Brian

When I hear Bianca’s blood curdling scream pierce through the walls of the house, I leap to my feet and speed out of the room like I’ve got rockets on the soles of my shoes. A gunshot rings through the halls and the smashing of glass fills my ears, only fuelling me to move faster. Jimmy’s gone, I don’t even know why I’m moving so fast all of a sudden, but my heart is racing like it’s got a mind of its own. The screaming’s coming from the hallway, and as I hear Matt and Zacky running after me, both of them cursing and muttering under their breaths, I skid into the hallway, taking in the scene before me.

The front door is wide open, revealing the cool outside as Jimmy stands, shards of glass in his hair and brushing across his shoulders as he stares around, waiting for the perpetrator to come rushing back. And about a foot away from me, curled up in a foetal position with tears leaking out of her dark eyes is Bianca, scratches across her face and a bruise blossoming across her collar like a black and blue flower opening in the sun.
I kneel down and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her gently onto my lap as she begins to sob, eyes almost clouded over with a strange kind of conscious, almost as though she’s caught inbetween the two.

“And fucking stay out!” Jimmy screeches from the other end of the hallway and she bursts into a new fresh wave of tears, the door slamming behind him as he stalks up the corridor towards us, brushing shards from his body and blowing away the smoke from the end of his revolver.
“What the hell happened?” I ask, watching as a swarm of people begin to overtake the room, bursting through the door to see if whoever Jimmy was calling out was really gone for good. He kneels down next to me, tilting her chin softly in his direction. A ripple of jealously runs through me at how easily he seems to control her body, and for a moment I consider calling out for Vee, if only to make sure he keeps his hands where I can see them.

“Matt Tuck happened, that’s what. He cornered her and started making all these threats, accusing Bianca of being involved in some secret activity to keep Athena with us. He’s out of his mind, he knows that she’s got no connection to that child whatsoever” Jimmy mumbles softly and in my arms, she whimpers softly. It hurts, almost to a physical point, to see her in such distress and I fight the urge to kick myself in annoyance when I find my heart breaking slightly at just her broken form. Instead, I worm our hands together and push Jimmy away, picking Bianca up in my arms and throwing her over my shoulder, legs dangling against my chest.

I walk with her in silence, one hand still clutched tightly with hers as I lead her to our bedroom where thankfully, Athena is still sleeping peacefully, undisturbed by the fight that went on downstairs. It’s almost as though she can sleep through anything, whether that be a fistfight or a fully blown war right underneath her nose. Carefully, I lay Bianca down along the bed and kiss her forehead gently, watching as she wipes away her tears and sniffs, before I disappear into the bathroom to collect anything that could keep her conscious for the next few minutes. I don’t know the first thing about first aid, that’s always been Bianca’s department.

What the hell am I going to do when Athena’s older and she scrapes her knee or falls out of a tree and breaks her arm? Not only would I end up running around like a headless chicken without a place to go, but I’d end up putting her in an ice box and running to hospital. Thank God I have Bianca- but I won’t much longer if I don’t hurry up and find something to help her.

“Brian…” she croaks and I stick my head out of the bathroom, raising one eyebrow quizzically at her as she grabs a tissue and holds it up against her bleeding forehead before offering me a small smile.
“Antiseptic cream, warm water and a clean cloth. That’s all you need” she whispers and I nod, smacking myself in the head once I’m out of her sight. I should really buy a book or something to help me out with this- I’m walking into parenting blindly without a stick to guide me. Or as Jimmy would probably say, my stick is now Bianca. It’s a little strange comparing a human being to a wooden object, but there you go.

I grab everything that she’s reeled off to me and carry it back into the bedroom with such care that it’s almost like my arms are full of sharp objects, boxes and boxes of them. Kneeling down beside Bianca, I gently push her head back onto the pillows and dip the cloth into the warm water, making sure it’s soaked through when I bring it back up, hovering slightly over her head as I wonder where to start cleaning up the blood first.
“Forehead, Brian. Always start at the top” she murmurs and I nod, pressing the warm piece of material against her head.

She hisses, wincing violently as she scrabbles for my hand again and squeezes it, trying not to make too many painful noises. I want to comfort her, I really do, but I don’t know what to say. How do you say to someone, by the way I’m madly in love with you, please say that you’ll be mine and we can raise this illegitimate child together. It’s not exactly something that you bring up over dinner.
“It’s OK Bee…I know it hurts but it’s OK…” I try and she smiles up at me, almost as if she’s praising me. I don’t know where the ‘Bee’ came from, but my tongue appears to have separated itself from my brain, and therefore is making all of my decisions for me.

She holds my hand still, soft skin curling over my own, and I feel warmth begin to pool in my stomach and my heart, almost as though I’m a teenager all over again, touching his first pair of boobs. And she’s only holding my hand- I’m fucked.
“What does Matt Tuck want from me Brian? Can’t he leave well enough alone?” she asks me gently and I stiffen, hand pausing as I wash away the blood from the gash on her forehead.

Matt Tuck wants the world and everything within it. If he wants a woman on his side, or in his bed, he’ll get her without anyone batting an eyelid- no one dares to turn him away. I sigh and squeeze her hand, rinsing out the cloth of the sticky red substance that’s caught between its fibres and press it against her cheek.
“He wants something from everyone, Bee, and somehow everyone wants something from him. A favour for a favour. But I can promise you, as long as you’re here with us, we’ll protect you. He has no claim to you, Bee- we just have to work out what he wants and how to compromise” I murmur and she nods back at me, lips twisting into a strange expression that I can’t quite identify from the lighting she’s sat in.

“Brian, when you told me about Athena’s…tattoo. What is it exactly?”

“Well, it’s a skull, one that’s loosely associated with the men at Bullet For My Valentine, and above it, in a slightly worse inking, were the initials MV. We’re still trying to work out what it means, but then again- we don’t even know where to start”
Her eyes suddenly blink as they widen to the size of saucers and she grips my hand even tighter, gaze flicking over to the crib where Athena’s stirring softly, little whines and muffled groans falling out of her little mouth.
“Oh dear…” she whispers and I put the cloth down, knowing that I’ve got rid of all of the blood on her body and connect her fearful gaze with mine, smile dropping slightly.

“Bianca…do you know something? Is there anything you need to tell me?” I ask and she shakes her head, body rocking slowly as her hands begin to shake.
“N-n-no Brian...Matt you have to believe me…she’s innocent…it’s not her…” she quivers, almost as though she’s descending into a hallucination and her eyes begin to flutter open and closed.
“What Bianca, what? Who is ‘she’- what’s going on?” I beg her and suddenly she stops, frozen in her position.

“Violet” she whispers before her eyes flicker closed once more and her body collapses, swallowed up by the darkness, leaving me clutching her still hand and wondering to myself what on earth I’d just witnessed.

Violet. Who on earth is Violet?