Silver / |

Do you remember?

The hotel bar was crowded, but not noisy. Everyone had already drank as much as their hearts desired, and were now regretting the amount of alcohol they'd had and already fearing the hangover of the next day.
Just quiet murmurs and mutters all across the bar, then one person confidently stepped into the bar.

No eyes turned to him, except for the bartender who quickly ran towards him.

"Hi sir, just follow me," he mumbled, clearly nervous.

Mr. Willow simply shook his head, "That won't be necessary, I know my way around the place." he said, "However, there's gonna be this kid who'll walk in probably thirty minutes from now. About this tall-" Mr. Willow brought his hand to his waist, then hesitantly lifted it up just a little, "I don't know, he's just very short- Latino, with very messy hair, and he looks like he's hiding something although you don't know what it is he's hiding, he's just suspicious looking- Anyway, just bring him to the back once he arrives."

The bartender quickly nodded, the description wasn't the most helpful but he still hoped that he'd be able to recognize the guy.

-

Angello quickly thanked the worker that led him to his room, and as soon as he heard the door shutting behind him, he gawked at the interior design.
Everything was so.. Fancy. So expensive.

He slowly walked to where the beds were, not hesitating to poke or gently touch anything and everything that intrigued him.

He'd never been in such an expensive room before, but it wasn't just the room, the whole hotel was fancy! And no one else seemed to be shocked by it as much as him.

He desperately wanted to sit on the bed, even take just a little nap, but he couldn't. He'd have to get told the rest of Mr. Willow's plan.. Then he'd sleep.
Now he just had to shower and get changed, considering he'd had these clothes on for 2 or 3 days, he didn't know.

Angello sighed deeply and walked away from the bed, and to the massive bathroom.
Seriously, who'd need a bathroom this big? What were they doing in it? He frowned slightly and looked at the large bathtub.
Now that was just dramatic, two whole grown adults could fit in that bathtub! What was that for?

Angello just shook his head and looked at the shower, he never really enjoyed baths anyway.
He left the bathroom and took his shoes and socks off, before walking back into the bathroom and locking the door. He still had his crossbody bag on him, what if someone barged into the bathroom while he was showering!

It was a completely logical approach, so he decided to put the bag right behind the door.
He was thinking of physics. If someone where to barge in, the movement of the door would knock the bag to him while he was in the shower. That must be one of that Newton guy's laws of.. Something.
Angello had dropped out of highschool because of how horrid his grades were, he didn't know!

He slowly got undressed while staring at the door, leaving his clothes on the floor, then he walked over to the shower which was farther away than he'd thought, making the whole thing pretty awkward to him.

He stepped into the shower and stared at the many water settings, what did it all mean!? There were several knobs.. That controlled several different things. But why were there several different things in a damn shower!
He just wanted to take a quick shower then go to the hotel bar to see what that cocky old man wanted.

He slowly reached for one of the knobs and turned it, he then squeaked when he felt cold water hitting his back and quickly turned the knob again to close it.
After much much trial and error, Angello finally found the knob that turned on the shower head, and let out a huge sigh of relief when he felt the water hit his hair.

He reached for the shampoo and put a small amount on his hand, much less than he needed, but he'd make it work.
He didn't wanna waste things.. Even if this hotel room was just for him for a while, he wasn't willing to waste anything.

It was a constant worry that Angello had, wasting things, because what if he needed it later? He'd been in countless situations where he'd wasted something that he later would need. Although he felt it was beyond ridiculous to still act like this in a hotel he was staying at for free, he just didn't know how to stop it.

A chill went down his spine as he put his hand in his hair, how long had it been since he washed it? It was tangled everywhere, and he had no idea if it was dirty or not, but he figured it must be considering it'd been about a month since he'd properly washed it with shampoo and conditioner, and a week or two since he'd washed it with just water.

He couldn't help but recall how his mother would wash his hair every single day, probably from the moment he grew hair until he was about 11, then she left.
He didn't want to remember that last part, he just wanted to remember how she'd scold him for touching or doing anything to his curly hair.

He remembered it very clearly, in the morning before going to work she'd leave a note on the fridge telling Angello to not sleep before she came back. Then he'd go to school and go back home, where he'd be tired but he'd wait. Then she'd return home with a little treat usually, just for him, no one else knew.
It'd be chocolate or a pastry, and she'd tell him good job for listening, then they'd gossip about her job while she washed and brushed his hair.
When he was younger Angello would immediately eat the treat she bought for him, but then as he got older and wiser, he'd save it for the next day, to eat at school or with his breakfast.

Angello felt tears flooding his eyes as he zoned out while staring at the many shower knobs.
It wasn't fair that he still missed her, and it wasn't fair that he still loved her. She abandoned him, and it wasn't fair that there was nothing he could do to stop these feelings of love and admiration in the back of his mind. But she wasn't a good person, because no good person would leave their kids behind without a warning.

She wasn't worth him feeling this way, he remembered he'd count the days since she'd left for months, almost a year actually. Just waiting for someone who completely forgot about him.

Angello quickly finished rinsing his hair and washed the rest of his body before stepping out of the shower. No tears fell from his eyes, and he wasn't sad anymore. If he didn't want to be sad he wouldn't be sad, he controlled his emotions, not the other way around.
She didn't deserve Angello thinking about and missing her, Maria deserved it more.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and stared at the mirror for a few seconds, at his hair specifically.
His hair told a story, one that he wasn't willing to read.

Then he stared at his chest and stomach, the countless cuts on them, those also told a story, one that he wasn't willing to remember.

~

The older boy grinned widely and leant down so him and the 9 year old were at the same level, "You did horrible today." he stated.

The young boy quickly shook his head and stared up at him, "I'm sorry, I wasn't focused this time! I'm not bad, I'm good! Yesterday I was good!"

"Good?" he chuckled and shook his head, "You're learning how to use blades to harm, you're not good, you're horrible, and you'll continue getting worse," a sick smirk spread across his face, "Angel~"

The young boy sealed his eyes shut, feeling the cold and sharp blade slowly touch his bare chest

~