Chapter 5
Lucy was a quick learner and she knew the moment her bottom hit the seat that Aashi was no gentle rider. Lucy's hair whipped her face whenever she tried to look around so she was had no other choice but to bury her face into Aashi's back.
The ride wasn't long, thankfully, but Aashi took her time parking. She had said that her chopper would have been stolen if she had left it out on the street, which Lucy did not doubt for a second, so in the end it took ten minutes finding the right spot.
The right spot just so happened to be a container near the edge of the port.
Lucy frowned deeply, flipping her head at Aashi and nearly scoffing at her but Aashi hastily explained, "This place is closer to your home than where you suggested, child."
Lucy's frown melted when she looked around. The place did look familiar but she wasn't going to admit Aashi was correct on this one mainly because for once Lucy wanted to be right. She kept looking the other way to Aashi so Aashi shrugged and began to walk off.
Lucy's eyes widened to the size of saucers, "Wait up, Ai! Wait!"
Aashi was already chuckling, and her pinkie was out stretched waiting for Lucy to take a hold. Lucy gripped it like a life line through the whole walk which hadn't been too long like Aashi promised. As they closed the distance to the familiar grey, dilapidating, depressing, cramped apartment complex Lucy became anxious.
Memories of the previous day crashed into Lucy's mind like a deer making contact with the windscreen of a racing car. The shock paralysed her on the spot she was in. She dropped Aashi's pinkie thus causing Aashi gander at her. She didn't need an explanation.
Aashi had suspected this would occur even so she was not entirely sure how to coax Lucy into following her. Aashi swooped down to her level so she could look directly into her eyes, "Lucy, I won't let her hurt you. If she even looks at you wrong I will put her back in her place, ok?"
Lucy's eyes fixed with Aashi's and when she saw the determination in those eyes she could not help but trust her. She bobbed her head numbly and took her hand again.
They ambled up the stairs quickly even though Lucy was trying to prolong the moment. As Aashi opened the door, Lucy shifted her sight down the corridor to her own door. She wondered if her father was home and whether he would burst out that door again like last time.
'Would daddy be angry?'
"Go on, child." Aashi softly pushed her in. Lucy snatched her gaze back up to Aashi who was patiently waiting.
Lucy was surprised with the aesthetics of Aashi's apartment because it may have had the same layout of Lucy's apartment but it looked like a whole different place. The layout was simple. There was a narrow hall which had two doors to the left, the bedrooms, a kitchen and a tiny living room that was attached to it to the left and a bathroom at the end of the hall.
Whereas Lucy's apartment was simple and had things randomly shoved into it; Aashi was nothing like that. She had a mess, sure, but it was organised Lucy could tell.
Her first bed room was completely black – everything was black. Ok, that was an exaggeration not everything was black. Yet, when Lucy entered the room she was in for a shock. Lucy's own bed was directly left to her door when she entered but Aashi had her bed right smack in the middle which Lucy thought was all wrong because her own single bed had never been in the middle of something and she was hardly in her parents' room.
Her bed was a queen sized bed which was basically three times the size of Lucy's bed. Her bedsheets were black and Sacramento, which did surprised Lucy because she had an inkling that Aashi only accepted black. Her walls were an eggplant purple shade, newly painted, how she got permission Lucy would never now as the landlord was quite the stubborn man. However, even though it was purple, Lucy could barely see it as each wall was adorned with all sorts of things: posters of music bands, traditional masks of all kinds but mainly African and Asian, guitars, animal skulls, swords again of all kinds and a lot of shelves that held a lot of books.
On the right of the bed was a small bedside table which held few items on the inside and on the inside as well which made Lucy question its purpose. There was no vanity table and this was what surprised Lucy the most as she thought all woman had them. In lieu, Aashi had a large full length mirror.
To the left of the room was a small cheap wardrobe and a large mahogany chest draw. The wardrobe was filled with clothes, and not many of them were black; in fact most of them were dark shades of red, green, purple and blue. Very dark. The chest draw was also filled but not to the point where clothes were spilling out. On top of the chest draw were a few circular wooden combs and a lipsticks and eyeliners and eyeshadows – all dark shades of all sorts. There were a few big oil bottles too like avocado and lavender.
When Lucy looked out the small window it turned out the black curtains were so thick that it blocked out any light completely.
Other than that the wine carpet was adorned with sports equipment like dumbbells and a few punching bags.
"You sure do like black, don't you?" Lucy commented.
"Of course, it's a beautiful."
Finally, the time had come where Lucy had an opportunity to ask the one question she had been dying to ask since the beginning, "Ai, is your hair really that long? Daddy said it might be a wig."
Aashi chuckled dryly, "Lucy, this is all natural. You're father just hasn't met a real woman."
"…Oh. That makes sense." Lucy had never seen her father with any woman other than Harleen.
The other room, the guest room, was completely plain. In fact, it only held two basic small single beds and in between them was a bedside table. There was a small chest draw as well but it was empty.
The living room looked like it was the main room for Aashi's work out. There was a traditional hundred pound heavy bag in the middle of the room on a stand which allowed Aashi to move it around rather than let it hang from the ceiling. There was another heavy bag in the corner of the room but it was on no stand rather it stood by itself. Again, this room had excising equipment lying around: nun chucks, kettle bells, yoga balls, battle rope, bar bells, bench press, pull up bar, skipping rope, resistant bands, spin bike and hand grips.
There was a three black seater sofa shoved to the far end of the corner and on the opposite end was a bulky black Panasonic television set with a PlayStation 2 set sitting beside it and a mountain of games.
Seeing the game set put Lucy in a frenzy. Her parents couldn't afford such luxuries but everyone in school talked about these things but just as she was going to grip onto the playstation remote she was dragged back by the collar.
She looked up to see Aashi staring at her expectantly, "You can have all the fun you want, child, but there are ground rules you must know first. First of all, you will take off your shoes at the front and never come into my home with your dirty shoes. Second of all, you must remove your coat and place it up front like you would do in your house. Third of all, treat this environment with respect, you're going to be living in it, so no rubbish."
Lucy saluted her, giving her a cheesy grin, but Aashi's grip still did not loosen.
Lucy groaned loudly, "What now?"
"You're dirty and your clothes are a few days old. You have to clean off. Come on." Aashi began to drag Lucy again and she sputtered "But! Wait! The play! I wanna-"
Aashi finally let her go when she was completely in the bathroom. It was a simple and extraordinarily clean bathroom, Lucy noted, a simple faucet, a tub, a toilet and a…
Lucy tugged on Aashi's trousers, "Ai, what is that next to the toilet?" she pointed to the contraption next to the toilet that looked like a small showerhead.
"You don't know what a bidet is?" Aashi asked, unsurprised.
Lucy shook her head, "No. What is a beeday?"
"A bidet. Hygienic people use it to clean themselves properly with water after they've done their business of relieving themselves."
Lucy was so puzzled, "How? Why haven't I heard of it before?"
"Simple, when you're done, you unhook it, pull it to your genitals and push the button which releases a spray of water. The reason why you haven't heard of it is because… well, its history."
"What do you mean?" Lucy was getting frustrated, no one had ever told her about this invention and it bothered her to think she was not doing something properly.
"Well, for centuries people in the East cleaned themselves with water, so when the Napoleon created his empire, he took this idea and the French created the bidet. Unfortunately, because it was a French invention the British rejected this idea and subsequently the Americans also rejected the bidet." She paused and inhaled sharply, adding with a hint of sarcasm, "Even though the bidet was made to promote hygiene in western civilisation only few European nations actually took it on. The other western civilisations still persist and call it an unnecessary invention."
She then pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered under her breath, "Why must western people be so ignorant? Even people in third-world countries understand the concept of hygiene through water"
"What?" Lucy asked, having completely lost her point, "So what if it's French?"
Aashi looked down at Lucy over her nose, "Basically, the British don't like the French so they didn't like it and because of that Americans also didn't like it."
"Why don't the British like the French? I though they were friends."
"No, child. They hate each other because of their long history of squabbling." She then clapped her hands, "Come now, chop chop, you're having a shower-… a bath. You're having a bath. Don't worry, I cleaned the bathtub."
Lucy had been awkward about undressing. Aashi had excused herself to give Lucy her privacy but Lucy had required assistance, however she was shy for asking Aashi for help because she didn't want to seem weak. Yet, when Aashi figured out she didn't scold her like Lucy had imagined she would.
Aashi took her clothes, helping Lucy undress but avoided looking at her body.
"What's wrong? Why won't you look at me? Is it because I'm ugly?" Lucy asked afraid, her mother had always made fun of her body. Lucy was just learning to take a shower by herself but sometimes her daddy would help her and when he did he would be upset. He never said why he was upset so Lucy just assumed it was because of her body. It was ugly.
"No, child. It's not that, never that. It's because despite the fact that we're both women, I want you to have your privacy and..."
"And?"
"And, I'm saddened child, because I can tell you're ashamed of your body. You should not be ashamed of your body, it's not your fault that your body is like this."
"Like what?" Lucy covered her bare chest with her arms, ashamed and shy.
"Like this" Aashi gestured to her half naked body, "You're nothing but skin and bones and that is not healthy. I don't care what your body looks like. You can be thin or thick and your body would still be beautiful, but if it is not healthy then I will not be pleased because it is not good for you."
Lucy felt uncomfortable in her skin then and there, because she thought Aashi also thought she was ugly.
Just as the tears were springing in her eyes, a warm hand brought her back, "You're a beautiful girl, Lucy. You just need to take care of yourself."
Lucy's anxiety died down somewhat, "You really think so? No one but my daddy has called me that."
"I know so" Aashi playfully tickled her, "Now, give me the rest of your clothes and get in the tub. The water will get cold."
Soon, Lucy found herself in a cloud of bubbles. Whilst she played with her bubbles, that Aashi thanked god for remembering to buy a bottle for Asilia, Aashi sneaked out of her apartment, and picked the lock of Lucy's apartment door.
When Aashi entered, she did so with caution. From what Lucy had described her mother as Harleen was unstable and probably was even more after the attack. She gently shut the door and silently waited in the hall.
Aashi was no superhero but was an experienced individual and she could tell Harley was in her room at the end near the bathroom. Aashi cautiously stepped on the rotten wood and made her way down the hall. Along the way she crossed Lucy's door which was wide open and found dried blood stains on the floor and on the door.
Yeah, she would require the help of her work friends for this. She had a plan on how to deal with this predicament and make arrangements for Lucy but everyone had to play their part perfectly in order for it to work.
Thankfully, the door to Harleen's room was ajar so she pushed it easily away with one finger making no noise at all. Harleen lay on her stomach and had a pillow under her arm, asleep. She didn't look too bad for someone who had been bleeding from the head not too long ago.
'Perhaps it was superficial?' Aashi thought to herself, not that she cared too much.
Aashi scouted the whole apartment and once she was satisfied that she had mapped out and memorised each escape route, each nook and cranny, she went back to Harleen's room. She had even found Arthur's many weapon stashes. Aashi loudly set her boots on the vanity table making it shake and the many makeup items fall to the floor.
Harleen woke with a jolt and when she saw Aashi she began to scream bloody murder.
"Shut your mouth or I'll do it for you, you bloody wretch."
Harleen clutched the sheets to her body, "Who are you? What do you want? My husband is coming home soon."
Aashi stood and purposefully loomed above Harley so as to intimidate her. Aashi was quite aware that her arms were visible in her tank top and some woman loved them, like Asilia, whereas some woman were intimidated and repulsed by them, like Harley was.
"I don't want your money. I'm here for your daughter."
"If you want her, you can have her… for a price though!"
Aashi looked to the ceiling, "I don't want you to sell me your daughter. I want to come to an arrangement."
"What do you mean?"
"I can only assume that you don't want her seeing as you starved her and attempted to take her life last night."
"You, you, you have no proof"
"I have all the proof I need. Now, I'm about to tell you my proposition. You're going to listen, not interrupt me, and then you will accept. You will not tell your man about this. I repeat, you will not repeat this to Arthur, understand?"
Harley lost her voice at the dark look Aashi was giving her and gave a meagre nod.
"Good", Aashi took her seat again. "Lucy will from here and on live with me when Arthur is absent. I will feed and clothe her. Her possessions will remain with me and if she brings back any of her possessions here, you will not pawn them off. When Arthur is present, Lucy will be under his care. You are not permitted to lay a finger on Lucy. You are not permitted to speak with Lucy in a negative tone or way. Whenever, Lucy wants to visit me you will allow her to do so no matter what day or time. If I find out that you have broken any of these conditions you will have to answer to me and you will… feel the consequences for life, do you understand?"
Aashi had taken a rather large apple from the kitchen when she sweeped the place ad crushed it in her right hand after her last sentence to get the point across.
Harley had never been intimidated by any woman in her life before but as she lay there she understood that this was no ordinary woman. This was a force to be reckoned with.
"Why do you care so much for my daughter?"
Aashi stood, wiped her hand on her sheets and dusted herself, "Lucy is not your daughter and I have my reasons. Now, we must cover up your tracks. I will contact someone and they will remove the evidence of your assault on Lucy. As for your own injury I would suggest that you find a person or persons who can look at it promptly. Once you do find that person, leave and do not return for at least a week."
Harleen was going to protest but the look of death that was directed by the menacing woman made her shut her mouth.
Aashi called back to Harley as she left, "If you think of getting out of this agreement of ours, I will make you watch as I literally squeeze the life out of your redhead friend, Pamela, before I break all your bones and your spirit."
Harley knew at that moment that she was totally screwed.
Outside the room, Aashi called a good friend aptly nicknamed 'Granma' as that woman never left a mark. On her way out, she took a few of Lucy's items such as her necessary clothes and a pair of her shoes. She quickly made her way back in time, almost a minute or two later Lucy was calling for her.
"Yes, child?"
"I can't reach the shampoo" Lucy called from behind the curtain.
Aashi gave her the bottle and stated just as she was about to leave, "I've left you a towel and fresh clothes. You should hurry as we have places to be."
Lucy was quick to finish and dry off. Lucy did ponder though Aashi had managed to find some clothes that were her size and even looked like the clothes back at home.
When she was out she towelled her hair and began to wander. Lucy entered Aashi's room and saw that she was rummaging through her draw. When Aashi was done with whatever she was doing Lucy tugged on her jeans, "Ai!"
"Oh, good. Let's get your hair done."
"Done? What do you mean?"
Lucy found out quickly what she meant. Aashi dried off her hair and was now moisturising it with something called avocado oil though Lucy knew she didn't like it because of the smell and texture.
"Argh" Lucy complained as Aashi streaked her hair.
"It's good for you, child. You see this?" Aashi held a strand of hair in front of Lucy's face, "You see how it splits at the end? That's split ends and you have a lot. That's bad and you'll go bald early if you don't take care of your hair. This oil strengthens your hair."
Once Aashi had oiled her hair and combed it through with one of her wooden combs, she sectioned Lucy's hair, making a parting in the middle of her head.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm parting your hair so you can braid your hair."
Lucy became abashed, "I don't know how to."
Aashi was quiet which made Lucy even more shy. Finally, Aashi replied, "It's ok. I'll teach you but later. For now, I'll give you two pigtails, yeah?"
"Ok" Lucy covered her face with her hands.
Aashi smirked, "It's fine."
Lucy only relaxed when Aashi stroked her head and combed her hair once more. She then gave her two perfect fish tail braids.
"Woah, neat!" Lucy praised her, "You're really good, aincha?"
Aashi narrowed her eyes at Lucy and was about to correct her but Lucy's face was sparkling for the first time in days so Aashi let it slide this time.
"Where are we going?" Lucy queried as she put her socks on.
Aashi, who stood by the door with her hand on the doorknob, turned to grimace at her, "Shopping."
Frankly, Aashi hated, no, she despised shopping. The mall was crowded with people, and the whole place just screamed consumerism. Be as that may she was here for Lucy who was equally ill at ease.
Aashi had picked up on a few of Lucy's behavioural patterns; for example, when Lucy was anxious or afraid she would take a hold of Aashi's trousers or coat, that was if Lucy couldn't reach Aashi's pinkie. When Lucy was excited she would try to get Aashi's immediate attention by patting her knee or tugging on her wrist. When she was angry Lucy would stomp her foot or shuffle her feet.
Right now Lucy was gripping Aashi's trousers in a knuckle whitening hold. Lucy would calm down if Aashi patted her head so she did just that and realised that it did in fact work as Lucy eased her grip but did not let go completely.
Aashi sighed gently and offered her entire hand to Lucy and not just her pinkie. Lucy saw her hand and did not hesitate to take her hand, "Ai, why are we here?"
"Winter is coming, child, and your wardrobe is lacking in every way."
"So?" Lucy glanced around as if looking for predators.
"So, if we do not get you clothes soon you will most likely get sick and we can't have that now can we, love?"
Lucy did not answer as her attention had been taken by a mannequin in the display which sported a jean jacket.
That shop was the first one they went to. Lucy was so stumped by the store's name, The Gap, that by the time she stopped asking about it Aashi had already picked out the necessities: a pair of jeans that was covered in cherries (since Lucy had only been interested in those ones), several blouses, two hoodies, a matching hat and gloves, and some underwear and socks. They hadn't taken the jean jacket as Aashi inspected it and didn't like the quality, hence the shop they went to next was simply for the sake of getting a good quality jean jacket.
Lucy was at such a loss as to why Aashi insisted in going to Hollister in particular to get a good jean jacket. As far as Lucy could see, nearly all the stores in the mall had been selling those jean jackets but Aashi had said, "Jean is in fashion so everyone will be trying to pass off something cheap to their customers."
When they got to Hollister, Lucy was quick to pick up the stone washed jean jacket with the pink fleece. When she got back to Aashi from where she had run off from she was dazed to find that Aashi had picked up two more pairs of trousers for her.
When they went to the changing rooms the assistant did a double take at the pair but neither of them cared at that moment and thankfully the woman had enough manners not to say anything. Aashi had stood outside but Lucy dragged her in when she realised that Aashi wasn't going to help her.
"What's the difference between these?" Lucy implored, worried.
"One is relaxed so there is more room in the thigh region for comfort and one is regular so it's not too slim and not too loose."
Lucy shuffled her feet, "Why are they so big?"
"I got a size larger because you'll be growing."
"Oh. Ok. Can, can you… help me?"
She didn't really need to ask Aashi because that was what she intended to do and was already helping her. Lucy used Aashi's leg to balance herself as she kicked her shoes off and then stripped her old jeans off. Aashi leaned down and aided Lucy in putting her feet in the correct holes for each jean.
They were not a perfect fit but Aashi had said that Lucy would get used to it. Aashi had not told Lucy her entire reason for getting a few sizes larger – the real reason was because Aashi knew that she would help Lucy gain weight which hopefully would only take a few months.
The third shop they went to was Adidas where Aashi had gotten Lucy a pair of white high top sneakers with black stripes and a pair of pink sneakers.
The next shop they went to was more of a quick stop as Aashi got her a pair of dungarees and a few striped shirts and sweaters.
The last shop they went to was Claire's where Lucy went crazy and picked up all of the cute butterfly and cat hair clips and bobble hair ties.
As they left the mall, Lucy glanced at the amount of bags Aashi was carrying, and immediately felt regret grow in her belly. She didn't know how much the total cost had been but she had a feeling that it was a large amount. Yet, when Lucy dared a glance at Aashi's face she seemed pleased.
In her experience, when Lucy had spent too much money her mother would become so ferocious and would punish Lucy but Aashi was nothing like that. They quickly clambered into the stolen car they had picked up on the way and whizzed off.
Aashi had flipped the radio on which blasted Lady Marmalade out of the speakers. Aashi sneered at the radio but hesitated when she saw that Lucy was enjoying it. Aashi kept her eyes on the road but every now and then she would catch Lucy staring that her face. Once they were close to their apartment complex they ditched the car and legged it home.
Aashi was quick to put Lucy's clothes in the bottom draw of the chest draw in the guest room much.
"Lulu, come here!"
Lucy ogled Aashi when she came padding in, "What did you call me?"
"Lulu because Lou just sounds too masculine."
Lucy opened her mouth but Aashi hushed her, "Ok, look here now, I'll put everything in the lower draws so you can reach them… What's wrong?"
Lucy scuffed her foot, "How… how much money did you spend?"
Aashi lowered her head, disapproving of Lucy's worry about money, "Lucy, these things we bought today, will you use them?"
Lucy pushed her hair out of the way, and nodded hastily, "Yeah"
"Then the money doesn't matter. What matters is that your needs are met, child."
"But-"
"No buts." Aashi calmly interjected, "The price for your comfort does not matter to me. I'm not Harleen."
Aashi directly hit the mark whether she knew it or not. Aashi had said it had been alright, would be alright, so Lucy put her trust in Aashi.
"Now, let's get you fed. What do you want? I can't make anything because my cabinets are empty."
Lucy hopped her way to Aashi, "PIZZA!"
Aashi staggered back at Lucy's sudden outburst and looked down at the girl wondering where she got her energy from.
Lucy gasped, "You've never had Hawaiian pizza!"
"No, I'm a vegetarian." Aashi stated putting her jacket underneath her.
"Oh! I know what that means! That means you only eat veggies, like carrots and stuff!" Lucy pointed at her, excited.
"Well, yes. I don't eat meat."
"That's weird. Don't you miss chicken?"
Aashi slumped and smiled at Lucy goofily, "I've never had chicken…"
A gasp again from the girl, "What about beef?"
Aashi shook her head.
"Pork?"
Aashi grimaced, "Never that."
"What? Why? Pork is so nice! How do you know you won't like it if ya never tried it before?" Lucy requested from Aashi, banging her hand on the table.
Aashi leaned into the heel of her left hand, "Lucy, have you ever thought about what a pork is?"
"Uh, yeah, it's pig!"
Aashi hummed, "Have you ever seen how disgusting a pig is more than any other animal?"
"What do you mean?" Lucy cocked her head.
"Whilst I am opposed to eating any animal, I would protest against the consumption of pig because that is literally toxic for humans."
"What? That… that's not true. All animals are alike."
Aashi closed her eyes and tutted at Lucy, "Not quite, Lulu. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not against pig because of any religious beliefs. No, no. I'm actually a devout atheist-"
"What's that?"
"I don't believe in God."
"Oh. So that means I'm an athe..ist too?"
"That's your decision, not mine. Religion is personal. It is not something someone can decide for you. They can force you to believe something but true faith is belief you personally choose."
"Ok." Lucy smiled, happily. Aashi knew by now that that specific smile meant that Lucy only understood half of what she had said to her but she accepted it nonetheless.
Aashi chuckled, "Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Pig. I'm against the consumption of pig specifically because a pig will eat anything, literally anything. If a pig is hungry enough it will even eat other pigs or even humans if it can get close enough. It will even eats its own shit. It wades in its own filth. The nature of the pig is quite disgusting and I would not willingly eat an animal knowing it is so disgusting, granted all animals are dirty, but a pig especially. Also, a pig's skin holds a lot of toxins which they cannot get rid of because they do not sweat like other animals. Those toxins then go into you. Thus, you're poisoning yourself."
Out of all the reasons Aashi gave, Lucy only understood the 'eat human' part which instantly put her off, but she still protested against Aashi mainly because she wanted to convince herself that pigs weren't that bad.
"But, all animals are dirty."
"I know, I did consider that but unlike a cow or a chicken, a pig is a scavenger. Do you know what that is?"
"It eats dead things?" Lucy asked more than stated.
"Yes." When Lucy was silent, Aashi then said, "People wouldn't eat a vulture so I don't know why they would think a scavenger on four legs is any better."
A look of distraught crossed Lucy's face and Aashi feared Lucy's blue mood so she added quickly, "But, if you want to eat something I won't stop you. It's your choice. I mean, I take the saying 'you are what you eat' literally, but you don't have to do that."
Lucy's crescent face transformed into a cheeky smirk, "So you're a carrot?"
Aashi narrowed her eyes at Lucy when small giggles began to leave her lips. Lucy had already said it so there was no denying it now. Aashi was about to correct Lucy as Aashi had not eaten a carrot in a while but the look of amusement on her face was too good to ruin.
Aashi sighed, "Yes." She paused "I am a carrot."
Lucy burst into a fit so loud that the people in the pizza shop all zipped their heads in their direction. Whilst Lucy was very conscious of these people as was Aashi but the look of satisfaction and adoration on Aashi's face told Lucy that unlike Harleen, the only woman she had went out with up until a few months ago, Aashi didn't care about this attention.
This was because all Aashi cared about was Lucy's joy and happiness and if it meant she would get looks from the monkeys that surrounded them then that was fine by her.
"You're a carrot!" Lucy swung her feet underneath the table in the diner like pizza shop. "She's a carrot!"
That rest of the day had been spent with Lucy and Aashi figuring out how to play the games on the PlayStation 2. It turned out the PlayStation was not Aashi's but Asilia's who had left it with Aashi so that she could develop some hobbies other than 'training'.
Fortunately, both Aashi and Lucy were fast learners and they both had a ball with it and all the games. Lucy's favourite at the moment was Jak and Daxter: the precursor legacy. Each time one player died they would hand the other the controller. Of course, Aashi was not as interested in the games as Lucy had been so she gave Lucy her turns when Lucy was particularly impatient. Aashi's favourite game had been Devil May Cry but Lucy wasn't amazed after all by the looks of Aashi's room she liked the idea of anything even vaguely macabre or horror related.
Luckily, for Lucy Aashi did not like television. In fact the reason she even had the Panasonic TV was because she used it to keep up to date with the news but other than that she didn't really use it. After a while Aashi had disappeared into her room only to return to the room in her sports where which was not much – just a sports bra and a loose pair of shorts.
Aashi literally picked Lucy up and, Lucy without losing eye contact with the TV as she was so engrossed in Jak and Daxter, set her in front of the TV so she could push the sofa back into the corner and pull over her punching bag.
Before she went to the heavy bag however she stretched for a full half an hour in which time Lucy had paused her game to ogle Aashi and her impressive body. Lucy had been right, Aashi had some thick thighs. She was literally all muscle.
Aashi then began with her core; she did sits ups, v-ups, then did the cobra for her back and then squats. Then she did her arms doing push ups and this was where she included Lucy.
"Lulu, come here."
Lucy, who had the game still paused, crawled to her and looked at her impressive control. "Yeah?"
"Sit on my back." Aashi commanded.
"What? Are you crazy? You'll get hurt"
"Lulu" Aashi gave her the serious look.
Lucy bit her lower lip and slowly lowered her butt onto Aashi's back.
"Lift your legs too."
Lucy did as she was asked and quite suddenly Aashi began her push ups. Lucy was again in awe of Aashi's strength as she had gone a full fifteen minutes and wasn't even out of breath. Frankly, Lucy was fascinated by the way Aashi's shoulder muscles would contract every time she pushed and her attention was only removed from her shoulders when Aashi had stopped, "Alright, child. You can get off now."
Lucy scrambled off of her back, "Wow, that's amazing! I wanna do that."
Aashi sat on her back and quickly glanced at Lucy with a sparkle in her eye. That was it. She could help Lucy gain a healthy amount of weight through training not to an extreme level but it would help give her strength.
"Yeah? Give me one push up."
Lucy's smile dropped, "What now?"
"Yeah. Just one."
Lucy looked at the floor and then back to Aashi. She glanced behind her at her game, "Like now, now?"
"Yes, child."
Lucy rubbed her forearms together, "Ok. Ok."
She got into the plank position like Aashi had showed her and struggled to do a push up. When she lowered herself she huffed like the wolf in the three pig's story and when she pulled herself up she had broken a sweat.
She fell on her back and wooed, "Yeah! I did it, Ai! I did. A. Push. Up!".
Aashi was beside her clapping, "Yes, you did. Well done." She ruffled Lucy's hair and continued with her own training and Lucy got back to her game. Lucy would steal glances behind her and every time she did she was astounded by the woman she saw.
Later, when Lucy sat down for dinner, which was still strange for her as she had been so used to two meals a day, she was given a plate of the same pizza that they had for lunch but she wasn't upset by that. It was a good pizza.
When Lucy had taken her first bite Aashi laid it down, "Lulu, starting tomorrow you're doing half an hour stretches with me."
Lucy slowly lowered the slice from her mouth, after swallowing, she perked her head up, "Stretches? Will that help me be like you?"
"It will be a start"
Lucy nodded, "Okay!"
Lucy was quick to finish her dinner and half an hour later Aashi had practically taken Lucy by the hand to the bathroom.
"Come on, Lulu. Do you want rotten teeth?"
"But I don't usually brush my teeth at night!" she stomped her foot.
"Yes, well you don't need to brush your teeth thoroughly, just enough to get any bits of food out. Ok?"
Lucy folded her arms and stared at her feet, "Fine."
"Good" Aashi patted her head, "If you need help with the bidet, just call."
It was strange for Lucy using the bidet as she had never used anything like it before. She had indeed needed help and Aashi, luckily, did not judge her for it. Whilst Lucy did not like some of the new changes to her life, like brushing her teeth at night or using a bidet or sleeping early or even not sitting too close to the TV, she did understand why Aashi encouraged these changes. They were good for her. Lucy was really grateful to Aashi but she didn't know how to show it. She was too embarrassed to ask.
Finally, the day came to an end and Lucy crawled under the sheets. Lucy had not asked one thing from Aashi but she had offered Lucy so much. So much more than Harleen had offered. Sure, her father loved her but he did not give her the same amount of time as Aashi had did even though he wished he could. Aashi gave Lucy something neither of her parents could give her: emotional comfort. Aashi had even tucked her in.
Aashi, a total stranger, had walked into her life and had outstretched her hand to Lucy in an act of mercy and kindness. An act of humanity. Lucy saw the way people glared at Aashi especially when she was holding Lucy's hand. It was like they wanted to rip Aashi's arm off and feed it to her.
Now, Lucy understood what Asilia had meant by 'tough but soft'. Aashi genuinely wasa pleasant person. She wasn't like other people because she didn't hide who she was. If Aashi didn't like someone or something she made it obvious but she didn't shove it in people's faces. Lucy concluded that Aashi was a good person despite having some dodgy aspects to her like the part of being an underground boxer.
Yet, there was something Lucy was puzzled about – why did Aashi help Lucy and what their relationship was.
Lucy fell into a fitful sleep with these thought in her mind, but she was having nightmares again, only this time it was of Harleen and in those dreams Lucy could not escape her that time. She saw herself almost die at the hands of Harleen. She jolted awake with tears springing in her eyes.
The tears blinded her but she could still see the shadows trying to grab at her. Her heart nearly began to palpitate. She didn't like the dark. She didn't want to be alone but most of all she was afraid her mother was going to get her. She could already see her in the corner of her room.
In a frenzy, Lucy fell out of her bed and hurriedly padded her way to Aashi's room. She struggled to open the door but once she got the door open there was an even greater challenge. Aashi's room was pitch black.
"Ai!" she whispered, afraid the monsters would hear her. "Ai!" she tried again but her mother was after her, she could hear her slurred speech so without another thought Lucy made a mad dash for what she thought was Aashi's bed.
Her hand came in contact with the sheets and she quickly hauled herself up the bed. It was difficult as it was quite high but she managed after the third attempt. She blindly searched for Aashi but found nothing.
She heard a thump on the other side of the bed and froze. There was a blinding light and then Aashi's tired face came into her view. Lucy cried and hugged her neck.
"What's wrong, child?"
"I'm sc- scared, Aashi. She's coming for me." Lucy squeezed her eyes shut so hard that the tears rolled down her face like bullets.
Aashi knew instantly by who Lucy meant by 'she'. She had a hunch that this would happen. "Would you feel better if you slept here?"
Lucy nodded, mutely.
Aashi scooted over and pulled Lucy into the sheets. She laid her down on the far side away from her. She kept the lamp on for her sake but when Lucy continued to toss and turn Aashi threw caution to the wind and pulled Lucy to her side.
Aashi put an arm around Lucy and held her but not tight enough to suffocate her.
Lucy sniffed, "What are you doing?"
"Holding you" Aashi yawned.
Lucy stared at her like she was crazy, "Why?"
Aashi stroked her head, gently. "So if anyone or any monster comes for you, they'll have to go through me because I won't let you go. I promise."
Lucy sniffed, and asked in a childlike manner. "What is a promise?"
"It is a declaration of what one said they will or will not do. A word of honour that you will definitely keep."
"What? That's so confusing. What's a declaration?"
"When you tell someone something."
"So, a promise is when you tells someone you will definitely do something… or not do something."
Aashi nodded, "And I promise, I won't let anything happen to you. I'm a woman of my word; one should never break their word otherwise that person is not reliable."
Lucy gazed at Aashi with a new found adoration like she was her God revealing religious truths to her. Lucy then nodded and laid her head on Aashi's chest but immediately raised it back up.
"Why ain't it soft? Mom- I mean… Harleen's is soft." Lucy poked Aashi's right breast to emphasise.
"Because I train my body" she said as a matter of fact.
"Oh. Is that why it's more like a pebble or a rock?" Lucy gave another experimental poke.
Aashi playfully nudged Lucy's head, who gave a hoarse giggled and laid her head back on Aashi's chest. As she fell into a peaceful slumber this time, she mumbled "Why couldn't you be my mommy?"
And it was quite the sight: Lucy was curled in the arms of Aashi, who had until recently been just a neighbour who had shared an encounter with Lucy, and now the two snoozed away like there was no tomorrow in each other's arms with a promise that changed their fates completely.
To be continued…