Runaway - A DEVIL'S NIGHT FANFICTION (PTBR + ENG)

Chapter 45 - Nini

A message from the author:

Grief is a bitch.

This morning, I woke up feeling restless. I tried scrolling through Instagram. Couldn't do it. Put on a themed playlist to match the book I'm reading and picked up the book, but that didn't work either. I felt awful. I wanted to escape. I considered what to do and ended up remembering this fanfic. No pun intended.

I didn't think I'd be able to, but I somehow found my way to finishing an entire chapter quickly. And I'm really sorry that it's such a terrible chapter (our girl, Nini, doesn't deserve any of this), but here I am, posting it for you.

I have no idea when I'll start (or finish!) the next chapter, but I hope there's still someone around.

Whether there is or not, here it is:

Four years ago

The smell of bacon wakes me up, just as I feel my stomach make an audible noise and ache. I shift on the couch, but I do my best not to show how uncomfortable I am and how much my back hurts.

— Oh, you're already awake? I brought you breakfast, Dominini — Germaine announces, right after taking off his holster and the gun that probably wouldn't be of much use even if he needed it.

— Thanks — I say, getting up and walking over to the small, old wooden table, which has only one chair with a wobbly leg propped up on an encyclopedia.

Last night, when I tried to approach my house, I stopped to watch through the gap the living room curtain left open. There, holding my breath and feeling my heart tighten, I saw my mother half-naked, wearing one of her silk and lace nightgowns, carelessly draped over the couch. Her eyes were closed, one of her arms hung off the couch, and for the first time, instead of seeing her as the delicate lady I had always perceived, I saw a frail creature, with veins visible through her fragile skin.

An image I will hardly ever forget, one that scared me so much I didn't have the courage to go inside and help her. So instead, I ran until I got here.

Germaine's house was the place I decided to go as soon as I left Ivarsen behind.

But I couldn't bring myself to tell Germaine what had brought me here, letting him assume I had simply had a fight with my mother and was hiding in his house.

— I saw Claire in town this morning. Kid, she looked so worried...

I bite the inside of my cheek but stay silent, staring at my own hands as he unloads the paper bags he brought onto the table.

— Hmm... this box had room for two more donuts — I comment, trying to change the subject. — You know you shouldn't even go near these things, right?

— My doctor congratulated me at my last check-up — he accepts the distraction, placing his hands on his belt. — And I'm too old to deny myself these small pleasures because of diabetes. I'm sure I won't die from eating one extra donut. And don't worry, I left the tastiest, jelly-filled ones for you.

— Thanks, Germaine — I sigh, beginning to serve myself on one of the few plates in the house.

— There's also a bag with a sandwich that has your name on it — he adds, pointing to it and still letting me serve myself first.

— Wow, how do you expect me to ever want to go back home when I'm treated like the princess of Thunder Bay here? — I joke, shrugging.

But I regret it instantly because my comment takes the conversation in the direction I was trying to avoid.