Tempting Death
Disclaimer:………(+..+)
By The Eternity Dragon
Chapter Six
The silence spiralled horribly for what seemed an age, Bulma avoided her friends piercing gaze, trying desperately to maintain her violent temper, she began to count to twenty, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Damn that man, damn him to hell!
Chi-Chi's eyes flickered to the open door and back to her friend; this reality was taken sometime to sink in, her smoking ebony eyes radiated anger. Was Vegeta playing with her best friend? And if so why was Bulma tolerating it like she was.
She turned her gaze to the woman on the sofa, her eyes were closed, blue hair drawn like a curtain on either side of her face, hands tightly clenched together so that her nails dug deep into the soft skin of her palm, she seemed to be muttering something under her breath.
Chi-Chi felt anger rise within her like a hurricane, she moved swiftly out of the room and into the hallway, Bulma opened her eyes in surprise, "Chi-Chi what are y-?"
Her friend emerged from the hallway carrying her coat and another in her arms,
"You need to get out if here B," she said sternly, throwing the red material across the room where it landed on the sofa in a crumpled heap.
"Get away from work, your love life, and, and that man." She spat the last part out venomously as if she was going to be sick, those last words still haunted her; what did he mean 'Pursuing matters of a personal nature?'
"But the mess," Bulma said in a vague attempt to distract her friend, she didn't want to go out. She hadn't been out of the house for sometime now, she felt oddly claustrophobic in crowds, all those smiles and happy people, it just reminded her of her own problems. S he was so different from the norm, she couldn't smile like they did, she couldn't laugh like they could either.
People moved past her in a blur, she was left standing alone, numb to the world around her, and at least in isolation she could think, think about thinks that used to matter.
Things that should matter, like love, live, joy, pain and forgiveness.
She was none of these things, she felt physical pain of course, and anger, lust as well, but no joy, pleasure perhaps in the oddest of places, but she wasn't alive anymore. The person in the pictures about the room was dead, they hung in frames from the walls, and they stood erect on every surface.
Pictures of a blue haired smiling angel, holding her first bicycle, holding up a national science award, the blue haired girl with Goku and Chi-Chi laughing. The girl and Yamcha at their anniversary she looked so happy so normal……
An odd knot formed at the bottom of Bulma's stomach like she was slowly suffocating, she turned quickly away less she should scream, standing up she pulled the coat on, it was a slaughterous red, the colour of freshly spilled blood.
The knot had not gone away.
They left the house together; Bulma's hands plunged deep into her pockets head down, so that her hair trickled languorously down her creamy cheeks, her eyes down cast, her long feathery lashes shaded her cerulean eyes from view.
Chi-Chi nattered on non stop about one think or another, not seeming to notice her friend's lack of enthusiasm in conversation.
But it was nothing she couldn't handle; the problems began to arise as they entered public gatherings.
Chi-Chi pulled Bulma into a perfume shop, dragging her down the isles to look at make up and an assortment of bath salts.
The low hum of constant conversation was begging to work on Bulma's nerves, she began to scratch of her arms in a nervous way, blinking and turning her head slowly from one side to the other.
Chi-Chi stopped in the middle picking out a vibrant scarlet lip stick to notice her friends agitated body language.
"Are you too hot or something?" she asked, concern rippling across her, perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.
Bulma shook her head vigorously not trusting herself to speak as people brushed past her, a high pitched humming had filled her head, she raised one hand to her forehead in a desperate attempt to calm herself down, "Don't crack," she murmured inaudibly to herself, "Just calm down."
Chi-Chi returned to her lipstick browse, watching her friend from the corner of her eye, as she leant against the bath salt rack, suddenly looking exhausted as though she had just run a mile.
"You are alright aren't you dear?" she asked anxiously, this better not have anything to do with that man, she though savagely, I'll kill him if it has.
Bulma didn't answer, her attention was turned else where, she was looking to her right now, her deep blue eyes widened with shock and horror as though she had just seen a ghost, and it was a ghost, a ghost of the past.
Chi-Chi followed her gaze; she was looking at the isle directly behind them, a woman with burgundy coloured hair that fell to her small shoulders in thick ringlets, she had smouldering green eyes and a large cherry red mouth.
She was laughing about something the man next to her had said, she leaned over to kiss his cheek affectionately; a man who had been plagued by memories of love and hate until they had eventually become one.
That man was Yamcha.
Bulma let out an audible gasp, her face draining of the little colour it possessed, the high pitched humming increasing to a higher level as the world swam in front of her eyes in a rainbow of blurred colours.
Remain calm, she thought desperately trying to fight down the flight of panic fluttering inside of her, he's a coward, easily manipulated, he won't do anything that involves risk.
Chi-Chi turned back to her friends horrified expression with mounting concern, "Do want to leave?" she asked taking her friends hand in hers, it was surprisingly cold she found, and full of tiny ditches.
She nodded, like a child suddenly unable to find words that fitted into this monotony of life, Chi-Chi understood; it was too soon she was unable to confront someone who still plagued her thought in the dead of night.
"Let's go."
They might have made it out unnoticed as well, if Chi-Chi hadn't have knocked into the perfume stand, knocking over about twenty phials of perfume into on stinking heap.
As shop attendant scurried over to clean up the offending mess and switch on the air conditioning, Yamcha looked up, his gaze flickered to Chi-Chi and he smiled, waving cheerfully at her, nudging the girl next to him so that she looked up as well, he moved forwards in hopes of introducing her, and then his gaze slipped sideways, to the blood red coat, he stopped, faltering in the steps he had just a minute ago been so sure of.
Her eyes were cold and expressionless; she stood as though made from ice unmoving and unfathomable.
Chi-Chi bit her tongue at her own clumsiness, she was obviously picking more up from her husband than she realised.
She turned to face Yamcha, determined to shield Bulma from any unnecessary pain of introduction to the woman who had replaced her.
Her gaze flickered back to her friend, and she stopped in her thoughts at the sudden change that had aspired over her friend's countenance, she seemed different somehow taller, more in control, beautiful in a deadly way, like the blade of a dagger, or a golden phial poison.
"Chi-Chi," Yamcha said after some hesitation, shuffling his feet nervously from one side to the other, "How are you, have you met……." He began but was cut off by the red haired girl as she stuck out her hand enthusiastically towards Chi-Chi, her long red tresses swirling about her shoulders.
"I'm so glad to meet you," she said breathlessly excitement shining from her innocent emerald eyes, "My names Anastasia, you must be Chi-Chi,"
Chi-Chi made a face half way between a frown and a smile, it was obvious that she was trying to find fault on Bulma's behalf towards this carefree creature.
"And, oh wow! Gosh! She really is beautiful isn't she Yamcha, you must be Bulma; Yamcha's told me so much about you! What wonderful hair! Do you straighten it or does it just fall like that? It's like a solid waterfall isn't it honey? Gosh I wish I had hair like that, and doesn't it go so well with that shade of red? You look so good you're almost edible…."
Bulma smiled, it wasn't a genuine smile like Chi-Chi's however, the innocence of this girl was almost painful for her, and it was thrown in her face, smothering its gentle folds across her marred and broken body in suffocating bonds.
What had Yamcha told her she wondered? Certainly not the truth or this little thing wouldn't be talking to her like this, her eyes flickered briefly towards him, and he was looking at her, an odd expression flitting across his features.
Bulma felt a peculiar sensation filter through her, something between pain and anger, but it was a rooted into the depths of her soul, the expression was pity.
He felt sorry for her, she knew, he had moved on and she hadn't, Bulma felt the anger rise within her like a tempest.
She closed her eyes regaining composure, she turned away heading for the door, she knew it must seem odd but the anger was so close to the surface now she didn't trust herself to be able to control it.
Willing herself not to run she moved silently out of the shop, into the thronging crowd, enveloping her entirely, she lost herself in a crush of people.
"Bulma! Bulma!" Someone was yelling, she didn't respond but continued to press forwards, she wanted to be alone, she couldn't stand the pity anymore, the anxious concern, the hatred she felt for everyone was overwhelming she needed to be alone, God she wished she was dead.
Someone grabbed her hand, she wrenched it out of their grasp, suddenly breaking into a run, pushing people out of the way, she was so tired of being someone else.
'Leave me alone!' she thought desperately, fighting for air as she pressed her way through, 'Leave me alone!'
She fought for air as the world spun around her, it's odd, but sometimes you can be the loneliest amid a mass of people.
Okay, I think that was definitely the worst chapter I have ever written, don't worry the next chapter is way better!
Lol, read and review!
Love The Eternity Dragon
&
Murray