The Sixth | Ekko

Chapter Eight - Flashback #2, Part 2

She sat on a stool in Vander's bar, the Last Drop empty at this time of day.

"Ya feelin' alright, kid?" Vander asked while drying some whiskey glasses he'd taken out of the soaker.

She pulled her head off her arms that were currently resting on the bar so that she could look up at him.

Vander was a large person, having brown hair and a bearded face. She could see the concern swirling in his eyes.

"Yeah... Just bored," she said, her statement holding some truth, at least.

Vander turned around to place a newly dried tumbler on the shelf.

"In that case, can you take this to Benzo's for me?" he asked after turning back around, a bag of coins now in his hands.

"I owe him for somethin'. Haven't paid him back yet."

She nodded and took the small sack of coins from him.

"Put it in yer pocket. Don't want thugs tryna steal it now do we?"

Momo made her way to Benzo's. It wasn't a very long journey, since Benzo's pawn shop was only a few buildings down. She felt nervousness bubble in her belly. She knew that Ekko would be working during this time of day, and she dreaded having to see him. She hadn't since the day she'd overheard him call her annoying and creepy. He didn't know she'd heard him of course, and she found herself wondering if he'd even noticed her absence.

She pushed open the heavy door of Benzo's pawn shop, the sound of the door opening causing Benzo to look up from what he was doing.

"Ah, finally back eh? Ya feelin' any better?"

She paused for a second, but then remembered that during her last visit here, she'd told him she had a stomachache. She nodded.

She walked up to the counter and pulled the coin bag from her pocket before plopping it down in front of him.

Benzo's posture straightened slightly.

"Ol' Vander finally payin' me back, yeah?"

She nodded yet again and watched as Benzo pried open the bag and emptied its contents onto the counter. She turned around to leave, only to be stopped by Benzo's voice.

"Can ya do me a favor? I got a box full of thingamabobs that I need Ekko ta sort. Can ya get 'im for me? Should be in the back."

She felt an unreasonable amount of panic from his request, but she had no reason to tell him why she couldn't. She simply nodded and made her way into the back, which was full of storage and was basically a big, huge mess of everything and anything.

She spotted Ekko bent over in the back corner, pulling something off the shelf.

She exhaled slowly and readied herself to confront him.

"Ekko."

Her voice startled him, causing him to try and strand upright and hit the back of his head on the shelf. He hissed pain and rubbed at his head where he had been struck.

Her eyes widened in horror. It looked like it had hurt.

"Are you okay?" she asked, though it was already obvious that he wasn't.

She heard him grumble under his breath.

"I'm fine. What do you want?"

Her heart began to race. He was already irritated with her—for good reason of course—but it'd only been a few seconds, and it upset her.