Hey all. Sorry for the long wait. This one's a bit shorter than the others, but thats because it's a transition. Hope you enjoy!
They sat on the roof in the crisp spring air, the morning sun kissing their skin. B smoked a cigarette slowly, K next to him running her fingers through her hair.
"We sit up here a lot. But I never really take into consideration how dangerous this is." B said, looking downward. "Imagine falling off this thing?"
"That would be unfortunate." K answered, staring down at the long drop.
One would probably hit the branch of the tree beside the house before hitting the ground, and that would be twice as unfortunate. The pair watched as two finches flew out of the tree below them, quickly flying off into the distance. B envied the way the birds could come and go at their leisure, like the wind, they seemed so free. It was lame, but he just wanted to grow wings and fly far away from Wammy's.
"This place is sickening." He spat, playing with his lighter. "... Sometimes I just stare at my lighter and wonder how fast this house would burn if I were to light it up. People underestimate the power of fire... it can reduce something to ashes in literally minutes..."
"Yeah." K said quietly, lightly scratching her arm.
B's finger caught on the metal of his lighter and he breathed in sharply, realizing what he had just said. He should've known better than to talk about fire around K of all people. He turned to her slowly, a look of guilt on his face.
"K, I'm sorry." He sighed, reaching for her hand. "Sometimes I just talk and... I was just rambling."
She wrapped her arms around herself. "Don't. I'm fine." She said, looking out at the yard.
B sighed, puffing smoke out of his mouth.
"It's just..." She started. "The things you say scare me sometimes."
He faced forward again, shaking his head. "There's no reason for you to be scared." He turned back to look at her, smiling. "Everything is fine."
K got a chill down her back as those words left his mouth, as that smile spread wide across his face seeming so eerie. No, she thought, everything was not fine.
…
K dug through her nightstand and pulled out a worn out piece of paper. It was a business card Murphy had given her a few years back when he wanted her to "keep an eye" on B. She went downstairs to the house phone and dialed the number.
"Murphy psychiatry and counseling, how may I help you?"
"Murphy B's acting a little funny..."
"K? Is that you?"
"I didn't know who else to tell, you're his doctor or whatever..."
"Oh? Well tell about this 'acting funny' business."
"He's being like, extremely morbid."
"Isn't he always?" Murphy said, laughing.
"No, more than normal."
"Oh its nothing to worry about." He said dismissively. "Was that all you called me for? It was nice to hear from you, its been a while."
"No you're not listening to me! Somethings happened... something is wrong with him!"
"Well of course something is wrong with him. He's B." He chuckled again. "If he's acting like that I'll just up his medication, that always seems to w-"
She hung up on him.
…
"L?" She knocked on his door softly, causing it to creak open.
"Come in." He said, turning around in his swivel chair to face her.
She looked at his bed, which was perfectly made and looked as if it was never slept in, and then back at L. He was at his desk, sitting in that strange position in his chair. She wondered if he ever left that spot.
"Um, good morning." She said quietly, walking about two feet into the room. "I... had to ask you something."
"Ask away." He said, staring at her with tired dark eyes.
His gaze was unnerving and she broke eye contact with him, looking over at the wall.
"Well, I've been considering something lately, and I was wondering..." She began to play with her hands. "What would happen if I wanted to move out? Would anyone try to stop me?"
L tilted his head, a hint of interest showing on his emotionless face. The expression seemed so foreign. "No one would stop you. Since you're older than sixteen you're free to go wherever you want."
"So that's it? I can just pack up and leave now if I wanted to?"
"Well that wouldn't be very polite, to just leave without saying your goodbyes and such, but technically, yes. You could leave now."
K nodded, a faint smirk forming on her lips.
"There's also bank accounts set up for each of you, naturally. In case you were to ever move out, that account should support you financially for about six months. So you're not out there living on the streets."
"That's actually pretty cool." She said. "We all have one?"
"Well," L said, pausing and looking off to the side. "All of you besides B."
K narrowed her eyes at this, confused.
"Why doesn't B have one?" She asked.
"Was that all you needed to ask me? If so, you can leave because I have some cases I need to finish going over."
"Why do you all treat him like a prisoner?" She pressed. "Don't you understand that's affecting him mentally?"
L turned back around to face his laptop, his stomach twisting into a knot.
"Murphy wouldn't listen to me," K said sadly. "And you're not listening either, L."
"But I am." He responded, staring at the blank screen.
"L he's tried to kill himself." She blurted out, instantly regretting it.
The room was silent.
"And you're asking me about leaving because you want to get him out." L said, staring at her in the reflection of the screen.
"Don't interrogate me if you're not going to help."
"K he can't leave, it's not going to end well."
"Well, newsflash, staying here wont be any better! A is dead. I wont ever see his eyes again because he couldn't be as perfect as L wanted him to be. This institution stole his life from him. Can't you see what this house does to people?" She said, her eyes watering at the thought of the blue eyed boy. "This is hell. I'm not going to let B get his life stolen. If you're not going to help me then stay out of my way."
...
L sat at his desk, staring at the blank computer screen. He could see his reflection in the dark square, and saw a man who looked emaciated, tired, and emotionally drained. To his left were a few plates of untouched sweets, but he couldn't bring himself to eat. Behind that was a framed picture, covered in a thin layer of gray dust. It was of a teenage L, and A and B as young boys. None of them were smiling, just wearing their characteristic blank expressions. A still had baby fat in his face and life in his eyes, before the weight of L looming over him had sucked all of that from him. L put two fingers on the frame and faced the picture down onto the desk, not wanting to look at it any longer. He sighed, uncomfortable with the feelings that were going through him at the moment. He knew he was directly responsible for A's death, and may soon be responsible for another's. He felt like a murderer.
...
"Then leave, get out!" "You're an ungrateful little snob anyways."
"Fine, I will.""And I'll take B with me so you wont have anything to worry about anymore. Everyone you hate so much will be gone!"
"This place is sickening!"
"He can't leave."
That was it. If no one was going to help, then she was going to take matters into her own hands. She was tired of standing by and watching as everything fell apart.
"B, I think we should move out."
"What?"
They had locked themselves in the attic and lay down on that musty old couch. K sat up quickly, causing B to jump.
"We should move out. Haven't you ever thought about it?" She asked.
B narrowed his eyes at her. "K how are we going to do that, we don't even have jobs..."
"Well..." K said slowly putting up a finger, a little smirk forming on her lips. "I hear Whammy has bank accounts set up for all of us for when we move out one day. We can just somehow drain those and..."
"Where will we go?"
"We can take a bus out of town, and find some cheap housing there or something. We can get jobs at a convenience store and have a shitty apartment..." She said, the whole thing vaguely planned out in her head. "It's not ideal, but we can make it work if we try."
B was quiet for a while, he just lay there biting on his thumbnail.
"It sounds possible." He said quietly. "It'll be difficult, I imagine, but anything is better than this hell if you ask me."
"So are you in or are you out?" She asked with a smile. "We need to be free from this prison."
"Im in." He answered, grabbing her hand.
…