeply. Something smelled of mint. K's eyes brightened when she saw him, but she looked away seconds later, embarrassed. He said nothing and went to his dresser to clothe himself, putting on a pair of black sweatpants. He then held a dark colored long sleeve in his hands, his raw arms aching. He felt a light hand on his shoulder.
"Let me help you."
She was so intent on helping him lately, it was kind of overwhelming B, but he let her. She sat him down on the bed and he held his arms out as she bandaged him up again, gently putting ointment on and wrapping up his delicate skin. He hissed in pain every now and then as she touched the more sensitive areas. She then pulled his shirt over his head, his damp hair brushing against her skin, and helped him bring his arms through the sleeves, carefully and slowly. B lay down on his back again and sighed. He was so exhausted. He watched as K stood and retrieved something from the nightstand. It was a cup of tea.
"I made this for you; theres no milk because that'll upset your stomach, but there's peppermint and a little bit of honey... it'll help ease your stomach pain."
That was where that smell was coming from. B sat up as she handed it to him and he held the plain white porcelain mug tightly, the warmth of it feeling nice on his hands. He stared down at the drink and the green leaves floating in it, steam floating up into his face.
"K, you're smothering me like an overbearing mother." He wanted to say, but he didn't want to upset her.
He drank the tea while it was hot, K sitting next to him on the bed pretending not to watch, which she obviously was. When he was done she took the cup from him and stood up.
"Well... I guess I'll go get an ice pack for your face." She said quietly, and turned to walk out of the room.
He watched her leave. B lay down for the millionth time, putting his towel on his pillow so it wouldn't get too damp. He was warm now, his stomach felt a bit more relaxed. When K came back she found B curled up in his bed asleep. His unruly hair fell across his face and pillow and she could hear his tired breaths as she watched his chest rise and fall. He looked at peace and she smiled, deciding to leave him be.
…
K walked across the hall to her room where she found A sitting on her bed, reading a book. He noticed her walk in and placed the book beside him.
"Are you going to tend to me now?" He asked sarcastically as she walked over to him.
She sighed and tried so hard not to roll her eyes. She put the ice pack on the nightstand then stood in front of A as he moved to the edge of the bed, hanging his legs over the edge.
"Did he hurt you?" She asked, putting her finger under his chin. She eyed the cut on his neck that B had made with the razor blade.
"Like it matters to you." A grumbled, eyeing her with an icy stare. "You were in there for nearly an hour patching him up..."
"A you punched him in the face. You could've broken his nose." She said angrily. "What did you expect me to do? Did you not see him bleeding?"
"Why yes, I did see him bleeding... as he pinned me to the ground with that demonic look in his red eyes!"
"You're so dramatic." She complained.
K was tired. Emotionally and physically. She just watched her friend try to kill himself, had him vomit on her and himself then pass out, and had to clean him up, his mess, and stay up most of the night to make sure he was still breathing. She was tired, and she didn't have the time, or the patience for that matter, to go back in forth with A. It was her turn to be taken care of. She wanted A to kiss her, or hold her as she took a nap.
After she bandaged his neck, she sat down on the bed next to A, locking arms with him and resting her head on his shoulder.
"K I look stupid." He said, referring to the white gauze she had wrapped around his neck. "What am I supposed to say when someone sees this? B stabbed me?"
K moved closer to him and pulled his arm around her waist.
"Just say I bit you or something." She mumbled. "That's believable, right?"
She took one of her hands and brought his face to hers, kissing him lightly.
"Right?" She repeated.
A ignored this and just sighed, making K pout. "He doesn't know how to hold his tongue and he doesn't care what the consequences are, it gets under my skin. I don't get it."
"Maybe because you get under his skin." K stated, putting her head back on his shoulder.
A narrowed his eyes. "K, why you continue to defend him, I will never know."
K stood up, annoyed.
"A, why don't you stop acting like that all the time?"
"Acting like what?"
"Like B is so horrible, you don't even know him..."
"I've known him longer than you have!"
"You still know nothing about him. The only time you two speak is when you're arguing."
"K I don't know whats gotten into you, but I know it needs to stop."
"Like you're so perfect? I'm so done with you being so critical all the time, you're just like Vienna."
"K I don't want to hear it."
"Yeah like thats something new. You never want to hear anything I have to say! That's the difference between you and B, he hears every word I say... he always listens to me."
"K that's not a good thing, thats creepy. You didn't know him before, you didn't know how he was back with L. He was obsessed with him. I think hes obsessed with you, I see how he looks at you."
K's face got a bit hot and she turned away from him, looking out the window. "A you just can't stand it when people give me attention, can you? If its not you paying me any mind then no one else is allowed to! I've noticed the stares, he's always done it." She crossed her arms. "He's so attentive you know, he seems interested in what I have to say and what I do... it makes me feel... feel... appreciated. You know, why don't you just leave B alone I'm done talking to you about this."
They were quiet and A was just staring at her with a look of scrutiny on his face. K felt his gaze on her back and turned to look at him. His eyes seemed colder than usual.
"...You love him, don't you?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of her.
"A stop talking!" She yelled at him.
"Don't you?!" He yelled back.
"No," She growled through her teeth. "I... love you, A." The feeling of guilt weighed down in her stomach, making her nauseous.
"Oh do you now?" He asked with a painful smile on his face. "Why are you crying?"
K touched her face where her fingertips came into contact with a warm liquid. She was crying.
"That to me is a sign of guilt. You know what else its a sign of? Weakness. You are weak, K." A's words cut into her like knives. "And you're a horrible liar."
She just stared at him in shock, in disgust.
"I... I'm done." She whispered, walking out of the room.
…
She was walking down the stairs just as Vienna and L were walking up, and turned around to go the opposite direction as soon as she saw them. Vienna noticed how distressed K looked.
"K! Come here!" She called, rushing up the stairs to meet the girl.
"Just go away." K said.
Vienna reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards her. "Do you not hear me calling you?!"
"Stop it! Don't touch me!" K yelled, pulling away from her.
"Don't talk to me like that! You're starting to sound like B!"
"I don't care! I'm not your doll!" She wiped the tears from her face. "I'm so tired of you ordering me around all the time, I'm not a child anymore!"
Vienna ignored her and stared at the girl curiously as L stood not far behind them. "Why are you crying?"
"Will you just shut up? I know you don't care! I don't even know who the hell you think you are! You randomly just strolled in here one day and decided it was your job to micromanage my fucking life, like you're my mother or something! Well guess what Vienna? My mother is dead and she's not coming back!"
K began to walk up the stairs.
"She was my mother too..." Vienna said quietly. "I just didn't want you to turn out like her..."
K turned around quickly, confused.
"What are you even talking about?"
"V, let me handle this." L sighed. "K, like I said to you before, you're probably wondering why you are here, why you're living in a house full of extremely smart, and extremely gifted people."
L watched as K focused her eyes on him, obviously interested in what he was saying.
"Well, that's because of your relation to Vienna. You were brought here because she wanted to ensure that you were properly cared for."
L was still not making sense, and he could tell by the look on K's face that she didn't understand.
"Now, you may not know this, but Vienna was abandoned shortly after her birth. Her mom was a homeless teenager, so she obviously couldn't care for a child. Vienna lived at many orphanages but eventually found her way here. It turns out her mother ended up getting married and having another child, and that child is you, K."
K's eyes went wide. Vienna was her... sister. Had she heard wrong? Her head hurt.
"Why didn't anyone ever tell me?" K asked. She was so confused.
She watched as Vienna's body shifted uncomfortably, and her eyes went to stare up at the ceiling.
"Oh, now I see." K said, her finger on her lips. "You just wanted to save yourself the embarrassment, was that it?!"
Vienna looked at the girl slowly, guilt showing on her face.
"That's right, our mother was a whore!" She spat. "She was a little street rat that went around having sex with any man she could find! Of course I was embarrassed, embarrassed for you... the one with the failure of a mother."
"Shut up Vienna! You didn't even know her!
"She's a slut and that's why you can't even have children! You're paying for what she did to me!"
"You know Vienna, I'm so tired of you making everything about you!" "You resent me because of something I can't even control? You try to ruin my life because of what my mother did? You make me want to leave this place I literally cannot stand you!"
"Then leave, get out!" Vienna shouted back. "You're an ungrateful little snob anyways."
"Fine, I will." She said as a matter-of-factly. "And I'll take B with me so you wont have anything to worry about anymore. Everyone you hate so much will be gone!"
"I'm afraid you can't do that." L interjected.
"I can do whatever the hell I want!" K stormed out of the room, and Vienna, of course, followed her.
K stomped into her room, went to her mirror and took her hair down so she could begin to brush the knots out of her half straight half curly hair. She was furious, brushing her hair angrily as she cursed to herself.
"You know what K?"
Vienna held a pair of scissors, grabbed a handful of K's thick wavy hair and cut it. The older girl then walked out as K stared in disbelief, her mouth wide open, strands of her hair falling to the floor. Her hair. Her beautiful, long hair. She screamed.
She ran out of the room, running down the hallway to the attic door, which she slammed open. She ran up the stairs, not stopping until she was face down on the couch. She finally let the tears spill from her eyes, soaking the old fabric beneath her. Her sobs came like eruptions from her chest, she tried hard to muffle them in the couch cushion. She felt like her life had gone to shit during the past 24 hours; too much was happening at once and she couldn't handle it. K felt a warm hand place itself on her back and her body stiffened as she slapped the hand away. She rolled onto her back to see B staring down at her with tired eyes.
"She cut my hair." K managed to say before she started crying uncontrollably.
B crouched beside her and attempted to comfort her, failing miserably.
"I want to leave!" She sobbed, and B nodded, knowing exactly how she felt.
"Where do you want to go?" He asked her.
"I don't know... anywhere but here..."
Hearing her cry hurt him. "Come here." B said, touching one of her arms.
She was still and B nudged her again. K eventually crawled onto the floor and just stared at him before forcing herself into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her, doing what felt right. She was sobbing into his chest, her hands clenching his shirt.
"This can't be real..." K said breathlessly. "Everything is falling apart around me... it can't be real."
...
