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CHAPTER SIX: THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT.
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Laito Sakamaki was playing the piano, filling the place with the melody coming from his fingers, while Izumi rested beside him. Her legs stretched across the bench, and her head rested on his lap. Her eyes closed, and a small smile gracing her features as she reveled in the music.
If there was one thing Izumi should have been used to by then, it was Yui rushing in to terminate even the barest essence of the previous scenario. In other words, to murder her momentary peace.
"Hello, bitch-chan. I'm thrilled that we found each other right here."
Izumi didn't bother to open her eyes, much less move. However, she let her attention wander to the human girl. She listened to her breathing, in and out of her lungs, the warmth emanating from the blood coursing through her veins thanks to the heart pounding in her chest, and her careful footsteps that stopped beside the piano. She noticed that he was hesitating in her words, although that was nothing new.
However, what she said next stunned her.
"Laito, who is that woman wearing an elegant dress? She is very pretty. The one with long purple hair, do you know her?"
The music stopped abruptly. The pink-haired girl opened her eyes, looking up at Laito's face. She inspected him, but the vampire was cautious enough not to let any emotion show through. He could feel the girl's attention on him, and he lowered his head to give her a rehearsed smile that failed to convince her of anything except that he was as affected as she was by the mention of that woman.
At that very moment, Ayato and Kanato appeared in the room, as if they had been listening to their conversation. Izumi sat down on the bench, and placed her eyes on Yui. The blonde instinctively recoiled at the cold, empty stare, and only swallowed nervously when the vampiress frowned at her.
"What do you want to know that for?" Kanato inquired, squeezing his Teddy bear tightly against his chest. Yui turned her head towards him, overwhelmed at the reception she had gotten from her comment.
"Besides, what are you doing in this place? This room is off limits to you," Ayato reminded her, baring his teeth.
"Kanato, Ayato; tell me. I need to know, what is your mother's name," Yui insisted. A shiver ran down Izumi's back, causing her to shrink in place. Ayato approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting her with that gesture.
"Come on, tell me!" Yui pleaded.
Kanato brought his teddy bear up to his face, hiding behind him as he dug his fingers into his stomach. Laito continued to stare at the piano keys, not wanting to think about her, much less mention her name. His mind was sinking into old memories, drowning and unable to get some air no matter how hard he tried.
Izumi raised her hand to where Ayato's was and squeezed it, trying to return the comfort he had offered her. The redhead breathed in through his nose before giving her a light squeeze back, letting her know that he would do it. He would say her name.
Ayato's gaze focused on Izumi. From his position, he could only observe her hair, and he regretted not being able to be received by those eyes that would give him the last push he needed at that moment. Then, he looked at Yui and finally muttered, "Cordelia."
Yui gasped before running off. No one bothered to wonder the reason behind her reaction, mainly because they were too absorbed in their psyches to be aware of their surroundings. They were engrossed in the bad times they had suffered because of that woman. On the punishments they faced, and the traumas she left them with.
Izumi shuddered as she remembered the times she had been whipped. The smell of her own blood flooded her nose, recalling the times it had surrounded her, staining her white duvet and ruining it forever. She remembered the days she had spent studying and studying, so that in the evening she would attend school and pursue her education further.
Ayato moved his hand over her shoulder, reaching up to brush the skin of her neck before finally withdrawing it. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt the coldness of his ring, and her eyes fell upon the golden ring that decorated the ring finger of her left hand. By Cordelia's handiwork, they had been married when they were thirteen.
She still remembered the white dress the woman had put on her, following her fantasy that Ayato would be the king and Izumi his queen. Cordelia's eyes sparkled as if she knew something they didn't, as if that wedding actually brought Ayato closer to what she so desperately wanted.
Izumi kept crying throughout the ceremony, and Ayato remained emotionless until they were alone. Then, he tried to calm her down by agreeing that that wedding didn't really mean anything. Though that didn't stop the girl from continuing to cry, thinking about her mother telling her that she could marry her true love, and how her father always got grumpy when her mother talked about it and claimed she was too young to think about it.
Although she agreed with her father because she was sure she hadn't found the one, she had always thought of her wedding being celebrated with all the luxuries and, most importantly, with her parents on either side of her. Accompanying her every step of the way, assuring her that she wasn't making a mistake, and that they would always help her in case something happened.
However, the reality could not be further from that. Her parents were no longer part of that world. Her wedding happened in a rush, forced by a woman who only made her suffer, and with someone she barely knew. She knew it was a mistake because she didn't want to do it in the first place, and she knew she had no one to help her.
Ayato noticed her state and took the hand that held the ring. Izumi snapped back to reality, and blinked her tear-filled eyes before looking up to meet those emerald eyes. The vampire clenched his jaw, making a subtle motion with his head to gesture for her to get out of there. Izumi rose from her place and disappeared from the room, leaving Kanato and Laito behind to battle the demons on their own.
On the other hand, the two vampires made their way to the readhead's room. Neither mentioned a word, and they proceeded to lie down on the bed to find comfort in each other's arms. Neither was surprised, as it had almost become a habit for them.
In Ayato's arms, memories faded from Izumi's mind and, in their place, dreamy fantasies engulfed her. She closed her eyes, more than content to ignore reality and slip into a dream that would not hurt her. Meanwhile, Ayato found peace in knowing that he had not yet lost the only person he had left. The one person he could trust no matter what.
