Just a small chapter before a rather large one, I hope you all are enjoying this so far, things are really about to heat up the next few chapters. Mirabella is still questioning her trust in Vaas, but as said before she loves him still and has forgiven him for what he has done... Maybe.

Chapter 20: His Home

I stared around the warehouse, my eyes finding every flaw in its creation, cracks, hanging dead animals, loose screws on the hinges of broken doors, and random junk cars sitting around. The warehouse had large red storage containers on top of each other stacked to the ceiling, a few random markings of white graffiti eyes on the walls. When I turned around the stack of storage containers, I saw that there was a staircase that led up to a metal door. I patted my way up the staircase hesitantly, I hoped nothing was more worse than the hanging animals pierced with neon blue lights. I grabbed the brass handle and entered, it was a small room with clothes all over the floor, one single mattress on the floor against the wall with scattered and torn up green sheets and two feather pillows.
I heard the tang of Benny's boots hitting the metal steps as he himself padded his way up to the door. He walked up beside me leaning against the door frame.
"Vaas lives here?"
"Yeah, well this is kind of like a hang out for other pirates to. The shower is downstairs to left of the containers, don't mind the tiger cage that's for fVaas's pet, and if you need anything my shanty is just outside of the compound walls. Be careful of Carlos though, he watches over the compound when Vaas is gone, he is not to be trusted. Understand?" I nodded my head, Benny walking his way back down the stairs, I turned to stare down at him.
"Benny?" He looked up over his shoulder at me stopping at the bottom of the stairs.
"What?"
"Food?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"Nothing much, just some fruits or something."
"Anything else, princess?" He answered with irritation, I wasn't that bossy, was I?
"I apologize if I am being mean. No thank you Benny... That will be all." He then left through the metal door of the compound, the slamming of it echoing through the large warehouse, I leaned back against the door frame and slid down till I was sitting, I sighed. I still held Vaas's necklace in my hand, this was Vaas's father's necklace, it was passed down to him when he was just a child, it was meant to be given to his mate. His mother had given it to him before she had passed, she was so kind, always knew the right thing to do.
Her black hair was longer then her hips and always braided perfectly, containing the pink blossoms that grew in the fields of the South Island. Those blossoms were picked by Vaas's father every three days, he would make sure his wife had a beauty that reflected that of the island, this Island however was far from being the kindest place on earth, it's beauty still remaining, but it had become hell on earth. The son that she had raised no longer the same man and I had to safe him before it was to late, it wasn't to late... Not yet.

I put the necklace around my neck and picked myself up off the floor, slowly making my way down the steps. The blood now dry and cracked on my skin, I calmly walked through the darkness of the warehouse, bypassing the junk cars that were stacked on top of each other and ignoring the dead animals that hanged from the ceiling. I made a left around the containers as Benny had said their was a small shower head sticking from the wall, metal boxes meant to serve as a cover for whoever is showering beside it. The floor was wet and dirty, the drain was rusty in the cement, the area was dark and again as Benny had said there was a tiger cage across from the bathroom, but with no 'pet' in it. On the metal boxes was a canister of shaving cream, a bar of soap, a razor, and shampoo with conditioner.
I turned the nob of the shower, the water shooting from the head an falling into the drain in a swirl. I removed my clothes from my body, there was no towel so I would have to walk to Vaas's room naked. I disposed of all my clothing, but the necklace Vaas have me. I stepped under the smooth and surprising warm water, it cleaned most of my skin, the blood staining it in certain places.
I used the bar of soap to clean the most dirty places, scrubbing as much as I could off my skin. I used the shampoo and conditioner for my hair, the amount of dirt that was leaving my body was revolting, I hadn't realized that it had been four days since my last bath at the watering hole Vadim showed me the first day when we went hunting. I looked over at the razor and shaving cream, would Vaas mind if I shaved my legs for once, maybe my armpits to. It had been more than three weeks since I had and the fact that no man noticed the hair that grew up my arms made me want to throw up. They didn't care though, not even Vaas cared and it was him after all that had kissed me only an hour ago.
He truly did care, he still could love, it was admitting it that was the hard part, but the thing that had me clinging to what was left of him was that I was making progress. He worried about me, he loved me, all those things about me that he said before were just him trying to hide the affection he couldn't to show. Plus, he was confused. Like he had said that he needed someone to show him the right path, someone who could help him and be there for him unlike everybody else in the world.
I half heatedly used Vaas's razor to shave my legs and armpits and even more... Private places that really did need to be tended to. My legs were the worst though, the hair on those things was like a grassy plain in Africa or a teenager that just hit the climax of his puberty. Once I felt content with my hygiene, I turned the shower off and left for the room leaving my bloody clothes on the floor.
I took cautious towards the room, I hurried myself with nervousness when I heard the sound of the warehouse door slam open. I ran my way up the steps.
"Mirabella!" Benny's voice echoed through the warehouse, he was carrying a large basket of fruits as I had requested.
"One second Ben!" I scurried around Vaas's room, navigating and searching the clothing covered floor for a shirt and boxers. I had a found a dark brown pair of boxers with a red tank top, the tank top had several holes throughout it, I tried looking for something a little less revealing, but I could find nothing.
I hesitantly walked down the metal steps, Benny's eyes widened at my attire, he directed his eyes to something else. I confidently grabbed the basket from him and nodded to him although he couldn't see, I made my way up the metal steps again.
"I can get you other clothes you know." I ignored him, not because I was embarrassed, or being mean or anything. I ignored him because this shirt I was wearing had the scent of Vaas all over it, not the bad scent either. The scent of cologne and dominance all in one, that earthy smell that I loved so much more than tobacco.
I closed the bedroom door behind me and placed the basket by the mattress, falling onto the mattress, I placed my head on the feather pillow and took a deep breath. My eyes shut almost instantly although I was extremely hungry, I fell asleep to the scent of Vaas all over and the warmth of the blanket that surrounded me.

The sound of the bedroom door opening brought my attention, I shot up with hope that it was Vaas standing at the door, but the room was far to dark to see and instead a tall dark figure stood at its entrance. I gulped, fear rushing over me, the warehouse was very dim in itself, the only lights were of neon blue which pierced into many dangling bodies of animals. The man definitely was not Vaas, or Benny and from what I could see through the dark was a shirtless man with a red sash draped across his chest, a bandanna wrapping around his neck, short black hair, tan skin, and black boots in which re pants tucked into.
"W-Who the fuck are you?" There was no answer, the man approached, I scooted away. "I asked who the hell you were?!" This time I was much more prideful and firm with my tone.
"I am Carlos." The man answered and then suddenly I was jumped, he hopped onto me, I could hear his laugh, his insanity at its highest. I forcefully kicked and squirmed attempting to break from his weight, I finally found myself free. Within seconds I was at the door, rushing down the stairs, it wasn't long before I heard him after me. He ran down the stairs skipping steps to be quicker, the tank top flopping up and down from its looseness.
I ran as fast as I could, swinging open the metal door with all my strength I ran out into the middle of the compound. He was only feet behind me.
"Stay the fuck away!" Benny was right about him, stay away. I sprinted past the red couches and then suddenly tripped on a random beer bottle that was in the center of my path. I fell flat onto my face, which buried into the dirt, the sound of his footsteps nearing, I sat up, my breath ragged, my eyes wide and my chest heaving. I turned onto my back and stared up at him, holding my hands up, he snatched forward grabbing my forearm, I winced.
"Fucking wh-" A loud gunshot echoed through the compound, the man released his grip on me, I lost my balance and fell into a hard surface, I watched as Carlos fell to the ground with a loud thump and my eyes drifted shut to a fading voice that I could not recognize.