"My dad was a businessman, so I'd been traveling with my parents for most of my childhood as an only child. I was born in Tokyo, yet I'd never went to a single school in Japan, except for daycare and preschool, because of that. It all started, though, when we went to Russia. I was ten years old, and there was a horrible snowstorm for the first five-and-a-half months, but thankfully it was the last year we would stay for the four years we'd been there. Mother's Day was coming up in a few days and I desperately wanted to prepare something for my mother, but I wasn't allowed to go out with the ways of the weather except to go to school or help my parents with a few errands and things like that. When it was time for us to leave and go to Winchester to visit my grandparents, we were worried that our flight would be delayed or canceled because of the storm, but everything turned out fine and we made it to our newly rented home. So, I was finally able to go out and buy gifts for my mom and grandma. Then, two years later in the middle of January, my parents left the city for a business trip in London, leaving me with my grandparents. They would be back four days before my birthday, January 26. On the night of the 22nd, I couldn't look away from the window, knowing they would arrive any minute. Yet, I never got to see them. I knew something terrible had happened before I found out they'd been killed in a car accident due to a drunk taxi driver that got himself killed as well.
"I cried my eyes out nonstop until the day of my birthday. I couldn't even get myself to go to their funeral. I never left my room except to use the bathroom and eat, though I hardly ever did. I would spend the days just clawing my hands in anxiety while talking to myself, sometimes to people I imagined in my head, and sometimes to God or Christ. My grandparents tried getting me to come out of my room countless times and would bring therapists over, but nothing and no one could help me. I was extremely depressed and suicidal till the very day I turned twelve, which was when I planned to kill myself. Though, I would do it after I got my presents to see the smile on my grandparents' face for the last time. I was happy with what they gave me, but I always anticipated my parents' gifts the most. The only thing I had left of parents was the bracelet I'm wearing now. It belonged to my grandmother who gave it to my mother before she passed away, though it went through many generations from her side long ago. When she gave it to me and said my parents would always be with me, I wasn't convinced. I knew they were watching me, but they weren't really with me. So, that night when my grandparents were asleep, I crawled into the kitchen to find the largest knife there was and struck it straight through my heart. It was the worst pain I'd felt other than the pain I got when I was told that I lost my parents. I knew it would be worth it, though, when I would see them again. But I never did, and I've been looking for them ever since."
The worst of the thunderstorm is only beginning as Kim's story ends. Kim then stands up from her chair and walks up to the window being abused by the hard splashes of rain and vibrations of the thunder.
"Now that I've exposed my kind, there's no way I'll be able to go back."
Matt turns his head to look at her in a bit of grief for a moment, then he lowers his head and says, "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault..."
Kim looks back at him, a light smile forming on her lips. "No, don't worry about it. I always doubted I'd ever find them, anyway," she replies reassuringly as she sits down on the bed on Matt's right side. She then stares down blankly, her eyes furrowed in slight frustration. "But, there's always that thought of "Just maybe..." or "What if...?""
"Well...I promise I'll try to make it up to you by making your life here have as little misery as possible," Matt speaks with all seriousness while putting a hand on Kim's shoulder in an effort to comfort her.
Kim doesn't say anything and lowers her head in thought with a numb expression. Matt keeps his hand and gaze on her for a moment longer before the lights go dead on them.
"Oh, great...," he says as he looks up at the circular bulbs in the darkness. He then takes his hand off Kim's shoulder and heads for the door to go fix the power from the garage. Just as he's about to step out of the room, he notices her change in position. Kim goes from regular sitting to sitting on her legs, hands in her lap, and head still down. Her eyes are shadowed and she appears to be shaking. Matt has his back to her, so he turns his face and asks in concern, "What's wrong? Are you afraid of the dark?"
Kim doesn't say anything for a few seconds, but finally quivers, "No... I just...miss them so much..." She put her hands to her face and sobs gently. "I promised myself...I'd never shed another tear for them again, but...it just never leaves you, you know?" She then lowers her hands from her face until they're in front of her chest. She looks straight ahead as her tears cool. "It stays with you for the rest of your life." Her eyes drop just the slightest. "But don't mind me. I'm not worth pitying."
Almost less than a second after Kim speaks her last word, her wet cheeks instantly become warm when Matt puts his thick arms around her, after turning her shoulders towards him, without being noticed he's coming her way. Kim's hands are now squished between their bodies.
"Hey, you're not the only one who's suffering. Mello and I are orphans, too, you know. We had to go through the same crap that you did. We were young, and all we knew was that we didn't have parents anymore, because that's all we had. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not that young anymore, and I have something new to hold on to."
Kim smiles, her blush still visible, and makes her sandwiched hands to Matt's back as she closes her eyes and breathes blissfully through her nose, laying her head on his shoulder. What she can't see is Matt's now-reddening cheeks. The two remain in their strong embrace for about two minutes before the lights turn back on.
Okay, I admit it.
This is one of my favorite chapters...for obvious reasons...
OMG IT'S SO CUTE AND SWEET AND ROMANTIC AND BEAUTIFUL AND LOVELY AND MAGICAL AND- *explodes*
Sorry, back to chill author now.
Yeah...
