21st Century Girl [Dio X Reader]

Chapter Three

"Dio," the old man's voice is haggard with coughing, as he grumbles from his bed that's been shoved in the corner. "Dio. Dio!" The man's chest heaves as he struggles to pump air into his lungs. "Dio! Goddamn it, Dio! DIO!" the man screams through his cough, lifting an empty bottle and slinging it across the room. "I know you can hear me!"

The glass shatters against wall to Dio's left. It's only when he's finished the chapter of his book that he's read tens of times now, that he turns to see what it is his father is so desperately calling him for. "What is it?" He stands from his seat, glaring over at the unchanging wad of dying fat on the bed. "Medicine?"

"Medicine?!" The man spits the word out with disgust, his grimy fingers already fumbling for the familiar cool of a glass bottle. "I don't need fucking medicine! Bring me alcohol you disgusting brat! Alcohol!"

The bottle slings to straight at Dio this time, which he avoids with a tilt of his head to the side. "Is that all?" Having gone through this countless times, Dio gathers a few coins and shoves them in his pocket before shrugging on a jacket. He only pauses when he catches his father with a defiling grin dripping across his features.

"Heheh, bring me a woman!" A couple of nights ago when he was in better shape and Dio wasn't home, he had ventured out to find more alcohol only to stumble upon the small shoulders of a young one with a feisty glare. He can't remember her face, but in his imagination, she's like a diamond in the rough. "I want her hips wide and breasts well endowed! The type that doesn't give to much lip. Dio! Go! Get—"

"You," a wince taints Dio's cheek. "You've truly lost your mind."

"What— you ungrateful little AGHH?!" The old man's face distorts, turning beet red. Unable to even finish his words, his body flails, rusted springs croaking beneath him. Unable to find another bottle amidst his rage, his grubby hands latch onto the broken lamp at his bedside and launches it at his son. "First you kill my wife, now you can't even bring some comfort to your dying father?! You're worse than a damn bastard! Go to hell! You should've never been born!"

Hot anger convulses through Dio's veins. He could flip the table and throw just as much of a tantrum. He could grab the old man by his neck and pound his fist into him. He could pick up a knife and take his father's life. Dio's eyes lock with his father's. His hands clench and unclench before he makes his decision. He throws open the door. He could just leave.

· ─────── · ☆ · ─────── ·

"Y/n! You're here early again!" The owner's daughter, Taylor, waves from the front desk as Y/n steps in through the front doors. As she always does on the days that her father leaves the store under her watch, the kind girl has two cups of tea set out and the scent of baking biscuits wafting down from upstairs. "Go ahead and take your shower. The biscuits will be done by the time your done."

"Thanks as always," Y/n smiles and climbs up the hidden stairs to the living space on the second floor. She's never disliked Taylor, but she doesn't quite like her either. When Taylor first found out Y/n is poor and lives in the slums, she treated her as if she was a wild animal in a zoo. When she realized that Y/n was educated, she started to look at her as if she was some fearless explorer trying to survive in the unknown wilderness. At first when she was new to the time period, Y/n didn't mind as the poverty, danger, disease, everything felt removed from her as well. But with each passing day, this world became her reality and the way Taylor looks at her grew uncomfortable. Y/n cuts off the water and dresses herself in one of the three decent looking outfits she has. "She's just naive," Y/n reminds herself. "She means no harm."

By the time Y/n goes back downstairs, the biscuits are indeed done and the small cups are full with steaming tea. The breakfast is a rare treat that comes at the affordable price of telling Taylor a bit about the life of the poor.

Without a second thought, Y/n quickly chooses to tell the story of the blond young man that she encountered. Taylor's face glows as she hangs onto each of Y/n's words and even goes as far as giving Y/n a second serving of tea in order to keep hearing her talk about him.

Y/n was free from Taylor's seemingly endless rampage of questions a customers began coming in, but even that couldn't stop her completely. "Psst! Y/n!" Taylor ducks around one of the bookshelves as she clutched a broom tightly to her chest, unwavering excitement lifting her smile. "Come take a look at this hottie!"

"Wha- Wait!" Y/n doesn't even get to complete her complaint, let alone restocking the shelves, as Taylor latches onto her arm and drags her over to the aisle with said hottie. "Taylor I have to work," Y/n whines slightly, a stack of books sagging in her arms.

"It'll be quick," Taylor promises. She hides behind one of the book cases and points at the young man in question, the only customer currently in the store. He's thumbing through a book in the economics section of the store. His golden brown eyes skim the pages with thought and his light blond hair floats lightly when he turns his head. "How did that guy from the other night compare to this one? He couldn't have been just as attractive, could he?!"

"Ah," Y/n finds her mouth dry. It was just for a second, but the young man's flipping of the pages of the books paused. He's listening to their conversation. "He was... he was just as attractive."

"No. Way!" Taylor practically squees. "I can't believe it. There are actually people that attractive wasting away in the sl—"

"Oh my god, Taylor," Y/n claps a hand over her mouth in disbelief. Already scared, Taylor's eyes immediately flare open. "There's a spider in your hair!"

"Ahh!" The girl falls to the ground and start clawing at her hair. The customer stops pretending to not hear their conversation and closes the book he was looking at, returning it to the shelf. Y/n nods at him half out of apology and decides to coax Taylor before she starts to cry. Even if she meant to complement his looks, she can't go around insulting people like that. Y/n will have to give her a good explanation about how word choice matters later on.

"It's gone, now," Y/n hushes Taylor as she rubs the girl's back lightly. "It's all gone now."

TO BE CONTINUED...