Best Way Not to Get Your Heart Broken

Chapter Seven - Secrets

Soul slammed the door angrily behind him. The entire journey home Maka didn't say one word, even when he begged her to. Going up the stairs to their apartment she remained silent and it looked like she was planning on staying this way for the rest of the night.

"What, so you're not going to talk?" Soul asked in disbelief, throwing his jacket roughly onto the couch. "You was literally a hair's length away from getting assaulted by some old man, who knew your name, and you're not going to say anything?"

Maka stood with her back to Soul, hanging her jacket up with un-humanly slowness before turning around to finally face him. Her eyes, her emerald eyes, so bright they could almost resemble a cats made Soul's own eyes widen. Just then, her eyes looked very old. And very, very sad.

"...I don't want to talk about it." Her voice was quiet and tired, reflecting her expression perfectly.

Soul, normally so persistent, let his shoulders drop in defeat. He couldn't fight with her on this, especially when she was looking like this. He sighed before placing a hand on her shoulder, bowing his head to glare at the floor.

"You should probably lie down," he told her softly, as if speaking to a child. It was patronising... but comforting. "Come on."

He led her to the couch which she almost immediately collapsed on. He sighed at her somewhat still form before sitting down beside her feet. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

"Hey, maybe you should go to slee-"

"I'm not tired."

Soul looked away in annoyance, not wanting to snap at her. He stood slowly and made his way to the balcony, where he then pulled out his phone. He dialed in Blackstar's number before pressing the phone to his ear.

"Hey, man."

"Star," Soul breathed in relief.

"Yeah, is something wrong?"

"I don't know, you tell me. Maka took me to her school today, because I need to know how to get there for when she starts again." Blackstar hummed in understanding. "Anyway, some man more or less attempted assault on Maka. I don't know who he was but he knew her name and he was definitely about to throw a punch before she told me to drive away."

"Shit, are you serious? What was that all about?" Blackstar exclaimed, his voice raising in volume.

"I don't know! She won't say a thing and I can't bring myself to push her on it!"

"Well, we're just going to have to wait till she feels comfortable enough to tell one of us about it. If she doesn't want to tell us then she won't. But damn, seriously? She has to go to school there, Soul. Everyday."

"You think I don't know that?" Soul hissed into the phone, frustrated. "It's just going to get worse! Hell, I worry enough when she's in the fucking apartment! Soon I'll be driving her to that goddamn school every day! An-"

"Soul, Soul! Calm down man, you're losing it." Blackstar warned, a stern edge to his voice. Soul took a deep breathe before exhaling through his nose, sighing heavily.

"Your sister causes me a lot of goddamn stress, Star. Must run in the family."

"Jeez, you're telling me? I had to live with that for 12 years! I have yet to learn what peace at mind really is."

Soul chuckled before sighing, asking warily. "Hey, how come you never told us you were adopted?"

Soul could almost feel his shrug over the phone. "You never asked. I didn't think it was too important to bother sharing anyways, what with all the drama before leaving. I thought about Maka a lot though, but I couldn't bring it up because in doing so I'd have to explain. And I guess I just never really felt up to doing that until I didn't really have a choice."

Soul was taken aback. Blackstar was almost as secretive then he was.

"Not like you can talk. I can't name one thing I know about your family."

Soul froze. His shoulders tensed and his grip tightened around the phone so much he almost had to restrain from crushing it in his grasp.

"Yeah, they're not all that interesting," he lied. "Boring really, but gotta love 'um." He said through gritted teeth, almost wishing what he was saying was true.

"Huh," Was all Blackstar responded with. Soul was scared that maybe he picked up on his lie before he went on. "Gotta say, thought it'd be a little more interesting. I'm disappointed."

Soul chuckled in relief. "Yeah, because your ex-family are a ray of sunshine."

"Hey! You may have helped my sister but that gives you no right to disrespect your God!" He yelled. Soul was surprised at the swell in his chest he felt at hearing Blackstar sound like his old self again. He'd been so out of character since Maka had entered back into his life, taking the 'protective-older-brother' role to a whole different level. It was nice to see he was getting back to his old ways, no matter how annoying they were.

"Yeah, yeah. I should get back into Maka, ask what the hell that red-head was about."

He expected Blackstar to laugh, but his old-self was gone in a heart-beat.

"Red-head?" Blackstar asked suddenly, his voice laced with shock. "Soul, what did that man look like?"

"Ugh, I don't know... Red hair, blue eyes, he smelt like booze and was drinking one at the tim-" He was cut off by Blackstar's snarl, his rage more or less seeping through the phone.

"Soul," He growled, Soul had never heard him so furious. "Do you have any idea who that man was?"

"What? No, who?"

"My father."

Soul whipped around to find Maka stood in the doorway of the balcony. She looked like she'd been stood there for a while and had obviously been listening in on Soul's conversation. Slowly, he lowered the phone and pressed the 'End-call' button, turning to fully face Maka.

"What? That old man was your Dad?"

Maka sighed and made her way beside him, resting her arms on the rails of the balcony and stared out at the view ahead.

"Yeah," was all she said, her eyes pained.

"Why would your Dad try and hit you?"

"He's never really hit me before," she reassured him, making him relax his tense stance but he still eyed her through narrowed eyes. "Not recently, anyway. I think it's because I've been gone a while now. Usually I'd at least check in on him or he'd come to my place to scavenge some food or whatever. He's pissed I left without a word."

"But he has hit you before?" Soul asked in a taut voice, all business.

"A whack every now and again when he was really drunk," she said as if it was nothing, she even shrugged. "After Mama finally left, he blamed me. When he was sober he'd spoil me, claiming he loved me and Mama and he'd never hurt us. Only when he was drunk did he tell the truth." She was speaking in the emotionless voice that scared him so much, he almost wanted to change the subject but he'd never, ever got this much out of her.

"Why would he blame you for your Mum leaving?" he asked, genuinely confused. Only more so when Maka squeezed her eyes shut, as if in pain, and started breathing in small, little gasps.

"Whoa, easy there Maka," he murmured soothingly, grasping her shoulders to steady her when she swayed.

She muttered her thanks and looked up to smile at him weakly.

"Come on, let's get something to eat." Soul told her with a smirk, making her grin. He lead her back inside, thinking that one day he'd make her comfortable enough with him to trust him with the truth.