"When Dawn Comes"
By Kimra
Part III
Serena ran. It was probably the fastest running she had ever done in her life. Even as Sailor Moon running from a Youma she doubted her feet had carried her at such speeds. Her feet barely touched the ground as she pelted down his hallway, wrenching his door open and propelling herself out of his apartment her feet moving faster then her thoughts.
That's why when she was furiously striking the button to summon the elevator her thoughts had not progressed beyond one single realisation.
I slept with Darien. It played on repeat, as she continued to jam her thumb into the down button her eyes flicking towards his slightly ajar door, terrified that he might follow her.
Gulping down the idea, glancing at the lights that indicated the lifts progress she decided the risk of waiting wasn't worth it, and fled down the corridor to the blaring green exit light. With the same speed and ferocity she had used on his door she yanked the fire stairs door open and propelled herself down the hundreds of grey concrete slabs.
Breath. She reminded herself and air was sucked in at an alarming rate. She couldn't tell when she had lost the ability to draw those breaths in without thinking about them, all she knew was now she needed that reminder. Another breath was drawn in as she tumbled to the bottom of the stairs.
What if he got on the lift and his waiting for me in the foyer? She froze, her hands resting on the door, her ear pressed up against the solid surface. Her heart was pounding from the abrupt exercise and the indeterminable emotions pumping through her body at speeds beyond her imagination. Why would he have bothered doing something like that? She found suddenly that the conflicting emotions had all somehow gained a voice for themselves and she was stuck, trying to decide which voice to listen to. She wanted to leave, now, get out as fast as she could, but she didn't want to… couldn't risk facing him. But then other parts of her took into play, the parts that somehow, despite everything wanted him to have chased after her, the parts that said if he did then it hadn't been such a mistake.
Okay Serena. She reminded herself, ear still straining for noise through the double insulated fire door. Just take a breath and go, the more you delay the more chance that he'll be there. Again she hesitated, then squashed the traitorous part of her mind that was begged her to wait just that little bit longer.
She wanted to run out of the stair well and make a mad dash to the exit but her body and mind, slightly more controlled now insisted that she at first see if there was anyone in the apartments foyer. So she slipped through the door, her eyes skimming past pot plants, across mirrors and through the shadowed corners, then alighting on the lift. The lights above it indicating it's progress upwards beyond the level she had been on.
A part of her broke at the realisation that there was nothing to detain her from casually walking out of the complex, a part of her, traitorous though it was fed her an unexplainable regret. Again she crushed the raw emotions and despite the solitude, she ran through and out of the foyer determined if nothing else to sway her mother away from a heart attack and prevent her possible disowning.
She got lost on the way home, not drastically so, but enough to detain her longer then she wanted. Every second wasted was an itch on raw nerves, a second closer to her mother finding out.
Luna, she resolved along the way, will probably have to be told the truth. And as little as that appealed to her it seemed the most likely way to keep the cat from telling the other Senshi, if the rat of a thing hadn't already.
But her mother. She would tell any lie to prevent seeing the shame only a mothers eyes could convey.
Arriving at her doorstep out of breath and a little haggard from her run Serena decided to compose herself before ringing the door bell. Of course her keys where at Molly's, at least she assumed they where, tucked safely in her overnight sack so she would have to face her mother before she even crossed the threshold.
She didn't catch her breath properly, figuring that a little breathlessness would add to the overall dramatic effect she needed to achieve. It helped, oddly enough, that this encounter terrified her, as if she suspected one look and her mother would know immediately what she had done. Don't all mothers do that? Her skin was a dead white when she finally raised her hand to the door and knocked. She was afraid to use the bell, it would have felt oddly intrusive.
Maybe this is a bad idea. Serena cringed inwardly, knowing the chances of her plan failing, but unable to think of anything even slightly better.
Her mother didn't give her long to contemplate the merits or lack-there-of of her plan, because the door swung open to reveal the cheerful expression of her purple haired mother. It took less then a second for the smile to flatten into an undeterminable expression that scared Serena more then the rage she often glimpsed when bringing test papers home.
Decided her plan needed to be taken up a notch she forced her body out of the terrified lock of muscles and began to sway, just that little bit. She wondered how convincing she looked, as her mother began to open her mouth, over the first stages of unbelieving shock.
Serena made an uncomplimentary pathetic sound and made herself stumble forwards a bit. She wanted to catch the door frame before she went to far but the second she let herself go that little bit her throbbing head seemed to take orientation from her, and she stumbled head long into her mother. Had she been able to remove the chiming that ricocheted through her skull and focus her eyes she would have seen her mothers deadly expression shift into the perfectly natural "My daughter is dying, and I'm so ashamed because I was about to yell at her." expression. An expression Serena hardly ever got to see.
She did however feel her mother soothing her back and whispering calm reassurance to her. And she had enough sense when her mother began to lead her to the couch to make a few more pathetic noises and mumble something about her room. Her mother, somehow understanding helped her hobble up the stairs.
Serena was surprised her head was pulsating again. She must have done something horrible to it the night before, because she was finding the need for acting skills completely unnecessary, right then she felt like throwing up. A mumbled word about that and her mother had her in the bathroom hugging the toilet bowl all the while still muttering reassurance and holding her hair back. Serena surrendered to the inevitable, letting her stomach go and the ringing in her head seemed to ease that little bit when she was done.
Afterwards was hardly registered as her petite mother somehow got her into her room. It was a struggle convincing her mother that she was well enough to change on her own. But she refused, absolutely refused to allow her mother to see any evidence of her nights activated, and something told her there would probably be evidence. But what would I know. Serena conceded half asleep on her feet. She didn't bother to change, but managed to kick one shoe off before she curled in under her blankets. She was sure to pull the blankets up to below he chin so her clothes where concealed.
Complete exhaustion hit her as she snuggled into the bed trying to find that perfect spot desperately but not seeming to manage the feat. She resigned herself for a suitably comfortable spot on the bed, the perfect spot a bit to much for her foggy mind. And as her eyes closed the last thing she noticed were Luna's darkened blue eyes watching her intently from the windowsill.
I don't think I want to wake up. Was the last thought Serena had before sleep claimed her exhausted body.