Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Sadly, I never will.
Gin-Soaked Roses
A/N: Hey! Just wanted to say that Katie is NOT an OC (neither is Jake).
Katie - Kaoru
Jake -Kenji
(It will make sense later)
Chapter One
The TV was screaming into her ears. The scotch burned her throat. The knobs of the cabinets dug into her back as she leaned heavily against them. Her raven black hair flowed over her shoulder, so long that it brushed the wood floor. The tips were soaked in the gin that had spilled from the remains of the bottle, which lay shattered over the kitchen floor. She gripped the scotch bottle tighter, lifted it to her lips, drank the poison that filled her veins.
A movie was on. Something loud, dramatic. Explosions, gun shots, screams- or was that outside? A siren, fading into the distance. Her vision of the refrigerator sitting in stony silence across from her blurred, her thoughts jumbled into a haze.
The phone rang. With a groan, she pushed against the cabinets and rose to stumble towards the phone on the wall. Swearing beneath her breath as a shard dug into her foot, she reached for the phone and pulled it to her ear with a muttered, "Hello?" A dial tone practically shouted into her ear, and with a confused glance at the phone she placed it back on the hook.
The person on the small TV was talking on the phone. It had been part of the movie, nothing more. The TV is loud, she thought, crossing the room towards the remote on the night stand. Pressing a button, the woman on the phone was swallowed by darkness, drowned in the silence.
Katie glanced at the door to the bedroom. There were no stirrings, no small footsteps, no bed groaning as he climbed out of it. Jake was a sound sleeper. Even thunderstorms didn't rouse him.
She walked loudly back into the kitchen, setting the bottle of scotch on the kitchen counter. She went for the broom in the broom closet, mindlessly sweeping up the shards of glass from the gin bottle Jake had accidentally pushed off of the counter. He had trembled in fear of her wrath, but she had only soothed him with a kiss and sent him off to bed.
This is what my life has become, isn't it? She asked herself, lifting her eyes to meet the dark brown gaze of the scotch. The bottle didn't reply. Dumping the glass shards into the waste basket, Katie rose from the kitchen floor and glanced at the clock above the oven.
She checked the calendar once more just to make sure she wasn't expected downstairs at the bar tonight. Tonight was her night off, the calendar told her.
After bandaging her foot in the bathroom, she changed into an old T-shirt and climbed into bed. The room fell to darkness as she flicked the switch on the lamp, the only light that of the streetlights outside. The sheets were cold, normally refreshing but tonight, almost chilling. Katie sat up in her bed, the sheets falling to bunch up at her waist. She leaned on her arms and blew bangs out of her eyes.
There was nothing to stay awake for, she told herself. With a sigh, she fell back against the pillow and closed her eyes. There was no hope for sweet dreams. Only nightmares.
The Next Morning...
Katie heard the bed groan slightly as something crawled beside her, small arms wrapping around her neck. A mop of hair was pressed affectionately into her face. She blinked, and opened her eyes to a mass of red hair. Wrapping her arms around her son, she sighed and pressed her lips to his head softly.
"Morning Mommy," Jake whispered, looking up into his mother's eyes. He was a duplicate of his father, rare amethyst eyes and thick red locks, causing so much unknown pain to his mother. Katie kissed his nose, smiling and whispering, "Morning". Wriggling out of her hug, he leaped out of the bed and went flying into the living room. Every time I look at him, I… She stopped her train of thought, climbing out of bed. Slipping into a pair of flannel pants, she stepped into the living room to find her son inches from the television screen, absorbed in a cartoon.
"Jake, you've got school. Have you had breakfast yet?" He pointed to a bowl on the counter, which had obviously been filled with cereal and milk at one point. "Get dressed then, honey." He pointed to the clothes he was wearing, which Katie had failed to see was his school uniform.
The minute hand crashed against the 12.
"Time to go. Dr. Genzai will take you to school now. Have a good day, Jake," Katie said, kissing him softly on the cheek.
"Mommy, I'm tired of being Jake. When can I be Ke-" She clamped her hand over his mouth, pulling him into her arms simultaneously.
"Please don't say that name ever again. You can't be that name ever again. Promise me you won't say it. Ever." Her blue eyes were wide as she stared into his. He looked up and nodded. His small hand reached up to cup her face, and he kissed her quickly.
"Okay. I'll be Jake for you Mommy," he whispered, before rushing out the door at the Dr's call, grabbing his backpack on the way. Katie leaned against the doorframe, watching his tiny frame disappear down the stairs at the end of the hallway of the apartment building.
"Look what you've done to us, Ken-" she stopped herself, eyes shifting nervously around the dimly lit hallway. "Baka." Tears threatened to spill over her eyelids, and she blinked furiously to fight them back. Slipping back into the apartment, she took one look at the half empty bottle of scotch on the kitchen counter and broke down into sobs. Collapsing onto the couch, she felt the tears fall from the corners of her eyes and slide down the side of her face and into her hair.
"Look what you've done to me," she whispered to the ceiling. It didn't reply.
That night...
"Mommy's going to work, Jake. Are you going to be okay?" The little boy nodded, pulling the covers up to his chins. Only his large violet eyes and his messy red hair peeked out from above.
"If I have trouble, go see Uncle Rob in the kitchen and he'll take me to you," Jake recited, and Katie kissed him gently on the forehead.
"That's right. I'm just downstairs in the bar, if you should need me. Good night sweetie."
"Good night, Mommy."
Katie closed the door slowly as she flicked off the light. Jake wasn't afraid of the dark, never had been. At six years old, he was very brave. Well, he has to be, Katie thought, grabbing her purse from the counter. He's been the man of the house since he was three. Akemi doesn't count, she thought with a snort.
The hallway was dark, the bulb hanging from the rafters having flickered out that afternoon. The light of the moon shown eerily through the dusty windows, making the shadows on the floor dance around Katie's ankles as she made her way to the stairwell. She had pulled her dark hair up in a ponytail on top of her head, and she wore her black uniform- a skirt and T-shirt that Rob, the cook and owner, had a creepy fondness for.
Her footsteps echoed in the stairwell as she gripped the railing. Her eyes darted back and forth, from shadowy corner to shadowy corner. The place at night had always given her the creeps.
"Katie, right on time!" Rob shouted as she made it to the bottom of the stairwell and right into the kitchen of the bar. "Misao's waiting for you out at the bar."
"Thanks, Rob." Stepping through the swinging door, Katie was met with the stench of alcohol and the crooning voice of the house singer, Melissa Something-or-other. She sang of times past and loves lost, while the people sitting at the table talked quietly beneath her high notes. Misao Makimachi, Katie's close friend and coworker, brushed past Katie as she served a beer to a young man at the end of the bar.
"Hey Katie," she said in her high-pitched voice, smiling brilliantly as her long black braid whipped around from the base of her head. She was very petite, though Katie wasn't one to talk, but very spirited and that more than made up for her height. Bouncing around behind the bar, she served a martini to a woman whose age Kaoru couldn't begin to guess, her face slathered in make-up.
"Hey Misao," Katie said, looking around for something to do. A man slid onto a barstool right near her, and Katie rushed to serve him.
"What's your name, Sugar?" he asked in a gruff voice. He grinned, his teeth yellow and crooked. Katie leaned in, smiling and winking.
"None of your business," she said. "What'll it be?"
"Her name's Katie Jones, if you must know. Here's her number, give her a call," Misao said, grinning and giggling as she held out a business card with Katie's number scribbled on it.
"Misao! I'm dating Akemi now, remember?" Katie yelled, snatching the card before the grinning man could grab it. He scowled but laughed in good spirits and ordered some brandy. Katie went to go serve it up, when she heard the hostess, Amy, talking rather loudly with a customer.
"I'm sorry, there's no 'Kaoru Himura' here. Yes, I'm sure," Amy said, her frizzy blond hair falling out of its bun as she shook her head. Katie froze, glass full of brandy in hand. She looked over to where Amy stood at the desk, but couldn't see the person asking about Kaoru. I haven't heard that name in so long… she thought, trying to get a glimpse of the person.
"Hey, Miss, my brandy?" the grinning man called.
"I'm positive, sir. There is no Kaoru Himura here. Now are you gonna come in and order something or not?" Amy said, hand on her hip.
"Miss! My brandy?"
"Fine, I'll check. Hey Rob, we got a Kaoru Himura here?" Amy turned to yell into the kitchen. Katie strained her neck, but the person was still out of sight.
"No, you lunatic. Back to your job, slacker!" Rob yelled from the kitchen. Amy scowled and turned back to the person who she blocked from Katie's sight, which was saying something about the person because Amy or her desk weren't very big.
"You heard him, sir." Apparently, the person left because Amy called out in a cheery voice, "Come again!" and the door pinged.
"My brandy?"
"Oh, here!" Katie said, slamming the glass on the bar, some of it sloshing out and onto the wood. She was about to tear off her apron and march over to Amy when Misao came at her in a run.
"I gotta go to the bathroom, Katie. Can you please cover for me for a minute?" Misao danced in front of her, a bead of sweat running down her forehead. Katie nodded and walked over to the newest customer at the bar.
Kaoru… a name I hoped never to hear again. This can only mean trouble…
"Miss! More brandy!"
Later...
It felt good to sit down and settle into the cushion of the barstool after her shift. She was numb to everything around her. The door pinging, Melissa singing, Misao saying goodbye as her shift ended. She fingered the bottle of beer in front of her, lifting it to her lips.
My past is coming back to haunt me… Katie thought, letting the liquid flow down her throat and settle into her stomach. God, everything I've worked for- everything I've given up. Have they found me? Have they found us?
"You bastard," she said out loud, slamming her beer down onto the bar. She had a particular baka in mind, one that haunted her dreams and tortured her heart. He had given her everything, but broke her heart in two, to protect her. "Yeah, right," she said with a drunken snort, the sting of the alcohol burning her nose.
"Who you talking to?" a soft voice asked, and Katie spun around to meet soft blue eyes. The brown-haired young man slid into the bar stool beside her, resting a hand on her waist and smiling.
"No one. Hey Akemi," Katie said, leaning forward to kiss him softly on the lips.
"I can't stay long. I've got a night watch tonight on the force. I just thought I'd visit my favorite girl," he said with a smirking grin.
"I better be your only girl," Katie said with a matching smirk, scooting her stool closer to his so she could hug him. Resting her forehead on his shoulder, she sighed as his hands stroked her back gently.
"You know you are." She lifted her head to meet his warm gaze, kissing him again. He looked down at his watch, scowling. "I better go. My partner, you know, Chad, gets all cross when I don't show up on time."
"Yeah, I know. Bye Akemi." She rose to say good bye, wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing him. She leaned her forehead against his, sighing contentedly.
"I'll call you tomorrow, okay Katie?"
"Okay."
She watched his retreating figure leave the bar, the door pinging his final goodbye. She smiled wistfully and sunk back down onto the bar stool. For the few months she had been dating him, Katie really cared for Akemi. He was sweet, and knew she had been hurt in the past, and was patient enough to give her time. It had been hard to date again, her heart still mending from the last terrible break.
Minutes passed like hours, but she didn't feel like returning to her silent apartment just yet. She ordered another beer, running her finger along the rim. The door kept pinging, again and again, people coming in and out. Once again she was in her own world, staring down at the pattern of the wood of the bar.
Kaoru…
I gave you up to be Katie…
I had to…
Kaoru…
Kaoru…
"Kaoru…"
She froze. Her blood ran cold, her thoughts came in a jumbled mess.
"I don't know anyone by that name," she said, hoping it was a coincidence, a horrible coincidence.
"Sano said he saw you here. But that hostess said you weren't here. I knew better, Kaoru. I've come home. I've come home…"
It was a too familiar voice, soft and deep and enchanting. No, no, no! He couldn't just come back and ruin everything. She hated him, she had Akemi, he was a bastard and a liar and an idiot and everything horrible. He was the reason she was Katie, the reason Kenji was Jake.
There was nowhere to run. Katie turned slowly on the stool, to meet those deep amethyst eyes that haunted her and called to her.
"Kenshin…"
To be continued...
A/N: Hope you liked it! I just wanted to tell you right out that Katie wasn't an OC because sometimes people don't like to read about OC's. Anyway, it's supposed to be confusing right now- it'll make sense soon. Ooh, the mystery. Please review! I love hearing your opinions and comments. See you next time.
Preview:
"I told you to stay away, Kenshin!" Katie screamed, slamming the door in his face.
"I want to see my son, Kaoru." His voice came through the door, and she felt tears well up in her eyes.
"Don't call me that!"
