"That's bullshit." Amethyst immediately archived Garnet's information under "BS", not believing for a second that Peridot would be able to kill anyone. "What the fuck has Pearl been smoking?"
"I don't know all the details." Garnet explained, trying to weave in and out of the traffic as fast as she could. "That's why I want to get there before anyone else."
"What, so you can lock my girlfriend up yourself?" The spite was clear in Amethyst's voice.
Garnet took one hand off of the wheel and punched the dash of her cruiser, effectively leaving a dent in the plastic. Her knuckles were bleeding, but she didn't care. "So you can comfort her, dammit!"
That stunned Amethyst to silence. She didn't expect calm and collected Garnet to lose her cool like this. After a few minutes of no response from the silver haired girl, Garnet sighed, turning a corner to make her way downtown. There was less traffic in this area, so she picked up the pace. She couldn't go too fast because of the slow falling snow, though.
"I don't know what's going to happen to her." She admitted. "That's why you need to be there for her. From what I can guess, she used Pearl's gun. Meaning Pearl was being assaulted at some point, and Peridot was just trying to defend her. If that's the case, then maybe, just maybe, we can get her in a cell with you. At least that way, she'll have you to comfort her."
"She won't go to jail." Amethyst argued, surprising Garnet. "Her mom has way too much power in this city. I don't think she'd let Peri rot with me in my cell."
"You don't get what I'm saying, Amethyst." Garnet slowed to a stop. They had reached the edge of the street where the accident happened. She exited the vehicle and opened Amethyst's door, looking down at her as she did. "She needs you more than anyone right now.."
Amethyst just nodded. She didn't really get that she could be the light to Peridot's darkness at the moment, but she didn't question it anymore. She just stepped out of the police car and started walking down the street.
"Should.. Should I stay here?" Dr. Maheswaran asked, not moving from her seat. Garnet shook her head.
"I think Pearl's nose is broken. She can tell you everything while you patch her up."
"And you?"
Garnet crossed her arms and leaned against the police car. "I'll go in about half an hour. They need their time."
Amethyst walked slowly. The crowd that had been there previously seems to have dispersed. The rest of the homeless waiting for their food left after serving themselves. That was understandable, though. After all, there was a dead body with empty eyes in the middle of the road.
"Ah, shit.." Amethyst muttered, standing over the corpse. His skin was already turning pale from the blood loss. His eyes were still open, and the bullet wound in his chest was clearly visible. The pool of blood under him seems to have dried. The snow that fell into the iron filled liquid took longer than usual to melt.
"Oh my god.." Amethyst turned to see that Dr. Maheswaran had followed her, hand over her mouth as she stared at the body.
"Crazy, right doc?" Amethyst asked, hiding her worry with humor. It did little to help either of them. Dr. Maheswaran kneeled beside the body. She didn't have any gloves, so she could only inspect the wound by sight, but it was enough.
"He must have died instantly.. If not, just a few seconds after being shot."
"How can you tell?" Amethyst asked.
"The bullet hit his heart. I wish I had some gloves to make certain, but some arteries must have been torn. Your girlfriend has a hell of an aim."
"Peridot didn't do this." Amethyst stated angrily. Priyanka stood back up again and looked at Amethyst to see that her hands were balled into fists, shaking at her sides. "She couldn't have done this.."
"You'd be surprised at what people do when they're scared." Amethyst didn't answer. Instead, she walked past the body, followed by Priyanka.
When she reached the door to her apartment, she found that it was already unlocked. She couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. Taking a deep breath, she let herself in.
After hugging Peridot on the ground outside, Pearl slowly brought her to her feet, instructing the other homeless people to serve themselves so that they would be able to get in the house and out of the cold. They all understood, but neither of them really had much of an appetite anymore. So they just left.
Now they sat in the living room of Amethyst's apartment, on the couch. Pearl had one arm around Peridot as a comforting object, and her other hand held a towel up to her bloody nose.
"Evewy thig will be o'ay, Perdot." Pearl said, trying to reassure the blonde girl. Though she cursed herself, irritated with the fact that she couldn't speak clearly. It didn't even hurt anymore. Who knows? Maybe it wasn't broken and just having her face slammed against the counter over and over just temporarily crippled it, thus crippling her speech. No. It was definitely broken. She decided to not speak until she absolutely had to.
When she heard the door open, she jumped a little, hoping to God that it wasn't the police. At the sight of Amethyst, though, Pearl smiled. "Abethys.."
"Holy shit, P.." Amethyst's first sight was Pearl and the bloody towel held up to her nose. Dr. Maheswaran inched passed the silver haired girl, and upon seeing Pearl's condition, immediately went to her side.
While Pearl got checked out by Dr. Maheswaran, Peridot moved on her own for the first time she's done since the incident. She lifted her head to look at Amethyst, and her girlfriend smiled.
"Hey Peri.." Amethyst whispered, placing the back of her hand on her hip, closing her apartment door with the other. "You holding up okay?"
Peridot didn't respond. She just turned her head back to its previous position, staring at nothing, hugging her knees to her chest. Amethyst sighed and sat next to Peridot, hands in her lap. She wanted to hug the grieving girl, but she couldn't. At least, she didn't think she should. Not yet.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Amethyst asked, and Peridot shook her head. She responded, at least.
"Do you need anything? Water? I have water."
Peridot opened her mouth to speak, but a loud crack filled the room instead. Peridot covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly, practically jumping in Amethyst's lap. Amethyst immediately wrapped her arms around Peridot protectively, glaring daggers at Dr. Maheswaran and Pearl.
"Ow, shit.." Pearl groaned, dancing in place as she held her nose. Dr. Maheswaran had just set the bone back in its place.
"You're still going to need a splint." She informed Pearl, tears in her eyes at the pain. "Honestly, you're lucky the man was so deprived of his strength. If he had been well fed before, you'd probably need surgery."
"Helluva noise you made, P.." Amethyst stated with a low tone. Pearl looked to where Peridot lay in Amethyst's lap, and Priyanka followed her gaze.
"Oh dear.." Priyanka put a hand to her mouth, appalled at seeing Peridot in such a state of fear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.." She trailed off.
Amethyst sighed and nodded at the doctor. She knew Priyanka didn't mean any harm. It really did seem like Peridot killed that man.
"Hey Peri..?" Amethyst said quietly, gently, to the girl in her lap. Slowly, she pulled Peridot's hand away from her ear so that she could speak to her clearly. "Let's go get you in the shower, okay? Might make you feel better."
Peridot nodded against Amethyst's chest, but she made no move to get up.
"You want me to carry you?" Another nod, and arms snaked around Amethyst's neck. Alrighty then. Amethyst held Peridot by her legs and stood from the couch. She was lucky that her girlfriend was so light. She looked at Pearl and Priyanka. "Can you guys wait outside and.. I dunno, try to stall anyone that tries to come in?"
"Of course.." Priyanka said with a smile, and Pearl nodded. "Our limit is being threatened to get arrested, though."
Amethyst grinned. "Fair enough." She then started to carry Peridot to the bathroom. She figured that she could get Peridot's clothes while she stood in the shower. Or sat. Whichever she felt like.
Coming to the bathroom door, she had to hold Peridot with one hand to open the door. Amethyst walked in and closed the door behind them with her foot, setting Peridot down on the closed toilet seat.
"I'm gonna start the water and go get your clothes, alright? Can you get undressed yourself?" Peridot nodded. She could do that much, at least. Amethyst smiled and gently kissed Peridot's forehead, then went to the tub to start the water, sliding back the transparent door. Despite herself, Peridot felt her lips curl in a small smile.
"You might wanna cover your ears.." Amethyst instructed, and Peridot did so. The following rush of water was muffled because of her hands, and she was grateful. Pearl's nose being popped back into place was a lot worse.
"Alright.." Amethyst seemed content with the water temperature, drying her hand on her sweater. "I'm gonna go get you some clothes, and I'll wait right outside till you're done, alright?"
Amethyst made her way to the door of the bathroom, but Peridot stopped her, clutching to the back of her sweater from where she sat. "Stay with me.."
Those words were so tiny.. so weak. Amethyst could hear the crack in Peridot's voice when she spoke. She looked back to see Peridot staring at her, her eyes begging Amethyst not to leave her. So she didn't.
"Alright, Peri.." She kneeled in front of Peridot, cupping a cheek in her hand. "I'm not going anywhere." Peridot smiled, and that elated Amethyst. She knew what Garnet meant now. "Do you want me to get in the shower with you?" Peridot nodded. "I'm still on my period, you know.."
"I don't care." Peridot whispered. She gripped Amethyst's hand on her cheek. "I need you." And that was that.
The next few minutes were spent in silence. Both girls got undressed, stepped in the shower, and Amethyst helped Peridot get clean. Under normal circumstances, Amethyst would have made a joke about how they weren't having sex at the moment. These weren't normal circumstances.
During the shower, Peridot barely uttered a word. She didn't complain nor seem to care about the blood that occasionally dripped from between Amethyst's legs onto the floor. Amethyst just wanted to help out the one she loved, careful to stay away from any sensitive bits on Peridot's body, like her breasts. She let Peridot wash those herself.
Before they knew it, they were clothed in Amethyst's room, cuddling on her bed. Amethyst had put on a fresh pad and wore different clothes from her closet. Blue jeans and a green tea shirt with Loki from The Avengers above a bowl of cereal. Large yellow letters spelled out "Loki Charms" above his head. This brought a little chuckle from Peridot. Music to Amethyst's ears.
Peridot lay on top of Amethyst wearing a clean purple sweater and khakis that she had brought from her house before, her glasses folded on Amethyst's nightstand. Amethyst had her arms around her girlfriend, breathing gently into her neck as they lay together. Amethyst knew it was short lived, but this was the best possible thing they could do at the moment. For Peridot.
"I killed him.." Peridot whispered suddenly. Other than that phrase, the blonde didn't move an inch. Amethyst was surprised that Peridot actually wanted to talk about it.
"You had to." Amethyst replied, trying to put Peridot's mind at ease. "He was hurting Pearl."
"It was so loud." Peridot ignored Amethyst's words. "I.. I didn't know that was what happened. I can barely remember it."
"Peri?" Peridot was starting to talk nonsense. Amethyst was getting worried for her. Why was she saying all this stuff that didn't make sense?
Peridot took a few breaths to compose herself. She pushed down on the bed, lifting herself so that she could look Amethyst in her eyes, her own eyes filled with tears. "My dad shot my mom, Ame.. Then he shot himself!" Peridot couldn't take it after speaking these words. She fell back to Amethyst, sobbing in her shoulder.
All Amethyst could do was hold the crying girl, staring at the ceiling. That's why Peridot was sent to the orphanage. Amethyst didn't know any of the details, and yet, back then, she was able to bring a smile to Peridot's face. Peridot probably didn't understand it at the time either. That's why she was so torn up now. She took the life of a man, and that was traumatizing in itself, but the noise of the gun made her remember what had happened to her parents.
Amethyst didn't speak. She only started to hum a little tune in Peridot's ear, hoping to ease the poor girl. Over time, Peridot's sobbing slowed to occasional shivers, her body rising and falling as she tried to steady her breath. Then Amethyst closed her eyes and started to sing.
Let's go in the garden..
You'll find something waiting,
Right there where you left it, lying upside down.
Her voice was soft, melancholic. To Peridot, it was as if an angel were whispering in her ear.
When you finally find it,
You'll see how it's faded.
The underside is lighter, when you turn it around.
Everything stays.. Right where you left it.
Everything stays, but it still changes.
Ever so slightly, daily and nightly,
In little ways.. When everything stays.
Amethyst finished singing, opening her eyes to find that Peridot had fallen asleep in her arms. She smiled, closing her eyes again with a sigh as she held her girlfriend more tightly to her.
Amethyst didn't care that the police could come in here at any moment to take Peridot away. Right now, she needed this. They both needed this.
Author's Note:
I admit it. I cried while writing this. You can call me whatever you want, but reading it back, that is damn emotional!
Be on the lookout for the next chapter of Pearl's Rejuvenation.
As always, so long for now.