Archer crossed his arms as he waited outside of Veronica's suite after knocking on her door. He knew that for appearance's sake, he should kneel while he waited to be let inside, but he was too ramped up to care about that at the moment. He'd have liked to have had a better plan for how to direct this conversation, but it was something that needed to happen now, and putting it off to perfect his questions wasn't going to make much of a difference. He schooled his features into a neutral expression when the door opened, and he forced his hands to drop to his sides. "Hi, Miss," he said, aiming for casual. "Can I come in?"
Decorating with Izel had been... nice. More than nice. Even though the back of Reza's mind had been stuck on Heath, on the lie he'd fed him about a new client he was dealing with -- a lie that was sure to be unravelled very soon. It hadn't mattered while he'd been hanging up the fake cobwebs and actually almost accidentally falling off the roof, much to Izel's dismay. He'd been heading home in an almost alright mood late in the evening, even though the looming spookiness of Halloween seemed to be following him, but the mood was ruined by the realization that his phone was back at MLC. Out of breath as he returned to the shop, Reza wiggled the doorknob of the now locked door. "Fuck..." Panting, his eyes just barely happened to catch Izel vanishing around the corner, phone momentarily forgotten and pushed aside by curiosity. And also because he didn't want to return to the apartment so much, causing him to walk briskly in an effort to catch up with Izel.
Four flowers. Roses were... weird, and probably inappropriate, and she really didn't want to piss of any ghosts. If she hadn't been working on decorations and running the store all day, she would have gone before now, before sunset, but now it was starting to get dark and she didn't want to leave it much later. And it couldn't exactly wait for tomorrow either. Three hundred and sixty six days. Nate was now officially dead longer than she'd known him. Which was just... great. Real cheery. Izel glanced at the lilies in her hands, hand reaching over to trace the patterns of the petals. Not a stereotype, for sure. Light and flowing, sweet in scent. Not flowers for the dead, not really. But she had wanted flowers like he'd been in life, except scared flowers didn't exist. Instead, she had these. And no grave to really put them. Just a name carved into the cemetery plaque. Not far from Andris'. Izel let her mind drift down memory lane as she hurried down the road, feet tracing a well known route. It wasn't long before she ended up on stepping past gravestones that watched on like old friends, to where the plaques of the cremated were lain.
It didn't take Reza long to realize where Izel was headed and it almost made him turn back. Almost. Shivering with unease as they approached the cemetery, Reza staying in the shadows without an actual reason for it, maybe just to not disturb. It wasn't until she came to a stop at a grave that wasn't Andris' (most of the high school had went to pay their respects last year) and Reza's eyebrows furrowed. He'd been sure... The urgent flapping of a bird suddenly appearing from the tree next to Reza came completely unexpected and his frightened yelp broke the silence of the graveyard. Clutching at his pounding heart, Reza slowly looked over to where Izel stood a short distance away, discomfort painted on his face. "Sorry... I... My phone. I forgot it. At MLC, I mean."
Izel lowered the flowers in front of the plaque, murmuring a prayer for his soul. Just because her own was damned didn't mean his had to be. Not that she thought it was, but still. At the sudden sound Izel leapt a foot in the air, yelping back as her hands came up in fists in front of her. "Mierda, Reza," she muttered as soon as she recognised the dark curdling aura, straightening up and dropping her hands. It wasn't even that dark yet, the last rays of crimson sunlight kissing the tops of houses. "You could have texte- nope, that's a stupid thing to say. -rasperries- Did you, um, follow me here? I don't mind, but you could have just tapped me on the shoulder or something, you didn't need to wait for me to put the flowers down." She peered at him more closely. He was definitely more scared than she was. "You don't have to stay over there either. Are you okay, hon?"
Reza shuffled his feet before finally sidling over, eyes on the nice flowers Izel had brought. "Sorry. You seemed... I didn't want to distract. It was stupid." His heartbeat still wasn't slowing, pounding against his ribs, nauseating... "I'm okay. I think." The hard metal of the gun pressed against the palm of his hand, hidden under his jacket. There hadn't been a reason for bringing it to Izel's for decorating but he rarely did things that made sense these days. Probably just the continued feeling of dread. Every day, it felt like Heath was getting stranger and stranger... like he was catching onto what Reza knew. "Just... that fucking bird." Moving his eyes from the flowers to the plaque, the dark orbs widened as he read the name. "This is... it's the guy you told me about!"
"Nah, it wasn't stupid," Izel replied softly. "And dude, do I get it, birds are the worst. They're literally my least favourite animal." She gave him a friendly nudge, then followed his gaze. "Yup. -hgggh- Nate Blackthorne. He died a year ago today. Still feels like yesterday, but that's no surprise. He was a good guy." Her jaw trembled a little, but that passed jut as quick as everything else. "And a total drama queen. Left me a message and everything in case he died, the dork."
Even though Reza jerked at the nudge, it wasn't exactly away from Izel; she was probably the only one who could get away with doing stuff like that. Aside from Heath. "I'm not a big fan either. Especially not sirens," he attempted to joke back but the mood turned sullen at the mention of this Nate's name. "Must have been, if you liked him so much." His gaze moved from the plaque to Izel at the mention of a message beyond the grave, which... actually didn't sound dramatic at all. Just smart. Why hadn't he done that yet... "Yeah... definitely sounds dorky. But it's nice. That he left you a message, I mean." A few moments of silence. "How'd he... Can I ask how he died?"
Izel belly-laughed then. "Hey, that's my friend you're talking about," she teased. Not that she'd seen Taylor much recently either. Sailing the world or something. "And as we've all discovered, my taste in people could be better. But he was one of the best." She could practically hear the blogs ticking away in Reza's head, just like she could hear the owl in a tree nearby and the cat scuttling over a nearby rooftop, and the rustling of dead leaves rolling in the breeze and- Reza. Back to Reza. "It is. Um." Izel stilled at his question, twisting the words around in her head for a moment. "Sure. He was killed by the headless horseman. Who even knew that was a thing, right? Not me, that's for sure." She glanced back to the sunset. "We should head back, get your phone before it's too dark."
Reza almost laughed but realized that was way past inappropriate and just mean. But the headless horseman? Just one more weird ass thing to add to the endless fauna of things that kept showing up in Ashkent. Alright then. "That's... Yeah, I didn't know that either." Following her gaze to the sun, just moments away from disappearing, Reza nodded. The knot of unease was still comfortably settled in his chest but at least his heart wasn't still pounding like crazy. "Yeah, sounds good." Was it dark enough yet for Heath to be out? He didn't exactly want to run into him, blatantly hanging out with Izel. "Should probably hurry... too..." The shiver that passed through him could have been the cold but Reza knew better; recognized the intensity of the dark eyed stare burning holes into the back of his head. "Actually, I think you should just... I'll catch up in a few minutes, you just go, I'll... I'll be right there."
Izel caught sight of the figure beyond the limits of the graveyard. No way. It was too early, wasn't it? She could still see the sun setting, but only because they were on a small rise and even then the roads were dusky - there was no sunlight along them anymore. "Are you sure," she asked, tearing her eyes from the empty figure on the opposite side of the short wall. "Because I can stay. Whatever you need." There was something different this time. Izel wasn't sure what, but it was definitely different. And not in a good way. Her hands reached deep into her pockets, fishing for her phone and a good old friend of hers - Heath wasn't getting her again. If only Reza felt the same way.
"No! No, I don't want you to stay. I need... Just..." Reza trailed off because no way did he want Izel to stay. With what he knew, there was a pretty good chance that Heath might just... kill her. Maybe kill him, too. Of course Heath had known that new client was a lie and now... "I think Heath is an eretich." Reza blurted out, possibly loud enough for Heath to hear. Not that it mattered. Reza was probably screwed, anyway. But he couldn't let Izel get hurt. "Like the really bad vampires that only get turned because they... kill or do other really, really bad things. And that also means he's soul-" The words caught in his throat, Heath's figure quickly vanishing and appearing seconds later at the gate. "He's soulless," he finished quietly, voice barely a whisper. "You need to go, I can't let him hurt you, Izel. Please." His hand was already slowly moving to his zipper, even though reaching for the gun only made him feel like a traitor now, like he was betraying Heath and everything he'd done for him.
Veronica had never been able to properly thank Izel for the tip off about Heath. She had been the one who had helped her track him down, even if the other woman had ulterior motives, Veronica was still grateful to her for having helped her start the long hunt for Heath. But it would be worth it and as the SOS text came through from her, Veronica grabbed anything that she could possibly need. Stakes, holy water and even a pair of silver daggers. She considered taking the sword but decided that it was probably just over kill, besides she wanted to keep it ready in case a real problem came along. Leaping in her car she sped off to the location that Izel had given her. It only took her a few moments to get to the graveyard, luckily it wasn't far from where she lived and as she pulled up she spotted Izel at a graveside talking to a teenager with a love of black, though she had to admit that he looked awfully familiar. She crept out her car but stayed hidden, waiting to see what the problem was, she wondered if perhaps the teen had forced Izel into doing this, but she couldn't be sure. One thing was for sure though, he wasn't a vampire.
Izel's fingers were racing over her digital keyboard, barely listening to Reza even though she was watching him rather than her phone. "I know. Reza, trust me, I know. I've known." There was something in him, something different. He'd been scared of Heath before, no matter how much he'd tried to hide it, but there was something different now. It was just fear. Not love masking fer, but only that. Izel swallowed, looking up at Heath again. "Okay. I'm stepping back, but Reza..." She hadn't found the words before now, there was no way she was magically going to find the words to convince him. She caught a flash of red out of the corner of her eye, but forced herself not to look. "Reza, you don't have to protect me. I don't want to see you hurt either." She stepped away, not much, but a little, watching Reza, something sinking in her stomach.This was looking like it was going to turn drastic. God, did she hope that flash of red light had been Veronica's aura and not someone who didn't know that Heath needed to be stabbed in the back.
Reza swallowed thickly before the gun slid from its place under his jacket and Heath's rather brisk approach towards them was halted. This wasn't the confrontation he'd thought of, at all, but to be fair he'd tried not to think about this moment at all. The curious and at the same time angry quirk of Heath's head was just as nauseating as Reza had imagined, and the gun was still just resting next to Reza's thigh. "I'm not going to get hurt," he whispered back, hand starting to shake, thumb hovering at the safety. Even though he hadn't had any plan whatsoever regarding what to do about Heath, this was probably the worst case scenario. Stupid, panicked, not at all thought out. And Izel was there to boot. "Please, you're more likely to shoot her than me," Heath scoffed, eyes flashing red. "Which would be nice since I'm getting really fucking tired of the constant meddling. Did she convince you to buy a gun, huh? You don't even know how to use that thing, you idiot."
Izel gasped. Okay, so maybe it wasn't surprising that she wasn't the only one who was armed, but a gun was much more intense than her taser. Several orders of magnitude, actually. Fluorescent lights reflected of the barrel, shimmering under Reza's unsteady hands. Right. It wasn't just a gun, it was a gun in Reza Burki's hands. Reza's gun. The gun that Reza was wielding. And he wanted her to think he wouldn't get hurt. Great. She was barely even listening to Heath's taunting, but her eyes fixated back on him. "Shutup. Reza... That's... not a good idea... Back off!" She warned Heath, because even when throwing bottles of holy water, she was pretty sure she had better aim than Reza. And Holy Water burned worse than bullets. Probably. "...Reza..."
Veronica saw Heath approach. She also felt him approach. She'd found that if she really focused, sensing vampires wasn't hard. She could even sometimes tell them apart and when it came to Heath, it was almost like a dark shiver was running down her spine. She felt cold when she saw him, but she ignored it, the gun was pointed at Izel and Veronica had to admit that she didn't think she could stop both Heath and Reza. So she moved slowly, cautiously through the graveyard, creeping behind grave stones and stealthily approaching. The stake that she had made just for Heath grasped tightly in her hand as she held it ready to drive it through his heart. She was going to end him tonight. That was a promise she had made for herself.
Izel's voice in his ear was distracting, making this already strange situation even more surreal. "Don't," Reza snapped back, the worry in Izel's voice only feeling like a taunt due to Heath's scathing stare. "Just don't." The gun was still only pointed at the ground but the way he felt, it could just as well have been pointed at his own head. This was going nowhere. "Come on, Rez. Just get rid off her and we can forget this whole thing ever happened. I'll even tell you everything. Complete honesty. You're not even trying to make this work anymore; you keep running off to her, letting her ruin this. She's always been the reason things went bad between us, every single time. You know what you gotta do," Heath hissed and the safety on the gun clicked off. Slowly, it was raised up to point at Izel's chest because maybe Heath wasn't lying this time? Or maybe it just felt easier than actually standing up to Heath, who filled him now with an equal amount of crippling fear and desperate need. Steely eyes met Izel's, the gun in his hand still shaking uncontrollably.
Izel froze, her eyes glued to the barrel of the gun and the big black hole in the middle of it, that threatened to swallow her whole. She swallowed, deciding note was a really good time to shut up. Instead she forced herself to listen to Heath's lies, no matter how much she wanted to argue. She's never done this with a live gun before. Sure, he was only holding it with one hand and his figure want even on the trigger so she wouldn't even have to break his finger but this was a real life gun with real bullets and oh god it was pointed right at her. And Reza was too far away. She couldn't reach it, so the hundreds of times she'd drilled over the years. Her body was shaking almost as much as the gun assumed at her, but she took half a step forward, putting herself within arm's reach of the gun. "If I'm that- that much of a problem, I'll back off. You know I will." Because it was always him coming to her. "You- you don't want to kill anyone. Trust me. It's not worth it."
Strangely, this all felt unreal. About as much of a dream situation as when he'd first met Heath in that musty club and accepted that bag of crap to deal. Situations that made him feel like any decision made wouldn't have an effect because they couldn't possibly be happening in real life. Reza couldn't possibly be pointing a gun into Izel's horror-stricken face with Heath whispering encouragement because that kind of shit didn't happen. It couldn't. The whispering was starting to sound more like hissing, like something monstrous and filthy and bad, just like what Heath probably - definitely, was. An eretich, doing everything he did purely for himself, even though it hurt less to think that a part of Heath really had cared about him. As hard as it was to care when you had no fucking soul. "I do trust you," Reza mumbled, finger sliding to the trigger without a proper thought and before his brain even registered it, a bullet had lodged itself into Heath's shoulder and Reza's arm ached from the kickback. Heath was actually bleeding because of him. Stumbling back into Izel as crimson eyes seared through him, Reza figured he probably should have fixed his aim. "How fucking dare you, you piece of shit bloodbag..."
The bang rang out through the graveyard and Veronica knew that this was the best time to strike. The kid had done a good deal of her job for her and he had done a good job at creating a distraction and minor injury. She had been ten meters away, but as Heath stumbled slightly, Veronica sprung forwards and slammed into action. Covering the short distance in a matter of seconds, she ripped out the stake that she had made specially for Heath and prepared it to strike. It was seconds to victory now.
Her ears were ringing before she could even realise what was happening, then Reza was pressed up against her and Heath was bleeding. Izel pushed Reza behind her, pulling the gun from his hands with practiced ill ease, keeping it pointed at the dirt in front of Heath's feet. In her other hand, a vial of holy water that she hurled at Heath's chest, a warning. People would have heard the bang. They must have heard the bang. It took all of her self control not to glance at the place she'd seen the red aura last. Back up would be great. Back up would be really, really great. Like her wish had been granted, there was that brilliant flash of red, flying into action. Izel let her eyes drop to the gun in her hand, fumbling with it before she found and turned on the safety. Or something. Whatever the gun lingo was. Then she was tugging at Reza again, trying to pull him away from the fight, break his eyecontact with Heath and get him to safety.
A brief glance of red hair was all Reza registered before Heath was being tackled, steam still rising from his chest as the holy water seared through the skin. It was the slayer, the one that had tried to kill Heath a couple of months ago, and she was holding a very dangerous looking stake in her hand. His ears were still ringing and the white noise his brain seemed to be producing wasn't helping but he still didn't want to watch his boyfriend -- ex-boyfriend?-- turn to dust in front of him. "Wait!" Pushing past Izel, scrambling to get past her, Reza stared wide eyed at Veronica, pleading. "Don't kill him! Please don't... Don't."
Veronica heard her heart racing. She could feel the blood pounding through her. This was months in the making. She had been trying to dust this son of a bitch for months. Now, there was a scared looking teenager, staring at him. Pleading for the life of a vampire who certainly wouldn't do the same for him. "Listen," she said, keeping Heath pinned to the ground with the stake leveled perfectly above where his heart should be. "This is not a nice vampire, believe me, although I think you know that," she wanted to end this now, but he seemed to deserve some kind of explanation. "Look, I'm sorry, he has to die. He is going to hurt you, he is going to hurt Izel, he has already killed forty people at my ball, more were injured and harmed during the fighting and the fire, not to mention all the people he sells drugs to and all the people he has hurt. I don't know what he did, but there is a reason he is an eretich. Eretich are made from the worst people. Jack the Ripper type people. Think of your worst nightmare, that is this guy. I can't, I can't let him live."
Izel tried to catch Reza as he jolted forward, but forced herself not to grab on, to not restrain him in the way he'd made clear he hated. Instead, she found herself caught between the person she was and had always been, and the person she'd become this time last year. The person who wanted to protect Reza, no matter the cost, and the person who wanted Heath dead, with zero qualms about it. Her hand extended to Reza's, an offer of support if nothing else. Watching someone you loved die was the worst thing she could ask of him right now. "Don't get distracted," she warned instead, eyes fixated on Heath. Because he would try and slide his way out of this, being the leech he was, and he'd proven over and over that he wasn't afraid to use Reza for his own ends. The barrel was still pointed not far from Heath's head.
"Don't..." Reza simply repeated, taking a step closer to Veronica and the struggling Heath, aware of Izel stretching out a hand. He wanted to take it, accept the safety she was providing but he couldn't let that slayer stake him. Despite everything. Not now, not like this. "Just... I'll tell you where he lives. Where all his drug selling friends live. Where he could possibly stay and they'll have to leave town but just... don't kill him. Please." Reza's hand reached backwards, grabbing Izel's in the hopes that it would help him stand as he felt like crumpling to the ground. "I'll tell you everything." His eyes dropped to Heath as he jerked in Veronica's grip, sneering up at them. "Aww, how admirable. Just stake me already you fucking whore."
Veronica slammed Heath's face back into the dirt, driving her knee into his back. "Shut up you bastard," she said through gritted teeth, driving her knee further into his back and twisting his arm painfully behind his back, her stake still hovering over his heart. She knew that would hurt Heath, she knew that Heath would be in a lot of pain, but it still wasn't enough. Veronica still wasn't satisfied with the pain that he was in. He deserved more, so much more. He was scum and he had hurt so many people. "Look, I don't know your name, so I'm sorry for that," she took a breath, "but just listen to me." She shifted her weight slightly, hearing a slight crack (maybe a rib, she hoped so at least), "Heath will always be dangerous, it doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter when, but someday, he will hurt someone else, it won't stop, he will never stop. It is a mercy to kill him now, think of what he has done, just to the three of us, he put me in hospital, burnt down half my house, is responsible for so many deaths. I can't let him live. You, you can't let him live. It isn't a kindness, it is a punishment to the world letting him live."
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Reza knew Veronica was right. Heath was dangerous and if they let him go, he'd probably find someone else, feed them the same lies he'd fed Reza, fill them up with nectar and drink them dry while telling them that he cared... Reza's eyes narrowed, hand slipping out of Izel's as he moved even closer, crouching down despite Veronica ordering him to get back right now. Something he probably should have done as Heath was quick to take advantage of Veronica getting distracted, twisting in her grip. Reza heard bones break as the eretich jerked himself loose from the tight grip Veronica had had. "Shit," Reza breathed, managing to scramble back barely a foot before long fingers wrapped up in the sleeve of his jacket, tugging him closer to the bared fangs and face twisted up to reveal the real monster inside.
As soon as Heath twisted his way out of her grip, Veronica regretted not having killed him earlier. But this time she had come prepared. She was ready for him and as he squirmed his way on top of Reza, she reached to her belt and drew the sword that her father had once used for slaying, she had been practicing with it and decapitating would work just as well as staking him. Everything seemed to slow down, her fingers wrapped around the hilt. She heard the metallic rasp of the blade sliding out of the sheath. She saw the flash of the blade in the dim light as it cut through the air. A metallic arc of steel and death, slicing through the darkness and in one clean, powerful swing, cutting clean through Heath's neck and sending his head toppling into Reza's lap. That bit she did regret. The kid didn't need to see that. Yet she didn't regret Heath's death. Not one little bit.
"Don't-" Izel didn't even get the word out of her mouth before it was filled with a cloud of dust. Coughing, Izel skidded to her knees, hands patting Reza's shoulders and chests, as if to see whether he was still in one piece. He wasn't. Ash stuck to her hands and arms like she'd been the one wielding the knife. She trembled. "Reza. Reza, please, Reza, look at me." She wiped at the ash on his face, but could only smear it around, not get it off. Izel glanced bac at Veronica, then back down at the ash coated grass with hollow eyes and a small nod of gratitude. "Reza, come on."
Reza couldn't even feel the hands on his shoulders, eyes stuck on the frozen face staring back right before it vanished into the same dust that felt like it was coating every inch of him. Flinching away from the fingers wiping at his face, Reza attempted to scramble to his feet with little luck, the taste of ash on his tongue making his knees useless. "He's... Izel, he..." Trying to swallow past the dryness in his throat, his eyes moved from the dark grass to Veronica's face, shielded by the dusk. His hands scrambled around until they finally caught hold of Izel, clutching onto her as she helped him to his feet. Eyes wide and unblinking, he smeared around the ash on his fingers. Feeling empty and numb. Without Heath, he didn't have anything. And Heath was gone. Forever. The taste in his mouth turned bitter and seconds later, the contents of his stomach were on the grass as he continued to retch, desperate to get every speck of ash and Heath off.
Veronica winced at Reza's reaction. She felt terrible. This must be so hard for him because for some reason that she couldn't quite fathom, the boy seemed to have loved this Heath creature. She wasn't sure how the hell that had come to pass but she wanted to help him in anyway that she could. Wiping her sword clean, she slid it back into it's sheath before making her way over to the pair of them. "I'm sorry that I had to do that ... like that," she said quietly, looking at Reza kindly. "It had to be done but if there is anything that I can do for you ..." she trailed off, her words feeling inadequate in this situation. "I'm truly sorry it came to this."
"I know, love, I know," she murmured, holding him tight as he staggered upright, with half the aura now than he'd had even ten minutes ago. She flinched away as he wretched, giving space as she held him steady and rubbed his back. A complete role reversal of the last time she'd been in a situation like this. When Veronica spoke, for a second Izel wished she hadn't. Reza thought Heath was the one. There was no changing that. No comfort veronica could offer right now, not really. "A ride, maybe? Reza, would that be okay? You can come get cleaned up at my place, and rest, and everything." Everything meaning grieve. In larger strokes, now, she helped wipe some of the ash off Reza's shoulders. "Whenever you're ready."
Breathing heavily, Reza nodded, although it could have been a shake of his head. Either way, he stood as straight as he possibly could, clutching back onto Izel when his legs threatened to give out from under him again. Rest sounded impossible but something he needed, just to get away from here, from everything. So he let Izel continue to brush off the dust, to be left with the rest of what remained of Heath in the grass; he let Izel lead him to the car on shaky feet, his eyes never focusing on anything as he barely dared to blink. Closing his eyes only meant seeing the face once connected to safety fall into his lap. As they drove away from the cemetery, Reza curled up against the window of the car and away from Izel, uselessly wiping at his dusty face.
what? Veronica visits Nat in the hospital and things don’t go to plan.
other? TRIGGER WARNING CHECK TAGS
Veronica stopped in the gift shop of the hotel and bought Nat a get well soon teddy bear with a balloon and then walked up to room 221. She pushed the door open and saw him in the bed, “Nat,” She said and walked to his bedside, “Hey you.” She whispered, “What the fuck happened?”
Nat had managed to get Miles out of the room for a bit, practically begged him to go home and rest only to get promised he’d be back in an hour tops. His body still ached and he had clean bandages on his wrists. His mom remained in the corner of to room, probably trying to figure out where she went wrong even though he told her repeatedly it wasn’t her fault. He looked over when he saw Veronica and bit his lip, wringing out his fingers in a nervous habit. He hated people seeing him like this, hated being seen as weak. He only shook his head and looked down, fingers picking at the blanket. “You know what happened.”
Veronica sighed, she did know what happened. He tried to leave, he tried to kill himself. She sighed and sat on the edge of his bed and handed him the teddy bear. She stared at him, here in the hospital with her best friend, “Why Nat? Why would you do that?” She asked quietly
Nat stared at the bear and gently picked it up, only a little before putting it back down. He didn’t have the energy, didn’t have the will to move and it still hurt to breathe. “Selfish,” his mother muttered in the back and Nat bit his lip. He knew she was bitter about it, but it wasn’t her choice. “It doesn’t matter why he did it. What matters is how careless he was. I don’t understand what the hell you’re thinking most of the time.”
Veronica looked at her friend and then turned to his mother. Sure she was mad, and she got that, Veronica was mad too. But she should be happy that he was alive. “You know, you aren’t helping.” She said to his mother, “You should be thrilled that we can talk to him right now, that hes here.” She said and turned back to Nat and picked up his hand gently and squeezed it lightly. “Nat…” She said quietly
Nat peered at his mother from around his friend, watched her as she opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by her phone ringing. She excused herself and left the room. “I don’t even know why she bothered coming,” he said with a shake of his head and drew in a deep breath and winced at the tightness in his chest. “She’s only worried about how this will effect her and how much the medical bill is going to cost.”
Veronica sighed and rubbed her thumb on his hand gently after his mom left the room, “I’m sorry that shes like that.” She said and then looked over her freind once more, feeling tears well up in her eyes, “How, nat? How could you do this? How can you try and leave?” She asked quietly
Nat pulled his hand away and crossed his arms loosely across his stomach. “You don’t understand,” he sighed, soon realizing that it wasn’t fair and looked down. “I fucked everything up to the point where I doubt I can fix it. No matter how hard I try, I tend to fuck it up. Always.”
Veronica looked at him, sure she didn’t understand what it was like to want to kill herself, but she still didn’t get how he could do that. She sniffled and let the tears slip from her eyes. “But you have to try. Some of us need you here, Nat.”
Nat clenched his jaw and shook his head. “No one needs me. It’s all a bunch of bull shit,” he muttered, blinking back tears. “And you say that as if I don’t try. You don’t know how fucking hard this is for me. You don’t know anything.”
Veronica stared at him, she just stayed quiet for a minute, “I need you Nat. I need you.” She told him though she was sure he wouldn’t believe her. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair slowly, “I’m sorry Nat! I’m sorry I don’t undeerstand what you are going through, but you have to fight! You can’t just give up!”
Nat looked up at her then, tears brimming his eyes but he refused to cry. He debated whether he should argue back or just let her believe whatever she wanted, but he was done with buckling down and putting others before himself. It was time for him to be selfish for once. “I already have, V. And I did. I gave up. I’m tired of pretending to be happy, strong, whatever. I’m tired of it all.”
Veronica sniffled and shook her head, “You don’t have to pretend Nat!” She said and wiped her eyes and tears just continued to fall from her eyes, “Please, please don’t give up Nat!” She said with more tears falling. “I need you! You can’t just leave Nat!”
Nat looked away, fighting back his own tears and wiped one away as it slipped down his cheek. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, taking the little bear and held the stuffed animal against his chest. “You should go.”
Veronica sniffled when she saw a tear fall from her friends eye, that just made it worse on her. She could feel her tears falling quicker from her eyes, “Please, Nat, please don’t leave me.” She said and took his hand, “You’re my best friend, and I can’t lose you.” She sniffled and then sighed, “Please.”
Nat shook his head as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Just go,” he said again, louder this time in hopes to get his point across. He was tired, irritable, and he felt sick, disgusted and everything to make him wish Miles hadn’t made it in time. He drew his hand away again and he would turn to lay on his side if it didn’t hurt so much.
Veronica could tell he was serious. He didn’t want her there. She nodded slowly, “O-Okay.” She said quietly and got up walking towards the door, “I love you Nat.” She said softly with tears falling down her cheek
Nat brought his hands up to cover his face when Veronica left, unable to hold back his tears and cried, which was only fueled by the pain in his stomach. He dreaded the moment his mom came back in and just wanted Miles to hurry back.
Marcus hated the idea of staying in this town for the rest of his life despite the alternative not being all that appealing either. But on the other hand, he figured there were less chances of being tortured to death out there, and if he starved, at least it would be on his terms. He hated the tyrannical control the mayor had over the people, and he hated how others took advantage of it.
He smoked a cigarette as he watched the mayor's employees pace above the wall, diligently looking for any sign of those creeps to shoot down. Leon wasn't up there today, and he found himself a little disappointed. There were few things keeping him in this town, and depending on what side of the bed he got up on, Leon was the only thing keeping him here. Well, aside from not being allowed to leave.
The group was finally off the plane and headed towards baggage claim. Godfrey had stuck by Veronica’s side and was in the middle of telling some wild tale about one of his friends in high school who had spilled on the carpet at a party and got told off by the owner.
"And then she came storming out, and I'm not even joking, in a slip with her hair all up in curlers-SCREAMING. Really fucking screaming! All this stuff about the police and the ungrateful youth and her big lawyer husband or something. I don't really remember all of it because I was kinda," Godfrey made a facial expression that attempted to convey he had been pretty wasted. He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "Crazy stuff....rich people are so weird." He rolled his eyes, features alight from the funny memory and adrenaline pumping through him now that they had finally landed, an incredible summer awaiting them.
Now at the baggage carousel, Rory was yelling about something while everyone was going this way and that grabbing their bags. Seeing his own Godfrey pulled it away with a heave and plopped it down where he was standing with Veronica. She too grabbed her duffel and before Ronnie could pick it up herself, Godfrey grabbed it, "Please, allow me m'lady." He jokingly bowed and hoisted her bag on his shoulder, had his on like a backpack and carried his smaller bag by the top strap in his free hand. He resembled a pack mule, weighed down by all the luggage but Godfrey didn't mind, he was so excited the weight of everything hardly effected him.
As he began following the group towards their transport to the Hostel, Godfrey turned around and looked at Ronnie, excitement all over his face, "WE'RE IN BARCELONA!!"
