Chpt 5 - Pain of a Rose
Rini's fingertips gently traced the edges formed by the petals of the rose she now held. Once again walking slowly towards the building she called home, her mind had found itself busy with many other thoughts than where she was heading. The sun could be seen hovering on the horizen formed where the street came to an end. Should she have known no better she would have followed the road onward until she found the source of the crimson red light that now feel upon the town. Her eyes glazed over as the redish-orange orb sunk slowly into the earth in the distance, reflecting pristinely in her eyes. Again her fingers traced over the silk smooth petals that formed the bloom she clutched.
"What is Darien doing here..."
Her mutterings were lost in the soft breeze of the quiet autum evening as her thought continued to haunt her. There was no reason for him to protect her. What good was she to him? It all made no sense to her. As her thoughts faded into an opaque jumble that she could not seem to decipher herself her depression once again began to set in around her and her life once again faded to a dull gray. Within the depths of her own mind she could see herself, the useless form that only continued here on this earth to cause everyone else hindrence and pain. She continued to absentmindely stroke the flower as her steps slowed to a stop before the place that she called home and she turned slowly to face the dreaded walk into the house. She made her was slowly up the walk, her footsteps slow and heavy as she contiued to move toward the place where they claimed to love her. Her small hands reached out to the polished shine of the doorknob and turned slowly. As the door swung open the electric shine radiated out from the bright and cheery home within and the sound of laughter reached her ears. The scowl that covered her face as a reaction to the noise quickly replaced itself with the apperance of Darien waiting to greet her in the hall. Her spirits brightened slightly at the fact that he would pull Serena off his arm long enough to give her a proper greeting but then were just as quickly dampened as the blonde clutz appeared suddenly at his side, arms entwined in his as always. moving within a decent talking range Rini made a point of it to avoid speaking to Serena and instead turned all her attention to the male precense in the room.
"Ummm...Darien...where were you a little while ago?"
"He was here, with me, ALL day!"
Her response was unrequested but none the less provided the answer that Rini sought. Working her way around the questions that ensued, Rini quickly tried to escape to the dark quietness of her room and was in the process of succeeding when yet again Serena's words struck a chord somewhere deep within her soul.
"OHHHHHH....A flower...NO, a ROSE at that...soooo...who's the special boy???"
Serena's words struck at Rini like an axe would a tree and had she not have been so set against it, she too would have fallen. Her answer was short and unintellegible when she gave it as she quickly made her escape but the two would never have noticed that the look on her face was not one of sheer embarassement, but one of pain. The tears stung against the inside of her eyelids as she moved quickly toward her room. She would not let them see her pain, they would never understand her. As she walked her pace quickened with every step until, directly out of the sight range of all others in the house, she bolted up the stairs and into the darkness of her room. She clutched tightly at the rose still contained in her right hand and as she did the thorns that it bore were pressed deep into the flesh of her palm. Crimson liquid, matching that of the sun outside, slipped gently from her hand to form droplets at the tips of her knuckles. They rested there only gently before falling with a quiet splash upon the hardwood floor below. Likewise the saphire blue that slipped from her pastel pink eyes ran smoothly and slowly down either side of her face. It too gathered, but instead at the tip of her chin and there it would stay until suddenly a single drop would drop off, one at a time, to hit the ground with the sound of a pin in a soundproof room.
Regaining her senses about her, Rini quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and placed the now bloody rose on her bedside table. Seating herself at the stool by her vanity she quickly began to repair the damage that the tears had done to her make-up, feeling that it would be easier to conceal her hand than her face should another find her in this state. Dabbing quickly at her eyes and cheeks to remove all semblance of tears streaks she could hear vaugely in the distance a bell ringing. Paying it no heade she continued to repair the damage she had caused to herself as she begain to turn her attention to her hand. There was no problem clenseing if of the blood that it was coated in but the wounds themselves had no real way to be concelled. She waited a moment as the bleeding came to a stop and then set about the task of cleaning the room. As she wipped the droplets off the floor she inhaled quickly in surprise as there was a sudden rattling of the doorknob then a loud knock. She grinned in spite of herself, knowing that even when she was distressed her subconcious self had enough intellegence to lock the door. Clearing her throat, she replied to the knock.
"Yes..."
"Rini, there's a visitor for you downstairs." Serena's mother's voice radiated through the door. "It's a boy."
The skin on Rini's forhead crumpled in confusion as she tried in vain to think of what boy would be showing up at her house at dusk on a Saturday. Finally realization hit her and she straitened to a standing pose, her mouth hanging open in a gauking manuver. She had completely forgotten, but why now of all times, why now...
Rini's fingertips gently traced the edges formed by the petals of the rose she now held. Once again walking slowly towards the building she called home, her mind had found itself busy with many other thoughts than where she was heading. The sun could be seen hovering on the horizen formed where the street came to an end. Should she have known no better she would have followed the road onward until she found the source of the crimson red light that now feel upon the town. Her eyes glazed over as the redish-orange orb sunk slowly into the earth in the distance, reflecting pristinely in her eyes. Again her fingers traced over the silk smooth petals that formed the bloom she clutched.
"What is Darien doing here..."
Her mutterings were lost in the soft breeze of the quiet autum evening as her thought continued to haunt her. There was no reason for him to protect her. What good was she to him? It all made no sense to her. As her thoughts faded into an opaque jumble that she could not seem to decipher herself her depression once again began to set in around her and her life once again faded to a dull gray. Within the depths of her own mind she could see herself, the useless form that only continued here on this earth to cause everyone else hindrence and pain. She continued to absentmindely stroke the flower as her steps slowed to a stop before the place that she called home and she turned slowly to face the dreaded walk into the house. She made her was slowly up the walk, her footsteps slow and heavy as she contiued to move toward the place where they claimed to love her. Her small hands reached out to the polished shine of the doorknob and turned slowly. As the door swung open the electric shine radiated out from the bright and cheery home within and the sound of laughter reached her ears. The scowl that covered her face as a reaction to the noise quickly replaced itself with the apperance of Darien waiting to greet her in the hall. Her spirits brightened slightly at the fact that he would pull Serena off his arm long enough to give her a proper greeting but then were just as quickly dampened as the blonde clutz appeared suddenly at his side, arms entwined in his as always. moving within a decent talking range Rini made a point of it to avoid speaking to Serena and instead turned all her attention to the male precense in the room.
"Ummm...Darien...where were you a little while ago?"
"He was here, with me, ALL day!"
Her response was unrequested but none the less provided the answer that Rini sought. Working her way around the questions that ensued, Rini quickly tried to escape to the dark quietness of her room and was in the process of succeeding when yet again Serena's words struck a chord somewhere deep within her soul.
"OHHHHHH....A flower...NO, a ROSE at that...soooo...who's the special boy???"
Serena's words struck at Rini like an axe would a tree and had she not have been so set against it, she too would have fallen. Her answer was short and unintellegible when she gave it as she quickly made her escape but the two would never have noticed that the look on her face was not one of sheer embarassement, but one of pain. The tears stung against the inside of her eyelids as she moved quickly toward her room. She would not let them see her pain, they would never understand her. As she walked her pace quickened with every step until, directly out of the sight range of all others in the house, she bolted up the stairs and into the darkness of her room. She clutched tightly at the rose still contained in her right hand and as she did the thorns that it bore were pressed deep into the flesh of her palm. Crimson liquid, matching that of the sun outside, slipped gently from her hand to form droplets at the tips of her knuckles. They rested there only gently before falling with a quiet splash upon the hardwood floor below. Likewise the saphire blue that slipped from her pastel pink eyes ran smoothly and slowly down either side of her face. It too gathered, but instead at the tip of her chin and there it would stay until suddenly a single drop would drop off, one at a time, to hit the ground with the sound of a pin in a soundproof room.
Regaining her senses about her, Rini quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and placed the now bloody rose on her bedside table. Seating herself at the stool by her vanity she quickly began to repair the damage that the tears had done to her make-up, feeling that it would be easier to conceal her hand than her face should another find her in this state. Dabbing quickly at her eyes and cheeks to remove all semblance of tears streaks she could hear vaugely in the distance a bell ringing. Paying it no heade she continued to repair the damage she had caused to herself as she begain to turn her attention to her hand. There was no problem clenseing if of the blood that it was coated in but the wounds themselves had no real way to be concelled. She waited a moment as the bleeding came to a stop and then set about the task of cleaning the room. As she wipped the droplets off the floor she inhaled quickly in surprise as there was a sudden rattling of the doorknob then a loud knock. She grinned in spite of herself, knowing that even when she was distressed her subconcious self had enough intellegence to lock the door. Clearing her throat, she replied to the knock.
"Yes..."
"Rini, there's a visitor for you downstairs." Serena's mother's voice radiated through the door. "It's a boy."
The skin on Rini's forhead crumpled in confusion as she tried in vain to think of what boy would be showing up at her house at dusk on a Saturday. Finally realization hit her and she straitened to a standing pose, her mouth hanging open in a gauking manuver. She had completely forgotten, but why now of all times, why now...