dispatch

the meltdown

     She felt herself about to crumble. Her couch wasn't able to comfort her enough, nor her blankets that were swaddling her. Spud laid by her side, curled up and waiting for her to console in him.

     Too much had happened in the past few weeks, she had little to no time to process.

     Kenji was dead. Never to be spoken to or seen again. He was a rather lazy deputy, but when Haru was around, he was completely different. He had gotten so much done and had drive. Almost like he had to prove himself. He wasn't too great of a guy either. Rather conceited, but he was always there for his friends and family no matter what.

     _____ felt herself become hot.

     All Might has retired. Did this really affect her? No. Work-wise, it's all anyone could fucking talk about. It got way too old way too fast. All Might is all anyone talked about. It's even worse now. She had nothing against it, but it was like a trend that never died out. Anytime someone opened their mouth, she could guess what they were going to say.

     If she had to hear his name one more time, she thought she might explode. Was he an incredible hero who has made such an impact on society? Of course! But the continuation of gossip about him became unbearable.

     Not to mention, his retirement leading to whatever society was doing now. Her job had became 10x's harder now. The sudden rise of crime had began to take a toll on her. She never seemed to have a moment of silence at work, not once. Always someone calling, dying, screaming at her to hurry up, for her to help them.

     She tried.

     It even became to where any civilian felt genuine discomfort being outside. She couldn't trust anyone she bumped into on the street, and store she roamed into; nothing and no one.

     Tears welled in her eyes.

     The man in the gas station: Muscular. She deemed it not possible. Last she knew, Muscular had been locked up. Did she not remember correctly? Did he escape? Did he somehow bargain his way out? Surely, the news would've captured it.

     Another flaw in her lifestyle: the news. _____ refused to turn on a television for any reason. She did not stay up to date on local news for any reason. She heard enough of it at work. She never watched any shows or movies, there was no way she'd catch up on any of it.

     The way he touched her, she wanted to vomit on the couch then and there. It never occurred to her how much it actually bothered her. Now that she thought of it, his touch lingered. Right there on her chin and jaw. Even the fingertips where she grabbed his arm.

     She started itching her jaw where the villain held her. Her tears were already falling down her face rapidly.

     Kaja's face.

"Oh God," _____ cried, cupping her mouth with her palm.

     The blood puddle kept growing and growing. The little bits of her brain strewn across the floor. She had seen identical images time and time again at work in reports. It never bothered her, not once. She assumed the difference was because she knew Kaja fairly well. She was such a nice girl with barely any flaws.

     The dispatcher could only imagine what her family thought when they found out their daughter had passed so tragically in a robbery.

     Even worse; those villains never even got what they came for: Lee.

     How on Earth was Lee part of the Underground? Who else did she know was involved? No trust, no one and nothing.

     _____ gripped her blankets, yanking them up to her face to try and wipe the tears.

     Haru is leaving. Just like that. He's running away. How could he? What was she to do? Who was she supposed to console? She had no family, no other friends. No one but her dog.

     She stood up swiftly, stomping into her room and slamming the door shut. Spud was left in the living room.

     She grabbed at her hair so tightly, she knew she had pulled some out. Her heart rate was rapid, she was sweating and sobbing. Her chest was on fire, the deep pit hollowing inside it.

"How could he do this?!" she cried.

"It's not fair!"

     She trudged toward her mirror. She always tended to do this when she cried. For some reason, she always loved to watch herself cry, but oddly enough, it wasn't cutting it this time. This infuriated her, adding on to the extreme emotion she was dealing with. She growled loudly, clearly frustrated and punched the mirror as hard as she could.

     The shattered pieces flew to the floor, the remaining either stuck in her hand or the mirror.

     _____ dropped to the floor, wailing profusely.

"Why does he get to run away from his problems," she paused, taking a loud shaky breath in while looking up at her ceiling, "while I'm stuck here?!"

     Too much to handle at once.

     Her hand bled all over herself and her hardwood. She couldn't care less. The pain she felt was all too real.

     She started to rock herself slowly, it always seemed to be the one thing that truly calmed her. She wiped her eyes again, leaving a large blood trail with it from her severed hand.

     Standing quickly, she walked through her house toward the front door, Spud following. They both exited through the front door. The dog ran off while she sat on the bottom step, lighting a cigarette as soon as she plopped down.

     _____ rubbed circles on her temples with her eyes shut, cigarette still in between her fingers.

"It's not fair," she muttered, taking another drag.