To Rescue a Villain

Chapter 9

My ears twitched when a third scream rang through the halls, dragging me away from the sleep I'd been so close to reaching. Moaning in exasperation, I dragged myself out of bed and turned on the light, squinting my eyes so they couldn't get burned by the brightness.

What was the point of giving her my grandmother's room if she still insisted on keeping me up all night with her screaming? If she hadn't kept me from committing a crime I definitely would have kicked her out alongside my stupid grandma.

Stomping out of my bedroom and toward her new one, I slammed the door open as loudly as I could. "Mary!"

She was writhing around in the small bed, her blankets strewn about and one of her pillows lying dejectedly on the floor. From the movement of her arms it would appear she was attacking someone or being attacked in her sleep. And earlier she'd been bragging that she never had nightmares.

"Mary!" I yelled again only to be outdone by her own cries. Feeling heat rise up in my throat, I grumbled in annoyance and picked her up like a princess, carrying her now motionless body to my room.

"A dog would be quieter than you," I informed her sleeping self as I laid her back down on my bed and crawled in next to her, ready to exchange some well rested sleep for hand holding.

"Maybe I should hire a doctor," I muttered to myself as sleep started to crawl back. "Or invest in some ear plugs," I added, my words beginning to slur before fading out.

Then, she yelled again.

Jerking upright and bonking my head on the top bunk, I hissed and intentionally fell off the bed so I could moan on the floor for a minute or two. It was bad enough to have a giant cut on my head and now this? Was there no end to my misery?

"Dark, don't!" she continued to yell, once again moving around restlessly.

Who was Dark, anyway? I'd heard her call me that when we were fighting Grandma and had ignored it at the time. Was Dark some other person she used to know or was she just really bad at pronouncing my name?

"Don't! I love you!"

My head shot up. "What?!?"

◑○★☆●◐

"So uh..." I tried to keep my voice calm as I ran my knife over the pancakes she'd prepared for breakfast. "What did you dream about last night?"

Mary's eyes went wide and she leaned across the table with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "Was I screaming again last night?"

"Just tell me what you dreamed about!" I yelled, slamming my fist on the table and causing her to lean away again, her eyes wide. I paused. "Sorry. I'm just...tired... Sorry."

"It's fine," she managed to whisper cautiously before taking another bite. "At first I was dreaming about what happened with your grandmother." She gestured to the spot on the floor where they'd fought. "Then I started dreaming about my parents." Her eyes grew watery at that and she looked away.

"Oh." Thank goodness! She was just saying "I love you" to her dead parents. What a relief! Not a relief that her parents were dead, of course, but a relief that she wasn't saying it to me.

Okay. Time to change the subject. "Where do you work?" I didn't really care but it was the only question I could come up with in the heat of the moment.

Strangely, she seemed to give me a 'you don't know?' look before shrugging. "At a restaurant, I suppose."

"You suppose?"

"Well, yeah. We serve drinks and food so..."

"Is it a bar?"

"...Yes."

"Okay, fine." I looked away, wondering why she was so hesitant about telling me. It's not like I'd go to every bar in town in the hopes of finding out where he worked. I was just attempting to make conversation. "Make sure to keep an eye out for my grandmother in case she comes back."

"I will. I think I'll buy some sort of self-defense weapon when I find the time."

"Okay, good." All right. That was enough talk for me.

Rising, I pulled on my black jacket and started toward the door, ready to take some more tests and bring myself closer to a job at Hikarius. I was about to step outside when Mary spoke up on more time.

"Have a good day at school!"

"What are you, my wife?" I asked mockingly, casting her a sideways glance before exiting the building as quickly as I could.

Strange. It was supposed to be cold out today but it seemed unusually hot, especially around my face and chest. Maybe I wouldn't be needing my jacket after all.

A/N: Dawww. >.< [I think the music video at the top of the chapter sums up my feelings about this.]

(Also please note that I do not own any of the pictures I put up here. I can't draw to save my life. I found all of them on google and the rights belong to the original creators.)