she's leaving home 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 [𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐰𝐨]

VIII

molly combed back her blonde hair in front of the broken mirror. one of the shards fell into the sink in front of her, eliciting a small yelp from her.

john lennon's apartment was less than glamorous.

"everything 'right in there, mayweather?" the devil himself popped into the doorframe, his floppy hair moving with every step—or bounce. he tended to walk on his tip-toes a lot when he was happy for a reason unknown to molly.

she pointed at the mirror in the sink, still attempting to comb her hair with john's hairbrush. "oh, yeah. that happened last night," he scratched the back of his neck, seemingly embarrassed, yet unphased. "look," he took one of the shards out from the mirror, not even wincing when another fell. "you can hold it as close as you want!"

molly shrieked as he held the shard to her jugular. "john! careful with that thing!" she grabbed it from him gently, wondering how he got so close so quickly. still on his tip-toes, john hopped out of the room in a blink. he was a tall, lanky man, and surprisingly light on his feet.

without warning, another shard fell into the sink. all molly wanted to do was fix her hair, and john's damn mirror was falling to pieces right before her.

what was next, the ceiling falling down on top of her? but she couldn't bring herself to get angry at john. after all, he was just looking out for her. he'd been like this since they were kids, always trying to cheer her up. she loved being around him, even when he was acting like he knew something she didn't.

but molly had to admit to herself, without a single doubt: john lennon scared the hell out of her sometimes. he was unpredictable, almost frightening at moments. one minute, he could be a ray of sunshine; the next, the devil's spawn who could make you believe anything was true if he thought he could get away with it.

molly shook the feeling of unease off her shoulders, determined to finish fixing her hair. she'd be fine. john had a knack for messing things up, it wasn't quite his fault. molly had always been better at things like this. she could do everything with ease. she'd gotten over her nerves before and could do it again.

molly combed her hand through her hair once more, deciding she liked the look of her curls. she smiled at herself in the mirror. it would have to do until she got home.

she walked out of the bathroom and greeted cynthia. she was carrying a bundle of laundry, and wearing what molly presumed was one of john's shirts. cynthia gave her a warm smile as she passed by. "hello, molly." molly returned the sentiment with a grin, walking past cynthia.

she walked into the kitchen to see john sitting at his tiny, creaky table, shovelling food into his mouth. he looked up and raised an eyebrow, his mouth full. molly chuckled to herself and sat down opposite him. he cleared his throat and wiped his hands against a piece of paper napkin. "how's george been?" john asked as he stuffed the rest of the pancake into his mouth. 
"i haven't seen 'im today."

"i think he's upset with me right now," molly replied, leaning back against the table. she wondered if she should tell john about what happened between the two. "he kissed me and i turned him down afterwards." she sighed. "he hasn't said anything about it, though."

john shrugged, "it'll pass. maybe he's waiting til you get home so he can yell at you, or something."

"maybe." molly sighed, rubbing her temple. "i don't know anymore." she shook her head, saying, "sometimes, i wish we could go back to being young and dumb, running around this town like we owned it." molly laughed softly as john stood up, cleaning his plate and heading toward the door. 

she followed suit, grabbing her purse from the counter and heading for the door. he leaned against the doorframe, watching her put on her shoes, smirking. "so how long are you gonna stick around liverpool, anyways?" he began. "you gonna disappear on us again?"

"long enough to get some money." she pulled on her shoes, "take care of my mother... figure out my life." she took a deep inhale. "and then i guess that's where i disappear."

john frowned at her statement. he wasn't sure why. perhaps it was because he didn't like hearing her talk like that, as if he was somehow a stranger to her.

"you coming to the cavern tonight, mayweather?" john mused, putting his shoes on. "that'll help get your mind off of things with george, i bet." john nudged her with his elbow, grinning. "i'll even buy you a beer afterwards-"

"yeah okay," molly rolled her eyes. "you do that." she reached up to his head and ruffled his curly hair.
john shoved her arm away playfully, rolling his eyes. molly walked through the doorway onto the landing and waved, closing the door behind her. "see ya later," she called, smiling.

as john said goodbye to molly, his thoughts went back to the mirror. he'd have to fix that for him and cyn.

that damned mirror.