The Murder House

Six - Wicked Witch Of The South

        Romeo wanted to take River to all the fancy places he took other girls on dates but he knew she would feel out of place so instead he took her to the best charity shops he knew. He took her to a British Heart Foundation and pushed inside, but she stayed outside frowning, he wasn't lost on her rant about their prices but he didn't think they were bad. Even as they looked around Romeo couldn't help but think over everything he knew about Ellis, Kristine had spoke about him once with Franco and it was bugging him. They'd only left him an hour ago, he couldn't message him because there'd be no answer and he'd just panic. He looked through the t-shirts, glancing to River as she studied the books with such an intensity that he felt the need to go over to her and hug her. He was lost in the jeans while he thought about everything, the man from the night before popped into his mind, the way he looked straight at Romeo yet somehow through him. Romeo's eyes looked up as an arthritic hand bumped against his, only what he could explain as a modern version of the man he saw the night before appeared before him. The long, jagged hair was cut short and slicked back, his scrawny figure was filled out in a nice button now shirt and tight dress pants that hugged his waist. He rubbed a hand against one pants in particular and held them up, 'Celia, what do you think of these?' He asked as a girl of around seventeen plodded over.

'Papa, no,' she said shaking her head, her shoulder length curly hair that looked so much like River's bounced with each movement. She had on baggy brown-black jeans tucked into scuffed tan combat boots and was matched with a loose off white shirt with the first few buttons untucked, a leather harness fit snugly over her waist with two suspender like straps on her shoulders. 'Papa you are in a young man's way,' she said and the man gasped shifting instantly.

"Thank you," Romeo said. "Do I know you?"

'Everyone and no one knows me,' the man's voice was the exact same as when he sung the night before. Standing beside his daughter Romeo felt familiarity twinge down his spine but he couldn't comprehend where he saw them before. 'Come Pirate, guess if you can where we must travel next?' He said with a flourish that belied his scary appearance. A throat tattoo of a snarling, long haired dog would put anybody off.

'Let me check out the books,' the girl said. Romeo was worried she'd talk to River, but when he looked up River was stood beside him looking at the men's jacket, two books in her arms.

"Do you think your dad would mind if I bought him this?" She said holding out a small hardback book. "A read it like two, three years ago and wanted to give it to him. I don't know what box it's in and I'd rather pay the three pound to keep my own book and not have him read it and potentially destroy it," she said shyly. "I got this for Ellis too, apparently he likes historical romance,"

"My dad? You really thought enough to buy him a book?" He asked his mind taking too long to process.

"Yeah," she said. "He's a nurse and all, it's fiction but it had a unisex main character and I know he's interested in unique characters. He told me once and when I bought the book I thought of him, so when a saw it here a guess a just felt like a had to," he was confused by how she was changing from Geordie to London and back. She must have noticed because she smiled putting a hand on his arm, "sorry, a forget sometimes you aren't from up North. Do you want me to speak a little slower?" She asked pronouncing each word more than before.

"No, just don't switch between slang,"

"Never gonna happen," even now her accent was hard to decipher. Never sounded like nevah, he blinked at her, then down at the jacket she was looking at. "A have this exact one just with stitching on the pockets," she said laughing.

"Thank you," he said taking it.

"What are ye deying?"

"Matching," he said turning to the counter. He was being rung up when the price was announced, he heard River's surprise at the forty pound leather jacket but he didn't care. He waited until she paid for the books then they walked in silence, he could hear her wondering why he went through with the purchase so he came out and said it. "Money isn't an object Tyne, if you want anything you can get it,"