Chapter 5: Home Is Where the Hurt Is…
"Where are we going?" he asked. Kaitlyn didn't return the gaze and continued to pedal slowly. Minutes passed and it appeared that he wouldn't be getting an answer, but then in a small, almost indistinct voice, he caught the one solitary word she offered.
"Home" A tremor went through his body upon hearing that one word."Oh" said Heero and pushed his hands farther into his jacket pockets as he stared at the granite gray sidewalk cautiously. He kicked a stray pebble and thought anxiously to himself.
'I'm going to meet him again….I wonder…' The very idea was enough to set his heart racing but he didn't know why. He was so deep in the monotony of his thoughts that he didn't notice when Kaitlyn turned her tricycle sharply into a graveled driveway. Heero stopped in mid-thought as he stared blankly at the house Kaitlyn had led him to.
It was the same Victorian Cathedral house he'd witnessed being moved into weeks prior. Kaitlyn pedaled to the back of the two-story house and left him standing in the driveway. His eyes surveyed the house with an air of indifference yet they still lingered inquisitively at the corner window on the top story. There was no shadowy figure there today but just that thought of small hope made him wonder about himself.
"Well, are you coming in or not?" said a strong child-like voice that held an adult-like quality and clearly belonged to Kaitlyn. Heero snapped into reality and focused on the beckoning little girl, whom he hadn't noticed had even returned and was presently standing a few feet ahead of him.
"Come on then" she said, taking his hand in hers and pulling him along, as he remained dumb in answering the question. As they approached the front door, Heero expected them to have to knock and wait for the door to be answered but to his surprise, the large brass old-fashioned knocker remained untouched as Kaitlyn simply pushed open the front door and barged in with him in tow. They had immediately entered into a large open area.
"I'll be right back" she said to Heero and walked through a heavy, pure mahogany side door. As she left him to his own devices, he took the opportunity to observe his surroundings. He took note of every small detail of the space from the metal grated sconces, the aged linoleum tiles, the taupe coloured walls that seemed to blend in and disappear into the background of the room, the arbitrarily chipped antique furniture that was so professionally arranged in the room and the beautiful renaissance-like paintings that were impressive duplications of the originals, that hung suggestively from all the walls of the room.
But what caught his attention the most was not the pain-stakingly beautiful painted high tray ceiling that was surrounded by an immaculately detailed 17th century classic-style crown molding but the fireplace…It was made of a smooth stone, something close to marble but with a rougher finish. Whatever it was, it didn't take a genius to know that it wasn't cheap. Heero squatted down beside the fireplace and rubbed some of the ash residue he'd found in the pit between his fingers. After a few minutes of careful analyzing, he decided that the original wood was imported and factory-dried. It wasn't anything, local, regional or national since he couldn't place which species it was (and he knew all known species in the region, although what importance it was to him or for whose benefit such information would be, he couldn't tell you.). He got up and dusted off his hands, allowing his eyes to continue to survey the area. His eyes settled on the fireplace mantle. An array of pictures caught his eye. They seemed to be the only genuine and modern articles in the room.
In the first picture was a scene that reminded him of the mountains of Venice. The next picture appeared to have been taken in space. There was a small almost invisible bright blue sphere in the far corner of the starry scene. Any other details were basically impossible to decipher with the vagueness and distance the picture was taken from. But what he saw was enough to tell him that the little sphere was Earth or something like it. It seemed so…familiar…the view…but why?
His eyes drifted away and settled on the third picture. He felt a rush of adrenaline flow through him. It was a picture of a beautiful boy or maybe even a very handsome girl but yet it emanated a vague masculinity somehow. The face was rounded and had a friendly appearance. A broad smile graced his features and his dark amethyst eyes were almost childlike and playful yet they told his age and maturity equally as clear. The feature that had puzzled Heero in determining the person's sex, was a long braid, that seemed to have entwined every shade and variation of brown, cascading down his shoulder. His skin was a well toned bronze that gave him an extra air of beauty. But in addition to his beauty, something else eminated from him…something familiar. But before hero could bring himself to remember, he heard his name being called.
"Mr. Yuy?"
He turned and averted his attention to the source of the voice. Kaitlyn. He smiled tightly, it was not his nature. She smiled slightly at his poor attempt at a smile.
"Come on" she cooed and encircled two of his fingers in her hands as she led him toward the large mahogany kitchen doors. Heero half-expected Trowa Barton to be on the other side but was somewhat disappointed when he was only greeted with the exquisite elegance of the kitchen and dining room areas. The entire room was custom accessorized. In fact one would hardly recognize the kitchen to be a kitchen, considering that all appliances and electronics were hidden behind mahogany doors or custom-made encasements.
As Heero was hurriedly observing the room, he felt Kaitlyn nudge him from behind to sit down. He looked ahead of him and noticed the island, a rich brown-terracotta colored marble that was surrounded by four bar stools. He also noticed a big white plate with what he was assuming was chocolate chip cookies, considering that they were really dark brown and two large glasses of milk.
"Sit, sit" she commanded and Heero half-amusedly obeyed. He then watched her struggle to climb into the stool across from him. In the back of his mind he wondered if he should help her but neglected the thought when she successfully settled in the chair finally.
"Try one" she said looking at Heero and pointing at the cookies at te same time. Heero's sapphire eyes shifted from the little girl to the plate of cookies and back.
'She can't be serious' he thought as he stared blankly at the cookies.
"I made them," she grinned and pushed the plate across to him. Heero nodded and sheepishly took one. Kaitlyn playfully giggled as he just sat there scrutinizing the blackened oval, his face emotionless but she could guess what was running through his mind. 'the kid's trying to kill me,' might be top of his list or maybe, 'I wonder if I could distract her then throw the cookie to the dog…wait they don't have a dog,' or even a 'I don't think my insurance covers death-by-cookie'. Kaitlyn's face lit up at her own wit.
Heero slowly took a cautious bite after analyzing all the possibilities of death. The cookie wasn't bad, once you got passed the '2 inches' of ash, it was kinda chocolatey. As he slowly chewed the edible part of the cookie, he watched Kaitlyn. She sat there sipping her milk, totally engrossed in watching him swallow the last of the cookie. He also noticed that she hadn't touched her cookie.
"Why didn't you eat yours?" he began but was interrupted by her peal of laughter.
'I'm not eating that" she squealed, "It's horrible".
"So…why…?" said Heero confused as his brows furrowed slightly.
"I only wanted to see if you would eat it," she said mischievously. Heero looked at her blankly at first and then glowered at her as it sank in. In silence he proceeded to carefully and cautiously examine the glass of milk before he brought the glass to his lips. After a moment his glare softened and he smirked.
"You're right, they are horrible. Maybe you shouldn't bake them so long next time."
"yeh," she said smiling.
An odd silence enveloped them again at the end of this short dialogue. Heero continued to sip the milk and his mind wandered slightly from the room. Kaitlyn looked at the cookies and then averted her gaze to him.
Heero's mind returned to the room and he realized that he was the under close scrutiny of Kaitlyn. He could almost laugh at the uncharacteristic-like seriousness that marked her face and the shy way she kept turning away. He suddenly felt the odd urge that maybe he should say something to break the deafening silence. But casually conversing was never his skill. A sort of stressed look came across his features as he racked his brains to find something that would interest an 'above-average' five year old and would serve his purpose of gathering information. (That was the only purpose of having conversations in his opinion.) But he was saved the trouble when Kaitlyn spoke up.
"You know, you are just like him." She said, her eyes not shifting away anymore. This statement caught Heero off guard and the stony look of his features faltered as one of questioning and curiosity came through across his face.
"Trowa, Uncle Trowa" she said answering his unspoken question.
"Hmh" he said
"You speak with your eyes rather than your lips…you and he are one and the same. He can sit there, just as you are doing right now, for hours staring…meditating without a word. He always wears a mask, just like you do Mr. Yuy. Please don't try to hide again sir." She whispered as her head bowed slightly when she noticed Heero's 'mask' slipping back on again. "Yes, I know that you hide behind one too but just like him your eyes give you away when you are careless enough to let them. I'm a kid, Mr. yuy, but I'm not stupid or blind. Always remember that…" she said, her voice carrying more conviction and anger in the last words.
Heero didn't know where her sudden exertion came from but he nodded in understanding and they stared fiercely into each other's eyes. Heero couldn't help but notice the sudden the dullness in her eyes as they went from the brilliant blue that he'd been accustomed to, to a dull blue-metal gray. She was letting her mask fall. As unnatural as it was to him, he couldn't thwart the urge to comfort her and make her smile again ( a true smile) but he suppressed the feeling and looked away from the pleading eyes. Eyes that he thought he understood but was proven wrong as he was now introduced to a new side of Kaitlyn.
Slowly, they were engulfed in the world of silence once again. He cast his gaze away and again let his mind wander onto his unfinished report that desperately needed to be completed and the fact that his extended vacation leave was coming to an end in a matter of days. Even with these things on his mind, his thoughts still averted to Trowa Barton. But why. As he tried to sort out his thoughts, he slowly became aware of a constant, steady, soothing sound. A hum. Soft and deicate and…familiar. He'd heard it before. He averted his sky-bound gaze at Kaitlyn. Her head was bent and he couldn't see her face but he knew that it was her.
'Kaitlyn…" he began
"Lynn…my mom calls me Lynn…" she said still not looking up.
"Okay…Lynn…" Heero said but she didn't allow him to continue as she continued to speak freely
" She taught me that…said it was the tune of the song he used to sing to himself sometimes…but… the words…she never knew the words…or what they meant. It was…it was an ancient language she never knew…and he never taught her…hmh…he never taught her.."
"He? Trowa?" asked Heero.
Kaitlyn looked up at him her eyes glassy and distant, "No…my father."
Hero brow quivered, 'Wait…Trowa's not her father?' he contemplated carefully and reran all his memories and knowledge of the pair through his mind in effort to discover something he'd overlooked or at least ignored momentarily. I see but then…I suppose I already kinda guessed that. In their eyes was a different kind of…acceptance and…love. In her features, I knew I saw someone else…familiar but so far away…Why am I remembering these faces but the not the names or why they are so important? WHY? WHY CAN'T I PIECE BACK MY BLASTED MEMORY?' he was ecstatic and much annoyed now but his mask always saved him. Kaitlyn continued her monologue oblivious of his internal battle.
"Mom is away now. Home I guess. I miss her so much but not that place. We never stay in one place too long. I didn't mind that but the house was always radiating an eternal darkness that would never lift. I like this place better and I have Uncle Trowa. Mom says she needs a break and Uncle Trowa too. I think it's that place that's making her so tired. She's always so sad. I never saw her really happy. I always wondered why…I sometimes wonder if she hates me,'
Kaitlyn looks up at Heero with tears brimming at the corners of her crystal green eyes and her bottom lip quivering uncontrollably, 'cause she can never look at me and smile and really, really mean it.' She paused and her tears flowed silently as she continued to speak, " But I know she loves me. When sometimes when she holds me, I feel like I'm drowning in the deep sorrowful aura that is forever around her and other times I feel nothing…only her. What she's really like beneath all that pain.
"Even her eyes tell me her love but sometimes the sadness is so deep she forgets and allows it to take her down into its depths…the sky is her friend she once told me…it cries with her…'he loved the rain,' she said…she cries many days but tries not to let me see but I feel it anyway. I always feel it. No matter how happy she pretends to be. It grows everyday and I wonder why…they won't tell me and it makes me so sad because I know something bad will happen. But I don't know what…I don't know what…." she wipes way most of her tears but more slowly keep coming." Heero was so taken back by her true feelings and reason for the sadness behind her eyes that he couldn't speak or react (not that he normally did anyway).
'The gift of empathy' he thought, 'That within itself is so much for anyone to have to bear but for a child and for such a gift to be so strongly developed so young…unbearable.' Kaitlyn smiled at Heero and touched he clenched hand.
"Yes, I am an empath" she sighed, sounding far older than she truly was. She suddenly just sprang up after three seconds hesitation and hugged Heero from across the table. "I know the pain you feel sir.' Hero blinked, not quite sure what to do as usual when it came to her. "You are a sad soul too and you have much anger. Why? I don't know sir but it makes me sad…so sad."
Heero was still stunned and a bit worried and sat a bit rigidly. His back slowly loosened and he relaxed a bit in her tight, pudgy hug. He was beginning to gently stroke her misarranged hair to help subside her tears, when he heard the kitchen door open and a familiar, gentle but demanding voice say, "What are you doing in this house…"
TO BE ConTinued….
Author's Note: It took me long enough, I'd say. I thought ya'll deserved to know the remainder of the story. There are about 4 chaps if that, left. Hopefully I'll have at least two out before Christmas but ya never know. I have to return to school actually college in a matter of days. I may or may not make another chapter for a while but bear with me ppl plz. I'm workin' on it.
Luv ya Net and V. Keep it real guys!