Darling Belle

Ten

            
        Baby stems of petunias poked her umber eyes out as if they'd mistaken her gaze for rich soil, blooming into a brilliant shade of violet and beyond the edges of her vision, dreamed Nereus.

•••

She can't look at him. It's like she's as fragile and transparent as glass. Her fists tightening around the handle of her suitcase. Stood stiffly on the platform, side by side, awaiting the train, silent. Sending her away felt like a betrayal. And if she fully faced him, she'd break.

She was missing Noah's quiet company as pathetic as that sounded. Maisie hadn't spoken to him properly ever since she'd started attending Duvall. She longed for some type of closure from him, and she was sure he did as well. But it was Nico that she'd depended on, who was always beside her. He'd made her feel like she wasn't alone when Noah pushed her away.

Nico's voice reminded her of Noah then. Softer. 'I don't want you to go.'

His words made her eyes water in an instant, she doesn't draw her rheumy gaze to him instead she kept it towards hell. 'Then don't make me,' she spoke, clipped.

There's chattering all around them that slip into gibberish once the announcements up-above sound. Sharp steps that dull like beaten blades. The dragging of bags that stutter and scrape.

The train station was a hesitant symphony.

'It isn't safe for you here.'

'Nowhere is safe for anyone.'

'You truly believe that?'

She doesn't answer him because her train arrives, its motion creating a firm breeze. Flicking her hair away from her face. If Nico looked at that exact moment, he'd see the fear in her eyes. But he hadn't.

And as he sent her off, Maisie remembered that she'd always been alone.

•••

On the train, as she'd walked down the center aisle, it'd been right into a boy with pale skin and black hair. He'd been in charge of the fencing club at Duvall. But she'd never gotten the chance to attend a class because of everything that'd happened. They'd decided to sit together in one compartment since it was pretty cramped.

Daichi gave her a small smile. Sat on the opposite side. 'Small world, huh?' he leaned back. Head tilted. Observing.

'Yeah. Where you headed?'

'Visiting family in Erie, you?'

She shrugged. 'To Liverleaf. How long you staying?'

He didn't acknowledge her enigmatic answer. 'A week or so. But my mother worries because of... you know. She wants me to stay longer.'

Maisie nodded. 'It's horrible.'

'I know.'

That killed the conversation quickly. Maisie spotted the book gripped in one of his hands, her own hand tightening around hers. Daichi smiled tightly. 'We don't have to talk.'

Maisie returned the gesture, leaning in a bit. 'No, we don't. Is that Kafka you're reading?'

'A reread. Dostoevsky?'