Chapter 3—Instant Friendship

After many days of a friendship that blossomed beautifully, the fun-loving and persuasive and even dangerous nature in which Dante inherited harmonized very nicely with Marcella's curious although assuring personality thus toughening the bond between the two. Dante found himself walking past the university where Marcella was studying, for literally no reason at all, other than the obvious fact that he longed to see her. Remarkably, Marcella didn't quite notice Dante's appearances, and she had longed to see him also; was it not absurd to neither of them if he was always on his mind, and she was always on his? Such a desperate relationship grew between the two. Marcella often found herself thinking of Dante, wondering if he was thinking of her. Dante woke up each morning, contemplating whether or not he would be able to see the young blonde again. The two had gone mad for each other, without quite realizing it. Marcella, for one, realized she was no longer praying for goodness and health; instead, she'd asked her Lord if she would have a chance to see Dante once again. She no longer cared about living a long healthy life. She did not wish to live a thousand years any longer; if she could have a night with Dante.

The two, however, could not admit that they had such a special bond and respect for one other—had this been the case, one of the two would have been brave enough to knock at the other's door. They both feared that the feelings that existed between the two were mere illusion from either side, that they were not returned. Especially Dante, in this case. He was terrified of Marcella. No one on earth had made him feel this way. He was, of course, experienced physically with women. Emotionally, however, he remained adolescent, and could not imagine the pain he would endure if Marcella laughed at him if he revealed his true feelings to her. The heartbreak, the agony. It would be, ultimately, too much, even for the son of Sparda.

The two, didn't know it quite yet, but they were very much in love with each other.

Marcella was the first to realize this, although months later, and after thinking in depth about what should be done at the present moment, if she should have been to approach him or not, she found herself with a heart-wrenching feeling that traveled even to her stomach and added an unbearable heaviness. It was that point where she realized, even physically, something was wrong. And when all things fell apart, where all hope was gone, there was one place to go: the strawberry fields.

Marcella stood in the doorway, listening intently to Mrs. Gallagher's angry ramble regarding the events of the evening where Reese and Phoebe had to witness demons and any sort of trouble at all. Even though Mrs. Gallagher was freaking, frantic, angry at Marcella, Marcella had remained calm, feeling the motherly anxiety and fear for Reese just as Mrs. Gallagher did Phoebe. Marcella nodded with the occasional "I know" and "right", respecting Mrs. Gallagher to the best of her ability; for one thing, Mrs. Gallagher wasn't the type of mom you would mess with, as she was a lawyer, for another Mrs. Gallagher was older than Marcella.

And Marcella had the ability to completely wreck Mrs. Gallagher's marriage with her husband if any sort of secrets came out.

Best bet for Marcella: be cagey, and shut up. It's worked her whole life, and it shouldn't fail on her now.

"I really do apologize, Julie. Phoebe had told me you'd approved them walking home and the poor girls just wanted to walk home and enjoy the weather. They had no idea they would be caught in such a predicament. Moreover, stuff like this hardly ever happens in this town." Marcella apologized convincingly. Julie Gallagher sighed and her facial expression softened.

"I know, Marcella, I'm sorry for taking out my anger on you. It's not your fault, not the girls'. I'm just afraid you know…"

"Afraid?"

"Of having to relocate. This town has been so good to us. No crime, middle class, good to raise children. I never want to leave, it's like paradise."

Marcella smiled warmly at Mrs. Gallagher, finding admiration for the mother in her. "Julie, it won't happen. I promise you it won't. This town has been untouchable all its years, and I've lived here my whole life, not a single soul has been taken here. I assure you won't have to move. I'm sorry though. For now on, I'll be driving the girls to and from school."

"You're right Marcella. You're a good woman. Reese is lucky to have a strong mom like you."

With that, Mrs. Gallagher left with a sincere and respectful smile. It depressed Marcella a little. She'd been a slave of Mrs. Gallagher's husband since they moved in, and Julie Gallagher had no idea of this. When Marcella knew Julie respected her, she realized her self-respect began to deteriorate.

Later that night, Dr. Gallagher had called Marcella over, obviously leaving Marcella too anxious tend to Reese's needs. That being said, when Reese left for the playground, she bothered not to get Marcella's consent; she would have said "do what you want" anyway. As Reese walked, beneath the afternoon sun, hands in her pockets, she stared down, kicking a rock as she paced. She couldn't help but wonder why her mom always got so tense around Phoebe's dad. She knew there was something peculiar about the relationship between the two, as in something had been terribly wrong, or at least bad enough for her to not be able to tell Reese. It damn near killed Reese. She didn't respect anyone as much as she respected her mom, they were best of friends, telling each other everything. Why was Marcella suddenly keeping secrets from her? If there was something wrong, then she should at least tell Reese, maybe the two could have worked it out together. Reese just hated it, not being able to say anything to comfort her mom when anxiety had shaken her so badly. That was the part that really killed her, the helplessness; not being able to help the woman that brought her into the world. She at least owed Marcella moral support, emotional stability. Reese found herself thinking of her mom's usual soft and happy face transform into a scared and helpless face in the presence of Dr. Gallagher. What the hell even happened between the two?

Alas, Reese's thoughts were interrupted when she kicked the rock too far and too high, and it pecked the shins of a man walking ahead of her. It seemed not to have affected him, and he didn't speak when Reese apologized under her breath, but the two seemed familiar to each other and Reese had realized this was the same guy who pushed her out of the bus' direction earlier that afternoon. The man, however, was the first to mention this.

"Hey, you're that kid I saw earlier."

Saw, not saved? Reese wondered why he didn't mention that he completely saved her life. "You rescued me," she corrected. "And I didn't thank you."

"You can say it now if you need to."

"Thanks."

There was a moment of silence between the two before Reese continued to walk, realizing the man probably wouldn't say much more. She was caught off guard, however, after she past the man, that he spoke.

"Why the long face, kid?"

Reese had turned around, looking up at the man vulnerably. Too vulnerable to run away and claim her mother told her not to talk to strangers. Thing was, though, Reese didn't want to. Reese, for some reason, felt comfortable with this man. Most likely because he'd saved her life, but there was something about him, the way he looked at her, the way he talked and the way he smelled, that made her feel like he was a friend to her. Someone she should care for.

"It's a long story," Reese responded as she stared at her feet, shuffling them a little. The man smiled at the kid, taking a few steps toward her. His kind stare was not the usual look he paid to most young children but he found her so damn cute, with her long, very-pale blonde hair that was practically past her butt and her blue eyes.

"I got time."

Reese sighed and looked up at the man, taking a good look of the man's beautiful face structure, blue eyes and pale hair. He was so handsome, although Reese wasn't attracted to him, naturally, being only eight years old.

"It's my mom," she sighed again, speaking quietly. The man only stared, waiting for her to continue. "We're supposed to be best friends. Every time I ask her who her best friend is, she says it's me. But she's always hiding things from me."

"What kind of things?"

"Well, that's the thing. I don't know. She usually tells me everything except for about Dr. Gallagher, my best friend's dad. Something weird happened with them and I just, I wanna know. I wanna be able to help. Maybe then she wouldn't lock herself in her room and cry so much, she wouldn't ignore me every time he came around… it's just that he's so nice to me, but if he's mean to my mommy then I can't be friends with Phoebe because that wouldn't be fair to my mom. And I love Phoebe but… my mom comes first. She puts me first for everything but I can't be mean to her and put her last, it's not nice."

"You know what you should do, kid?"

"Can you not call me kid? I hate when people do that."

"What's your name then, kid—…uh, friend, I mean. What's your name?"

"I'm Reese."

"What you should do, Reese, is—"

"Wait! What's your name?"

"I'm Dante, Reese. Can I talk now?"

"Dante, Dante…" Reese said under her breath. "Yeah, you can talk."

"Reese, you should trust your mom. If she says she's your best friend, then she doesn't want to see you hurt. Maybe she's keeping a secret so that you don't overburden yourself. Maybe she wants you to be friends with Phoebe. She isn't hiding things from you, not to hurt you. She's hiding things because she would rather take the hit for whatever it is, rather than see you fall for it."

Reese thought for a moment, now eye level with Dante because he'd crouched in front of her. She didn't say much, since all she could register doing is contemplating what he just said. He was right. Her mom would never hurt her. She was taking the toll for the secret, because she didn't want to see Reese in pain. Why didn't Reese think of that? Before Reese could say anything, Dante smiled, patting her back, and then began walking.

"Wait!" Reese called, running after him. He turned around, watching her run closer before he crouched to see her eye-to-eye. Catching Dante off guard, he felt Reese's little arms wrap around his neck and she embraced him, neither of the two knowing why. Dante held the little girl back, finding some accomplishment in himself that he'd comforted her in her time of need, and he already liked her than he liked most children of her age. He found them to be mostly annoying and over-playful, but Reese was so mature and caring, especially toward her mother, that Dante really found it in himself to respect the girl.

Once the two pulled away, Reese looked at him and said, "You always leave before I can say anything."

She'd really hoped to see him again.