Aya is on her third week with the Mercers. She eats only dinner with them, goes to school everyday and tries hard not to get kicked out of school every frickin day. Evelyn manages to get her to wear eye liner to make her eyes pop once a week and get her in a shirt under her jacket three times a week, which she wears the jacket less and less. Angel has become the only one brave enough to wake her up in the morning, taking a few hits most of the time. Bobby usually takes on the task of making her eat dinner, while Jeremiah tries to get her to watch more than five minutes of television. Jack is the one tasked with keeping up where she is.
"Aya!" Evelyn calls to the girl. Her hazel eyes snap open, having been almost asleep at seven o'clock in the morning on a Monday after finishing a project that she absolutely loathed for history class. "You have to get ready for school!" Aya growls and slips off the night shirt she wore, adopting another shirt from her closet.
Angel comes in as she is about to put it on with Bobby and Jeremiah right behind him. He puts up a hand as soon as he sees her lacking. "Shit! Sorry! Move out the way!"
"Jesus, guys!" Aya turns and hides her front with the shirt. "Get out!" She grabs the ball she left there the night before when she started her project and throws it at them. "Honestly, can't you knock?!" Angel slams the door as he exits, laughter sounding as Aya learns that the ball hit Bobby in the eye. Rushing to finish before they come in again, Aya accidentally knocks down a glass of water.
"Shit!" The glass had broken into a few pieces, and Aya cut her finger trying to pick it up but doesn't even notice. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Knocking on the door stops her rant and causes her to stand quickly.
"Everything alright in here?" Jack asks, opening the door a little bit. "I heard a crash. Well, Bobby did, but I followed and opened the door since he couldn't find the knob. Nice throw by the way."
"Everything's alright," Aya calls, picking up the fragments. "I'm almost done, so I'll be out in just a second." Aya gathers all of the fragments and puts them in a paper towel to throw away. Aya can tell that it's Bobby who knocks this time because they're harder and louder than Jack's quick movements. "Hang on!" Aya stands up and grabs her bag, throwing her boots on.
Leaving the room, Aya shuts the door, turning and nearly running into Bobby. She slips away from them both, surprised when Bobby grabs her shoulder. "What happened to your hand?" Hazel eyes snap down, looking at her hand.
"I... I don't know," she lies, though she has the sinking feeling that she's been caught having broken something and has to pay terrible prices for it. "Probably just cut myself doing that project last night." Using her other fingers, Aya lifts the poster board up before trying to scurry off again. Bobby stops her again.
"You're a terrible liar. What's in your pocket, Aya?" Bobby points down to the slight bulge in her left jean pocket. Aya looks down and pulls it out of her pocket. She opens the napkin to show the broken glass.
"I didn't mean to. I was rushing after you and the others walked in on me and... it was an accident." Bobby curses a bit, but it isn't in anger or anything close to it. "I'm sorry.. I can pay for another glass. I have the money in the room being given-"
"Don't worry about it. Jack, help the girl clean her hand," he says and Aya sits still for a moment. Jack heads out of sight before coming back with a first aid kit as Bobby goes downstairs to inform his mother and throw away the broken pieces. Aya wishes she could disappear in that moment as Jack holds a hand out.
"I can do it," Aya whispers, reaching for the kit. Jack lets her take it, unquestioning of her intentions with it. "Why didn't Bobby get mad at me?"
"Why would he? It was an accident, wasn't it?"
"It was, but I've done less and... I'm going to school." Aya begins heading down the stairs.
"I'll see you there! Suspension is finally over!" Aya tries not to think about this as she goes out the front door, nodding at Evelyn as a goodbye and leaving a bit of money on the counter for the glass.
"Hey, look. It's the freak." Aya ignores the comment as she pours over the book in front of her. She hasn't let the Mercers know, nor any other parental figures, but she loves books. Most of her notebooks have a page or two of writing she composed, sometimes poems, sometimes short stories, and sometimes little fantasies nearly every girl has at fifteen. "Freak, look up." Aya ignores them again.
A hand throws away the book she reading, sending it across the table and on the ground. Aya clenches her teeth before looking up. She doesn't bother with names here because she found herself hating everyone she came across at this school. "Gonna talk, freak? Or do I have to carry the conversation on my own? I know how important it is to you that people either ignore you or hold both parts of the conversation."
Aya says nothing, getting up to get her book. The boy, definitely her age and a bully by definition, grabs her arm roughly. The courtyard quiets down, everyone's attention locked on the showdown happening between Aya and the boy. Aya can see Jack not too far away, staring at them both. "C'mon, freak. Say something. What was that? Too damn scared so you wanna go home? I can't imagine how your mother puts up with you."
Aya closes her eyes, body tight, as she tries so damn hard to just stay calm and not punch this boy in his fucking mouth. A voice in her head nags at her to say something so he'll back off, but that part is optimistic. She would say something that insults him and get beat up anyway. Might as well stay silent so no one can say that you started it. "Strike a nerve there? So you're not the immovable bitch you pretend to be after all."
She keeps her eyes closed for a moment longer before pushing past him to retrieve her book. "You know, I honestly can't quite believe that you have a penis." Everyone either blanches, giggles, or applauds her. "It must be pretty small if you do. Maybe a millimeter? Hm, if that. Other than that, I've seen girls with smaller breasts than yours. What size are they? D?"
The black haired teen isn't sure what happened first. All she registers is getting hit, falling down, and Jack holding the kid, ready to get in a fight. Aya is quick to react though, feeling a stinging sensation in her cheek. "Piss off, Jack!" She pushes him away, meeting his sky blue eyes head on. The boy earlier insulted and now pissed tries to go for Aya only to receive a broken nose and the wind knocked out of him.
"Why? Because he hit you?" Jack demands from her.
"Because I can handle myself," Aya responds. "And now is not the time, Jack. Go to class and leave me alone."
"If now isn't the time, then when is? You think I haven't noticed that you sneak out every night and don't return until early morning?"
"No, I know that you've noticed because I haven't hidden that little detail. So piss off, Mercer." Aya glares at him as he opens his mouth again. "Argue with me again and see what happens. I said I can handle myself."
"Don't forget that you're a Mercer too, Aya," Jack shoots back.
"I am not a Mercer! If I were, I'd be miserable! I have always been and will always be a Collins. Just because some old lady thinks she can change that doesn't mean shit to me." The bell rings as Aya fights off the guilt at what she says, surprising herself. "Go to class, Jack."
Jack doesn't say anything as he roughly bumps into her, heading toward his homeroom. Aya blows out a sigh. "And it's only morning..." Picking up her bag and book, Aya leaves the courtyard and wishes that she could be somewhere else.
Aya cruises down the sidewalk on her skateboard that Pete bought her the week before. She looks at the time and changes direction for the thrift shop. Speeding up, Aya catches up to Jack. "Hey, I'm going to head over to the video game store. Tell the old lady for me?" Jack says nothing. "Really? Please tell me that you're kidding me." He looks the other way. "Fine. But when I go missing, you'll have to tell the cops the last place you saw me and live with knowing that you were in a fight with me. Have fun with life."
Aya turns again and speeds away, ignoring Jack as he calls for her to wait. She makes it to Pete's within a few minutes, riding in past him and grabbing her bag. "I'm going to search that lead I got the other day. Should take the usual time."
"Wait, Aya!" Pete calls, catching her arm and pointing at who is moving toward the counter. Aya panics and ducks down, moving to behind the check out. She stays there for a few tense minutes, listening to Angel and Pete converse politely. She heaves a sigh as he leaves and Pete lets her up. "That was close, girl. You should be a bit more careful."
"I should be a bit more of a lot of things, Pete," she responds simply and with the shake of the head. "Don't worry about me." She changes quickly, putting on shades. She smiles at Jack as she walks by, wondering why so many Mercers are around. He seems to stare at her for a moment before dismissing her and going into Pete's shop.
Aya walks the blocks for a while, looking for her target at the usual places. She finds her in the book store, her fifth stop and ninety minutes later. The girl is surprisingly pale, with red hair and green eyes. Pete and a few other sources found it important to notify her of a girl asking around for Bloodless, talking about payments and deliveries.
Pulling up her shades to reveal her contact colored eyes, Aya approaches the girl. She looks at the books. Fantasy. Not a bad collection to Aya. "So, do you know any books I should try out?" the girl asks, starting the conversation. "I've read almost all of them, but don't know what to try next."
"I've already cleared out most of the other book stores," Aya says. "Honestly, I can't tell the difference anymore. Had to get away from this genre for a while, and I'm just now returning to it. Now I have to stay away from horror movies." The girl laughs.
"As have I. I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"
"Haven't seen me before because of my weird work schedule and many overtimes. Jenna. How about you?"
"Abby," the girl replies. She busies herself with the books, Aya finding something all too familiar in her posture. "So, have you heard the rumors about a guy roaming the streets who calls himself Bloodless? Pretty scary guy."
"Funny," Aya says, twitching irritably. "I was about to ask you the same thing. Last night, a few friends were telling me about how a strange customer came in the other day. Asked about him and excused herself with something about payments and deliveries. Word says that she had red hair cut uneven and green eyes."
Abby laughs. "Hilarious. I heard from my girlfriends that a chick with curly blonde hair and blue eyes has been asking around for a while about him too. Excuses herself with money he owes her. Everyone knows that if he owes someone money that he just kills them." Abby looks at her out the corner of her eye. "So I doubt that it's possible for that person to be alive or telling the truth."
"And I doubt that someone would be looking around for payments. He is very faithful about his rewarding services last I checked." Aya pulls out a book and flips it open. "So I think that she's lying too."
"Let me guess," Abby says. "He killed your family too."
"Eight years old, only child, father died when I was in the womb. Killed the only person who never judged me for a damn thing and worked her fingers to the bone in order to get me through school. I plan on making him wish himself dead for a long time. And you?"
"Seven, three siblings, lived at my grandmother's house. Grandmother died later of heart failure, killed my brothers and sister after finding them in their room. I'd been at a friend's house when it happened."
"So I suppose that I'll get no useful information out of you," Aya says, sighing.
"Unless we join forces and go after the bastard together," Abby suggests, facing her. "I think that we can do a bit better if we do. We don't need to know each other's real name. Just give me a way to contact you and we can do this together. Obviously we can't do it alone. If I know anything, you've been doing this since your breasts started growing too."
Aya hates to admit that Abby's right. "Fine. If you need to contact me for something not so important then go to Pete's Thrift Home. Ain't a pretty name, but he can contact me. If it's something you have to say in person, go to Pete's and ask for an address. Pete's isn't far from here. I can show you the way then we can go look at whatever other leads you have."
"My only lead I haven't checked out is some kid named Gunner," Abby says, putting a book back and grabbing her bag. "Lead the way to Pete's."
"Gunner isn't worth your time. Not yet. I have reason to believe him for now," Aya shares before leaving the shop and catching sight of Bobby. "Shit." She pulls her shades back down.
"Guy you know?" Abby says, pulling the hood of her jacket up.
"Somethin' like that," Aya admits. "I have to live with him for a while. His mother decided to gamble an adoption on me. I'm trying to stay as far from that house as possible."
"Mmm. How many boys are there?"
"Four," Aya answers.
"Damn. How many girls?"
"Only me."
"Lucky bitch. I'm with a bunch of girls. No boys. Well, there is one, but he's gay," Abby says and Aya laughs.
"They can barely stand me. Bobby, the one back there, tries my nerves. I don't know if it's on purpose, but it happens. He's the oldest at twenty two. Next is Jeremiah, who's twenty, and I think he likes me but doesn't like how I say what I say. Then Angel is nineteen, but his birthday is coming up, and he's the only one who dares to wake me up. Then Jack, who is currently giving me the silent treatment, is sixteen."
"Hah. These people are too damn much. Julie is seventeen and the most fake bitch you can meet. Carrie is sixteen and is the most adorable thing in the world. Then Taylor is eight and is so sweet. Mike is fifteen and doesn't talk much," Abby says then with a smile. "Mike only talks to me. I'm the only one who knows about his sexuality, so he tends to tell me more. Especially since Julie won't leave him alone about his nail polish that he wears."
Aya smiles. "I'm happy he has someone like you then. Those kinds of people can be lethal."
"Lethal?"
"They can explode at any minute. Especially with a girl like Julie around," Aya explains. "I was around one. She was bisexual and they caught her with a girl. Treated her like shit. Punching one in the mouth got me kicked out of that foster home." She takes a quick look at Abby. "I'm on his side too."
Abby smiles. "He'll like that." Aya turns and opens the door to Pete's shop. "This is it?"
"This is it," Aya confirms. "Pete, come meet my new accomplice!"