Ok, Imma be real honest: I fuggin hate chapter 8 of Roberts' route. I don't know, I just felt like the whole scene with Heine was a lot longer than I would've liked. I feel like it should've ended like where I ended the last chapter. So again, I've rewritten this chapter a whole lot to mold it to my liking. Furthermore, I kind of wanted an Alice In Wonderland vibe for this chapter, so naturally I was listening to Avril Lavigne's "Alice" over and over. . . ye
Chapter 8: Break
Heine begins to gradually fade away, and I suddenly feel as though I'm falling backwards. I reach my hand out, looking to grasp onto anything, but I reach nothing. My messy hair flutters out in front of me and I'm falling into dark transparency below me. I black out for what feels like the millionth time.
The first thing I notice is an overwhelming smell of flowers as I begin to regain consciousness. I sit up and take in my surroundings. Sure enough, the ground is covered in the petals of the darkest red roses I'd ever seen. The walls around me seem like endless black, yet a sheen of blueish mist coats the air. The solitude I've found myself in causes me to begin to panic. If there was one thing I feared, it was the feeling of being truly alone. And here I was, forced to face this feeling.
I begin to tear up slightly, and for some reason the first person who comes to mind is Roberts. I know he's looking for me. Because despite his inherent masculine toughness, I know he cares. And while the thought comforts me, it makes my silent tears begin to fall and I'm not sure why. When I'd first met him, all i saw was that overly stubborn and violent exterior. But in being drawn to him through some strange force, I'd come to know a man who is stubborn and violent, but also smart and even thoughtful. I lay down on my side in a fetal position, letting the salty tears slide down my cheeks, yet I smile.
"You look pretty down in the dumps" I hear a deep voice from behind me. It startles me at first, and I wonder if I'm hallucinating. But when I turn my head, there he is.
Roberts is standing there, soaking wet.
"Honestly, what the hell are you doing?" he asks me. "I didn't think I'd ever see you cry . . ."
"Roberts!" I say sitting up again. "W-What are you doing here?"
"Idiot. I'm here because you are."
He wraps his arms around my head, pulling me to his chest once again. There's something comforting about the way he does it.
"You're shaking. . . not a good look for you" he tells me. But I'm just so damn happy to see him.
"I busted a gut trying to find you" he says. "But thanks to Eyes we were able to spot the ghost ship off in the distance once the fog cleared."
That's right, his demon eye. When Eyes would take off his glasses and cover one eye, he could see with the other farther than any normal human.
"Why'd you come alone?" I ask Roberts, drying my tears.
"I thought it'd just be easier to come alone" Roberts tells me. "Why? Should I have not come?"
"No, no" I say grabbing onto him. Red in the face, he raps his knuckles against my forehead.
"I thought I was hallucinating" I manage to get out.
Roberts chuckles and reassures me: "Don't worry, I'm real."
He leans his head towards me so that his nose almost touches mine. The lack of space between us almost feels natural.
"Why were you crying?" he quietly asks me, making me almost start crying again.
"I just hate feeling alone . . ." I squeak out. I try to draw away from him out of not wanting to seem weak, but he instantly pulls me back to him. "No" he says.
"Roberts" I say, looking up into his eyes.
"It's okay, everything's okay. You're going to find the Gardiner's Trove" he says, comforting me. "Believe in yourself like I do."
"It's just that it's not what I thought it was."
Roberts raises an eyebrow at this.
"It's no weapon, it's . . . a virus of some sort. It has the power to kill everyone in a matter of days and-" my voice trails on, overwhelmed at the task I'd been presented with. But Roberts stops me.
"Well, just kill it then."
"That's the plan" I say. "I'll burn it."
"Anyway, Roberts, I'm sorry" I say settling into his chest. "Sorry you had to come get me."
"Hey, I came because I wanted to."
His response shocks me. He wanted to?
"When someone steals something from you" he continues. "you go after them and get it back."
His choice of words continues to surprise me.
"We have a deal," he says. "meaning I have preferential rights to you. I won't hand you over to anyone! You're my problem, and I'll knock down anyone who tries to get in my way."
My hands ball up into tight fists and I begin to feel the pitter-patter of my heart flaring up again.
"Now let's get out of here" he says, his voice suddenly sounding serious. A wave of nostalgia floats over me as Roberts picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. He gets a running start and then jumps, and I begin to feel like I'm falling again. I open my eyes at the splashing sound of water, I take a look around and I am indeed underwater. I look down to Roberts, who is swimming up to the surface, and I do the same. He climbs onto a rowboat and hoists me on as well. Once aboard, I look up, expecting to see the ghost ship, however there is nothing there.
"Let's never come back here again" Roberts says as we begin to row away.