There Are Angels In Hell
Chapter 2
- Wednesday Is a Blessed Day -
Linael looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. She was done just in time! She opened the bakery and stood behind the counter, waiting for her first customers to come.
A few minutes later, children entered with their mothers. She served them, offering them her sweetest smile as she secretly envied them and their good mood.
They didn't know yet how much life could hurt.
Devon's voice brought her back to reality.
"Lina! There's an order for today!"
Her face lit up as she checked the schedule; indeed, it was Wednesday, she had to be at Wammy's House at 2 P.M.
"Alright Devon, I'll take care of that."
Thankfully, they never talked to each other during the day, only on the evening, when Devon came to count how much money his daughter had earned.
Yesterday was a particularly bad day; Devon started partying before the end of the day and he was already drunk when she closed the bakery.
He yelled at her; she didn't bring enough money in his opinion.
'I'll make you work the streets if you're unable to run the shop!'
These were the tender words he told her before he hit her. A large bruise had appeared from her cheekbone to the corner of her eye.
She had beautiful green eyes and people often complimented her on her large emerald eyes, but it was still hard not to pay attention to the purple stain under her skin.
Unfortunately, makeup didn't help and would only make it worse...
She prepared the order, filling the carts with a bunch of boxes containing sweets, cakes and so on.
At 1 P.M she adjusted her hair so it would hide half of her face, dissimulating the bruise, and left the store without saying a word.
Devon didn't care, and if she got killed on her way home, he wouldn't cry for her.
At exactly 2 P.M, she arrived at the orphanage. Watari opened the gates and let her come in, helping her driving one of the carts in the middle of the playground. Children came running from everywhere.
"Lina! Lina! What's in that red box?" A child asked her, tilting his head.
"It is Strawberry cheesecake." She replied, smiling warmly at their enthusiasm.
The kid licked his lip and ran away with the box. Another one who was about her age arrived, his thumb pressed to his lips.
"May I know if there is another Strawberry cheesecake, please?" The boy spoke quietly in a rather deep voice.
Linael nodded.
"Sure." She said, searching through a pile of boxes and got another red box. She quickly opened it, checking the content, then held it out to the tall, thin boy in front of her.
"Here it is!" She happily said.
The boy smiled widely and took the box as though it was the most sacred thing on Earth.
"Thank you very much."
He walked away, his messy jet black hair covering his huge owl eyes. She turned her head and noticed there was another boy who was also around her age, crouched on a bench. His hair was almost pitch black, his skin was as pale as the boy she had just talked to and his eyes were just as large and deep.
Strangely, he didn't seem to be paying attention to his surroundings, he seemed in another world.
Linael tugged on Watari's sleeve to get his attention and nodded towards the boy.
"Why is he all alone?" She asked the old man, whispering.
A sad smile formed on Watari's lips.
"The other children seem to fear him. He's always been alone."
Linael looked back at the other boy with owl eyes who was happily eating the cheesecake she had given him.
"Aren't they brothers?"
Watari followed her gaze and lightly chuckled at her question. He shook his head.
"No, B arrived two years after L. I think he used to consider L as an older brother and started mimicking him and his quirks... Though when he understood why children teased him and called him 'Backup', because L was the top student and B was the second, he started considering L as his rival."
Linael's eyes went from L to B and vice versa, silently comparing their appearance, their expressions. Both seemed quite reserved, but B looked way more withdrawn into himself.
She could almost sense his loneliness. She knew pretty well what it felt like to be rejected by other children, this had been her case when she was a child; kids thought she was weird, they thought she wasn't 'normal' and they believed she was cursed, so they avoided her.
Watari had explained her how things worked in Wammy's House, why the kids had an alias, he explained her they were all gifted kids.
Sometimes, she really wished she was one of those kids, mostly because she would have lived away from her father...
After a short silence, she smiled up at Watari.
"I'll see if he wants to eat something."
The old man nodded and watched her walk towards B. He almost told her it was useless to try and talk to him; B lived in a shell, he had built a fort around him and wouldn't let anyone enter his world, but Watari remained quiet. Deep inside, he actually hoped the girl would be able to get something out of B; after all, she was the only girl his age, maybe he would at least accept to talk to her, to give her a chance.
A presence caught Watari's attention; L was standing beside him, looking at B and Linael who was sitting down next to him on the bench.
"What is she trying to do?" The young man asked.
Watari sighed before speaking.
"Comforting him."
"Oh."
L looked for a moment, then shrugged, grabbed a box of cupcakes and went back to his spot to eat.
Indeed, he seriously doubted that a stranger could get Beyond Birthday to speak, yet he didn't have the right to judge her so soon. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his head and enjoyed his cupcakes.
Linael sat down by B's side, though he didn't even glance at her. He simply ignored her. She bit her lip and looked down, feeling like B's aura was literally crushing her.
His heavy, impassive gaze rather intimidated her, it made her feel as ridiculous as a mouse in front of a dinosaur. After a brief silence, she gathered her courage and cleared her throat.
"H-Hey. Hm... I was wondering, is there something you'd like to eat?"
She gestured towards the carts as she spoke.
The boy raised an eyebrow as though he found it funny that someone was actually trying to talk to him. His thumb against his lips, he barely looked at her, just acknowledging her presence and looked back ahead of him, still not saying a word. Linael blushed and nervously rubbed her arm in embarrassment.
"I-If there's not what you like, I could make some for you, that's not a problem." She shyly offered, giving the mysterious, intriguing boy a timid smile.
Beyond glanced at the cart, though she couldn't see it since his hair was blocking her view.
Apparently, she didn't bring his favorite treat. Well, he couldn't blame her, he was extremely picky when it came to food anyway.
Linael eventually stood up. She was about to apologize for disturbing him when a voice broke the unbearable silence. A male voice. B's voice.
"Why?"
Three letters. A single word. Which actually formed a question.
Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of B's voice. It was calm, it sounded a lot like L's, but a little bit deeper even though he was supposed to be younger than L.
Though, she blinked, as stupid as it may sound, she didn't really understand B's question.
He glanced up at her and probably noticed her confused look since he let out an annoyed sigh.
"Why do you care about what I like?"
She shivered at the sound of his voice again. Was she receptive because she wasn't used to be around boys?
Yet, she didn't know what to reply. What kind of question was that anyway?
"I... I don't know. This is my job, I guess."
B lightly tilted his head to the side, not seeming very satisfied by that answer. Though, he shrugged it off.
"Jam. Strawberry jam." He bluntly said and looked straight ahead again.
Linael smiled widely and nodded. She should have expected him to like Strawberry... Like L. She slightly bowed.
"Alright! Next time I'll bring you homemade Strawberry jam, I promise!"
This said, she walked back to Watari, who gave her a rather surprised look.
"Did he... Actually speak to you?"
Linael chuckled.
"Not a lot. But now I know he likes Strawberry jam."
