Chronoa

D. Gray-Man

Chapter 5

Revised

Christine was still working on her homework when her mother came home. She had obviously not done well at the casino, if the slamming of doors and stomping of feet gave anything away. Christine shivered in fear, hoping her mother would just bypass her room and go to sleep. She had no such luck.

"You worthless girl!" her mother yelled as she slammed the door to Christine's room open, leaving an indentation in the wall. "Did you think I'd forgotten about your little stunt last night?" she screeched, pulling the frightened girl out of her chair by the hair. "Well? Answer me!" she roared. Christine could smell the alcohol on her putrid breath. Shaking her head frantically, she prayed her mother wouldn't be too hard on her that night. Unfortunately, her prayers went unanswered.

Her mother was still screaming nonsense at her while she got dragged out of the room. Words like 'worthless', 'scum', and 'all your fault' fell harshly from her drunken mother's lips. As Christine was pulled into the living room, her eyes immediately scanned the room, searching for anything that could be used to hurt her. Her eyes widened when she saw the belt, seemingly innocent, thrown across the back of the couch.

'Oh no…'

When her mother saw her fearful eyes transfixed on the leather belt, she grinned maliciously. "I see you've noticed what you're going to meet tonight," she sneered. She pushed Christine onto her knees and quickly snatched the belt up in her hands. Bringing the belt down on Christine, she laughed maniacally as the first of many screams ripped from Christine's throat.

0-0-0

When Monday came, Christine had only gotten three hours of sleep, having been in too much pain to let herself drift off. As she silently slipped out of her house, backpack slung painfully over her shoulder, she was – for once – glad to be going to school. Especially because it meant getting away from her myother. Sighing, and throwing a depressed look towards the three story house down the street, she limped towards school.

'It's a good thing I left earl,' she thought as she arrived on time, but at a much slower pace than usual. As she walked through the crowded hallways to her first class, she avoided everyone's eyes more so than usual; she winced every time someone touched her.

The depressed girl sighed in relief as she sank into her seat at the back of the class. Putting her head on the desk, she froze when she realized that she would have to face Allen, Kanda and Lavi at some point in the day. 'What am I going to do?' she thought fearfully. 'I just ran out like that…Oh gods, what if they think I ran because of what Lavi told me?' She realized that her timing couldn't have been worse. 'Oh gods…'

As Allen and Kanda walked into the room just as the bell rang, Christine hid her face in her arms, praying they wouldn't try to talk to her. On the contrary, the two boys completely ignored her, sitting two rows in front of her. Allen sent her a desperate glance as he sat down, as if hoping that what Lavi had told him was fake. When he saw her with her head buried in her arms, he didn't know what to think. She looked almost in pain, but she couldn't be, could she? He thought for a moment as Mr. Haknoys started his lecture. Unless her mother did something to her after she got home…Now that he thought about it, the idea wasn't that absurd.

Sighing, Allen tried, and failed, to pay attention to the lesson. 'Why does everything have to turn out for the worse when it concerns us?' he thought as he too buried his head into his arms. Kanda sighed agitatedly. He was tired of Allen acting like this all weekend.

"Oi, Moyashi," he whispered harshly. Allen looked at him languidly. "Why don't you just talk to her? Get her side," he said, crossing his arms and glaring at the younger boy. Allen blinked slowly before his face broke into a small smile.

"Thanks, BaKanda," he said quietly. "I hadn't thought of that before."

"Che. Obviously." Allen glared once more before getting out a piece of paper to take notes.

"I'm gonna talk to her at lunch. Keep Lavi distracted for me?"

"Che."

"I'll take that as a yes."

0-0-0

Lunch break found Christine walking painfully into the cafeteria. Or at least, that's what she was trying to do. Instead, Allen blocked her path, making her eyes widen in surprise.

"A-Allen?" she whispered, her throat sore from all of the screaming she had done.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked quickly, looking over his shoulder to see where Lavi was.

"U-umm…" she nodded hesitantly, unsure of what he wanted.

"Good, c'mon, let's go outside." She followed him as quickly as she could in her current condition.

"W-what's wrong?" she questioned softly.

"I should be the one asking that. Christy, why'd you run?" he asked, looking at her with sad eyes. She looked at the ground, sighing.

"You…you guys h-have enough problems of your own. You don't need to worry about mine," she told him softly. His eyes widened and a smile stretched across his face, which was again covered.

"Is that why you ran? Because you didn't want us to worry about you?" he asked. She nodded reluctantly. "We wouldn't have asked if we weren't ready to take it on, Christy," he said with a smile. Her eyes misted over and she smiled brightly at him.

"Really? Thank you, Allen." She told him.

"I've told you before, it's not a problem. So c'mon, let's go get lunch." He grabbed her hand and walked quickly into the cafeteria; he didn't see the pained expression on her face.

When Lavi saw them enter, he glared harshly at Christine. 'Why is Allen bringing her over here,' he thought angrily. When it came to his friends, Lavi was very protective.

"Calm down, Lavi. I talked to her, and it was just a misunderstanding," the white-haired boy said. As Christine took her usual spot, he quickly explained the situation.

"Damn. Now I feel like a jackass," Lavi whined. He turned to the girl with pleading eyes – eye? "I'm so, so, so sorry!" he said. "Please forgive me!"

"Don't worry about it," she told him with a forced smile, her voice cracking. "Everybody makes mistakes sometimes."

"But still! I should have thought of all the possibilities!"

"Che. Just shut the hell up already," Kanda said, glaring as usual at him. Lavi quieted and buried his face in his food.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go get food," Allen sang, standing up and almost running to get into the food line. Quickly he returned carrying his usual vast amount of food. "Here ya go, Christy! I got you some pizza." He put a tray in front of her.

"Oh…" She blinked. "Thanks," she muttered. She hadn't been able to eat anything since the night her mother beat her, so she was starving. Allen seemed shocked that she had so readily accepted his offering.

"It's no problem. I told you, you're too skinny!" he said playfully, grinning at her. Lavi and Kanda watched the two exchange a playful banter as they ate; they were somewhat shocked at how easily Allen and Christine had become friends.

Lavi sighed though. He could see the way she walked today; as far as he could tell, she hadn't had a pleasant time when she got home.

"So, you're coming home with us today, right?" he asked abruptly, startling the two youngest. Christine thought for a moment.

"Ummm…I don't know if I should. My mom hasn't really been in the best of moods lately," she told them quickly.

"What?" Allen dropped his fork. "Did she hurt you anymore?"

"Y-yeah," she admitted softly, looking down at the table. Allen's eyes narrowed.

"You're coming home with us," he said, leaving no room for any protest. "And we're going to go to the police and we're going to get you away from your mother." His eyes softened. "You aren't going to go back there, Christy."

"A-Allen…" she stuttered. Looking at the determined expressions on all three faces, she didn't dare protest. Slowly, a smile took over her face. "Alright."

0-0-0

"Okay, I know this will be hard, but will you let us take pictures of your scars and bruises for evidence?" Lavi asked her. They were all sitting some place in the boys' living room. Christine blushed, but nodded.

"I'll do anything, as long as I don't have to go back to that place ever again," she said resolutely. Allen grinned.

"That's the spirit!" he cheered. "So, uh…Do you care who takes the pictures? Or, do you want to go in a separate room, or-"

"Allen," she said firmly, cutting him off. "I don't care who takes the pictures, and we can take them right here," she told him.

"O-okay." He stammered.

"So, where are the majority of the marks?" Lavi asked.

"On my back."

"Mmkay, so if you don't mind, err…" He turned red. "Taking off your shirt, it would be helpful." She nodded and did as he said, taking off her baggy hoodie and long-sleeved shirt slowly. Her once pale skin had become mottled with bruises of varying sizes, shapes and colors. She had on a plain purple bra, which she covered with her arms self-consciously.

"It's alright, Christy." Allen smiled reassuringly.

"Will you turn around for me? I need some shots of your back." Lavi, who had been taking pictures since he could see marks, said. She wordlessly turned around, exposing her back, which was the worst part of her body. The belt had left large welts all across her back. Some of them were still encrusted in dried blood.

"Why haven't you cleaned them?" Kanda asked, eyes narrowed. She blushed again.

"Well, I can't exactly reach or see them, and I don't have anything to clean them with, either," she said nervously.

"Che. Rabbit, are you done?" Lavi nodded, going through the pictures he had taken intently. "Good. Then come with me. I'll clean them." Kanda muttered before spinning on his heel and striding from the room. Christine quickly followed him into a bathroom. He gestured for her to sit on the toilet and she did so, her sensitive back facing him. "This may sting," he warned her.

She clenched her eyes shut and tried not to flinch as he carefully wiped the blood away with a rag that was damp with hydrogen peroxide. After a few short minutes, she felt him placing what felt like a very large Band-Aid over the worse of them.

"That should do for now," the eternally-agitated Asian said as he stood up. "Just don't move your back around too much; it could re-open them," he told her. Christine nodded and slowly stood up.

"Thank you," she said quietly, looking down at the ground. Kanda scoffed.

"Don't mention it. Just don't let it happen again, and we'll be fine." He said before walking out of the bathroom and entering the living room where Allen and Lavi were. Christine followed after him with her arms crossed over her stomach self-consciously.

"Does it feel better now, Christy?" Allen asked her with a grin. She nodded and sat carefully on the edge of the sofa. "That's great!"

"Y-yeah…" she muttered. "Can…Can I put my shirt back on now?" she asked. Both Lavi and Allen blushed. Lavi handed her t-shirt back to her, and she quickly slipped it over her head. "So…what do we do now?"

After thinking silently for a few minutes, it was Allen that decided.

"Well, why don't we got get something to eat, and them go to the police. The sooner we get this over with, the better. Christy, you can stay with us again tonight, 'kay?" He grinned at her. "We won't let them separate us from you."

"Of course, always thinking about food, Allen," Lavi sighed, a playful grin on his face. "But I agree with him. Now that we have actual evidence, your mom should be out of your life in no time!"

"Thanks, you guys. Thank you so much. You can't imagine how much I appreciate this," Christine said sincerely, smiling a genuine smile.

"Well, better get it over with!" Allen shouted, standing up. "Let's go get fooooood! I'm in the mood for some Chinese," he said, grabbing Christine's hand and leading her outside.

"Oi! It's my turn to drive!" Lavi shouted, sprinting after them and snatching the keys Allen had in his hands. The white-haired boy pouted, but got in the back seat after Christine.

"Let's go~"

0-0-0

After getting a considerable amount of food at a Chinese buffet, the group silently made their way into the police station.

"Hello~" The head officer, Komui Lee sang.

"Hey," the three boys said in unison.

"What can I do for you boys?" he asked. Christine was hiding behind Allen, and therefore couldn't be seen.

"Well, we have a problem…" Allen said, stepping to the side and allowing Komui to see Christine. His face went from carefree to serious in a matter of moments.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"She's living in an abusive home," Lavi said solemnly. Komui's eyes hardened almost imperceptibly.

"I see," he said quietly. "Well then, if you'll follow me, we'll talk in my office." He led them through the station and into a very messy office. "Take a seat." He gestured to two chairs across from his own. Lavi sat down in one and Allen gestured for Christine to do the same while he stood behind her. Kanda set the camera and recorder on Komui's desk and went to stand by the door.

"I trust that this is your evidence?" the Head Officer asked, picking up the camera.

"Yup," Lavi told him, leaning back in his chair.

"Very well." Komui turned on the camera and began to sift through the pictures slowly. When he was through, he looked up at Christine with sad eyes. "Who did all of this to you?"

She took a deep breath.

"My mother."