Des wandered aimlessly in the forest. The erie quiet of the land only served as a reminder that she was not among the living. Creatures scattered away whenever she approached and the trees themselves seemed to bend away from her.
She paid no mind, at least tried to anyway. She always found comfort in the situation, tried to see the positive side of things. This way, nothing would bother her and no one would find her. People tended to steer clear of paths where the temperature dropped and the animals avoided. But she wasn't concerned very much on being found. Right now, all she could think about was Vincent. He'd come home that night completely worn out, those eyes of his that once held so much joy seemed. . . dead. She shrugged it off, blaming it on the day they've had. She still didn't really know if she was right on her assumption. The next day had been his parent's birthday party and she was forced to leave until he came for her in the morning. . . which was about four hours ago.
She really shouldn't have worried, nothing would happen to him, would it?
Pacing was only making the waiting worse!
Alright. . . that's it! Her patience was worn as she saw the sun begin to set on the horizon. She flashed into Vincent's room, her eyes immediately drawn to the pile of covers and pillows on the bed.
"Vince?" She waited for a response, hoping that it really was Vince and not his sibling. When there was no response Des hesitated. Maybe there was a good reason that Vince hadn't-
"Des?"
Her eyes turned to the muffled sound of his voice underneath the mess.
"Vince, why didn't you come get me?" She had to dig for him, when she finally pulled back the last of the pillows Vincent all but hissed and squinted his eyes against the environment.
"Don't do that." Was all he said before burring himself back underneath. Don't ... do ... that? Des frowned at his behavior. He'd never. . . acted like this before. He rarely ever slept in, especially this late and he never forgot about her. He acted as if he didn't even know what she was talking about. It was then that she noticed the darkness of the room. . . and the ''light'' still burned his eyes? Her gaze turned to his nightstand and what she found completely shocked her. There were two. . . three. . . four? Empty beer bottles. Had he . . . really. . . been . . . Drinking?
"Vincent, what have you done-"
"Shhhh, Des. Don't talk so... loud. I'm not in the mood today, k?" He receded further into the damned fabric. Oh. . . he didn't want loud noises did he?
Des willed his stereo on, letting the rock he usually listened to blare full blast in the room. She did not feel one ounce of guilt when Vincent nearly jumped right out of his skin. His disheveled look only satisfied her further as he turned to look at her. His mouth moved, she was pretty sure to tell her to stop the sounds but she couldn't hear him over the deafening guitar and drum solo that kicked in. Finally, he gave up in trying to get her to turn it off and he stumbled his way towards his stero. He pressed the off button over and over again but the music didn't stop. Vincent's hands moved to clutch his head, his features contorted into that of pain but she let the music play for another ten seconds before turning it off and giving him peace.
"What the hell, Des?!" He shouted at her. She'd never seen him angry at her before, but at this point, she didn't care. He'd been drinking. . . drinking!
Des was not completely cold hearted. She started piecing together the 'why' of the situation. She knew how sad he was, how much he suffered from day to day with that damned job that he kept saying he 'loved' so much. It was why she had turned on the music. She wasn't going to let him sulk in bed and fall deeper in that depression. No, she wouldn't let him.
"Get up Vincent, it's time we went out."
Talk about a rude awakening. If his head didn't feel like it was going to burst open at any moment, Vincent might have found the gull to tell Des off... disregarding the fact that he was practically a sleep-walking zombie and would probably start vomiting in the middle of his tangent. Jeez, some days it felt like Des was trying to kill him with her creative "punishments."
ReplyDeleteVincent scrunched his eyes closed as he rubbed his temples. "Des... maybe another time-"
"No, Vincent. Now."
Yea, this is what he really needed right now. It wasn't enough to have to deal with this monster of a hangover but now Vincent had an angry phantom vehemently demanding his attention. He just couldn't catch a break today. "Des-"
Clothes burst through the doors of Vincent's closet and flung themselves at the Soulkeeper with skin-stinging speed. The weight of the clothes eventually brought Vincent to his knees, where he was forced to use the bedpost as his support to remain upright even then. The avalanche ceased as the entire contents of the closet were emptied onto the floor.
Vincent was half-tempted to stay beneath the mountain of clothes.
Sighing, he struggled to dig his way out, an act which left him heated and a fierce drumming in his head. He threw a particular piece of fabric in his hand toward the closet but it did nothing to alleviate the pain. Vincent consequently groaned when he realized what he just threw.
"Fuck. Boss-man's not gonna be happy with me- "
"You're spending the day with me, Vincent," Des cut across as she stood resolute in front of him. "You will not talk of work or anyone associated with work while you do so."
Vincent remained silent before shaking his head and turning away. "... I should be training- "
"No, what you should be doing is taking better care of yourself, Vince. What were you trying to accomplish by drinking?"
The young Soulkeeper closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. It was a miracle his voice came out calm and even. "It was during a birthday party, Des, that's all."
An empty beer bottle flew across the room and broke against the opposite wall near Vince. The heat in his stomach began to pool. "Dammit, Des, enough-!"
"Do not lie to me, Vincent Akuma," Des spat, hands in fists. "Don't you dare. Now... either tell me the real reason or get dressed."
It grew quiet and the hush moment that hung in the air like a thick fog felt like one moment too long. Without a word nor a glance towards Desdemona, Vincent climbed his way to his feet and grabbed at whatever piece of attire he first laid eyes on. His actions were immediately met with a profuse and disappointed sigh from the phantom. Which did not at all help settle the bile threatening to rise from Vincent's stomach.
"... Vince-"
"What do you want me to say, Des?" Vincent bellowed as he rounded toward Desdemona. A string of muddled and perhaps incomprehensible words were about to follow but the blank stare in Des' eyes stopped him altogether. She was still and unmoving, with only minuscule hints of incredulity and sorrow glinting across her ghostly gaze.
Des did not reply. After a pregnant pause, she turned away from him as she ground out, "I'll be waiting at the boardwalk. Don't even think about skimping out on me again." With that, she was gone.
And Vincent couldn't fathom how he'd manage a trip to the boardwalk when he'd barely managed to make it to the bathroom in time for revisiting lunch.