'Ello loves! So, I started off super strong on this chapter... and then I watched Fight Club for the first time. Yes, I am aware it has been awesome since 1999. But I just discovered it the other day. :D Now, I have this weird thing where I automatically take on characteristics of my favorite character from a movie after I watch it. So I've been acting like Marla Singer the past two days (minus all the self-destructiveness) and that kind of inhibited my writing skills. So the end of it was hard to write.
Anyways, I'd again love to say thanks to everyone reading this and not reviewing, 'cause it makes me happy to see my hits keep going up. Think it was at 900 last time I checked... And a huge bonus hug to those of you who review or favorite, or both! Sorry. I'll shut up now. XD Onto the chapter!!
CHAPTER FIVE
After having drawn a bath for Toby, Mrs. Lovett found herself sitting in one of the hard, wooden chairs in the dining room. She had meant to sit down for only a moment, but the mere thought of climbing up a flight of stairs made her legs ache. So there she sat, nearly fifteen minutes after she had initially decided to sit down. And the longer she sat, the more the soreness settled into her limbs.
She wearily lifted her head from the cradle of her elbow, her eyes addressing the bottle of gin sitting in front of her. She set her head back down, trying to convince her throbbing limbs to sit up for a just a moment. She only needed a sip to help her drift off to sleep… Finally, after a lot of coaxing, she was scarcely able to bring herself into a sitting position; her body was so exhausted. Her fingers managed to clasp around the bottle, but as she brought it up to her lips, the door to her shop burst open, causing her to abruptly set it back down onto the table, her heart racing at the sudden noise.
"Mr. T! Wot the bloody 'ell do ya think you're doin'?" she half-yelled at him, once her brain had registered who the tall, dark frame was standing in her doorway. "Poppin' up out of nowhere, like some… some bloody jack-in-the-box from 'ell!" Mrs. Lovett shot him a poisonous glare before rising to her feet, wanting to get upstairs and put as much distance between herself and Sweeney Todd as was humanly possible.
Sweeney, however, had different ideas. He hunted her down, taking her as his prey. He seized her thin wrists, slamming her against a wall before raising her delicate arms above her head. Her eyes flared wide with rage; she was not going to let him harm her anymore. "Get. Away from me," she muttered in a low growl. She couldn't remember ever feeling this much wrath towards any one person before…
"Mrs. Lovett," Sweeney snarled to match Mrs. Lovett's tone of voice, "You really need to learn when to shut the hell up." He heatedly brought his lips down upon hers, pressing her arms more firmly against the wall. Mrs. Lovett's eyes opened wide with shock. What the hell was he doing? She couldn't taste alcohol on his breath, so she knew he wasn't drunk… Then it occurred to her… she could taste him. She had wanted this for so long…
She closed her eyes and pressed her mouth hungrily into his, her toungue eagerly plunging into his mouth, exploring his lips as he bit viciously down on her own. She whimpered as she felt him bite into the soft flesh of her already sore lip, before her eyes whipped open.
What the bloody hell was she doing? No! She wasn't going to let herself be manipulated by him anymore! The feeling of mind-numbing pleasure was rapidly overtaken by a pure feeling of anger she'd never felt before. She could literally feel the fury pulsing through her veins, blocking out her very sense of reality.
She jerked her head away from his, and her unexpected movements allowed her to break away from Sweeney's strong grip. Her tattered and worn dress swirled around her thin, but strong legs, giving him one more fuming glance before bolting up the stairs.
Sweeney remained standing against the wall, completely dumbfounded at the woman's behavior. After a minute or so, he wandered over to the table and sat down; his mind begging him to sort out its chaotic contents.
He raised a hand up to his lips, lightly brushing his index finger across them. His hand then quickly dropped down into his lap before grabbing the bottle of gin. Why the hell had she run away like that; looked at him like that before retreating up to her bedroom? Never once, since he had moved above her shop, now or fifteen years ago, had he seen her eyes radiate such… hatred.
She was always looking on the bright side of everything; always found something beautiful in every situation she came across. And he honestly couldn't understand how she did it. She spent her nights chopping and grinding up corpses, baking seemingly endless amounts of pies… Then she had to serve them to the disgusting vermin who inhabited the city of London, and deal with one brainless person after another. And from what he could tell, she did it all with a smile on her face.
But why had she looked at him with such loathing? This was the question that ate away at him most…
And the fact that it was bothering him was an even bigger problem He took another gulp of gin, wincing slightly as it went down.
He had been under the strong impression that she was completely enamored with him, and after that first instant he had crashed his lips onto hers… She had kissed him back, with equal force and obvious passion. Lucy had never once openly expressed such lust to him…
And the thought of Lucy caused the bottle of gin to crash to the floor, shattering to pieces before Sweeney Todd stormed up the stairs to his parlor.
'Damnit,' Mrs. Lovett thought as she heard the sound of glass smashing onto wood. 'And I just cleaned the floor…'
She shook her head, quickly realizing how trivial this was; quickly pushing it from the strained jumble in her mind. She slowly made her way over to the mirror on her dresser, carefully inspecting the face reflected within its depths. She raised her trembling fingertips to touch her pale cheek, barely recognizing her own reflection.
Her dark, brown eyes rose to meet those of her mirror image, and she saw something in them that she had never seen there before. She couldn't give it a name… but it scared her to see. She quickly turned around, giving her mirror full view of her back.
Her eyes flickered around her room, eerily illuminated by the full moon that evening. She knew she needed to really stop and think about everything that had happened… But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She didn't know what to think anymore.
Suddenly, she noticed her bedroom door was slowly opening, creaking as it always did. She stifled a gasp and, as quickly as she could manage, she scrambled into her bed, thankful she had decided to put on a nightgown before she cleaned.
But as she pulled the blanket up over her back, she saw Toby's figure standing in her doorway. She sat up slightly, smiling at the sight of him, and was relieved she wasn't going to have to yell at Mr. Todd again.
"You alrigh', love?" she asked him, her voice soft and low with just the right amount of worry.
"I… I keep 'avin' awful nightmares, mum… an'… an' I was hopin' I could maybe stay in with you tonigh'?" Toby asked, his eyes looking down at the floor, obviously not comfortable entering Mrs. Lovett's bedroom.
"O' course, Toby," she sighed, relieved she wouldn't have to spend the night alone. "Well, hop in, then," Mrs. Lovett said, gesturing for Toby to join her. Toby smiled, eagerly clambering into her bed. He immediately snuggled in, and when he closed his eyes, Mrs. Lovett lovingly stroked his dark hair. Her lips hesitatedly opened, before her voice began to sing…
Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around…
Nothing's gonna harm you, darling…
Not while I'm around…
One single tear streamed down her cheek as she heard their lullaby emerge from her vocal cords. She remembered how, mere hours before, those same lyrics poured out of her lips in the most disgustingly dishonest way… It sickened her now. She kissed the sleeping boy's forehead before laying onto her stomach. As she nestled her head into her pillow, she couldn't remember it ever feeling this good.
It was funny, she decided, how life can completely reverse itself on you in the matter of a few hours. Lucy was dead now.
"May God rest her soul," Mrs. Lovett whispered under her breath.
The Judge was dead too… She half smirked at this thought. Mr. T would be completely lost with him gone… what will he do with himself now? She could hear his heavy footsteps pacing above her head, and she knew exactly what he was brooding away about. Her hand rose up to her lips, pinching her lower one slightly.
Had he really, just moments ago, kissed her? Her pulse quickened immediately, as if to solidify the answer to her question.
Yes. Yes, he had.
She had imagined how their first kiss would play out countless times in her mind. But tonight made her realize that reality can be so much better than even your biggest fantasies. She knew there had been no love in that kiss, at least on his end…
But he was the one who had initiated it. Him, after all that had taken place that night, had decided to end his evening with kissing Mrs. Lovett.
She mentally slapped herself. She had been so foolish earlier, thinking she could actually stop loving Mr. Todd… She'd been in love with Benjamin Barker for twenty years, did she really think she could stop loving Sweeney Todd now? Especially now that they truly relied on one another, whether he liked to admit or not…
But he had hurt her immeasurably, both mentally and physically, she knew… But he had showed her… well, she didn't know. It was probably Sweeney Todd's version of affection. How he had so painstakingly made sure she would be alright when he so carefully bandaged her back; how he hadn't left her side… To her, that proved his heart wasn't gone. It had just been out of use for so long he had forgotten what to do with it…
And she felt it was her job to help him remember.
However, she promised herself that she wouldn't acknowledge him until he at least attempted to apologize to her. She realized how juvenile that sounded, "giving Mr. T the cold shoulder", but… he needed to be the one to reach out to her this time. She knew how nearly impossible it would be for him, but… It was a step he needed to take. He had caused this damage, and it was his responsibility to repair it.
And with a twinge of pain from her back, Mrs. Lovett finally closed her eyes and fell asleep to Toby's steady breathing, knowing she would wake up in a completely different world.