Splinterbark: Chaos of the Coyote Crew

Chapter 8: Know What It's Like

Alucard had run, leapt, glided, and bounced as fast as he could across town. He bounded from rooftop to rooftop, latched on to passing busses that were still running at this late hour, and scampered though alleys. All the while he was shoving most of his costume into his knapsack. Alucard had glanced at his watch several times and panicked as the minutes ticked past 10:30. It also didn't help his stomach was still trying to recover from the recent heaving experience and his head was still slightly spinning. Jinn's spell had only ebbed pain. Jinn could have done something for his present malady, but he had no time. When he had finally reached the front bridge he was panting and wheezing to near collapse. Toonz Boom had closed almost an hour ago and the street was dead quiet. The large illuminated dial above the club's logo said 11:15. He was too late. Alucard collapsed on one of the benches and threw his head back with his palms pressing hard against the sides trying to quell the rising headache and not scream in frustration.

Then he heard it. He heard footsteps coming from down the street. At first he had thought it might be one of those midnight joggers or maybe a burglar. He could care less which though he might be tempted to take his now stewing anger out on the robber. As they came closer they were light and airy and Maria came into the spotlight. She was also gasping for breath and wiping the sweat from her brow when she got to the front of the club. In her hand was a stuffed duffel bag. She looked around and not seeing Alucard fell to her knees in defeated deflation. Alucard approached her in an exhausted fashion and placed his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes light up when she saw him and her tired haggard appearance brightened. What he hadn't expected when he got her to her feet was for her to hug him and squeeze tightly. He thought he heard her cry a little too.

The two just walked together down the street along the river and were pretty much silent. The only thing really said was Maria shoving a pack of breath mints in Alucard's face and remarked a little sharply that his breath reeked. He honestly laughed at the slight. He deserved that. It was almost midnight when they reached one of the other canal bridges where they had a nearly perfect view of the sky above and the river below.

"Thank you", Maria finally muttered.

"For what?"

"For...not talking." Alucard was unsure if he should be flattered or insulted, but let out a loud cackling laugh nonetheless. Maria took a few paces back because this was something she hadn't expected from him. When she asked what was so funny, his response was a curt 'private joke' before reeling it back in with a few hard breaths. A nearby clock struck midnight.

"Midnight. I'd better get home. Mom will kill me if she finds me gone. And stepdad would turn me into a pumpkin-at least that's what my stepsister keeps telling me."

"Sounds like a lovely family", Maria cooed sarcastically.

"Yeah...sure."

"I know my sisters will kill me if they find out."

"Your sisters? What about your parents?" Maria suddenly started quaking and her hands were gripping the railing hard.

"I hate them. They only loved me for what we could give them. We had to always be perfect. But then...we messed up. We made a big mistake. It wasn't entirely Jessie's fault! Simon...Simon ruined everything! Because of him we lost everything we built. Our parents just washed their hands of us! If they stayed we could have fixed it! And everything could have been happily ever after just like on tv!"

"That's a dumb thing to wish for." She then turned and glared at him, her eyes starting to turn red and puffy from welling tears.

"But you wouldn't know anything about that would you? Everything must be perfect for you, Alucard Dougal! Yes, I looked you up. Perfect grades, excellent stats in baseball, and son of one of the wealthiest people in Cadric City! You wouldn't know anything about struggle! You wouldn't know anything about being under pressure. So don't lecture me on what's good for me!" She screamed and cried and pounded Alucard's chest while he just stood there blankly. It was not the first time a girl was angry at him though it was usually after he broke up with them after being bored or frustrated with them. But usually all it took was a smile and a few soothing words, and occasionally a little bribery, to get them off his neck. Maria finally ceased with her arms dropping to her sides and her face buried in his torso. Alucard glanced back into his backpack. Sure, he couldn't possibly know what she felt. He pulled her away and said they should both go home. Maria agreed and rejected the offer of being escorted even before Alucard even offered it. She did apologize for her outburst. It had been a very long week, but it was going to be all better soon. Things were going to be really good and she flashed a tired smile.