"So, what did happen to your face?"
I was on the floor of their room, drawing, when Mello asked the question, hanging over the edge of his bed to look at me. I stopped briefly, the tip of my pen making a big dark spot in the middle of the line, then continued, ignoring him.
"Hey, I asked you a question." His voice was sharp and heated. I assumed that there was some part of him that was always angry; how else could he have such a short fuse?
"And I chose not to answer it." I heard him move, and in the next second, felt him push me up against the footboard.
"Why are you always so guarded?" He asked. I felt my nostrils flare tensely.
"Why are you always so angry?" I countered, flinching when his grip on my shoulders tightened. I turned my head to the side, my breath picking up as he leaned towards me. "Please stop."
"Please answer me," he mocked. I smelled chocolate on his breath as it washed over my cheek, a traitorous whimper escaping me.
"Mello, leave her al-"
"Shut up, Matt," he barked, pushing me over the edge. I shoved him to the floor and scrambled away.
"You want to know what happened?!" I shouted, feeling my chest heave angrily. "I was this close, this close to being sold to a human trafficker! I fought back and he beat the crap out of me!"
His face fell, and he moved to say something, but I stomped out of the room before he could reply, slamming the door behind me. I'd been there for a few days and Mello had gotten angry about something on every single one of them. Was the chocolate he constantly snapped at getting to his brain or something?
"I'm sorry," a voice came from besides me, causing me to yelp in surprise. I spun violently and saw Beyond, jam jar in hand, staring blankly at me.
"Please don't sneak up on me like that," I said, putting a hand over my racing heart. "What are you sorry about?"
"That you got beat up." He put the jar in his pocket and slowly reached towards me, his fingertips brushing over my bruised cheek. I jerked away from his touch and continued down the hall. "Where are you going?"
"Outside," I answered, glancing at him as he fell into step with me. "I need some air."
"It's raining."
"That's okay."
"You'll get sick."
"That's okay."
"… You have quite the temper yourself, you know."
"I know, but at least mine's not constant. He's always got something up his ass."
Abruptly, he turned down a hallway, leaving me alone. I continued towards the entrance hall without pausing and threw open the front door.
It was ominous outside, to say the least; the sky was blanketed in black and the clouds crackled with lightening. Despite that, I stepped out into the torrential rain, walked to the middle of the courtyard, and looked up. In a matter of seconds, I was soaked. My anger subsided.
In the tranquil roar, the weight of everything that had happened over the past week crushed me.
From the death of my parents to being kidnapped and assaulted to abandoning my home, so much had changed and I had had so little time to digest it all. Against my will, I felt tears spill down my cheeks, and I bit my lip to keep from sobbing. I had suffered a string of terrible blows, and I was tired; recovery seemed like some far away town.
Memories bloomed in the back of my mind, the bright colors of Gujarat unfolding like a gorgeous play. My mother frying chilies in the kitchen and my father kneeling before our shrine, my closet full of ornate skirts and shirts and dupattas, my anklets jingling as I danced around the deep in our courtyard during Navratri, leading the garba at just twelve years old. A bustling bazaar, a vendor offering me malapua, another showing off a hand-embroidered tapestry. Akshardham at night, mighty and peaceful in its illuminated glory.
I longed for the comfort of my homeland. My tears fell faster as I realized that I might never feel its embrace again.
Just as I started to shiver, the rain stopped. When I opened my eyes, Beyond stood beside me, holding an umbrella over us. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I let him guide me back inside.
"You're an idiot, you know that, right?" I rolled over in my bed, away from the blond who'd just barged in. As Beyond had predicted, I'd gotten sick from my excursion; my throat burned and my fever raged, but I shivered beneath my blankets.
"Leave me alone." I rasped, crawling deeper into the covers. I felt it slip from my weak grasp as he pulled it off of me.
"What did you think would happen when you went out there?" He scolded. My teeth chattered as he lowered himself onto my bed. "Hello?"
"Please leave me alone," I muttered, drowsily swatting his hand away when he touched my back. "Please, Mello."
"Dude, come on, that's enough." I heard Matt say, pulling him away from me. "She's sick, couldn't you stop being an ass at least until she's better?"
The blond hmph'ed and I heard stomping, followed by the sound of the door slamming. I sighed in content as Matt pulled the blankets back over me.
"How're you holding up, Luck?" He asked, pushing some hair away from my damp forehead.
"I feel like death," I said. "My skin hurts."
He made a sympathetic sound and sat down next to me, petting my head. "Why'd you go out there?"
"To cool off."
"I know that's not the real reason." He said, giving me a meaningful look.
"… So much has happened in so little time, Matt. It's just a lot for me to swallow." I said, averting my eyes.
"I think it'd be good for you to get it off your chest." He said seriously. "You look… distraught."
"I don't know…" My breath hitched slightly as he leaned down next to me.
"I'm not going to tell anyone, Lucky," he whispered. "I promise."
When I woke up, Mello was sitting in a chair beside my bed, looking rather bored.
"Where's Matt?" I croaked, looking around for the brunet.
"Playing video games," Mello said, leaning forward. "You've been out for a couple hours."
"Why are you here?" He flinched at the malice in my voice, and I felt a little bad for being so harsh.
"I, um… Came to make peace," he said. Almost begrudgingly, he held out a silver-wrapped rectangle. I raised an eyebrow, not lifting my head from the pillow.
"What's that?"
"It's a chocolate bar," he said. "A peace offering. I didn't even lick it. In your religion, they give food offerings, right? That they haven't tasted? I looked it up. I know I'm normally supposed to cook something, but I don't want to get you more sick, so…"
Before I could stop myself, I burst into raspy laughter. He scowled and glared at me as I held my stomach. "What's so funny?!"
"Mello, we give food offerings to gods," I explained, containing my laughter. "It's called prasad; after we offer it, it becomes their blessing, and we take it in their name. Kind of like communion."
His face turned tomato red and he looked away, embarrassed and angry. I knew it had been difficult for him to make a peace offering, especially of something he coveted so aggressively. Before he could snap and ruin it, I reached out and grabbed the chocolate bar.
"But," I said, catching his attention. "Thank you. I accept your peace offering."
His blush faded somewhat, and he grinned, watching as I opened up the bar. I broke off half and handed it to him. As I bit into the sugary treat, the door slammed open, revealing a breathless Matt.
"Mello, you better not be mess- oh, you're awake," he said, grinning when he saw the chocolate in my mouth. "Are you guys getting along?"
"Yes, mother," I teased, rolling my eyes. He pouted and I patted the bed, inviting him in. He plopped down next to me and started to say something when a knock on the open door interrupted him. I felt tension seep from my company as I craned my neck to see who it was.
Beyond stood in the doorway, his sticky red knuckles glued to my door. He grinned brightly at me, ignoring whatever looks Matt and Mello were shooting him. I smiled.
"Aey, raksaka," I rasped, earning confused stares. I ignored them. "Come in."
He hummed thoughtfully, his eyes darting from me to Matt to Mello and back again. He shook his head. "I just came to see how you were doing, Lucky."
"I've been better," I said, shrugging weakly. "But I've been worse. You sure you don't want to come in?"
He let out a sharp laugh. "I'm sure. I might come back later, th-"
"I wouldn't," I heard Mello growl. I gave him an incredulous look. "I wouldn't if I were you."
"Calm down, Mello," I said. "That'd be nice, Beyond."
Without another word, Beyond backed out of the doorway and disappeared down the hall. The two boys beside me immediately dove into an uproar.
"What did you call him?"
"What does that mean?"
"You should stay away from him, Lucky."
"He's bad news."
"Why do you want to hang out with him, anyway?"
"He's a freak."
I put my hands over my ears, the volume of their rant causing my head to throb. Neither seemed to notice.
"Beyond is my friend!" My cry was weak and hoarse, and I had the feeling the following argument would sound weak to the two boys beside me. "He's been kind to me. Kinder than some people-"
"Hey!" Mello cried, crossing his arms as I shot him a meaningful look.
"My point is, I'm not going to throw him aside because you guys don't like him. Understood?"
"But-"
"Understood?"
Both boys donned begrudging looks, but I wasn't fazed; eventually, they huffed, crossed their arms, and glared at the wall.
"Fine." They harmonized. I rolled my eyes at their brattiness, but giggled.
"Good. Now, is there any way you guys could get me some chai?"
Another chapter! It's a little short and there's a lot of room for improvement, but I'm proud of the rate at which I've been getting these up, and of how diligent I've been with revising them before I post them! The next chapter should be up fairly soon, but for now, I hope you guys enjoy what's here! I'd love to hear your feedback!
Love,
Marie.
notes:
Navratri: nine-night festival dedicated to the worship of the goddess Durga.
garba: form of dance that originated in Gujarat; traditionally performed in a circle to represent the idea that time is cyclical, around a representation of the goddess, such as a deep or an idol, to symbolize that God is the only thing that remains unchanging while the universe churns.
malapua: pancake served as a snack or dessert
Aey, raksaka: Hey, keeper.