Hope In The Morning

14

He knows!?
How?
Who told him?
I take in a shallow breath and step back when Law takes a step forward, "Fae?" He knows you're weak. He knows you failed to save that little girl. You're broken. He's going to break it off with you. Why would a well put together man be with someone like you? Weak and pathetic.
Run
I step back again.
"Fae, take a breath." Someone spoke. Everything was beginning to blur. A hand reached towards me and I stumble backwards over the games that had been left out next to the couch.
Run
Run now
If he catches you he'll kill you!
I scramble up from my fallen position and race towards any exit I could find. The asphalt was wet and harsh against my bare feet.

"A-ah!" I cried out as I lost my footing and tumbled harshly to the soaked grass. I gripped handfuls of dirt, trying to heave myself up. "Just a little further..." At first, I had no idea where I was going, everything seemed to just blur together; but then my feet knew exactly where to take me. I take in a breath and my senses are overwhelmed by wet dirt and grass. Has it always been raining? Slowly I stood up and took a step forward "Ah-!" only to stumble back to the ground. I glance down at my left ankle as it throbbed. Must have rolled it when I fell to the ground. I sucked in a sharp breath.
Ignore the pain. This is only physical and temporary. Your body means nothing. I reach out for the iron gate in front of me and grab it, pulling myself to my shaky legs. "She's waiting, Faith, get up." I grit my teeth, fighting against the agony. After steadying myself, I amble around the gate and follow the short brick wall over to a tree that was in the corner of the cemetery. Underneath the tree was a headstone made of slate.
My eyes gloss over the carved words.

Nala Brown
Loving daughter and big sister
XXXX-XXXX

I can't see the date of her birth nor death due to the collect of twigs and leaves that the storm had blown in the way. I take a couple of shaky footsteps forward before collapsing in front of her grave, my tears beginning to mix with the rain that pelted my face. "Nala, I'm sorry. I did everything I could. I did everything I was told and yet your killer walks freely. Please forgive-" I cough harshly before clearly my throat, "I'm not strong enough to do this." I close my eyes, letting the river of tears flow. "Fae~ya, there you are." I tense at Law's voice. I can't face him. I rest my forehead against the cold slate headstone. I could barely hear Law make his way over to me through the storm. "Fae~ya?"
"...yes?" My throat hurts from the crying. "Is this Nala~ya?" He asks softer and I feel his warm hand make contact with my freezing back, causing me to shiver. "Yes." I sniff and try to wipe away the tears as I sit up to meet Law's gentle gaze. Surprisingly, I wasn't met with pity. He shifts to sit next to me and faces the headstone. "It's nice to finally meet you." My eyes widen slightly before I wipe away more tears.
We sat in a comfortable silence until I was able to speak without trembling, "You don't hate me?" Law looked at me, "No, why would I?" "Look at me!" I gesture to myself, "I'm a complete mess!" "Your point?" He scoffs. "Why would you want to be with a failure??" I speak before he leans over and squeezes my cheeks together with one hand, sort of giving me a fish face. "Hey, stop talking down to my girlfriend." I can only blink in surprise. "You're dating a mess, too, remember?" He continues. "When we first got together I was more standoffish, but after sometime we were able to work through my hardships. Why don't you let me do the same for you?" My gaze drifts to his chest, his shirt only buttoned halfway. The smiley face seems to stare back at me. "I don't know." I admit, "I'm terrified." "Then open up to me and let me  be there for you, even in the moments when you aren't sure." He whispers. His hand leaves my face but his arms pull me to his chest, "Let me be your rock." I wrap my arms around him and just sob all the grief that was trapped within.

Thatch smiles warmly as he pushes a warm mug of tea in my cold hands as Marco ruffles my hair dry with a towel. They speak softly, merely keeping the comfortable silence built. "Are you okay now?" Thatch hums, helping to remove my soaking clothes. "Not yet but I think I have help putting the pieces back together." I give a warm look over at Law, who was shrugging off his wet clothes. "That's good." Marco pushes me towards the stairs, "You two can stay in your old room. Pops left it the same." Warmth spreads through my chest at this knowledge and I smile again. Marco opens the door, which creaks, "See?" He flips on the light. Just as he said the room was exactly how I left it. "You weren't kidding." I step in as the memories flood. "Fae~ya, you need to take a hot bath before you catch cold." Law's voice pulls me out of thoughts and I turn towards the bathroom door, "Plumbing still works?" "Yeah." Marco nods, "Pops has a maintenance man come by every once in a while to make sure that everything works." I turn the cold handle and the door opens to reveal a big bathtub and an average showerhead. "We'll throw your clothes into the dryer, should be done in a couple of hours." Thatch calls from my bedroom and I thank them both before they leave us be. "You can bathe first-" Law starts but I shake my head, "There's room for two, besides I don't want to be alone right now." He nods in agreement and stalks over to turn on the hot water, grabbing at the soap bottle. I walked over to the sink and looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were a bit puffy from all the crying. My cheeks bright red from the cold rain, a contrast to the rest of my pale skin. I had put on weight and muscle since three years ago. My fingernails click once they tap against the mirror, "You've changed." The woman in the mirror, who once looked like death, now seem to beam a little brighter. "For the better." Law's warm hands sit on my shoulders as he steps up behind me, "Here, let's get you out of those cold undergarments." I stand still as he starts to mess with the hook on my bra. I frown before taking a small breath and turning to face him, "There's something I need to tell you." He paused to look at me, patiently waiting. "My name isn't Fae. It's just a nickname that my mother gave me when I was a little girl." I step away to look at the bath water, "For some reason my actual name always gave her grief. She'd look at me with so much sorrow, but I never found out why." I reach over and turn the water off before dropping the towel to the ground, finish undressing, and step into the hot water, "My name is Faith Faerie." "Faith~ya." He tests as he moves to join me in the bathtub after removing his boxers. The name sends a shiver up my spine and I lean over to the window sill that sat directly above the tub's right side. "I didn't mean to lie to you. Originally when we first met, I was nervous about telling a stranger my real name, but I hadn't heard Faith in quite a while. The name sat weird with me while Fae seemed to roll off my tongue with no problem." I rested my arms on the sill and stared out the tinted window. "A few days after meeting you in Robin's cafe, Pops found me in Shanks bar..."