Halfway Point (Parts 7-10)

04. Poisoned Kiss

04. Poisoned Kiss

Alex searched for hours for the Blue Haired Girl, but she was nowhere to be found, lost amongst the maze of hidden alleyways. He reluctantly gave up and returned to the Leo. The others were already back by the time he arrived, some were asking where he had disappeared to. He merely shrugged them off; he wasn't in the mood to interact with them, and so he made his way up to the crow's nest. He picked up Jessica's white beanie, which was exactly where he had left it. He collapsed back against the mound of cushions, holding the hat tightly against his hands, his fingers feeling the soft, woollen fabric against his skin, wishing she were still alive.

The rest of the crew remained on the deck, finishing off jobs and putting away the supplies they had bought into their rightful homes, Levi unpacking everything into the wrong place, until finally, they stopped with their chores and watched the sunset over the horizon. It was a beautiful sight to see. Different hues of orange reflected against the soft surf of the blue sea, creating a dazzling picture any artist would love to draw. It was days like this that were the reason why Levi made sure that every crew member woke up to watch the sunrise and go to bed having watched the sunset. It meant they had fulfilled their day to the fullest.

One by one, the crew disappeared until a few were left standing on the deck, watching the last of the rays disappear over the horizon. But not all saw the beauty of the sunset. Mirella found herself distracted by Tommy and Penny's loving embrace as they kissed one another. A beautiful, affectionate act, Mirella could not deny, but an act which had her heart straining to once again know what it felt like to be loved, an impossible wish with her damned cursed soul. She glared at her wedding ring, cursing the day she ever allowed her parents to talk her into to marrying the Commodore who abused her. It was all his fault.

Mirella looked away with a tear in her eye and made her way to the one place where she could find love: the navigation room with her library of books and novels she could delve her mind into and forget about the real world. It was as close to love as she would ever get.

"You shouldn't torture yourself like that." Vulcan closed the door after him so as not to be disturbed by the others.

Unbeknownst to them, Levi was already hiding from Tommy under the table, eating food he had stolen from the kitchen.

"I don't know what you mean." Mirella sat down at the table, almost kicking Levi in the process, who just managed to dodge out of the way.

Immediately, the Captain's ears pricked up in reaction to their conversation, intrigued by what they had to say to one another. Vulcan pulled out a chair and sat down next to Mirella, who was trying her hardest to pretend like she hadn't heard him and instead dug her nose deeper into her book to hide the tears falling from her eyes.

"I saw the way you were looking at Penny and Tommy. You shouldn't torture yourself like that."

"Can you blame me?" Her fat tears splattered against her book and burned through the pages. She snapped it shut and stared at Vulcan. "They have the one thing I can't ever have with you. One kiss, and you're dead!"

If there was one thing Vulcan hated more than anything, it was Mirella crying. It broke his heart to see her upset, and he couldn't even wipe her tears away without burning his fingers from her toxins. But what he hated even more was when he didn't know what to say to make her feel better. Her words burned the truth, but they were exactly why he was still with her. He wouldn't stop until he found a cure for her cursed soul. It was his fault it had happened to her in the first place. If he had just stayed away from her on Meridian Island, she wouldn't be in the situation she was in now. His selfish actions to be with her caused this, but at the same time, he was glad they had been together, otherwise she still would have been with her abusive husband.