Rose Quartz and Serenity

HER FALLOUT

    February 11th, when Harris Foster arrives in the Kingsley’s house bringing his twin cousins a present. A video game he used to play with Senile’s older brother, David. Although David isn’t a fan of video games, they is still hang out because there is no other good friendship than cousins with the same year whom were born, and he used to live in their building apartment before the twins first week. Now, he likes to live alone and the family has almost no idea what’s he has been to.

    “He’s already driving his car at the age 13! How did he pass the license test!” Said David, shaking his head of amusement, as Harris sends him a video. A bit jealous of him because dad never allow them to drive anywhere than the racing game in the playground.

    “Dave, will he visit today? I can’t wait to meet cousin, Harris!” Senile asks and David just nod in response. Then, she starts chanting it until she’s tired of it. “Harris will come to visit, cousin, Harris comes to visit! How does he look like?”

    Senile hasn’t meet cousin Harris before, but based on David’s stories about him, he is so cool and surprisingly versatile. He who’s with good handsome features—tall, tanned, and his dazzling eyes, but it is his eyebrows that comes attracting by so many women.

    In a span of time, a car peeps in the front door. It is him. He is finally here. A real guest! Senile, in a rush, opens the door to welcome its very guest. “You must be Harris?” She asks, concealing the excitement of meeting a new family.

    Harris stood in a brown sweater, and smile to her. “Hello, Senile.”

    They have a very little chat, but the sudden appearance of David makes Senile of out place. David talks a lot about almost everything happens when he is gone, and so with Harris who tells them his journey.

    She goes checking Daniel in the hall. She wants to play with him, but he is so focused on dancing. Daniel can’t help her from her tiresome time. She tries to check on Johan hoping she can hang out with him.

    Johan always stays in the studio, making his music. Senile gives a knock which she doesn’t know it was sound proof, luckily, Johan sees her from the live camera installed in the front door. He opens the door.

    “Uji,” she calls the eldest brother. “What are you.. can I come in?”

    Johan is pretty small but scary. His brother never lets anyone to enter this room, but he gives consideration that today is so important this day for his sister. He reminds her the DO and DON’T in this room. “Do behave, don’t touch anything unless I let you. And don’t mess things up because I don’t like that.”

    She watches her brother doing his music producing, and slightly, he teaches Senile basics in piano. It is a good start with her, but not for long. He leaves Senile in the room to get a piano sheet in the bedroom, and remind her carefully not to mess things up. He’ll be back in two seconds.

    At first, she barely touches the piano but when she does, her amusement overwhelmed and forgetting what her brother said. It is seconds Senile left in the studio, when Johan comes back, the microphone has been broken. He hardly holds his temper after what he sees.

    “Damn! What have you done?!” Johan cries. He breathes audibly strong with madness. His obsession for music is so important to him.

    “I...I didn’t—” Senile hardly explains herself because of the strong accusation from his brother. She stutters and tears are brimming in the corner of her eyes. “I’m s-sorry, Uji.”

    She runs to the kitchen to find her mom and quickly tell what happen. It’s too late for her brother to feel guilty, thus, he continues his music. She can’t find mom, where is she?

    It still has 30 minutes before her cake will be baked, usually her mom stays in her office. The phones are ringing everywhere in the house. No other person notices it, only her mom does and she knows it will keep ringing until she’ll answer it. She knows already who’s the caller, so she quickly goes to the basement and used the telephone there to answer the incoming. The basement is what she requested from her husband. None of their children knows about it, and it is a safest place to make a call from a very dangerous stranger.

    “What do you want?!” Said mom, with a maddest tone, trying to hide her own shiver. Her voice seems cracking, and the tremor feels all over her body.

    “I want to greet the girl. it’s her birthday, right?” It was a thickly spoken voice coming from a man. He laughs deviously.

    “Get lost!” Mom screams quietly. “Don’t you dare hurt my children, I will hunt you, okay! I WILL HUNT YOU DEAD!”

    She quickly hangs the phone up and make another one. It rings, but no answer. She tries calling again. That call isn’t just some prank but a lot more, blatantly seen on her face, her unease—walking back and forth to the adjacent corners of the room.

    “Pick up...please, pick up the damn phone.” It still has no answer. Her message is directly sent to a voicemail. “We had an emergency! He called me, Rob. He threatens me! He’ll go after her, what should I do? Call me back, please, as soon as you get this.”

    She calls again, sending a second voicemail. “Hey! What are you up to? I need you now, call me.”

She quickly picks the phone when it rings, thinking it was Rob. But it isn’t. “I have nothing to lose anymore, doctor, remember? Hunt me, and let the game begins...” A man’s voice slowly echoes to her head, laughing.

    She breathes heavily, thinking a danger ‘s coming. She pounds her fist on the table out of frustrations and the threat that consuming her sanity.

    “Hey, hey, honey. What’s going on?” Mr. Kingsley just shows up from nowhere, he gasps from her news.

    “He’s coming...” Said the wife, she hardly explains the terror she feels. “What should we do? What should I do to protect her? Where have you been!”

    “Honey, relax. He couldn’t find us here. We’re fine.” He replies and hugs her.

    “How can I relax?” She says so madly.

    “Come on.” He utters like he doesn’t care about what his wife has been worrying about, which pisses her of even more.

    “What are you—have been drinking? Are you drunk?!” She is mad and disappointed, seeing her husband drinking. He never drinks this lot before unless he can’t handle a situation.

    “Let me get you a drink too.” He said as if he doesn’t paying attention. “Just a sec—“

She grasps him. “Why are drinking? What is going on to you?!!” She tries not to yell but she can’t help herself not to. Her fists are clenching, doesn’t know where she is so mad about.

    “I don’t know, Maybe, your past job makes me insane, honey. It will always haunting us. Our family. Just let them take her--” Her hand lands on her husband’s face in a jiffy. He hasn’t even finish talking.

    “How could you!”

    “I can’t...”

    “Don’t say that.” She begs, but everything happens adding her paranoia. She needs her husband. He needs her to hold on. To be strong. “You knew about all this, and you married me!”

    “Mia!” She walks out, bringing no weapon but a strong mother’s love. Her hands are shaky with those firing guns. It is really different from injections or medical equipment. Her mind right now is Senile. Where is she?

    Everyone’s so busy with their errands. David is so overwhelmed of Harris’ visit. They have talked about lots of stuffs, like how Harris goes to a Japanese restaurant. He works there and becomes one of the best cook of Ramen.

    “Whoa, how did you to that, man?” David asks while playing the car racing game.

    “Yeah, I’ve been working on this Japanese restaurant as the head chef’s apprentice. I can show you my learning in cooking ramen... Mr. Kingsley has always been creative.” Said Harris after complimenting the house overall design.

    “Hey. Mia...” He calls Mrs. Kingsley when she passes by the game station but she barely notices. She is terribly abstracted from the early call to notice Harris and the game audio depreciates the sound of his voice.

    She can’t find Senile in every corner of the house. The only place she can check on her is back to the basement and check the security footage. Her husband is still there, laying wasted. She doesn’t want to see her drunk husband, but she needs to check the security camera to find her daughter. Her poor daughter. She has no idea what terrible might happen.

    “I don’t want to talk to you right now. Get yourself sober.” Said mom, pacing straight to the monitors. She plays one by one the footage from the past two hours. The more she plays and no Senile in it, the more her heart throbs.

    She plays another. There she is! Heading to the Carter’s, and she’s carrying a box of cupcakes when men in black suits arrive. One waves in the camera before he shoots it as if he knows someone’s watching.

    “Oh my god!” Mia starts panicking. Her hands are shuddering as she grasps revolver and fake grenade that releases a heavy smoke in the drawer and runs towards Johan telling him the emergency, trusting him the safety of everyone “Uji! Hide yourself. Tell anyone in the house, do not go outside, or anywhere. Please. Be safe!”

    “Mom, what’s going on?” He frowns. He is only fifteen to understand the whole situation. “I have my music to be finished. Mom!”

    “Son, listen. I know, you are too young to understand this but…” her eyes are brimming in tears as she says. “I want you to be the eldest brother as you are. If something’s wrong will happen to me. I want you to be strong and protect your younger brother… especially, your sister.”

    “M-mom.”

    “Please, promise me. Whatever happens. Protect her.” She said with conviction

    “I promise. What’s is happening? Why are you saying this?”

    “I love you.” She cries as she hugs Johan and softly rubbing his face, before running of outside. She takes the baseball batter with her.

    “Mom!” Johan left with confusion, but he follows what mom told him accordingly. His heartbeat is racing and almost cries because the way mom said it to him is seemingly agonizing, like something will terribly happen. Seemingly a goodbye.

    She’s not a hunter, but she has to. To save her dearest daughter. She needs plan and she’s dealing with those men where, certainly, the highly paid killers. She hides from the trees, snatching maneuvers, she’s pacing quickly forward.

    Those men aren’t here to abduct her totally, they are messing around as their boss ordered. On the other corner, she sees Vernon comes forwards too. He has collected pebbles in his hand, and put it in his jumper pants. They eyes meet, so Mia signals him to back off, but the little hard headed Vernon won’t. He likes adventure like he is magnetize by danger. He never afraid of it. That is how Mr. Carter teaches him while he’s growing.

    They hear men devious laughing, Senile almost cry of their little child’s play. She throws a fake grenade on them, but it doesn’t move any of them. One is laughing. “Tsk! Tsk! What an i***t doctor. You will never threw a real grenade that’ll blow your beloved daughter.” He grasps her tight!

    “Damn,” she mutters.

    The footsteps are moving so fast.

    “Let go off my daughter, you son of a psychopath!” She cries hitting the man with a batter. She grabs Senile to the trees and they hide.

    “This isn’t about the kids! Leave them behind Ross.” Mia is talking to the boss. She knows she can hear her through his men. “Stop sending your men to do the dirty works! You are so coward!!!”

    She tries buying Senile time to run away, and so she can think other plan on how to get Vernon away. But, it is an instant mistake as Vernon shows up and throwing pebbles towards them. He thought is is a good move but it is the opposite. He just gives the men the way to find him, and Mia knows she needs to help the poor little boy. “Run, Senile. RUN!”

    “Where are you going little kid?!”

    A long silence crosses over, they all caught by the moment. Mia is carefully not making a sound as she step. As soon as she step on a branch which cracks sound, the gun is firing towards it. Mia is catching a raining bullet.

    “MOMMY!!! VERNON!” She almost lose her voice. It is was a good call to get back up. Her dad and the Carters come over, but they know it is too late.

    “Let’s go! We have the kid. Leave her!”

    The van’s engine starts, but the gun doesn’t stop firing. Mr. Carter comes for backup. But his backup is too late to save a life.

    “Mommy...” Senile cries seeing her mom drowning to her own blood.

    The fog is slowly fading. While everyone in the Kingsley’s house is so busy to hear the gunshot. They don’t notice too soon the most dreadful moment for the nine year-old girl—to see her mom dies.