54) Proverbs
The next day, Mira spent the entire day with Lucien, poring over every single contact associated with the main squad. Though he still kept a safe distance from her, he no longer stuttered when speaking to her.
They worked in Xanxus's study away from eavesdroppers, with Mira perched on the desk while Lucien sat on the armchair, tapping away at his laptop. After a while, he asked, "Why do you want to get in touch with the squad so bad?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Well, it's just that you left, you know, and..."
Mira let out a wry laugh. "You know a lot, don't you? What, do the guys talk about me all that much?"
"Not exactly. But that's the thing, though. Nobody talked about you at all...kinda like they were pretty much dodging the topic of you".
She wasn't looking at him a minute ago, but now he had her full attention. "Is that so?" she replied, keeping as much curiosity out of her voice as possible. "What else do you know?"
"Quite enough, I guess", he replied, his voice flat and passive. "But that's only because they mentioned you every now and then. Like Mammon...he misses your cooking".
"That's only because he gets fed for free", she replied sullenly. Fucking cheapskate.
"Uh-huh. And Levi, too. Bel said that target practice isn't as good now as it was before".
Mira chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "But of course! All his other targets were good as dead. Anything else?"
"Nope. I think that's just about it".
Somehow, Mira felt just a tad bit disappointed. Just then, Lucien said, "Do you know, what's weird though?"
"What?" Surprise me, kid. Anything else I need to know about this psycho family?
"Boss and Squalo....they never talked about you. At all. Then again, I wasn't sure if they should've, being them, you know?"
Squalo, she understood why he never did. Guess he probably had it with those damn glasses. Xanxus, however...well, what the hell is that asshole gonna say about me? How he almost burnt off all the skin on my shoulder? Yeah, that's fucking likely. That douchebag...
"Well, that's not at all surprising", she replied flatly.
"Sure, but....hey, Mira?"
"Yeah?"
"You still haven't answered my question".
And then she remembered. Why do you want to get in touch with the squad so bad? Finally, she replied, "I'm still a part of this family, whether I like it or not. It just so happens that there's something I'd like to discuss with them".
Lucien turned to her, opening his mouth to ask her why when Mira cut him off with an ice-cold glare. "That was the first and last question you'll ever ask me. If you ever deviate from your work again, I'll plaster your eyeballs onto the screen. 'Kay?" Yeah, I can get real creative if I want to.
Instantly, he got back to work, typing like a maniac.
A satisfied smile crossed her lips. "Now that's more like it".
The nuns at the convent clustered around the door of a single room, unmoving and afraid. One clutched at her rosary muttering prayers to the being above, while the other chatted quietly among themselves. "What are we going to do? That child..."
"That's no child, that's a demon", hissed a nun called Sister Agatha. "Did...did you see his hands?"
"I never thought infernal fire was so...bright", said a novice, stepping closer to the door.
"Appearances are deceiving", intoned the rosary-clutching nun. "This child is unlike others. He's been tainted with the filth of this world, and therefore, we must purge him of it".
Kitty, back from running errands, stared at the nuns in disbelief. Dear Lord, it's the Pharisees. "How dare you speak of a child like that!" she said, staring bullets at every one of them. "Whatever happened to 'the children will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven'?"
"Children, yes. But not that one, no..."
Together, the nuns nodded like mechanical dolls in agreement. "What do you suggest we do?" asked the novice.
"Oh dear, I don't know if Father Matteo still does exorcisms. But we could probably have someone look at him first...a psychologist, perhaps?"
Kitty fixed her glare at the ringleader, her face contorted in disgust of all of them. "You sanctimonious bitch...
"I beg your pardon?"
You know you heard me, lard ass. "You touch a single hair on that boy's head, and I swear you'll meet your maker faster than you can say Ave Maria!" And it'll happen too, she thought, conjuring an image of Mira trashing the convent to oblivion.
The elderly nun gasped, staring her down like she was the scum of the earth. "How dare you! How dare you speak to me like that!"
"I'll take it up with the Abbess if I have to. I'll get your hypocritical ass out of here before the vespers start". Or better yet, we'll see how his mother takes this, yeah?
The crowd left in an angry huff, casting dirty looks at her from behind their shoulders. Kitty let out a deep breath, leaning her forehead against the wooden door. God, please...please just make them stay away, please...
She pushed the door open with much difficulty, feeling something was propped up heavily against it. From the tiny gap she'd made, she said, "Angelo? It's me, Kitty. It's okay, they're gone now. Can I come in?"
It was silent for a while, and then the object budged off the door, giving her passage into the room. She looked at the state of it in utter disbelief. Shards of wood and strips of cloth were strewn everywhere, along with other debris that may have been a whole piece of furniture once. The bed was the only thing that survived, along with the open luggage piled on top of it.
Kitty inched her way into the room, peering at the corners for any sign of Angelo. Finally, she found him, sitting in a corner, legs drawn up to his chin. "Hey, what happened?" she asked, sititng across from him. "Looks like an elephant came in here".
"It was worse", he mumbled, hiding his face from her.
"Yeah? How so?"
He extended a hand to her and the thing ignited in rich red flames. Kitty felt herself back away from him until he said, "It's okay. I won't burn you, I promise".
She relaxed and peered closer at his burning little hand. "How'd you do that?"
"I don't really know. Mama never told me", he replied sadly, his sapphire eyes glowing purple in the red light. "Mama can do it, too, but hers is...well, cold".
Kitty nodded knowingly. "You know, you still haven't told me what happened here".
Quickly, he put the flame out and went back to his hunched position. "A nun came here and brought me food", he mumbled, avoiding her gaze. "She talked to me and she seemed nice and everything. Then I showed her what I can do".
Oh no..."Why'd you do that?"
"Because!" he raised his voice, taking on a defensive tone as he stood up. "Mom's not here to tell me not to! And that lady...she called me the son of the devil! She was crossing herself and everything...and..."he took a deep breath in an effort to restrain himself, "...she was really afraid of me".
Well, your mom can be pretty scary, too, dear. Must be hereditary. "C'mere, kid", she said, hugging him.
"Kitty?" he mumbled, moving just a little to look up at her.
"Yes?"
"I want to see my Dad".
Well, I can't do anything about that. "Maybe you can call him?" she suggested.
She felt him shake his head and draw away from her. For someone so young, his eyes were clouded with confusion. Mira, what the hell did you do to this kid?
"I don't know him. Mom never told me who he is", said Angelo. "I think he can answer all my questions. Why I look nothing like Mom, why she never talks about her life before she had me..."
He trailed off at the last word, and then asked, "Does it count as lying?"
"Does what count as lying?"
"My mom not telling me these things".
Kitty tried to overlook the seemingly ancient look in his eyes. Just staring into them made him look older than 3 years old. "You shouldn't worry about these things yet, kid. Besides, your mom must have her own reasons for keeping you in the dark".
He was silent for a minute, surveying the damage he'd dealt to the room. "She says she loves me, all the time. If she really meant it, then why didn't she tell me what I needed to know? And now she left me here, and I don't even know where she is or why she even left in the first place!" Emitting a savage growl, he punched at the floor with a flaming hand, creating a sizable crater on its surface. "She makes me so mad!"
Kitty jumped back unintentionally, her heart thumping like crazy in her chest. "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back. Do you know what that means?"
His eyebrows furrowed in a perfect picture of annoyance. "Are you calling me a fool?"
The look on his face reminded her of the rabid wolf-pup that wandered into the convent. After a while, he had to be put down, because the little thing was just about ready to chew off the sexton's foot. Down, boy... "What? Ah--no! Heavens no! It's...it's a bible verse...Proverbs 29:11".
Quickly, his features smoothed back to normal. "Oh, okay".
They sat amidst the mess in his room, talking about the most trivial things. Kitty was amazed by how much the kid knew, being his age. All the while, she thought, Mira, you have a helluvva lot of explaining to do.
