Chapter Two, Mullet Makes Amends
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When Roy opened the window, he said, voice full of venom,
"What the heck do you want?"
"
Roy looked at Mullet Fingers with furious disbelief etched onto his features. His grip on the window tightened, threatening to crack the glass beneath his now-white fingers.
"Like hell you do!"
Mullet Fingers raised his eyebrows in surprise, but said nothing about it, lest he incensed Roy more.
"Look, will you just give me a chance, at least?" Mullet pleaded, refusing to cower from the scary appearance Roy cast.
"You had your chance, those years ago, to pop up and 'explain' yourself! When I finally get over your stupid, hurtful scheme of using me to help you save those owls is not when you should have came back to try and make amends!"
"But I never used you!" Mullet said in surprise, flabbergasted. Roy growled beneath his breath. They both froze when they heard footsteps outside of Roy's closed door.
"Roy, dear, are you alright in there?" Mrs. Eberhardt called through the door, knocking quietly against it. Roy gulped, and yelled,
"I'm fine, mom, just… talking to someone on the telephone," He lied, hoping to whatever gods there were that his mother took the bait.
"…Okay honey, but try to get some sleep, would you?" She asked tiredly, and with that, she walked off. Roy let out a sigh of relief, and turned back to Mullet, glaring though his anger had dampened a bit.
"Don't you dare lie to me and expect me to believe that you distanced yourself from me to help me!" He said in a quieter tone than before, though his gritted teeth and expression spoke volumes.
"But I did keep from you to help you, honest!" Mullet said, holding his hands in front of him in defense. Roy rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, how?"
"After Mother Paula's, you remember how smothering my mom was, right?"
Roy just stared, folding his arms across his chest.
"Well, after I ran off, since she was using me for publicity all the time, B told me that she swore that the next time she saw me, she'd skin my hide and get the 'other hooligan' who helped me keep my cover." Mullet explained, sitting against the windowsill.
Roy wanted to believe it, but slowed himself.
"What about Beatrice, then? She helped you, so wouldn't that mean she would get 'her hide skinned' too?"
Mullet smiled a sad smile.
"You know how she went to Kentucky for the summer?"
Roy said nothing but nodded his head hesitantly. He was wondering where Mullet was going with this.
"She didn't go there because she wanted a vacation. Well, I guess you could say she needed a vacation… from my mother and stepfather."
Mullet stared in surprise as Beatrice stumbled into his new hiding spot in an abandoned shoe warehouse hidden in the Everglades. She was worse for wear, to say the least. Her one eye was a sickly green-yellow, which meant that it had once been a black eye, and she had random bruises and cuts that marred her body. It looked like her right wrist was smarting; by the way she cradled it against her chest with her good wrist was an indication.
"Beatrice… what the heck happened to you?" Mullet gasped out once he collected himself.
"Your mom happened, that's what," She spat ruefully, frowning sadly as she looked like she was about to cry. Beatrice hardly ever cried, and when Mullet saw her eyes water up, he gently pulled her into a sitting position next to him, gently hugging her to him. She was shaking a bit, and she bit her lip when Mullet accidentally touched a bruise on her side.
"Mullet, you'd better lay as low as a damned snake, you hear? They're both out lookin' for you, and thank god they don't know where Roy lives, or who he is for that matter. It finally pays off to have parents who can't be bothered to read the Coconut Cove papers," She smiled bitterly, and plowed on.
"I can only go off during the summers, to my Aunt Millie in Paducah, but I'll deal with the time I have to spend at home when I go to school. Besides, I only have a few more years of school. Even then, I can see if Aunt Millie will let me stay with her and transfer schools, regardless of what mom may say in defense." She took in a breath, and released it slowly.
"The only thing that's worryin' me is you. Are you going to be okay without me here to make sure you stay in line?" She asked, only half teasing. Mullet shook his head in disbelief at his stepsister and partner-in-crime.
"How could you ask me that? Of course I'll be fine, you should be worrying about getting yourself out of that Devil's Hole!"
She smiled in adoration at her stepbrother, and two fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she gave a sobbing sigh. Despite her stinging wounds, she wrapped her arms tight around Mullet Fingers, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
"Just promise me that you'll keep Roy safe, if I ever do get to leave Coconut Cove. Promise me that, and I'll leave without a heavy heart or a complaining conscience."
"Of course, B. Roy's done so much for us, I don't want to get him involved in this mess my crazy mom's created."
Beatrice had left for Kentucky that summer, as well as the next, and the next.
Roy gaped at Mullet Fingers, at loss of what to say. Mullet just offered a grim smile in return.
"After this summer, she's not coming back to Coconut Cove, Roy."
Roy looked down, suddenly overwhelmed with guilt and humiliation.
"Is she… did it get any worse?" He asked hesitantly, not sure if he would like the answer or not.
"The only other thing aside from bruises, cuts, and sprains was the one burn she got when my insane witch of a mother shoved B against the stove, which had been on not too long before. She had grabbed for the top of it, and the metal was red-hot, so…" He trailed off, his eyes looking into the distance as he remembered.
"…I'm… I'm sorry…" Roy said uncertainly, glancing to the side as he scratched the back of his head.
"It's not your fault at all, and besides, one of us shoulda told you after so many years of avoiding you," Mullet said apologetically, gently fisting Roy's shoulder. Roy smiled, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"So what were you doing where I was that day I found you in the brush?"
Mullet turned a feverish red, and for a moment, Roy worried for the boy's health.
"N-Nothing," The Mullet finally stuttered out, tensing up and turning even redder.
Roy furrowed his eyebrows at the strange outcast, but thought nothing much of it.
"So…" Roy said awkwardly, leaning up against his bedroom wall as he stared at Mullet Fingers from the corner of his eyes. "What's your next big environmentalist project you're concocting?"
Mullet Fingers raised his dirty-blonde eyebrows up so high that they disappeared in his fringe.
"What makes you think I have another plan up my sleeves?" He asked, fidgeting in his place on the metal frame of the windowsill. He wasn't in danger of falling; Roy's bedroom was on the first floor, so there was only a five-foot drop, at most.
"Well, don't you always have something of the sort to help the animals? It's what you live for," Roy said frankly, turning his head to meet Mullet's crystal-blue eyes.
"I live for the moment, you moron," Mullet laughed, crossing his legs Indian-style. "But… as far as animal-saving escapades go, I haven't thought or seen anything that I could…involve myself with, so to speak," Mullet flashed his teeth in a grin, and Roy rolled his eyes with a fond smile.
"So do you still hide out in that abandoned shoe factory, or did you find yourself another place to crash?" Roy asked after a moment's pause. Mullet shrugged.
"I'm just around. I have no permanent hangout, and you should know that," Mullet chuckled, and continued. "I am still in that shoe factory, though,"
He got up from the sill, and vaulted himself down onto the ground outside. Roy, startled, leaned out of the window to stare at Mullet Fingers.
"Where're you going?" He asked, sounding desperate.
"Back to my 'home'," Mullet sniggered, "Besides, I wouldn't want to impose," He said conversationally, putting a hand on his hip. Roy huffed in disbelief.
"When did I ever say you were imposing on my time?" He asked, staring hard at the nature-boy.
Mullet smiled up at him.
"Never, but since you didn't invite me into your bedroom, I'd figured you were waiting for me to run along, so here I am,"
Roy seemed to panic for a second.
"No, please Mullet, don't go—"
"Don't worry, Tex," Mullet began, winking slyly at the brunette. "This isn't goodbye. Not by far."
Though Roy felt a blush crawl up his face, he asked, "Well, how will I find you again?"
"I'll find you." He said simply, turning around to face the darkened woods. The owls and other nighttime creatures seemed to be calling to their friend to usher him into the night.
"How do I know you're telling me the—"
"Roy Eberhardt," Mullet Fingers interrupted, turning on his heel to look hard at the Montana-loving 'cowgirl'. "I promise you that I'll be back to see you within this week."
Roy felt clammed up, so he just slunk on his windowsill and watched glumly as the back of his 'crush' retreated, the dark of the night swallowing every delicious, caramel-colored inch of him up, much to Roy's disappointment.
Slipping down against his wall, Roy felt depression, loneliness, and frustration sink into the marrow of his bones. Okay, so Mullet Fingers promised him that he would see him within this week? We'll see if he keeps his word on that one.
Darn, Roy thought, for a simpleton, that Mullet Fingers is definitely some enigma.
Voila, the second installment of "Making Amends"! I liked the last sentence of this chapter, hah. I couldn't resist adding it.
Well, I've been getting one or two reviews asking about whether I would make this story any longer than what I said before, which was around five chapters. I'm sorry to say that no, this won't be looking forward to a lifespan longer than, at maximum, six chapters. For one, the plot will slowly wilt and die in time, which will lose readers' interest, and two; I've got another story to think about. I began "The Phoenix Bond" way before any ideas for "Making Amends" popped up in my head, so I owe it to that story, as well as its 'fans' to keep at it and complete that story before thinking about writing another full-length fan fiction.
I'm not promising this, but there is a small possibility that I'll write another RoyxMullet fan fiction that'll be full-out full-length slashyness. I'm disappointed that there aren't many RoyxMullet fan fics out there, so I'll add my contributions to the cute couple by writing a few one shots and maybe one long story. Grins
Well, that's all for now. I just wrote up this chapter because I'm waiting for my beta to send me the corrected seventh chapter of my Harry Potter story to me to be posted up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember the thing about reviews making the whole writing process go by much faster!
Sincerely,
Inkyish.