It was late afternoon, and Meryl's back was beginning to hurt from the bumpy bus ride. She had snagged the window seat, a rare feat any time a certain stupid, idiotic, moronic, useless legendary ace gunman was involved. She watched the desert pass by as she gazed out of the window. There had been a stop about an hour back and Meryl had held her breath the entire time, wondering if Vash might just take the opportunity and bail on her. He could have gotten up, thrown her things out of his bag, and left her forever.
He didn't, though.
He just sat there, one long leg jutting out into the aisle, the other hopelessly crammed into the small area between their seat and the next, moving only to let other passengers get by. Something about him staying made her...kind of angry. She probably looked like she was doing anything but paying attention to him, but in reality, she found herself hyper-focused on him. She couldn't help herself, and that pissed her off. All he had to do was turn to her and say...anything, really. Yes, she was mad, really mad, and she was being tough, but that didn't mean she wouldn't give the man a chance to plead his case...to make a case...
The desert began to change, bit by bit. Every once in a while, a little house or building would crop up. They were getting closer to December.
Maybe she was being too hard on him. Maybe she didn't really know what she wanted. Make a case? For what? He was right there and it was messing with her head the idea that a week and a half ago, she would have given her right arm to have Vash all to herself for an extended period of time.
The houses began to become more densely packed as they approached the city. Meryl thought some of the buildings looked familiar, but didn't really think too much about it.
Was he trying to drive her crazy? Why had she even asked him that? Did she really want to know? Was she prepared for him to say that he really didn't want anything from her? He had the opportunity to say just that. She had stupidly opened herself up for humiliation and devastation. She just couldn't help it, though. Seeing him there, beaten and bloody, telling her that she didn't know him at all, even after all this time: it had done something to her. \She had assumed they were friends, potentially more, even, but hearing that, well... Maybe she didn't know him at all. Maybe all this time she thought she had been getting closer to him, but in reality, he had just been being nice.
The houses were even more packed together now. It looked like a suburb of the city...and it almost reminded her of...
Suddenly, she knew where she was, and she desperately wanted off the bus. She stood up quickly, not caring that Vash and the other passengers were startled by her sudden movement, shouting at the bus driver, "Can you let us off here please, sir?"
"What?" the bus driver shouted.
She took the opportunity to climb over a still-stunned Vash and she made her way to the front of the bus. "Please, let us off the bus, now," she pleaded.
The bus driver looked at her, unsure, but did indeed slow the bus to a stop. The passengers grumbled. "Anybody else getting off needs to do it now." He looked pointedly at Vash, who was still dumbstruck by Meryl's outburst.
Meryl looked at Vash, then hopped off the bus, making a bee-line down the street she obviously was well acquainted with. Weren't they supposed to be going to December? What were they doing stopping here? It was all Vash could do to grab his duffle bag and scramble off the bus, apologizing to the other passengers as he exited the bus.
The bus pulled away quickly and Vash found himself a good two blocks behind Meryl. He took a deep breath, then decided to follow her. She walked quickly and confidently down the street, made a right, walked two blocks, made a left, and then walked up to a two-story Victorian house with a wrap-around porch and a swing in the front. By this time, Vash had gained a little ground and had basically caught up with the young woman.
Vash watched as she jogged up to the front door and knocked. She waited for a few moments, then knocked again. She rang the doorbell, but nobody answered. Meryl seemed disappointed and a little concerned as she stepped back and looked at the door for a long while. He was just about to ask what they were doing there when she went to the rock garden on the side of the house and selected a particular small boulder. She looked around to make sure no one else was watching. Then she hefted it over to reveal the small compartment hollowed out underneath. In the hollowed-out place, she withdrew a key.
Was this...her house?
Meryl quickly made her way back to the front door and unlocked it. She pushed it open cautiously, then stepped inside. "Mom?" she called out in a voice that sounded a bit nervous. "Hey Mom, it's me, Meryl," she stated as she went inside, leaving Vash in the front yard alone.
Meryl was trying to remain calm, but the longer she went without an answer, the more frantic she was becoming. By the appearance of the furniture and the heavy coating of dust on the counters, the house had been empty for some time. Meryl's mind immediately assumed the worst. She checked through the first floor, noting that there were still preserves and food ration packets in the cupboard. No furniture was overturned, there was no sign of forced entry.
She apprehensively approached the stairs, slightly afraid of what she might find on the upper floor. She jumped a little as Vash came through the front door, looking concerned. She didn't want to admit it, but him being there strengthened her enough to continue investigating.
She began climbing the stairs slowly, watching for anything that was out of place along the way. She made it to the landing and noticed that the flowers her mother always kept in a small vase at the top of the stairs had withered and died a long time ago. The vase was bone dry and two dead twigs stuck out at odd angles. Shriveled petals littered the tabletop.
Meryl moved around the table to investigate the rooms. First, she checked her room. Everything was just as she had left it when she went off to college. Nothing was out of place. She then checked the master bedroom, her mother's room. She approached slowly, cautiously, and rested her hand on the doorknob, not really wanting to look inside for what she might find. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to be calm as she swung the door open. The room was empty.
It wasn't entirely empty. The furniture was still there, but the whole room had the feel of a place that had been abandoned. The pictures on the wall had been removed, leaving residual dark areas on the wall paper where the suns couldn't bleach. Meryl walked into the room and took a look around. Her mother's dresser had been cleared off. Neither her knicknacks nor her jewelry box remained. She opened the drawers of the dresser: all her mother's clothes were gone. Meryl then looked in the closet: the place had been cleared out. Her mother's suitcase, a blue one much like Meryl's old pink suitcase, was missing.
Meryl was starting to feel slightly creeped out by the emptiness of the room. In a rush, she left, closing the door behind her, and made her way downstairs. She heard voices in the front room, and as she approached, she recognized one as belonging to Vash. The other one was familiar...
"What do you mean you're with Meryl! Who are you!" she heard a voice exclaim. As Meryl entered the room, the voice suddenly gasped. "Oh my dear Meryl!" It was an older woman about four inches taller than Meryl: Ms. Kenley from next door. The woman gave Meryl a once-over, a horror-stricken look on her face. "What has happened to you?" The woman worked her mouth, trying to get words out. "I am so glad your mother isn't here to see you like this. Are you alright?" Ms. Kenley looked between Meryl and Vash, then back to Meryl again.
Meryl remembered what she must look like, especially with Vash in tow, but she was more concerned with finding out what had happened to her mother than explaining her current appearance. "My mom, is she alright? Where is she?" Meryl asked frantically.
Ms. Kenley looked confused. "You don't...know?"
Meryl shook her head. "I haven't visited or written much, not since Dad died..." Meryl felt dread and guilt sieze her. "Do you know where my mother is?
She saw Meryl's expression of unadulterated fear and realization dawned on Ms. Kenley's face. "Oh my dear girl, your mother is fine!" she said, trying to calm Meryl down. "I got a letter a few weeks ago letting me know she is alright." Ms. Kenley moved closer and placed a reassuring hand on Meryl's shoulder.
Meryl was confused. "You got a letter?" she asked.
Ms. Kenley nodded. "Yes, she told me she would write when she got settled into her new place."
"Her new place? Where is it?" Meryl questioned.
Ms. Kenley looked a little troubled. "I...don't know exactly. There was no return address on the letter." Ms. Kenley looked thoughtful. "She must have been spooked pretty badly by that ambush a few months ago. That's when she moved."
"Ambush! What?" Meryl practically shouted.
"Oh my," Ms. Kenley sighed. "Come, let's sit down and I'll tell you all about it."
Ms. Kenley shot a suspicious glance over at Vash, then took Meryl by the hand and led her into the sitting room. Then Ms. Kenley shut the door, leaving Vash outside. He got the message: this didn't pertain to him. He was too tired to try to listen in on the conversation. At least he knew Meryl's mother was alright.
Vash sighed as he looked around. This house was beginning to look like a thousand other abandoned homes he had seen throughout his travels. He didn't like it at all...especially with the occasional photo of Meryl as a young child that hung on the wall. He found it all extremely unsettling.
He needed to get out of here. Meryl was okay, and probably didn't want to deal with him anyway. In truth, he really wasn't sure he wanted to deal with Meryl. And he thought he'd seen a bar on the way over here...
"So, what are you doing back here?" Ms. Kenley finally asked.
Meryl sighed. "I have to report back to the central office in December for my new assignment. The current one has been...compromised. The bus we took just happened to come through this neighborhood and I thought it would be nice to pay a visit...and get cleaned up...before showing up at the office."
Ms. Kenley looked Meryl over again. "I see... But...why do you look so...torn up?"
Meryl thought quick. "I'm...really not at liberty to say. Official business. Sometimes it's dangerous..."
Ms. Kenley knew Meryl was a top investigation agent at Bernardelli's and assumed Meryl couldn't talk about some of her cases. The organization was less like a normal insurance company and more like a government agency. How else could they have the funds to cover all of that Stampede's messes?
"Well," Ms. Kenley started, "it's getting to be about dinner time. Would you and your...partner, I assume, like to come over to my house for dinner this evening?"
Meryl was a little confused until she realized Ms. Kenley must be talking about Vash. "Oh, no...I wouldn't want to impose."
"It's no trouble at all!" the older woman exclaimed.
"No, really, I'd like to spend some time here, if that's alright. I want to see what Mom left and make sure it is safely packed away."
Ms. Kenley sighed, "Well, if you change your mind, I am right next door." She got up to leave. "It really is good to see you again, Meryl, though I wish you were visiting under happier circumstances."
Meryl laughed humorlessly, "Well, that's what I get for never writing, I guess."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Ms. Kenley insisted. "Your mother is so proud of you and she knows you are working hard. We all know you try your best."
"Thanks," Meryl said as the two women stood up. As she walked Ms. Kenley to the door, Meryl noticed Vash was nowhere to be seen. Ms. Kenley noticed as well.
"Where did that partner of yours run off to?" she asked Meryl.
"I don't know..." Meryl said as she looked around. Her eyes fell on the black bag propped up against the wall by the door and she couldn't help but feel relieved. "I know he'll be back soon, though."
A/N: Alright, you good people have been waiting for ages for an update and all I give to you is more exposition. Curses to Inkydoo! I will try to post the next chapter quickly, though, like...within the next week. And I PROMISE that there will be some Vash and Meryl resolution in the next chapter. SERIOUSLY FOLKS!
Please review! Thanks to all of you who have been reviewing! It's good to know people are still reading this story!