The Past (Bonus Day)
The Past (Bonus Day)
It was a day like any other in the Happy Hotel. Niffty was diligently cleaning up anything in the hotel whether it be major things like wiping away messes on whatever surface where they showed to more minor details like changing flowers in a vase. Husk was gulping down the booze while he leans against the check-in desk. Angel was trying in vain to flirt with the cat chimera. Alastor was watching it all in the back as he sipped some coffee.
As for Charlie and Vaggie, they were chilling at the couch together and going over a scrapbook together. Of course, the scrapbook was something of Charlie’s; the hellborn princess always wanted to preserve happy memories. Although, since the rosie-cheeked blonde would find so many, the moth demoness would have to step in to keep the scrapbook from overflowing with pictures.
The red-eyed girl was flipping page-to-page, gushing over each picture she saw. “Oh, look, this is the time when you met Razzle and Dazzle. They just couldn’t stop trying to nibble at your shoes.”
“They practically ate them.”
Some laughter as Charlie flipped another page. “And this is the time when we went to my dad’s park, during that one and only time they had those sales of those special drinking cups with the duck pictures that change when you tilt the cup.”
“I still can’t believe it sold out like crazy. I felt so sure that it wouldn't sell very well.”
"Yeah but it's my Dad who liked ducks. He knew the business sense behind it when he put his name on it."
“Right. And it was only because you called ahead of them that they thought of saving one exclusively for you.”
“Yep! And we got to share it together!” Once again, at another page, “Ooh! And this is the time when we went to watch my mom's show at the Smoldering Voice!”
“Can ya, Charlie?! Some of us are busy with more important shit than goin’ down memory lane!” Angel complained over his shoulder.
“You’re just spewing shit out of your mouth that you think are good pick-up lines,” Husk argued.
Although Charlie didn’t pay any heed to the ensuring bickering, particularly now that she has a contemplative expression on her face now. Vaggie ignored the argument, too, and was wondering what was up with her girlfriend. The latter would normally intervene but the former always took first priority for her.
Those two will get it later from me anyways. I just hope Charlie will tell me what's on her mind...
Finally, the hellborn princess inquired, “Hey, Vaggie?”
The moth demoness hummed, as indication that she heard.
“I don’t think I ever heard say anything about your past before.”
The pink x-eyed girl widened her eye, trying to power through her alarmed mental jump start as she answered. “I- kind of did. I know it wasn’t a lot of details but-“
“No, I mean, you never told me anything about your family. You at least had parents, didn’t you?”
The pink x-eyed girl flinched inwardly, although it kind of showed on her face with the twisting frown. It was probably only lucky for her that the other didn't notice. Although she still insisted, “How about later? When we’re alone? I’m not comfortable about it out here.”
Vaggie had rather dreaded having to go over this shit. Not because she was afraid of what Charlie would think but because it would always cause her distress when just thinking about it. Vaggie's probably lucky that Alastor hasn't made any move by now and that Charlie's agreed to the request.
Of course, later on tonight, the moth demoness was curling her hands tight around the rim of the bathtub as she took her bath. All because her head is currently going back in time when she was alive. And a nearing adolescent girl, too.
A near adolescent girl with black hair, dark skin, and a pair of striking grey eyes; those eyes were why she wore her bangs to cover her face. That way, it would help. At least, it always gave her feeling that it was helping. Of course, everyone around spoke Spanish; this girl and an elder woman she knows wouldn’t be exceptions. And this very girl was running down the road, eager to get someplace. She even had a crack of a smile on her face. Although some sleaze just had to try ‘getting fresh’.
“Hello Vags! How’s my favorite little dollface?” There was even an attempt to get under that dress she’s wearing but then the poor idiot was met with a brief but piercing sensation on the back of his hand.
“My name is Vagatha. Get it right already.” And that was all the young female in question said before resuming on her way, ignoring the glaring and yelling man behind her.
The pre-teen would have liked to make it to her destination with no further delays but, of course, the universe wouldn’t let that happen.
“Hey, is that the weird loner girl? And is she actually… smiling?”
“Well, we better make sure nothing’s wrong with her.”
Vaggie grumbled irritably under her breath. It’s not often that she actually feels happy about something and she would like to stay happy for longer than almost a half hour. If she even gets that long. So the pre-teen first tries speeding up in her walking. Since she was already going kind of fast, it probably wouldn’t look that weird. Of course, the pair of obnoxious bullies caught up and seized her by the arms, making sure to look and sound like they're just buddies with a certain but friendly way of interacting.
“Looks like you couldn’t escape us today. Too bad.”
“It’s not like we’re doing anything wrong, by the way. We just wanna say ‘hi’.”
Vaggie twisted her mouth into an angry gritting frown. “Hi. Now bye.”
The grey-eyed brunette struggled out of their grip, only to feel something in front of her foot out of nowhere. It had resulted in her face plopping down hard on the ground. Laughter quickly followed. Vaggie gets up, glaring hard at the other two girls.
“You’re so funny!” The girl with a braid cried out.
“Yeah!” The girl with short hair agreed.
“Hilarious. Now seriously. Bye.”
The two girls quickly seized the fleeing one again, the braided one remarking, “typical Vag. Always so anti-social.”
“Yeah. It’s not okay for someone like you to be so crabby. How are you gonna get paid?”
Vaggie tried squirming her way out again but only got nails dug into her shoulders for her troubles. So she said through gritted teeth. “I just need to get back home. That’s it.”
“Why? You actually need your mom for something? I’m not sure what she can do for you,” the short-haired girl voiced.
“None of your business.”
The braided girl makes a guess. “Oh, is it to learn how to ‘sit down’? Then, yeah, okay. It would be important for you to talk to your mom about.”
That had flared up Vaggie’s anger. “Like that’s that most unusual thing ever. Practically everyone’s mom is one of those.”
“Except for ours, of course.”
“Must be sad, following your mom’s footsteps,” the short-haired girl stated, fake sympathy and caring clearly detected.
“More like her mom’s bounces!”
The next thing anyone knew, the three girls got into a near adolescent cat fight. Sure, Vaggie knew that they were just gonna target her again after this, like how it always had been before, but damn it if she was going to just let them say shit like that.
The brawl only ended when some men wanted to intervene and be ‘heroes’. To get the reward for it. Vaggie was able to lose them when their attention shifted to the two ‘virtuous’ girls. It was personally disgusting how they always wanted the ‘pure’ ones.
Finally, the grey-eyed pre-teen had reached a shack kind of place. It was so small that, of course, it was gonna be called a shack. If not a shack, then something else similar. And really, the pre-teen thought she was lucky to living here. After all, it was located on the outskirts of town, which meant some isolation. Normally, isolation wouldn’t be good in places like Salvador, given the crime rate – especially towards prostitutes like Vaggie’s mother – but the pre-teen likes it since she learned to dislike and not trust people. There was only one exception to the rule and Vaggie hoped that said exception was present at home.
“Mom, mom, mom! Where are you? Are you even home?”
After a while of this, the mother being called out to finally responded. “Yes, yes, Vaggie, stop shouting! You’re going to strain your voice and ruin my ears!”
Vaggie turned to see her mom, a tall and slender woman of the same hair color and skin tone as her. Although the elder lady’s eyes were a dark brown color and her hair was shoulder length, a sidelock being braided and held with a red string kind of thing. The mother was currently busy simmering something in a pot, no doubt their dinner.
The pre-teen took kind of big steps towards her and said, “Sorry, Mom. I just have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I think I found a chance to work somewhere. There’s this man who needed someone to help organize his inventory at his local store, to help sell things to customers, and he-“
A sharp, annoyed sigh cut her off. “Vagatha, we’ve been over this. Even if you never learn from me in how to do my kind of work, you’re not going to get a proper job due to my work in the first place. I don't know why it would matter, anyways, getting a proper job. Because honestly, it’ll be a man in charge and they’re all like how your father was: nice and caring only until they get into your panties! Then you're their easy whore all of a sudden!”
“But Mom, I know how to protect myself. You know that I’ve been training myself on how to use knives. I can always take one of the kitchen knives and-“
“No, you idiot, that’s dangerous! And no doing that, either! Even though you keep fighting me on this, I’m already preparing you for a job. One I’ve been doing myself for many years, until you were born and even after. You know, because I needed it to support the two of us. Don't worry about a thing; I’ll guide you every step of the way, just like how my own mother did for me.”
Of course, Vaggie didn’t really like that idea. Not that she was disrespecting her mother or anything like that but the pre-teen has seen first hand exactly the kind of troubles people of the elder woman’s profession goes through. And it’s kind of unbelievable the mother actually is trying to get her own daughter to be the same, to go through the same things as her. It didn't feel right.
The troubled look on Vaggie’s face was detectable since her mother was prompted to continue. Although that sigh was digging into Vaggie’s self-validation. “Look, Vaggie, if you’re not going to go along with learning anything today, why don’t you do the laundry tonight? I took longer than I thought I would bargaining at the market and I only have a hour, maybe almost two of them to get ready for tonight.”
"Okay, mom." The pre-teen had started walking but then stopped, seeming to think about something to say. Then, "mom, if I can't learn how to wield the knives, then maybe I can-"
That cut into the mother's patience pretty damn quick. “I’m warning you, young lady. You’re going to need to do something now to secure money that will help us live. Survive. So understand already that I’m just ensuring a future for you. I won’t be able to do my kind of job forever, you know.”
The pre-teen felt her insides constrict even more; she was just not liking this conversation whatsoever. “Yes, I know, Mom. And I- like that you’re thinking about me but what about when I'm old? Am I really supposed to have a kid to take care of me before I get that old?"
“No more arguing with me, young lady! Just get to the laundry!”
“But how about-?“
The mother hit her limit now, storming her way towards her daughter. “Vagatha!”
Of course, that was only one of many bad days for the unfortunate pre-teen. In fact, it was the average for her so, for better or for worse, It kept on going until finally, Vaggie was in her early twenties. In 2013. When she had gotten that girlfriend, who is a whole other can of worms that she's not getting into. Not tonight.
Because really, the… ‘argument’ that came when the younger woman decided to leave her mother… especially with Vaggie's last girlfriend from when she was still alive... it was probably for that best that Charlie's only wanted to know about family. Ex's can be left out of it right now.
After all, the parts that present-day Vaggie could remember, it was making her scrunch her eye tight and curl her fingers around the rim of the tub until it seemed that they threatened to snap or something. The screaming, the, the things that were said whether it was spur of the moment or not, the girlfriend's bright idea of 'help'… it was painful, to put it mildly. Maybe this part has to be excluded when talking about it with Charlie.
Then there was knocking on the door to the bathroom. “Vaggie? Are you okay? I think you’ve been taking a bath for a long time now!”
The moth demoness flinched and hurried to answer, not wanting to worry the hellborn princess anymore than she already was. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m fine! I’ll be out in a minute!”
“Are you sure? I know that you can come back from anything that hurts you but that doesn’t mean I would want you to get hurt, you know. Are you sure nothing's wrong right now?”
The pink x-eyed girl faltered. After all, she was gonna tell her girlfriend about this kind of thing when she got out. Yet the female sinner couldn’t rid herself of this gut-twisting agony right now.
But then she remembered that the rosie-cheeked blonde was still talking to her and knew she had to answer back. So at making sure to sound more normal, “yeah, I’m sure! I’m just thinking of ways to deal with Angel when we try out our, uh... healing methods or whatever you called it on him. You know it takes a lot of concentration.”
“Well… okay, just as long as you aren’t in any pain or trouble. Just be quick finishing up your shower, okay? I don’t I wanna worry like that time with the apple-shaped shade salesman. You remember that time, don’t you?”
Oh yeah, Vaggie remembers. She recalls exactly how it was like the last time when she got held up by that salesman. Then, of course, a raid broke out in the mall while she was still held up. As a result, the red-eyed girl took it upon herself to personally take down anything – or even anyone – to see whether or not the pink x-eyed one was really alright.
So soothing Charlie’s worries was the obvious next course of action. “Yes, Charlie, I’m fine. In fact, I’m gonna come out in just a few minutes. But don’t wait up for me at the door. I promise, I’m fine.”
“Okay then. Do you want me to get us milk and cookies?”
There was a bit of silence before, "would the cookies be chocolate crinkles?"
"You bet!"
“Then yeah, that would be great. Thanks.”
The moth demoness waited until she couldn’t hear Charlie’s footsteps anymore. Then she exhaled, like it was letting out all the worry and dread and stress inside her. And it didn't take long for the conflicted feelings to strike.
On one hand, Charlie’s attention was diverted for the time being and she won’t go into ‘protective girlfriend’ mode. Although Vaggie finds that hot.
On the other hand, it was only a matter of time before they do talk about it, about this kind of thing. After all, the spear wielder had promised to spill what was asked and she’ll be quadruple-damned before she breaks a promise to her beloved girlfriend of all people.
Hopefully, it’ll be fine. If I can go over it in my head just now, then I’ll do better when Charlie is here for me
At that, Vaggie gets up from the tub, feeling the air nip at her skin upon exposure. She grabbed a nearby pastel blue robe and matching colored towel for her hair. Every minute the moth demoness spent getting ready for bed was a minute spent worrying about how to get started on this. Just because Vaggie's gathering the nerve doesn't mean it's automatically easy.
Here goes nothing…
Finally, the pink x-eyed girl left the bathroom in her little, white nightgown, feeling that twisting anxiety in her along the way. At least when she saw her beautiful, bright lover waiting in the bed. At that moment, there was this genuine, unmistakable hope that things were going to be alright.