First of all, I'm sorry this took so long to get posted. I've just been a bit discouraged about this story lately. I've been getting about 10 hits average a day, and I only recieved 5 reviews for my last chapter. Now, I hate to be a review whore, but the shoe fits, and I love 'em. All of you know how it is! So, per-lease, if you like this, hate this, have suggestions for me or anything, PLEASE write me a review! Everytime I get one I get so happy and more motivated to write this story. And, I have to let you guys know, I've got a terrible tendency of not finishing stories... This is the most I've ever written, ever. If you want it to end, please tell me your thoughts as of thus far! Thanks so much loves; I hope you all like this chap! It's very... dramatic, and... ah, just read it. I'll stop now. XD
Dark, gray clouds slowly rolled in as morning dawned, blocking out the rays of the sun that normally streamed through the window to Sweeney Todd's bedroom. People were already up and about; bustling through the streets as vendors shouted in the attempt to sell their wares. Their shouts floated up, permeating the thin walls that separated Sweeney's room from the rest of the world. His onyx eyes slowly opened, the dim lighting somehow excruciatingly bright to him. His head was throbbing in time with his heartbeat as he slowly sat up; extremely hungover from the amount of gin he had consumed the previous night.
He clenched his eyes shut, attempting to block out the loud noises of the streets and to remember what had happened the night before. He remembered walking into her bedroom and seeing her asleep… He recalled them kissing passionately… He remembered her getting up and pouring them some gin, and he had proceeded to down a few more glasses… And everything was blurry after that. Try as he might, he couldn't remember what had happened between them … but he had an overwhelming feeling it had been something horrible that he'd soon regret. Something she'd never let him forget.
Slowly he crawled out of his bed, still fully clothed and extremely dizzy as he uneasily stood on his feet. He shuffled closer to the stairs, leaning on the doorway for a moment before making his way downstairs to the pie shop. The misty light streaming through the windows seemed to pierce through his eyes straight into his brain, making the throbbing even worse. He groaned as he clutched his hand to his warm face. Sweeney then wandered over to the cupboards, which had slowly become less dilapidated and dusty as both his and Mrs. Lovett's businesses flourished. He then started himself some tea and cut some bread before sitting down at the table.
Suddenly, small, shuffling footsteps made their way into the kitchen. Sweeney's jarred senses slowly stiffened, stopping mid-chew. For some reason, he felt his chest plunge slightly. If she was already coming down to the kitchen, whatever happened couldn't have been as bad as he felt… could it? He looked up, only to meet Toby's glance. Sweeney stared at the boy, refusing to break their gaze until Toby awkwardly backed away and began to scrub the counter tops. The condemning silence between them fell, broken only by Sweeney's slow chewing and the eventual screaming of the teapot.
Sweeney arose and crossed over to it before he was interrupted by Toby's small and timid voice. "Mornin', Mr. Todd." Sweeney's cheek twitched slightly before grunting in acknowledgement. The boiling water slowly poured into the cup as he tipped it, sending steam up to caress his face.
Sweeney hesitantly opened his mouth and spoke. "Toby… you 'aven't seen Mrs. Lovett yet this morning, 'ave you?" His voice was low and quiet.
Toby stopped scrubbing, confused at his inquiry. "Erm, no sir, I 'aven't… I'm pretty sure she's still asleep." Sweeney flinched, causing the hot water to overflow slightly onto his hand. He pressed his lips together, pointedly keeping his back to the boy.
"Thank you, lad," Sweeney said. Toby continued to stand transfixed, more confused than usual at the odd man's behavior. His warm brown eyes followed Mr. Todd's shadowy, black form as it ambled towards Mrs. Lovett's bedroom. Toby resumed cleaning the counter tops, but quietly. He kept his ears alert and listening. He wasn't going to let anything happen to his mum. Not again.
Sweeney stood before her doorway. It loomed over him; black, omniscient and daunting. He wasn't quite sure what to expect to find when he finally creaked open that door. What state would she be in? Hell, would she even be there? He closed his eyes as his chest expanded with oxygen. And as he exhaled, he extended his fingertips to clutch the patterned-gold doorknob. That creepy, slightly sinister sense that he had done this all before settled over him as the room was slowly revealed to him.
The light spilling through the window illuminated her pale face, sound asleep. She looked incredibly peaceful this way… Even from a distance, his eyes slowly traced the outline of her parted lips; observed the comforter silently rise and fall with her every breath. She was sound asleep. Sweeney clenched his teeth firmly together before averting his gaze down to the wooden floor panels. He knew instinctively that content, sleep-filled expression painted across her features would vanish the moment she laid eyes on him…
He slowly crossed over to the chair resting in the corner, making sure to keep his feet silent beneath him. Sweeney then sat down, taking one more glance at this… captivating, strange and familiar woman before burying his head in the palms of his hands. And thus began his waiting game; anticipating her awakening.
An hour came and went; the seconds ticking by as neither body in Mrs. Lovett's bedroom showed any signs of movement. Sweeney Todd remained sitting in the chair across from Mrs. Lovett's bed; his head still resting on his hands. The dust floating in the air had seemed to immobilize before a small sigh emerged from the figure resting on the mattress. The sound slowly made its way into Sweeney's mind before he sat up, his gaze immediately fixated on the mound beneath the dark crimson comforter. Slowly the figure arose, revealing a messier-than-usual shock of auburn curls. Sweeney remained completely still as Mrs. Lovett slowly opened her eyes; still unaware of his presence.
The light immediately captured them, making them glow with an aura that Sweeney had rarely seen there before. They exuded such an epic… sadness; such defeat… His mind flashed back to that night in the bakehouse; the only other time he could remember this strong being ever looking so defeated. Wordlessly he knew that he was the reason for it… just like he had been before. This was worse than he had anticipated. Mrs. Lovett slowly rose her slender fingertips to her eyes, wiping the sleep away from them. She slowly trailed them back down her face as she turned and immediately met the black gaze of Sweeney Todd.
Mrs. Lovett completely froze; her eyes wide and lips gently parted in the attempt to register the situation in front of her. Fight or flight, fight or flight… And in that instant, she chose flight. She practically leapt from the bed to her feet and bolted towards the door. No, she didn't want to face him after everything; desperately wanted to run away from it all… Sweeney, however, matched her dexterity and instantaneously caught up with her. He threw his strong arms around her slender waist, restraining her just before her hand grasped the doorknob.
Despite her immediate struggles, his grip somehow remained strong, yet gentle and nonthreatening. Sweeney pulled her close to him her curves melding perfectly into his torso. Mrs. Lovett's breathing became rapid and deep.
"Let. Me. Go," she uttered, her voice low and murderous. She stopped resisting, realizing it was pointless and became completely rigid beneath his arms. Sweeney swiftly moved his lips to her ear, in haling her floral and spice-infused scent. He felt it suited her perfectly… He then opened his lips to speak.
"Nellie," he whispered. "Wot the hell did I do to you?" At these words she turned her head away from his, struggling again in the futile attempt to get away from him. He tilted his head downward, the tip of his nose brushing the nape of her neck. "Nellie, please… tell me. I just… I can't remember…" His voice slowly trailed off as he realized how pathetic he sounded. Mrs. Lovett smirked, shaking her head incredulously.
"You can't remember…" she said, her voice low and quivering. "Well, 'ow bloody convenient fo' you," she uttered, her voice darkly sarcastic. Sweeney closed his eyes and clenched his teeth together. He so desperately wanted to make a sarcasm-filled remark right back in her face, but he realized that that would be a very stupid thing to do in that moment. Instead he slowly inhaled and exhaled, not loosening his grip on Mrs. Lovett at all. Something told him that this would be a conversation better had sitting down, and he began to guide her over to the bed to sit.
"C'mon," he said, "sit." He sat her down, keeping a firm grip on her shoulders. She folded her arms and pouted up at him, looking very much like a little girl getting a time out.
"I'm not bloody going anywhere, ya know," she mumbled, turning her head away from his stare. Sweeney lingered for a moment, testing her honesty before sitting down beside her. She could feel his black eyes tunneling into the side of her head, but she pointedly kept her arms folded and facing the opposite direction. The awkward silence between them settled as moments ticked past them, unheard; unnoticed. Sweeney continued to study her intently; eyeing the delicate curve of her white neck, observing the wispy curls that had escaped from the rest of her hair. Finally, the silence got to him. He hesitantly reached out his hand before lightly stroking her shoulder; becoming more sure of himself as he went. He continued to trace his hand down her arm before he shattered the heavy quiet.
"Nellie…" he whispered, just above his breath. She sighed before she finally turned around, looking him searchingly in the eyes. No… he really couldn't remember. She swallowed down the lump in her throat, continuing to stare into his eyes.
She sighed again. "Do ya really wanna know?" They held eye contact; neither one seeming to want to look away first. Finally Sweeney closed his eyes and nodded once. Mrs. Lovett continued the search for what lies behind Sweeney Todd's eyes before she looked away; averting her gaze towards her lap. She brought her hands to rest upon it, nervously fiddling with her fingers. She took a deep breath before she started to tell him what had happened.
"Well… first off, you drank wot was left o' that bottle o' gin. Completely drunk off your arse, you were… And… A-and then…" she paused, clenching her fingers together. "God," she whispered… "Then…" Her voice had started off confident, but had slowly faded down to something tiny and small. She raggedly exhaled. Silence again fell between them, Sweeney sensing that she would eventually tell him… but he had never been a patient man.
"Wot, Nellie, wot the bloody hell 'appened?" Mrs. Lovett sighed again, fixating her eyes down at her hands.
Her voice somehow grew smaller; almost as if it were retreating even further down inside her esophagus. "You called me Lucy… an'… an' you jus' kept fucking me… didn' matter to you tha' I wos crying…" She clenched her eyes shut; the raw emotion of what had happened rapidly coming back to her. Sweeney also clenched his eyes shut. It was slowly coming back to him in bits and pieces… He remembered slamming the gin down his throat before the bottle shattered to the floor… Then, he could see Mrs. Lovett, completely exposed, wide-eyed and frightened as he stumbled over to her… And then the entire night hit him, like a gigantic pail of ice water over his head. He had called her a whore… Which was so far from the truth; she was so strong for putting up with him day in and day out… Eleanor Lovett would never stoop so low.
"Oh my God…" he whispered, slowly bringing up his hands to run through his hair. But… though he had been a complete pig, he realized he hadn't once called her Lucy. "But wait.. Wot the bloody 'ell d'ya mean I called you 'Lucy'?" Sweeney said, confusion beginning to transform into blind rage. Mrs. Lovett scoffed once.
"Oh, no, love. Ya did. Maybe not by name, but by occupation. Ya did several times, if ya recall." Mrs. Lovett whipped her head up, tossing a few stray curls out of her face. She stood up, straightening her nightgown as she went. Sweeney, however, remained sitting, attempting to take in what she had just said. It only took a moment before the meaning of what she had said settled over him, and he practically leapt to his feet to confront her.
"Wot the bloody 'ell are you talking about?!" He roared. Their faces were inches apart. "Lucy… MY Lucy wos NEVER a… a… a whore! How dare you even insinuate that she wos-"
"Mr. T, she wos! After you wos sent off to Austrailia, she wos completely lost! She would wander the streets for hours, leaving me to care for lit'le Johanna! Finally, after she took that arsenic, she completely lost it! She wos a whore! She wos willing to do anything to make a single penny! Just because you weren't 'ere to witness it doesn' mean it didn't 'appen! Because it bloody did, Sweeney, that's wot she became! She wos weak! Weaker than I've ever been, and I've always-" Mrs. Lovett matched Sweeney's yelling before being cut off.
"ENOUGH!! NEVER will you speak of this, ever again!" He screamed, raising his hand to slap her. However, her reflexes were too fast, and she clasped both hands around his wrist; trying her hardest to restrain him.
"Get out!" she screamed, struggling to hold on.
He visciously glared at her once before storming towards the door.
"Wait… where are you going?" Mrs. Lovett angrily asked his retreating back. He whirled around, staring at her as though she were insane.
"Are you bloody kidding me?" he asked, his voice low.
"No," Eleanor replied. "Where are you going?"
Sweeney opened and closed his mouth a couple times more before actually responding. "Up to the parlor, where the hell else would I go?" Mrs. Lovett's lips drew up into a half smile as she started shaking her head.
"No. You're not welcome 'ere anymore," she said, her voice deep and steady. Sweeney just stood there at a loss for words. Never had he seen her so… angry. "I've already sacrificed so much fo' you, Sweeney Todd. Including twenty long years I can never get back. Get the hell out of my life now. Stop 'urting me so I can finally live for me."
"Your sense of humor rears its ugly head at the strangest of times, Mrs. Lovett," Sweeney said, his voice acquiring her trademarked dark and sarcastic tone.
"I'm not bloody joking, you bastard. Get the hell out right now, and don't bloody make me ask you again," she said, not once moving his eyes from his. And as they continued to stare into one anothers' dark eyes, Mrs. Lovett saw… an almost hurt look reflected back at her in his eyes. It took her by surprise, but she knew she would be so far better off without him… He parted his lips something, ready to retort with some famous last words, but they never came. Instead he just turned around, pausing before he walked out her door.
But before he turned the doorknob, she came running up behind him, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to turn around. Before he could do anything, her lips crashed down on top of his as she forcefully threw her arms around his neck. He immediately kissed her back, both biting and invading one anothers' mouths with their toungues. If there had been an onlooker to this confusing display of affection, they would have probably been confused as to whether their kiss was fueled by passion or by violence.
Finally, Mrs. Lovett shoved him away, both of them out of breath. "Fuck," she muttered under her breath. "God, just go, damnit, go! Please!" Sweeney stared at her, shaking his head in disbelief at the woman standing in front of him.
"Mrs. Lovett… you're a bloody wonder," he muttered before he finally walked out of her bedroom door, closing it behind him. Mrs. Lovett was left alone, wondering if that was the last time she would ever see him. Sweeney Todd.