Mutiny Below

Nineteen

"You killed him!?" I yelled.  He ran his hand through his hair nervously.  "Explain!" He sighed.

"Well when I got there I told him to leave you alone or I'd kill him.  Then he proceeded to call me a dog.  He said I'd never be good enough for you and that you deserve a human.  So I got pissed off and threw him against the wall.  He grabbed his stupid gun and shot at me.  Thus explaining the blood on my shirt.  I started clawing at him and he just dropped fuckin dead.  One of my scratches probably went too deep.  It was all self defense he would've hurt me badly had I not started clawing" He stared at blood on his hands.  I sighed gently.

"Self defense is okay.  Make sure he's not actually dead because you could just be making assumptions" I said.  He pulled the mirror from his pocket.

"Mirror, mirror show me Mark" He said.  He bit his lip impatiently.  His face dropped "He's alive.  He doesn't look well.  He must have faked his death or something"

"Well at least you won't go to jail" I mumbled.  He frowned shoving the mirror back in his pocket.

"I need to get the blood washed off me" he said "I'm sorry"

"It's okay.  I just wish you'd make better choices Pete" He frowned at me "Go take a shower please. We'll deal with this later"

"Okay" he said gently. He left my room with a sad look on his face. 
-----
I was half asleep when he climbed into bed.  He hugged my stomach tightly and pressed his head against my back.  He made cute sighing noises.

"I love you" I mumbled sleepily.

"I love you more" he said gently.

"Not possible" I mumbled.  But he was already asleep.
-----
I woke up alone and groggy as hell.  I looked over at my alarm clock that never went off.  11?  I slept till 11? I got up quickly wrapping a blanket around myself.  Usually my alarm goes off.  Why didn't it go off?  I ran downstairs to an empty house.  Er, castle.  I pulled the phone from my pocket and called Pete.  It rang and hit his voicemail.  What the hell?  I rushed upstairs praying to god everything was okay.  I burst into Petes room and found the mirror on his nightstand.  I grabbed it shakily.  What was I about to see? 

"Sh-show me the beast" I whispered.  It flashed blue in colors.  An image of Pete appeared on it.  He was in town with Joe by his side.  They walked into a bookstore together.  The mirror followed them inside.  He was picking up books left and right.

"Pete we have an entire library at home" Joe laughed.

"I know but those are all old and dusty and probably pertain no interest to Patrick.  I want him to have nice books from the 21st century" I smiled a bit at him.  "He keeps rereading the one he came here with so I figured he just doesn't like the books from the library" I frowned.  No.  That wasn't it. 

"Thank you mirror" I said.  It shut down.  I walked over to the old copy of The Great Gatsby I continued to reread.  I flipped to the cover of it. 

My little bookworm,
this was my favorite when I was your age.  Think of me every time you pick this book up okay?  Especially when you miss me.  I love you dear.

xo Mom

That was why.
-----
Pete walked in on me reading that book and crying.  He stared at me like I was crazy for a second until I started sobbing more.  He walked in and took the book from my hands.  He hugged me tightly. 

"Did someone die in the book?" he asked.

"Yes" I whispered "My mom" He didn't respond probably because he didn't know how to respond.  I snatched the book from his hands.  He stared at me oddly.  "Here" I whispered.  I opened to the cover and let him see why I was crying.  His eyes scanned the cover page "She died the day after she gave me this.  She was killed in a hunting incident.  They shot her mistaking her for a deer.  She went into the woods for something.  I forget what.  Firewood.  I wanted to come but she wouldn't let me for the same reason you won't let me"

"Wolves" he said.  I nodded trying to make my tears stop.  They just kept going.  "This is why you always reread this old book huh?" I nodded again. 

"Its the last thing I have of her.  This way I can take her with me wherever I go.  It was Mark too.  He killed her.  Ran her out of the forest i tears.  He was in tears.  He was.  My mom was dead in his hands and he was in tears.  All because he was scared of a prison sentence he never even got" I dried my eyes a bit "And thats when I got bad.  My dad was out every night so I was alone.  I attempted suicide once but never again.  I mainly talked to no one and sat in my room reading.  That's why I'm an outsider to them all.  They all thought I went crazy.  But, I didn't.  I just never wanted to talk.  I didn't go to the funeral and then i cried because I thought my mom hated me for that.  But, I knew her of all people understood because she didn't do to her moms funeral for the same reason.  You're the first person I've opened up to about this" He sighed and hugged me again "Sometimes it feels okay to cry.  Other times I can make it through the book with a smile on my face"

"Baby" he mumbled in sympathy "God I'm so sorry"

"Please don't die.  Please.  Or leave me"

"Never" he said "And if I die I'm haunting your ass so you still won't be rid of me"

"I love you" I sighed.

"I love you too baby.  Whens her anniversary?"

"Next month" I said.

"We'll do something okay?  For her"

"Okay" I whispered.