White Rabbit

Chapter 24: A Sense of Understanding

REECE

I sit across from Essence in the ramen shop as our bowls of ramen sit on the table in front of us, steam rising off of them in the air and creating a warm atmosphere in the shop full of tan, cement tiled floors, red seated booths with black marble tables and wooden backsplash panels along the walls of the booths. A singular, sleek, black lamp hangs over each booth to compliment the tables and from where I'm sitting I can see the door, which is dark and wooden with a black screen in the window and is just a few feet away from our table. Potted planters around the shop have vibrant, green plants growing from them and a few of them have pink flowers blooming along with the bonsai trees and the ferns.

"So," Essence starts as she grabs a spoonful of Miso Ramen, "You take care of your mom?"

"Yeah," I nod as Essence eats some of her ramen and I grab a spoonful of my Shio Ramen, "I'm all she's got."

"Your dad is an alcoholic, isn't he?" Essence asks.

"Yeah, but that's not even the half of it," I say and glance away to scan the restaurant for a few moments before turning back to meet Essence's gaze, "Alcoholic, addicted to every possible substance that I can think of, abusive, the list goes on."

Essence's eyes widen slightly and she almost chokes on her ramen at my declaration, and she takes a moment to pause, her brown, wide eyes boring into mine and her spoon hovering over her bowl, which is still steaming.

"I'm sorry," She says after a few moments, "I can't even begin to think about how hard that must be."

"Don't worry about it," I shrug and take another spoonful of ramen, "He's not worth worrying about. I love my mother and I take care of her as best as I can, I always have. I've always been the one to provide for our family and make sure that we're stable. My mother has always been to scared to do anything to protest my dad, despite being Supernatural just like him, but I never gave a damn what he did to me if it meant that I could protect her and my brother. So, I took his yelling and I took his punches and I took his abuse and I never let him break me. I would've returned those punches, but it would've made me just as bad as him, so I just defended myself instead. It's all that I could do."

"It's not him that I'm worried about," Essence says, staring at me intently, "It's you."

My eyes widen slightly and I glance up at her before smiling slightly and chuckling.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine," I say, "But don't get me wrong, it's nice to be cared about."

She smiles weakly back at me before eating some more, taking a sip from her glass of honey and peach tea that she ordered as well.

"Hey, Reece," Essence says after a while.

"Hm?" I raise my attention back up to her from my ramen and watch her curiously, arching a brow.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your brother?" Essence asks hesitantly, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to though."

"Midnight wanted to prove that he could be like me," I start, "He wanted to help out me and my mom because he was tired of feeling helpless, like he couldn't do anything. Which, Midnight was a happy kid, aside from when our father was around. He was talented in piano, always managed to light up a room, was a great marksman and was amazing with a bow -- everybody loved him. He was the kind of guy who was selfless and aside from his overwhelming presence of light and energy, he seemed kind of timid at first when pushed, but if you were to push hard enough, he would show you just how strong that he really is. He wanted to do something to help me and to prove himself to me, but I already knew what a great kid he was. He really wanted to prove to himself that he was worth something, that he could do something meaningful. That's what he was actually trying to prove. Midnight went on a reconnaissance mission in order to obtain information on White Rabbit and while he wasn't in our group, he was good friends with Clattonia because she was my childhood best friend and she grew up close to us. I exchanged text messages with Midnight a few times and found out that he gathered the documents, and before he died he texted me and told me that he would make me proud. That was the last text that he ever sent me -- the last words I ever heard from him. He was shot three times and killed a minute after that message. He died just after exiting the building, where he was shot. He never even reached the stairs to make it off of the property. I told myself that I would find out who killed him and that I would slaughter them, not out of hate, despite how they ran a piece of jagged glass through my heart, but out of justice."

"My parents..." Essence starts after a pause, staring down at her ramen, "My parents were killed by members of White Rabbit whenever I was little. My father always wanted me to enjoy my childhood because he knew that whenever I got older that I would face the challenges him and my mother were facing for being Supernatural. My mom was a bit more strict than my father, but she wanted the best for me and she cared deeply for me, just like my father did. She would always scold me in chiding tones whenever she was worried about me, but she meant well. She never restricted any of my freedoms or my choices, but she would constantly worry about my well being whenever it came to things that could possibly harm me. But my father would tell her to let me be a child and that I would live and learn. I went on the run after they were murdered and I never stopped running, until I met you."

"We all have our demons, don't we?" I muse a smile that holds only pain and past sorrows but shares a common understanding.

"Yeah," Essence gives a small nod and finishes her ramen, "We do, but that's what makes us special, and the way that we handle those demons. That's a part of what makes us who we are. And again, I'm sorry about your brother."

"It's alright, and yeah, you're right. And I'm sorry about your parents, and, if I may ask, what about me made you stop running? Why me?"

"To be honest," Essence pauses, "There's just something about you that pulls me to you."

"Oh?" I raise my eyebrows as I take a drink from my Cola, "Good."

"Good?" Essence raises her eyebrows as I sit my glass of Cola back down and stand up, my empty ramen bowl left on the table by the napkins and utensils, as well as my almost gone Cola, fishing my hand in my pocket to reach for my wallet.

"Mhm," I nod as I grab out the payment for our orders as well as a tip before tossing it on the table, "Good."

"Tsk," Essence scoffs and finishes her tea before standing up, "Still as Reece as ever."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I narrow my eyes at her slightly as she slips her jacket back on, which was resting against the back of the booth.

"I dunno," Essence beams cheerily while slapping one of her hands against my chest, "Come on, let's go home, mama's boy."

I scowl and Essence laughs musically before skipping out the door and I sigh, following after her and running a hand through my blond hair.

"Not funny," I mutter under my breath.