Disclaimer: Nope. Still not mine.
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Holly woke up confused and disoriented. She sat up and then immediately fell back into bed again, her head pounding. She let out a shaky breath. At least she remembered where she was. Holly tentatively reached up and flinched when her fingers brushed across the gash on her forehead. Why was it taking so long to heal?
Just then a nurse came in and started checking on her.
"Excuse me, but why isn't my head fully healed yet?" Holly asked her.
"It was very bad, miss," she replied. "I'm sure you know that magic can only go so far."
Holly nodded and instantly regretted it. "Yeah, I guess," she replied and settled back into bed. Holly looked at her bedside table and saw that there were two more bouquets of flowers. "Who sent those?" she asked.
"Why don't you read the cards?" the nurse asked and left.
Holly glared at her, wondering when exactly hospitals became so unfriendly. She took the card out of the nearest bouquet and read it. It was from Trouble. Holly smiled slightly to herself, glad that another friend had dropped by, even if she had been asleep. The other card surprised her. It was from Root. Holly's brow furrowed. Could that possibly be right? Shaking her head and continuing to smile, she looked at her flowers. Foaly's were bright and colourful, a welcome change from the plainness of the hospital. Trouble's were softer, showing instead that he cared. Root's were mostly purples with some baby's breath mixed in and Holly decided that they were her favourites.
Holly sighed and settled down in her bed. What was she supposed to do? All of her books had been destroyed in the explosion along with anything else that might entertain her. Not to mention the fact that there was a group of terrorists out to kill her . . .
Holly shivered and snuggled under the covers as if they would protect her. She momentarily wondered how long she had been in here but decided that it didn't really matter because if her head was still in this much pain, she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
Holly thought back to when her father was in the hospital and how the whole family had been with him almost the whole time. She felt tears begin to run down her cheeks since she was all that was left. Nobody would bother staying with her the whole time she was in here. Nobody cared that much.
"Jesus, what's wrong with me?" Holly asked herself bitterly. This was the third time within the past couple of days that she had cried and she never cried. "Screw it," she mumbled under breath, not caring anymore and rolling over, trying to fall back asleep.
A couple of minutes later there was a knock on her door. Holly said, "Come in," happy that somebody was coming to visit her. The nurses and doctors never bothered to knock.
"How're you doing?" Holly heard Root's voice ask.
Holly turned around in surprise. "What're you doing here?"
"Seeing how you are," Root replied. He sighed. "I thought you might want some company since I know the last time I was in the hospital, I was bored out of my mind."
Holly felt herself blush. "Thank you, sir," she mumbled. "And thank you for the flowers."
Root grunted, looking down at his feet. This was the first time he had gotten anyone flowers since the Valentine's Day before his wife died. He sighed. That had been over two hundred years ago. There wasn't any point in thinking about her.
"Are you ok?" Holly asked gently.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Root said hurriedly, pushing thoughts of his dead wife to the back of his head.
"I really miss Rose, too," Holly replied quietly, knowing what Root had been thinking about. "My sister . . ." she trailed off. "Who was it for you?"
"My wife . . . a little over two hundred years ago," Root answered softly, something very unusual for him. He usually closed off whenever talk turned to his personal life. "In a pod accident."
"I'm sorry," Holly said.
They sat for a couple of minutes without saying anything, thinking.
Root sighed. "I should be going. I'll be back to pick you up around six."
Holly sat up straight in bed. "What? I'm leaving?"
Root mirrored Holly's look of surprise. "They didn't tell you?"
Holly shook her head. "What time is it now?"
Root glanced at his watch. "Midnight."
Holly groaned. "Six hours. Six stupid hours. Six stupid hours of absolutely nothing to do."
Root rolled his eyes. "Would you like a book? They sell them at the gift shop."
"Yeah, sure," Holly said, perking up.
"I'll be back in a couple of minutes," Root replied and returned a few minutes later with a thick book. "This should keep you busy. I know you like horror."
"You do?" Holly asked, surprised, picking up the book. She stared at it without expression for a couple of minutes before finally saying, "This is my favourite. My dad gave me a copy when I was twenty-" She stopped, not wanting to cry in front of Root. "Thanks."
"See you at six," Root said and left.
Holly opened the book and started to reread it, lips moving with the words, quoting. Remembering.
*
Root knocked on the door of Holly's room exactly six hours later. She didn't say anything. "Holly?" he asked, coming into her room.
Holly's head jerked up and she stared at Root with wide eyes. When she saw who it was, she smiled. "Gimme a sec," she said and went back to reading.
"How much do you have left?" Root asked sceptically.
Holly didn't say anything and a couple of seconds later she closed the book triumphantly. "Done. And thanks again. That really is my favourite book."
"Sure," Root said. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I guess," Holly replied. She blushed. "I - I don't suppose you happened to bring any clothes with you? Or a blanket?"
Root shook his head. "What about the clothes you were wearing during the explosion."
Holly rolled her eyes and jerked her head towards a corner of the room where her clothes, or what was left of them, were lying in a heap on the floor. "Not likely."
Root sighed and took off his oversized jacket which would be positively huge on Holly. "You can borrow this if you want."
Holly looked at it sceptically but took it anyways. "Thanks," she said and went into the small bathroom of her room where she slipped off the jonnie and pulled on Root's jacket. It really was too big for her (it came down to her knees), but that was good, since it covered her more than just the jonnie would have. She folded the robe and came out, put it on the bed and looked at Root. "Did they already check me out?"
He nodded. "My house is only a block away so I figured we could walk."
"In this?" Holly yelled. "Jesus, you're insane!"
"I thought you'd prefer walking to flying," Root snapped.
Holly sighed. "Yeah, I guess," she replied and followed Root out of the hospital and during the short walk to his house, constantly willing herself to be invisible. As soon as they got into his house, Holly let out the breath she had been holding.
"The basement's through that door," Root said, pointing at a door under a staircase.
"Umm . . . do you have any clothes I can borrow?" Holly asked, still blushing.
"I already moved Nichkola's clothes to the dresser downstairs," Root replied. "We can go shopping tomorrow since it's the weekend."
"Who's Nichkola?" Holly asked.
"My wife," Root replied, his eyes taking on a distant look. "Everything you need should be down there."
"Thanks," Holly replied and walked downstairs. She gasped in surprise. The basement wasn't at all like she had expected. It was much more rustic with wooden panelling on the walls and floor and wooden furnishings. It was one big room with the exception of what looked like a bathroom on the far wall. Everything she needed was in here, though. A bed, dresser, desk, table, refrigerator, bookcase, couch, TV and the thousands of other little things fairies need.
Holly walked over to the dresser and started looking through it. The clothes looked well used but very old and Holly suspected that Root hadn't even looked at them since his wife had died until now. "Nichkola had good taste," Holly thought to herself, looking at clothes she would've normally worn. She pulled out a pair of leggings since they fit everyone and an oversized work shirt since she wouldn't have to worry about it fitting her. She glanced in the mirror, flashed herself a happy smile that she didn't believe in, and walked upstairs.
Holly wandered around for a couple of minutes before she found Root in his kitchen, drinking a mug of coffee and reading a thick packet of papers. "Hey," she said, sitting across from him.
Root looked up and chocked on his coffee, spitting it back into the mug. "Why're you wearing my shirt?" he yelled.
"I am?" Holly asked, bright red. "It was in the dresser."
Root nodded, staring at her.
"I'm sorry, but it really isn't that big a deal," Holly snapped and went to her room again to change, wondering why it was such a big deal. It was just a shirt, right?
Once downstairs, she started looking through the dresser, trying to find something in her size, but all of Nichkola's clothes were at least a size too small. Holly stomped upstairs and into the kitchen.
"All of Nichkola's clothes are too small so I'm sorry, but I have to borrow this tonight," Holly replied, somewhat angry that Root was making such a big deal about it and also a little embarrassed that most of his dead wife's clothes were two sizes too small.
Root sighed. "Could you at least borrow a different shirt of mine, then? One with out buttons?"
"Ummm . . . ok," Holly said and followed Root to his bedroom. "Why?"
"None of your business," he snapped, turning red. For some unknown reason, Holly thought he was blushing instead of just being angry.
"Alright," Holly replied, backing off, even though she was very curious why he was embarrassed about a buttoned shirt. When she was inside Root's room, she started looking around. It was plain and very neat with hardly anything that showed his personality. One of the few things was an old-fashioned picture of two young fairies who Holly assumed were Root and Nichkola. They were apparently having a rare picnic in the Upper Elements and were both laughing. Root himself looked happy, something Holly hadn't seen before. Nichkola was beautiful. There wasn't any other word for it. She was thinner than Holly, but in a healthy way. She had very pale skin and black hair that was about half a centimetre above her shoulders. It fell in her face but couldn't obscure the happy twinkle in her green eyes. She was wearing one of Root's button shirts . . . just like the one Holly had been wearing. "That's her, isn't it?" Holly asked, pointing at the picture.
Root looked up from his dresser and over to where Holly was pointing. He walked over and smiled bitterly. "Yeah. That was taken about a week before she died."
"You look happy," Holly commented. "So does she."
"We were," Root said simply and went back to looking for a shirt for Holly.
Holly watched him, wondering where the elf in the picture went.
"Here you go," he said after a couple of minutes, holding up a jade green shirt. Without any buttons.
"Thanks," Holly said and went back down to the basement and changed. Holly grimaced at her reflection in the mirror. She liked the other shirt much better. "Oh, well," she thought to herself. "I can get some tomorrow." Deciding that she had the right to relax before she had to completely refurnish her life and find out who's trying to kill her, she flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. Holly flipped through the channels for a couple of minutes before finally settling on a mudman movie.
*
Root sighed and rolled over in bed again. He couldn't fall asleep, even though he had been in bed for the past hour or two and it was three in the afternoon. Buttons. Holly just had to find that shirt and just had to wear that one, didn't she. Root buried his head in his pillow and finally surrendered to the memories that had been threatening to overwhelm him since he had bought Holly the flowers. Purple flowers. Nichkola's favourite. What had possessed him to do that, he didn't know. But it was done, and Holly had worn that shirt, and he needed to just remember.
~*FLASHBACK*~
Julius and Nichkola laughed as their friend Owen took their picture during one of the rare times when the three of them all had work off.
"Here's your camera," Owen said, handing the camera to Julius.
"Thanks," he said and put it back in the bag. He glanced at Nichkola and then Owen. "Were you planning on, um, staying the whole time?" he asked Owen.
Owen laughed and winked at Julius. "I suppose I could go for a hike . . ." he trailed off. "You two carry on whatever plans you had and I'll leave you alone as long as you promise not to tell me what you two are doing. I swear, you're disgusting."
"So are you," Nichkola called after Owen and turned to her husband. "Now, what were those plans you were talking about?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"Oh, I think you know," Julius said, leaning over and trailing his lips down Nichkola's neck.
"Are you sure, Julius? You always surprise me . . ." she trailed off, moving closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a searing kiss.
"That can't be entirely true since you wore that shirt of mine," Julius replied, eyeing the shirt.
"Well, I know how much you love buttons," she said seductively.
"And I know you do, too," Julius replied and began to slowly unbutton her shirt, either kissing or touching her after each button. "I love you, Nikki," he said softly, pushing her down onto the blanket.
"I love you, too, Julius," she whispered and kissed him.
"I'll never leave you," he promised.
"Neither will I," Nichkola pledged and moaned and Julius finished unbuttoning her shirt and started greedily suckling on her breast.
~*END FLASHBACK*~
Root sighed and ignored the tears running down his cheeks. He hadn't thought about her in such a long time. Hadn't thought about their promises. How she had broken hers. He sighed. It was so easy to blame her, but he knew that it wasn't her fault. It wasn't anyone's fault, actually. Nobody had known that the pod had a leak in it. Not until the flare had consumed the pod, instantly turning it into a ball of fire. At least she hadn't suffered.
Root rolled over and finally fell asleep to dreams where he watched Nichkola get into the pod but seeing Holly die.
*
She was crying again and she hated it. Yes, she supposed, she had an excuse, but this was ridiculous. What she had lost, they were only possessions. Physical items. She still had her memories. But everything that her father had given her, that Rose had given her, that her mother had giver her, was gone. She clutched at the heavy comforter on the bed, holding it to her, wishing it was one of the few animals she had had left.
Holly sighed. For tonight, she would allow herself to be a mess. Tonight only. It was a luxury she rarely allowed herself but figured that she really did deserve it. Putting all other thoughts out of her head, she remembered her family.
~*FLASHBACK*~
Holly woke up at six at night, unable to sleep any longer. "Rose!" she called out, climbing down the ladder of the bunk bed she shared with her older sister, and shook her awake. "Rose, wake up!"
Rose groggily sat up, but smiled at her little sister, eyes twinkling. "Merry Christmas, Holly," she said.
"Merry Christmas!" Holly said excitedly. "Can we go wake up Mummy and Daddy?"
"You bet," Rose replied and the two sisters ran into their parents room and jumped on their bed.
"Mummy! Dad!" they yelled in unison. "Wake up! It's Christmas!"
Their parents slowly woke up, smiling at their two young daughters.
"Look in the corner," their mother said.
Both girls ran excitedly to the corner of the room and squealed excitedly at the large pile of presents. They both opened them quickly and climbed into their parents bed with their favourites, Holly's being a large, oversized, stuffed puppy and Rose's a thick book of folktales.
"Will you read them?" rose asked, pushing the book into her father's hands.
"I would be honoured to," he said and began to read the stories.
~*END FLASHBACK*~
Holly sighed. That was ninety years ago, when she was ten and Rose had been fifteen. That was the best Christmas that the Short family had ever had and, until last night, Holly had still had both the puppy, which she had named Ivy, and the book of stories. Holly closed her eyes and recited them to herself, finding comfort in the familiar stories.
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There's chapter three. Hope you enjoyed! Please review!
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Holly woke up confused and disoriented. She sat up and then immediately fell back into bed again, her head pounding. She let out a shaky breath. At least she remembered where she was. Holly tentatively reached up and flinched when her fingers brushed across the gash on her forehead. Why was it taking so long to heal?
Just then a nurse came in and started checking on her.
"Excuse me, but why isn't my head fully healed yet?" Holly asked her.
"It was very bad, miss," she replied. "I'm sure you know that magic can only go so far."
Holly nodded and instantly regretted it. "Yeah, I guess," she replied and settled back into bed. Holly looked at her bedside table and saw that there were two more bouquets of flowers. "Who sent those?" she asked.
"Why don't you read the cards?" the nurse asked and left.
Holly glared at her, wondering when exactly hospitals became so unfriendly. She took the card out of the nearest bouquet and read it. It was from Trouble. Holly smiled slightly to herself, glad that another friend had dropped by, even if she had been asleep. The other card surprised her. It was from Root. Holly's brow furrowed. Could that possibly be right? Shaking her head and continuing to smile, she looked at her flowers. Foaly's were bright and colourful, a welcome change from the plainness of the hospital. Trouble's were softer, showing instead that he cared. Root's were mostly purples with some baby's breath mixed in and Holly decided that they were her favourites.
Holly sighed and settled down in her bed. What was she supposed to do? All of her books had been destroyed in the explosion along with anything else that might entertain her. Not to mention the fact that there was a group of terrorists out to kill her . . .
Holly shivered and snuggled under the covers as if they would protect her. She momentarily wondered how long she had been in here but decided that it didn't really matter because if her head was still in this much pain, she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
Holly thought back to when her father was in the hospital and how the whole family had been with him almost the whole time. She felt tears begin to run down her cheeks since she was all that was left. Nobody would bother staying with her the whole time she was in here. Nobody cared that much.
"Jesus, what's wrong with me?" Holly asked herself bitterly. This was the third time within the past couple of days that she had cried and she never cried. "Screw it," she mumbled under breath, not caring anymore and rolling over, trying to fall back asleep.
A couple of minutes later there was a knock on her door. Holly said, "Come in," happy that somebody was coming to visit her. The nurses and doctors never bothered to knock.
"How're you doing?" Holly heard Root's voice ask.
Holly turned around in surprise. "What're you doing here?"
"Seeing how you are," Root replied. He sighed. "I thought you might want some company since I know the last time I was in the hospital, I was bored out of my mind."
Holly felt herself blush. "Thank you, sir," she mumbled. "And thank you for the flowers."
Root grunted, looking down at his feet. This was the first time he had gotten anyone flowers since the Valentine's Day before his wife died. He sighed. That had been over two hundred years ago. There wasn't any point in thinking about her.
"Are you ok?" Holly asked gently.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Root said hurriedly, pushing thoughts of his dead wife to the back of his head.
"I really miss Rose, too," Holly replied quietly, knowing what Root had been thinking about. "My sister . . ." she trailed off. "Who was it for you?"
"My wife . . . a little over two hundred years ago," Root answered softly, something very unusual for him. He usually closed off whenever talk turned to his personal life. "In a pod accident."
"I'm sorry," Holly said.
They sat for a couple of minutes without saying anything, thinking.
Root sighed. "I should be going. I'll be back to pick you up around six."
Holly sat up straight in bed. "What? I'm leaving?"
Root mirrored Holly's look of surprise. "They didn't tell you?"
Holly shook her head. "What time is it now?"
Root glanced at his watch. "Midnight."
Holly groaned. "Six hours. Six stupid hours. Six stupid hours of absolutely nothing to do."
Root rolled his eyes. "Would you like a book? They sell them at the gift shop."
"Yeah, sure," Holly said, perking up.
"I'll be back in a couple of minutes," Root replied and returned a few minutes later with a thick book. "This should keep you busy. I know you like horror."
"You do?" Holly asked, surprised, picking up the book. She stared at it without expression for a couple of minutes before finally saying, "This is my favourite. My dad gave me a copy when I was twenty-" She stopped, not wanting to cry in front of Root. "Thanks."
"See you at six," Root said and left.
Holly opened the book and started to reread it, lips moving with the words, quoting. Remembering.
*
Root knocked on the door of Holly's room exactly six hours later. She didn't say anything. "Holly?" he asked, coming into her room.
Holly's head jerked up and she stared at Root with wide eyes. When she saw who it was, she smiled. "Gimme a sec," she said and went back to reading.
"How much do you have left?" Root asked sceptically.
Holly didn't say anything and a couple of seconds later she closed the book triumphantly. "Done. And thanks again. That really is my favourite book."
"Sure," Root said. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I guess," Holly replied. She blushed. "I - I don't suppose you happened to bring any clothes with you? Or a blanket?"
Root shook his head. "What about the clothes you were wearing during the explosion."
Holly rolled her eyes and jerked her head towards a corner of the room where her clothes, or what was left of them, were lying in a heap on the floor. "Not likely."
Root sighed and took off his oversized jacket which would be positively huge on Holly. "You can borrow this if you want."
Holly looked at it sceptically but took it anyways. "Thanks," she said and went into the small bathroom of her room where she slipped off the jonnie and pulled on Root's jacket. It really was too big for her (it came down to her knees), but that was good, since it covered her more than just the jonnie would have. She folded the robe and came out, put it on the bed and looked at Root. "Did they already check me out?"
He nodded. "My house is only a block away so I figured we could walk."
"In this?" Holly yelled. "Jesus, you're insane!"
"I thought you'd prefer walking to flying," Root snapped.
Holly sighed. "Yeah, I guess," she replied and followed Root out of the hospital and during the short walk to his house, constantly willing herself to be invisible. As soon as they got into his house, Holly let out the breath she had been holding.
"The basement's through that door," Root said, pointing at a door under a staircase.
"Umm . . . do you have any clothes I can borrow?" Holly asked, still blushing.
"I already moved Nichkola's clothes to the dresser downstairs," Root replied. "We can go shopping tomorrow since it's the weekend."
"Who's Nichkola?" Holly asked.
"My wife," Root replied, his eyes taking on a distant look. "Everything you need should be down there."
"Thanks," Holly replied and walked downstairs. She gasped in surprise. The basement wasn't at all like she had expected. It was much more rustic with wooden panelling on the walls and floor and wooden furnishings. It was one big room with the exception of what looked like a bathroom on the far wall. Everything she needed was in here, though. A bed, dresser, desk, table, refrigerator, bookcase, couch, TV and the thousands of other little things fairies need.
Holly walked over to the dresser and started looking through it. The clothes looked well used but very old and Holly suspected that Root hadn't even looked at them since his wife had died until now. "Nichkola had good taste," Holly thought to herself, looking at clothes she would've normally worn. She pulled out a pair of leggings since they fit everyone and an oversized work shirt since she wouldn't have to worry about it fitting her. She glanced in the mirror, flashed herself a happy smile that she didn't believe in, and walked upstairs.
Holly wandered around for a couple of minutes before she found Root in his kitchen, drinking a mug of coffee and reading a thick packet of papers. "Hey," she said, sitting across from him.
Root looked up and chocked on his coffee, spitting it back into the mug. "Why're you wearing my shirt?" he yelled.
"I am?" Holly asked, bright red. "It was in the dresser."
Root nodded, staring at her.
"I'm sorry, but it really isn't that big a deal," Holly snapped and went to her room again to change, wondering why it was such a big deal. It was just a shirt, right?
Once downstairs, she started looking through the dresser, trying to find something in her size, but all of Nichkola's clothes were at least a size too small. Holly stomped upstairs and into the kitchen.
"All of Nichkola's clothes are too small so I'm sorry, but I have to borrow this tonight," Holly replied, somewhat angry that Root was making such a big deal about it and also a little embarrassed that most of his dead wife's clothes were two sizes too small.
Root sighed. "Could you at least borrow a different shirt of mine, then? One with out buttons?"
"Ummm . . . ok," Holly said and followed Root to his bedroom. "Why?"
"None of your business," he snapped, turning red. For some unknown reason, Holly thought he was blushing instead of just being angry.
"Alright," Holly replied, backing off, even though she was very curious why he was embarrassed about a buttoned shirt. When she was inside Root's room, she started looking around. It was plain and very neat with hardly anything that showed his personality. One of the few things was an old-fashioned picture of two young fairies who Holly assumed were Root and Nichkola. They were apparently having a rare picnic in the Upper Elements and were both laughing. Root himself looked happy, something Holly hadn't seen before. Nichkola was beautiful. There wasn't any other word for it. She was thinner than Holly, but in a healthy way. She had very pale skin and black hair that was about half a centimetre above her shoulders. It fell in her face but couldn't obscure the happy twinkle in her green eyes. She was wearing one of Root's button shirts . . . just like the one Holly had been wearing. "That's her, isn't it?" Holly asked, pointing at the picture.
Root looked up from his dresser and over to where Holly was pointing. He walked over and smiled bitterly. "Yeah. That was taken about a week before she died."
"You look happy," Holly commented. "So does she."
"We were," Root said simply and went back to looking for a shirt for Holly.
Holly watched him, wondering where the elf in the picture went.
"Here you go," he said after a couple of minutes, holding up a jade green shirt. Without any buttons.
"Thanks," Holly said and went back down to the basement and changed. Holly grimaced at her reflection in the mirror. She liked the other shirt much better. "Oh, well," she thought to herself. "I can get some tomorrow." Deciding that she had the right to relax before she had to completely refurnish her life and find out who's trying to kill her, she flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. Holly flipped through the channels for a couple of minutes before finally settling on a mudman movie.
*
Root sighed and rolled over in bed again. He couldn't fall asleep, even though he had been in bed for the past hour or two and it was three in the afternoon. Buttons. Holly just had to find that shirt and just had to wear that one, didn't she. Root buried his head in his pillow and finally surrendered to the memories that had been threatening to overwhelm him since he had bought Holly the flowers. Purple flowers. Nichkola's favourite. What had possessed him to do that, he didn't know. But it was done, and Holly had worn that shirt, and he needed to just remember.
~*FLASHBACK*~
Julius and Nichkola laughed as their friend Owen took their picture during one of the rare times when the three of them all had work off.
"Here's your camera," Owen said, handing the camera to Julius.
"Thanks," he said and put it back in the bag. He glanced at Nichkola and then Owen. "Were you planning on, um, staying the whole time?" he asked Owen.
Owen laughed and winked at Julius. "I suppose I could go for a hike . . ." he trailed off. "You two carry on whatever plans you had and I'll leave you alone as long as you promise not to tell me what you two are doing. I swear, you're disgusting."
"So are you," Nichkola called after Owen and turned to her husband. "Now, what were those plans you were talking about?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"Oh, I think you know," Julius said, leaning over and trailing his lips down Nichkola's neck.
"Are you sure, Julius? You always surprise me . . ." she trailed off, moving closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a searing kiss.
"That can't be entirely true since you wore that shirt of mine," Julius replied, eyeing the shirt.
"Well, I know how much you love buttons," she said seductively.
"And I know you do, too," Julius replied and began to slowly unbutton her shirt, either kissing or touching her after each button. "I love you, Nikki," he said softly, pushing her down onto the blanket.
"I love you, too, Julius," she whispered and kissed him.
"I'll never leave you," he promised.
"Neither will I," Nichkola pledged and moaned and Julius finished unbuttoning her shirt and started greedily suckling on her breast.
~*END FLASHBACK*~
Root sighed and ignored the tears running down his cheeks. He hadn't thought about her in such a long time. Hadn't thought about their promises. How she had broken hers. He sighed. It was so easy to blame her, but he knew that it wasn't her fault. It wasn't anyone's fault, actually. Nobody had known that the pod had a leak in it. Not until the flare had consumed the pod, instantly turning it into a ball of fire. At least she hadn't suffered.
Root rolled over and finally fell asleep to dreams where he watched Nichkola get into the pod but seeing Holly die.
*
She was crying again and she hated it. Yes, she supposed, she had an excuse, but this was ridiculous. What she had lost, they were only possessions. Physical items. She still had her memories. But everything that her father had given her, that Rose had given her, that her mother had giver her, was gone. She clutched at the heavy comforter on the bed, holding it to her, wishing it was one of the few animals she had had left.
Holly sighed. For tonight, she would allow herself to be a mess. Tonight only. It was a luxury she rarely allowed herself but figured that she really did deserve it. Putting all other thoughts out of her head, she remembered her family.
~*FLASHBACK*~
Holly woke up at six at night, unable to sleep any longer. "Rose!" she called out, climbing down the ladder of the bunk bed she shared with her older sister, and shook her awake. "Rose, wake up!"
Rose groggily sat up, but smiled at her little sister, eyes twinkling. "Merry Christmas, Holly," she said.
"Merry Christmas!" Holly said excitedly. "Can we go wake up Mummy and Daddy?"
"You bet," Rose replied and the two sisters ran into their parents room and jumped on their bed.
"Mummy! Dad!" they yelled in unison. "Wake up! It's Christmas!"
Their parents slowly woke up, smiling at their two young daughters.
"Look in the corner," their mother said.
Both girls ran excitedly to the corner of the room and squealed excitedly at the large pile of presents. They both opened them quickly and climbed into their parents bed with their favourites, Holly's being a large, oversized, stuffed puppy and Rose's a thick book of folktales.
"Will you read them?" rose asked, pushing the book into her father's hands.
"I would be honoured to," he said and began to read the stories.
~*END FLASHBACK*~
Holly sighed. That was ninety years ago, when she was ten and Rose had been fifteen. That was the best Christmas that the Short family had ever had and, until last night, Holly had still had both the puppy, which she had named Ivy, and the book of stories. Holly closed her eyes and recited them to herself, finding comfort in the familiar stories.
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There's chapter three. Hope you enjoyed! Please review!