Gehenna's Gate

Shelter

Vena awoke from her nap by the sound of loud knocking on the front door.

For a moment, she simply laid in bed, staring up blankly at the ceiling as she contemplated life, at least until another round of knocking reached her ears.

Exhaling an unsteady breath, the girl tossed her blankets off her body to go find a pair of sweatpants to slip on, mind wandering to who of many possibilities could be disturbing her depression nap this time.

As she passed by one of the several decorative mirrors her mother had throughout the house, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror.

Her eyes were puffy and slightly red, nose a tinge of pink as well from the hours of crying she'd gotten in before she'd finally fallen asleep out of pure exhaustion. She wasn't even sure what time it was now, she'd lost track of it a while ago.

Shuffling like a zombie, the girl peeped through the hole in her door, eyes almost too blurry to even make out who it was, but she'd know those honey colored eyes anywhere.

Part of her didn't even want to open the door now considering how ragged and disheveled she'd looked, but she knew he wouldn't leave anyway, and would probably find a way through her window or something if it weren't for the barrier Mona had placed on the house previously.

Taking in a deep breath, the girl released it as she unlocked the door and pulled it open, nerves sky rocketing as a sudden feeling of vulnerability washed over her once Xiao's eyes settled on her form.

"What happened?" Xiao's voice was low, his brows stitching together ever so slightly with concern as his eyes scanned over her entire body.

That obvious, huh?

Wordlessly, the woman simply took a step off to the side, gesturing a hand for him to enter, trying to decide if she even really wanted to talk about it at this point.

It seemed like any time she finally got her feelings straight about something, another twist of the knife had her spiraling back down to ground zero and it was like reliving it all over again.

Vena was sick and tired of feeling every emotion so violently, she wasn't able to regulate or properly deal with any of it. It had always been easier to just try and bury it and avoid it like the plague.

Xiao accepted the invitation, taking a step inside before reaching a hand out to take hold of her own.

His other hand reached over to shut the door for her, gently pulling Vena along behind him after he quickly removed his shoes.

She allowed herself to be guided, feeling like a passenger inside her own body as she mindlessly followed along.

Eventually she was lead to her own bedroom. Xiao brought her to stand beside her bed before finally stopping and turning to face her.

"Here, get comfortable. I'll be right back." His voice was so soft, so gentle, she almost didn't hear it.

Vena gave a single nod in response, slowly crawling back into her bed as Xiao left the room. A few faint noises could be heard as Vena pulled her blankets back up to cover her body, laying comfortably on her side in silence as she waited. Judging from the distance, she assumed he was doing something in the kitchen, but had no guesses as to what.

After a minute or two, light foot steps could be heard approaching, Xiao's form finally coming back into view as he passed through the open door holding a cup in his hand. Patch came in right on his heels, jumping up on the edge of the bed once Xiao had neared, extending the cup out to the girl for her to take.

For a moment, sapphire eyes flicked back and forth between Xiao's face and the cup, curious about what it could possibly contain, encouraging a little chuckle from the man before her.