Monochrome

Chapter 11: Breathe

Monochrome

Chapter 11

Breathe

What did one do while they were on maternity leave? She looked down at her shoe, took them, threw them into the trash, and realized that there were some dishes in the sink that weren't cleaned. She went over and started to clean them. She hated dirty things. She was told that she was a bit of a clean freak, which was why she took the job she had now.

She slowly opened the fridge to see a sandwich, salad, and what looked like miso soup. A note that said 'For Ariel, if you get hungry. From Emmet.' he was such a sweetheart. She picked up the plates and set them on the table. She went to put a kettle on the stove. She had tea in her apartment so she went to the front door to go get it. When she opened the door she realized her own apartment door was in pieces.

She slowly backed away from it and into the previous apartment. Slowly she started to close the door so it didn't seem like she had left. Just as soon as the door closed she could see Cain in the doorway of her apartment talking to someone on the phone. He was wearing a team plasma symbol on his arm. She plucked up the Joltik that stayed in the doorway and closed the door softly.

"No it's not there, and she's probably at work. I'll go see if she has it there. No, she'll give it to me in time. I have leverage over her now." What did he want? didn't take anything with her. Other than her clothing, he just searched her stuff. What could he want? She looked at herself and shook her head.

She looked into the trash can that was beside her where she had thrown her shoes. Well if he wanted those he could find them at the dump.

She heard something hit the wall and she panicked. She turned off the stove, and went into one of the rooms and slowly turned away from the door.

Quietly she opened the closet door and pushed herself as far back as the tiny room would allow. She curled in, tucked the Joltik into her shirt, and hugged her knees. She was shaking so hard her teeth were chattering.

~A few Hours Later~

Ingo opened the door and walked in, placing the diaper bag down and called out.

"Ariel, let's celebrate!" He said, placing Akari down on her changing table. In his other hand was a small box of different cakes. They weren't sure what kind she liked. So they got a sample variety.

"Maybe she went over to her apartment?" Emmet offered, Ingo nodded as his brother stepped out to go over to the apartment. A few moments later he heard his brother call out for him.

"Ariel?" Ingo stepped in holding the infant close to him for protection as he looked into the house. It was considerably smaller than their house. Their house had three bedrooms while this one only had 1.

"They took her?" Emmet looked up at his brother before hearing something soft from their doorway.

"Ingo, Emmet? Is she okay?" The voice was so soft Ingo almost didn't hear it. Ingo felt a sudden wave of relief, Emmet honestly felt like his heart had broken in two. She lightly put the Joltik back onto his web.

"Oh we thought they took you." Emmet said, pulling her into his arms. She however didn't know how to process the contact so she patted his arm.

"I realized they had broken into my apartment when I went to get some tea, my door was broken and...Cain was there."

"Did he see you?" Ingo asked.

"N...No...he was turned around talking on the phone with someone." She said as she sat down on the couch. Ingo placed Akari into her arms and placed a pillow on her lap. It would be a lot simpler for her to feed the baby.

"It was strange though, he said I had something he wanted. Everything I owned was in that apartment. If he didn't find what he wanted I don't know what it was." She felt Emmet place a small blanket over her legs, and Akari's lap. It was slightly cold.

Something clicked in her head and she looked down at the coffee table, herself, Ingo and Emmet. The table had cakes, tea, and various foods. She didn't even notice that one of them put a pillow behind her back.

Was this what it was like to be taken care of? She looked up at the men and then at the food again.

"It's okay, eat what you want." Ingo told her. She looked baffled for a moment.

"Um...but I..." she looked down at Akari who seemed to be suckling rather slower now. Somehow it seemed to be a comfort knowing she was okay and Cain didn't get her.

A loud growl in the room caught their attention and Ariels cheeks turned pink. She didn't get a chance to eat her food earlier.

"Did you not eat?" Emmet turned to look at the table. The lettuce on the plate had wilted, and the cheese had grown pale.

"Ariel...you haven't eaten at all...why? We left a note telling you it was okay."

"Been...hiding." She ran her fingers over Akari's head. A soft gesture that Ingo noticed.

"This whole time?" Emmet asked, sitting lightly on the couch so as not to wake up the infant.

"In the closet." She whispered, she felt like he was in trouble. Wasting food, that had to be it right? She held out her wrists to Emmet since he was the closest.

Emmet stepped back holding up his hands. Ingo reached out and took her hands in his and kissed her wrists.

"We would never harm you. This wasn't your fault, you were scared and it was that...Cain fellow who caused this fear." He stood up picking up a plate and loading it down with food and then sat back down on the couch and held a spoon full up for her. "Come, eat."

She opened her mouth and braised herself, he could still try something mean...she closed her eyes and tasted something sweet. She opened her eyes to see the pancakes with whipped cream, and chocolate. She only ever made plain pancakes. Not even any syrup. Syrup was a luxury that she couldn't have. To her this certainly was a celebration.