Heaven in hell
"Why? Why did you do it?"
She doesn’t need to raise her head or to open her eyes to know who it was, the usual seraphic voice now coated with irritation and concern was already a big give away; she’d been hearing that voice for over ten years now.
"I told you, I can handle myself."
"That’s not what I saw last night." She replied with great struggle, her throat is burning and her whole body is throbbing in pain; but she couldn’t care less, she's used to pain anyway.
"Nicole...." The voice became softer then and the apprehension that came with it hurt her more than any wound she’s ever had.
The bedridden red-head tried to turn on her back but found it difficult to do so. Velvety hands helped her and worry-stricken face stared down at her. "Waverly, I’m fine." She quipped, reassuring the girl with a lie she knew no one, not even herself, will ever believe.
"You’re far from being fine, can’t you see that? You look like a god damn wreck!" The brunette pointed out, voice shaking as she did so.
Nicole scoffed; she had been worst and today was not even close to that. "Aren’t we both are?" She asked back, pointing out that she isn’t the only one in the wreckage; they both are, just in different forms.
She tried to sit up but her muscles won’t comply and Waverly had to help. "That’s different. When you’re trying to be the hero, it’s different."
With all of what’s left of Nicole's strength, she tried to bash the other girl's hand from touching her swollen face. "Saving you once doesn’t make me a hero." She said, looking away, avoiding the younger girl’s dejected face.
"Then what do you call what you did last week, and the week before that, and the month before? And basically everything that you had been doing for me for years now? Because whether you like it or not, you are becoming my hero every single time you’re saving me."
The red-head closed her eyes and sighed, relieved that the basement was dim lighted and that she was able to hide her reddened face, hiding the fact that she loved how the brunette had just called her, hers, even when it wasn’t close to what she really wants.
They have been friends for years, along with ten other girls whom they grew up with. They’re not blood related but they were taught to treat each other like sisters and to have each other's back at all times. And though Nicole is five years older than Waverly, they were closer and inseparable ever since the day the younger girl was brought ‘home’ by their so called ‘Father’.
"Heroes do not exist in this hell hole Waverly, don’t be so delusional. It will only make you weak."
The younger girl helped her undress, pulling the bloody shirt off her.
"Between you and me, I’m not the one who looked like she's not going to see the next daylight."
It was sarcasm, but both knew what it really meant and she had to swallow hard to get rid of the lump on her throat. What the brunette said was true, she probably looked like she won’t be seeing another daylight; she could feel it in her bruised skin, in her throbbing wounds, in her broken bones and in her bleeding body, but that is something she will never admit. "Sorry to disappoint, but the sun is finally up and about and I’m still alive."
"Barely, Nicole. You’re barely alive. If I didn’t step in, Father could’ve killed you." Waverly's voice was laced with sadness and the red-head knew, she could even tell without seeing her face that she's crying.
"But he didn’t, and he can’t. He would never." Nicole replied confidently. "He won’t let me die even if I beg him to."
That’s undeniably factual and they both know that; working under a heartless mafia boss, they learned that their lives aren’t theirs to live, to keep or to even take away. They are alive as long as they are needed.
Quiet sobs filled the room as wet towel dabbed against her beaten up skin. It stung but it’s nothing she can’t handle.
"We're not irreplaceable Nicole. Father can easily find a replacement."
That may be true, however, their father already proved that both of them are still essential to the family; Waverly being the decoy and her being the executioner. Their Father still needs them, given how their skill sets complemented each other way better than the rest of the girls in the house.
Nicole scoffed in agreement. "He can, but it will take him long to find one, and I'd probably thank him by then, it’s the only way I could escape this hell."
Warm and soft lips replaced the towel that was smoothing along her shoulder and she froze.
"By dying? Is that really the only way to escape this place?” The younger girl made vibrations as she spoke, leaving volts of sensation tingling along the red-head's skin to her very core. "Don’t you want to live, Nicole?"
She had lost all hope years ago, when she killed a person for the first time. It was her first mission alone. She had been training for years but no proper training prepared her for the trauma that came right after taking someone else’s life with her own two hands. She couldn’t sleep for nights and she couldn’t eat for days, if not for Waverly, Nicole would’ve died right there and then, she was only sixteen.
Ten years of killing people, yet the damage is still there, growing and more self-destructive than ever.
And when Nicole failed to answer again, another uncomfortable question came uninvited, "So what do you suppose will happen to me without you here? What will you have me do once you’re gone? You’re the only one protecting me here."
She sighed before answering, "He won’t let anything happen to you Waverly, you’re his favorite."
It’s quite true, their father favors Waverly the most, not only because she’s the youngest and the prettiest among the girls, but also because she’s good with her work; no one can ever do what Waverly can do best – luring their target in their trap. And whilst Nicole knows that, she’s also aware how ill-tempered and heartless their father is; he does not care who did wrong, mistake is a mistake, and whoever made a mistake will pay with an unimaginable amount of pain, death even. And Nicole loves her friend so much she does not want their father to taint Waverly’s purity, although that was already too late for that; the younger girl was already like her, another broken angel.
Last night, Waverly was sent to a mission where she was asked to gather information from a prominent businessman, and since it was not a kill order, the brunette was sent to do it alone but the red-head came out of nowhere and helped her escape the man who was about to rape her. But instead of being helpful, Jessica was caught with hands tightly gripping her neck in a choke-hold and Waverly had her first kill then; with a steak knife she grabbed from a nearby table, the younger girl stabbed the businessman right through his heart that rendered him dead in an instant. Knowing that their father will not let the mistake slip, even by his favorite child, Nicole took the blame and accepted the punishment - she was whipped almost to death and burned her skin with iron steal – as a reminder not to meddle with Waverly's solo task again.
But no amount of pain can ever stop Nicole. No torture can ever stop her from meddling, caring and loving Waverly and that was proven so many times before.
"Just like how you’re not going to let anything happen to me too, right?" The younger girl kissed the base of her neck and she shivered.
And when Waverly repeated the question right into her ears, Nicole let out a moan and nodded, hoping that the brunette would understand the words underlying in it. The other girl probably did as she pulled her around and kissed her, softly at first then she felt the longing and the need that mirror hers, she kissed her back.
Nicole was then pushed back to the rickety bed and could not careless about her wounds hitting the rough mattress. It stings but she did not care; the younger girl can hurt her, torture her, break her and even kill her, but she still won’t care, because Waverly is her broken angel and her heaven in hell.