Chapter Text
The bruise on his face was taking too long to heal, unlike the rest of his skin which was littered with faded marks of black and blue. Yet the residual pain was a constant dull ache that never went away. He lied motionlessly on the hard mattress one could consider his bed. The basement's darkness surrounded him, and all he could hear in the silence was the faint footsteps above his head.
He patiently waited until he heard the front door opening and closing shut. He knew it was the front door since it had a distinct creak compared to any other doors within the house. After some time , he pushed himself up from the floor, quietly crept up the staircase, and pressed his ear against the basement door once he reached the top. Detecting no sign of anyone, he then opened the door.
His eyes squinted as the light shining through a window filled his vision, blinking in an attempt to get used to the brightness after staying in the dark for so long. His hair hung limply in front of his eyes from the lack of product or care. He quickly ran a hand through it and pulled it back, trying to tame the mess of blond curls.
Looking around the dim house, he noticed the kitchen sink. It was then he realized he was unbearably parched and hurried to grab a cup to fill with water. He didn’t pause to breathe as he downed the cup, spluttering as some water made its way into his lungs.
Water spilled onto his hands, causing the cup to slip from his grasp and shatter on the kitchen floor. Without thinking, he immediately reached forward and began to pick up the shattered glass, not directly noticing it had started to pierce into his skin and draw blood.
"Ow…" he whimpered at the stinging pain. "It hurts.." His voice cracked, and he couldn't control the tears rolling down his cheeks. He knew crying was wrong, but he didn't know how else to cope. It's not like he had anyone to go to.
Dell would only hurt him whenever he tried to speak to him. He was alone—a ghost among ghosts. Dell didn't love him. He made sure he knew that. But Dell had his own reasons for keeping him with him. And it terrified him deeply.
After picking up all the pieces of glass from the floor, he put the broken glass in the trash, hoping Dell wouldn't notice when he returned. He then reached forward to wash his hands of blood in the kitchen sink. Luckily the cuts weren't too deep.
Once done, Len dried his hands off and sat at the table. He placed his head in his hands, trying to cherish his time outside the basement. It had been a week since Dell made the basement his current bedroom. He always did this whenever any wounds on his body could be seen , as it was better if he was hidden while they healed.
Suddenly he heard a quiet knock on the door. It was followed by more knocking. He sighed, got up, and walked over slowly, unsure what to expect. He unlocked the door and opened it slightly. Peeking outside, he saw a girl his age with blonde shoulder-length hair. One thing he noticed about her outfit was the oversized white bow on her head. She would have looked uncannily similar to him without the large bruise on his face. Her blue eyes gazed into his own, something comforting about their presence.
She smiled softly at him and spoke in a sweet, soothing tone. "Hello," she said, "I'm your new neighbor. My parents and I moved across the street about a week ago . " She gestured behind herself with a hand.
He opened the door fully and looked past her. The house in front of his home was rarely lived in , for whatever reason he didn't know. A week ago, you could have said that the house was entirely vacant, but now the house was filled with furniture, which was a rare sight for him, to say the least.
Bringing back his attention to the girl, he noticed she offered her hand to him. "My name is Rin. What's yours?"
The blond boy hesitated before replying, "Len."
Rin then reached forward and grabbed onto his hand, startling him. Yet he was immediately soothed by how soft and warm her hand was. She squeezed his hand and smiled at him brightly. Len felt warmth rise from the pit of his stomach and spread into his chest. He was confused , but also inexplicably glad , since it had been a while since he' d spoken to anyone other than Dell.
"Hehe, I like you. You're my friend now," Rin said, startling him.
A sudden pull brought him out of the dim, empty house into the blinding sunlight. It took him several seconds to realize that Rin had pulled him out of his house and was now excitedly dragging him over to her house.
He was confused as to what she wanted from him and why he was even there in the first place. But he couldn't find it in himself to reject her pull and began to follow her willingly. Rin opened the door to her house, which was decorated much differently than his home. Whereas his house was completely bare and void of anything, Rin's was filled with everything imaginable : paintings, decorations, bookshelves, and knick-knacks filled every available space.
"Wow..." Len uttered as he stared inside.
"Welcome to my home!!" s he exclaimed while spinning, causing her dress to start swaying dramatically .
Len could not take his eyes off anything— from all the items decorating her house to the numerous photos hung on the walls of things he's never seen — he was awestruck.
"I've never seen a house like this…" he said as he continued investigating his surroundings.
"All of these things are what my daddy collects from his work trips to other countries," Rin said with pride. She proceeded to describe what each special-looking item in the house was precisely and where they were from. From the amount of info she was giving him, it felt as though his head was going to burst at any moment. His mind then wandered back to Dell , w ho was considered his own 'father ' and also went to work, but never brought anything exciting home —m uch less to show him anything. Dell should be back home later today, though, so he should look for a way to return home soon. He just hoped he wouldn't have to wait very long.
"This," she pointed to the large bow on her head, "is my favorite he's gotten just for me!" When hearing how she referred to her father, Len was sure the man was very loving and caring despite never having met him before .
"Is he around now?" h e asked quietly, not knowing how she would respond.
Rin shook her head, looking somewhat dejected. "No, he's out on business , so he won't be home for a while." Len sensed some sadness behind those words .
"But he'll be home soon!" s he added, her smile brightening considerably. "My mommy said he'll be back soon, at the end of the month!"
Len nodded his head, hoping she was right so she could see her father again.
Rin tapped his shoulder to bring his attention to a picture frame on a small bookshelf. "That's my parents and me!" she exclaimed. Len looked closer at the picture. It showed Rin's mother, who had short brown hair and eyes, while the man holding her waist had dark blue hair and eyes of the same color. Rin stood cheerfully between them, staring up at her two parents, who were kissing. No one could look at the picture and not think the three seemed incredibly happy together.
Len looked away, suddenly feeling ill.
"Do you like my parents?" she asked, looking at the picture intently as well. He nodded silently. Rin seemed satisfied with his response and smiled.
She then turned to examine his face closely. "I wanted to ask why you have such a big dark spot on your face. Did you fall or something?"
Len nodded his head , n ot wanting her to know where he really got the bruise from. He knew he looked terrible; he was filthy and must have looked homeless because of his disarrayed appearance and attire. Her warm smile turned into a smile filled with sympathy. Yet he could only shrug in response. He had no idea what he could do. He could feel the tears forming again, and he bit his lip, hoping whimpers wouldn't escape the confines of his mouth.
"Ah, please don't be sad. When I play games, I always fall and get spots like that too, look — ” Witnessing his tears, Rin lifted her dress and pointed at her knees. "Mine are so ugly!"
Len, despite the pain, couldn't help but chuckle at her comment as he looked closely at the bruises on her knees.
"Yeah, they’re ugly!" he said. Rin giggled at his words, appearing to be delighted with the fact that she was able to get him to laugh.
Another remaining tear fell from his eye, and Rin quickly wiped the tear away. "Your spot will disappear just like mine always do. So don't be sad!" s he said, touching his shoulder reassuringly.
As Len stood there looking at Rin's smiling face, he relaxed and smiled back. He had no idea why he was smiling; there wasn't anything to smile about. But for some strange reason, he felt comfortable with this girl, as if she was made to make him feel better. As if he was meant to meet her.
"Rin, who is this boy?"
Len snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the woman down the hall. Remembering the photo on the desk, he realized it was Rin's mother. He glanced down at the ground, feeling embarrassed.
"Oh, mommy, this is Len," Rin replied, smiling at her mother while pointing at him.
Len stared at the ground, unable to make eye contact with the woman. Her eyes were going to be evaluating everything about him. It was scary. What did she think about him? Was she mad? Did she hate him? Would she… hit him? Suddenly, he felt a cold hand gently rest on his cheek, causing him to raise his eyes slightly.
Rin's mother looked surprised but didn't remove her hand as she examined the bruise on his face. "You poor thing," s he said gently. "Do you mind me asking where you got this from?"
A lump formed in Len's throat, and he swallowed hard. Answering this question without crying and sounding like an absolute moron was difficult .
Seeing the fear and distress on Len's face, Rin stepped forward. "He told me he fell!" she said quickly.
"Is that right…?" Rin's mother looked toward Len. The blonde boy nodded hesitantly, refusing to look at either of them directly. He then looked down and noticed he was clenching his fists. Would she realize that it was Dell who did this to him? If she did, he would be sent away. Then that meant he would— it was getting hard to breathe, and his heart rate was increasing rapidly.
"Rin, can you please go get me an ice pack ? " Rin's mother requested without taking her eyes off Len. Despite what was said, it seemed to him that her mother still didn't seem to believe him, eyes still examining his bruise as if she were able to see right through his lies .
"Of course, mommy," Rin chirped, then ran toward the kitchen. As soon as she was gone, Len's breathing became uneven and rapid, and he tried to calm himself down.
"Hey, hey… It's alright…" Rin's mother said softly. She was attempting to comfort him . She reached her other hand out, to grab his arm, but he quickly pulled away.
"Don't touch me!" h e yelled.
The weight of his legs began to feel unbearably heavy, and he soon fell onto the floor. Things started to blur around him as his vision became cloudy, and his mind went blank. The last thing he saw was Rin returning, her carefree smile disappearing as his world turned black.
Len was being consumed by darkness. However, the heaviness of his eyelids began to give away slowly , and he came to notice soft breathing blowing faintly onto his face. Opening his eyes fully, he saw Rin, her own eyes shut, sleeping peacefully beside him.
His cheeks reddened at the proximity between them. He hadn't known Rin for very long, but there was no denying that she looked like an angel. She was so cute with her pale skin, long eyelashes, and perfectly straight blond hair. He wanted to run his fingers through her blond locks and brush away her bangs to see more of her beautiful face.
His face was growing unbearably hot, and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. His head swam as he looked around and realized that he was most likely in a bedroom in Rin's house, on a bed that was softer and bigger than any bed he had ever laid upon.
He felt the bed shift underneath him. Turning around, he spotted Rin waking up beside him, rubbing her tired eyes.
"Good morning," she said, giving him a small smile before they then formed into a pout. "You made me and my mommy worry so much by falling asleep on the floor earlier.” She crossed her arms in feigned annoyance. "But my mommy is smart; she made sure you were ok and even cleaned you up," she added with a proud expression , gesturing towards his dirt-free skin and his clothes that had been washed.
Len looked down at himself, blushing, and sighed deeply. "Thank you…" he mumbled. Rin's cheeks grew pink as she grinned before jumping on the bed.
"Come on, let's go eat something!!" she cheered as she grabbed his wrist before leading him out the door. He followed her, unsure of what to expect upon arriving at the dining room.
However, he was surprised to see Rin's mother carefully placing plates of food on the table.
"Hello, mommy!" Rin greeted, before adding proudly, "I kept an eye on him just like you said I should.” She omitted the fact that she had fallen asleep.
Rin's mother smiled and kissed her daughter on the forehead before hugging her tightly. "I'm glad you did," she muttered.
Rin smiled at her mother before turning to Len and pulling him over to sit beside her. He looked up at her mother, wondering if he was still welcome in their house despite his outburst earlier. Thankfully, Rin's mother did not seem annoyed at all at the sight of his presence. She smiled kindly at him and Rin, then motioned him to come and sit at the table.
'I guess it's ok,' Len thought. He walked hesitantly to the table and sat beside Rin. Looking at the plate of food before him, he noticed how appetizing it looked. He's never been served such a large portion of food before. The first bite he took immediately caused his eyes to widen as he devoured everything on the plate. As Rin watched with awe, he continued to scarf down food, clearly famished from his previous lack of meals. His face became covered with food from his frantic eating.
As soon as his plate was empty, Rin started clapping and laughing. "Wow, you're such a quick eater! Isn't he, mommy?!" she exclaimed while looking back at her mother.
Len could not help but blush in embarrassment. He couldn't have made his situation more obvious. Rin's mother looked at his clean plate and the food around his face. He wondered if the expression on her face was of sympathy or disgust. She then grabbed a napkin from the table and reached toward Len to clean the mess around his mouth.
"I hope you know I'm not going to tell anyone," s he said as she wiped his chin and patted him gently. "You don't have to worry about me saying anything." He stared at her with widened eyes as his mouth hung agape.
After a few moments, Len regained the courage to speak. "Ya… th...thank y…you,” he stuttered. He wasn't exactly sure what she meant by these words. But he couldn't help but think it must be her way of telling him she wouldn’t say anything she’d noticed about him .
Rin's mother resumed eating while Rin herself couldn't help but stare at Len after the previous cryptic exchange between him and her mother. He ignored her gaze to contemplate the position he was in.
Len knew that what he was hoping for was foolish. He wasn't allowed outside of the house when he was bruised. Even now, he hadn't gotten used to having his freedom again after so many days of being locked up in the basement. He still felt uneasy. Dell kept him trapped inside the basement for this reason alone, yet he also wasn't ready to go back home again.
Even if Rin's mother wouldn't say anything, that didn't mean he was in the clear yet. But if Dell found out he had snuck out of the house, he would be in a world of pain. He looked out the kitchen window, and the sun was starting to set. He hadn't realized how dark it had gotten. Dell would be home very soon.
He stood up abruptly, knocking the chair against the wall and causing Rin to flinch at the sudden noise before she looked up at him, confused. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"Sorry… I need to go back home now," Len explained, feeling guilty about what he was doing. He could still feel the warmth Rin gave him when she held his hand. He wanted to stay longer but knew Dell would find out about his disappearance soon if he stayed any longer.
Rin's mother nodded at his words, seeming to understand the situation. With this, Len began to run, opening the front door but halted when he heard Rin call out behind him, "Wait!! Please don't leave. We haven't even played together yet." Len turned to meet her big, blue puppy dog eyes.
His heart broke. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her. Not today, not ever. "I….I…" Len began but was interrupted when Rin leaped toward him. She buried her face into his neck and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist. For a moment, he froze up, feeling as though he were stuck. Then, slowly, something inside of him crumbled to pieces, and he returned her hug. Closing his eyes, he relaxed into the warmth emitted by Rin.
Len pulled away from Rin, seeing her face stained with tears and her nose dusted with red. "Can you at least promise…that you'll come back to play with me tomorrow?" she whispered.
He felt tears well up in his eyes as he nodded. “Of… course," he replied, trying his hardest to contain his emotions, "I'll... I'll… promise I will come to see you tomorrow…" He tried to stop his voice from wavering.
"Here, then!" Rin exclaimed, before pulling the bow from her hair and handing it to him. "Since you promised, you should be returning my bow to me tomorrow. You better take good care of it!" She gave him a teary pout before pointing her finger at him accusingly. "Or else!" s he warned, before running off into the house with a giggle and closing the door.
Opening the door to his house, he ran straight into the basement. His feet carried him toward the familiar spot on the floor where he slept. He pulled a blanket over his body and put the bow Rin gave him into his pocket. The room was dark, but Len saw a faint light from the doorway, indicating that Dell should already be home. He lied quietly on the floor and waited patiently.
It felt like forever before he heard someone opening the basement door and descending footsteps . It was his Dell. He stood there silently, staring at Len, one hand holding a newly lit cigarette. The fire from it was the only source of light in the room. Len remained as still as he could, not daring to move anything out of fear of provoking him . Dell eventually began to walk towards him. Sickly smoke was emitting from his cigar, filling up the basement and making it hard to breathe.
"Now... where have you been? You'd think I wouldn't notice the broken glass in the kitchen," Dell sneered as he pulled the blankets off Len's body, revealing the rest of his body. His clean outfit made it even more apparent that he'd been out.
"You better be hoping no one saw that pathetic face of yours." H e laughed mockingly before grabbing Len's right arm roughly. "Well, you’re lucky I'm in a good mood." He then pulled up the sleeve of Len's shirt and jabbed his cigarette butt directly onto his arm.
Dell nonchalantly pressed it deeply into his skin as if Len were a standard ashtray. He winced and gritted his teeth, trying not to cry out in pain. The burning of his skin caused stinging tears to burst from his eyes.
At this, Dell's face twisted in anger, grabbing Len by the collar and shaking him aggressively. "Don't you have anything else to say?" he snapped before he threw Len aside harshly.
Len landed on his knees, hitting the floor. A small whimper left his throat, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He wished this would be over soon and Dell would go someplace else to spread his misery.
Dell walked towards the stairs before looking back at Len. His figure melded into the darkness.
"Disobey me again, you hear — " Dell's fist swung toward him threateningly, before he spat, “You know I'll kill you before they can take you away. Your mother didn't die giving birth for you just to go away after all." He stormed up the stairs and slammed the door shut behind him.
Len lied there motionlessly, feeling as though he were trapped between two worlds where only suffering awaited him.
Slowly, he dragged himself from the ground and sat on the floor. He took out the large white bow from his pocket with shaking hands. He slid his fingers over the soft white fabric. His mind wandered back to Rin once more. To her and how beautiful her smile is… He missed seeing it already, missed seeing her smiling at him.
Len felt tears threatening to fall once more when he remembered the promise he had made to Rin. He will return to
her
tomorrow. Just not today. With these thoughts in mind,
he
held the bow in his hands and hugged it closely. He was grateful that
her
bow would help him keep his promise to her. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, thinking about how happy
she
would be to see him again.