Killing Me Softly

"C'mon. You think I'm dumb? I've known you too well to not realize that you've been acting differently after our trip."

"Oh, you can tell just by a few days?"

"Yes, Wrath. I can. And I did."

"I can't tell you everything, and I wasn't sure of most of them myself."

"And that's fine. I'm not gonna force it out of you. But I can see that you're trying to distance yourself from us," he paused. "And maybe from Eros too."

Her eyes widened as she stared in disbelief, "how did you know?"

"You've lost the sensitivity to sense people around you. I don't have to know the details, but please tell me what you're feeling."

"You know I'm not about that sappy bullsh*t."

"I know. But whatever it is that you're feeling, it made your gastric act up. Didn't it?"

"That son of a b*tch snitched on me!"

"I don't blame him. And I saw the speck of blood on your uniform when I was doing the laundry. So, just come clean and tell me how to help you."

"Well, see. That's the problem. I can't keep burdening people and getting their help. It always ends up with me losing them. So, if you'll excuse me, let's just pretend nothing is wrong."

Lust grabbed onto her wrist as she tried to face away. At first, she tried to fight him off, but she eventually gave up and loosened her tug. He took the necklace Greed had given her and offered to help her with it. Wrath let him drape the chandelier-inspired choker on her neck and continued to slouch and puff on her cigarette.

"I don't want to have to lose people I love because of my recklessness again," she broke the silence.

"And you don't have to."

"It's my fault that I have no family."

"That's not true. We'll always be here for you. You know that. And I know I can speak for everyone when I say that you're a pain in the ass, but we wouldn't have it any other way."

"And what if I lose you too? What if I get you killed? You need to stop helping me."

"Then I'd die happy knowing I saved your life."

"That's horrible."

"Not really. It's an honor. I'd rather die protecting you than to live a day without you."

Wrath looked up at her towering roommate with a teary eye, "Stop looking at my cleavage." She looked away to hide her smile.

He smiled and put his arm around her, "You don't have to worry about losing us. We will never abandon you. Never. I promise. So, don't you dare ditch us too."

"Okay, fine. Point made," she pushed him off.

"There you are, Greed's calling everyone for a last briefing," Sloth informed.

Lust held Wrath's leather jacket as they both entered the house. Everyone had gathered around the sofa; waiting for Greed to lead.

"It's almost 6 now. Let's get going and take some pictures. I brought my digital camera and film camera," Greed looked at her watch. "Envy and I will go with Gluttony and the rest can go in Pride's car. Dismissed."

Envy carried a dispenser full of her special drink mix and Gluttony struggled with fitting the containers of food he had prepared for the game and the group meeting. Greed pranced in front of them and complained about being late to capture the perfect moment.

Wrath flicked her finger at Sloth's cheek to wake him up as Pride decide to help Gluttony with his piles of meal. He thought of it as an opportunity to warm up and be a useful group leader and team captain.

"Oh wait, I'll bring my polaroid camera too. You guys go ahead and warm up the car. I'll be right down."

"I'll wait for Lust. You can go ahead," Wrath echoed.

"Okay, we'll wait for you in the car. I'll get myself settled at the back seat," Sloth tailed behind Pride and closed the door.

After a few minutes of looking, they finally found what they were looking for. Wrath made sure the electrical appliances were off and locked the apartment door. Just as they entered the elevator, two familiar figures stepped out of the house opposite to theirs. The doors closed at the right moment before their neighbors could see their faces. Lust and Wrath looked at each other to confirm that they weren't hallucinating.

"That was pigtail and Schnitzel, right?" Wrath tried to brush off her shock.

"I think so. But who were the other two?" Lust's eyebrows curled in curiosity.

"Not sure, but Pride mentioned that she had another brother and she told me about another sick one."

"Could they possibly be going for the game too?"

"I don't know. But if they are, then this will be a very interesting evening," she smirked with anticipation.

"Should we tell Pride?"

"No way, what's the fun in that?"

The elevator doors opened. Pride waited for them on the drop-off zone and was ready to drive away. Lust got onto the passenger seat and Wrath sat next to the quietly slumbering Sloth who had his head against the window. He had his hands folded and legs extended on the car seat. As they drove away, Wrath looked at the rear-view m

irror and spotted the equally odd group of teens coming out of the elevator. Some parts of her had wished that she hadn't closed her third eye as she needed to pay more attention to social and physical cues. But another part of her was intrigued and mesmerized by the satisfaction she got from digging out information and sleuthing around. But most important of all, she knew that her friends/ her new family would never let her be alone again.

The wide car seat allowed her to crawl next to Sloth and fit both of them on it. He shifted down, put his arm around her, and the other supporting her head to spoon her. The two youngest members of The Sins took a long-needed peaceful nap together. One was a troublemaker and the other a troubleshooter. The brothers turned their heads back during a red light to figure out the lack of noise and were pleasantly surprised by the innocent scene.

"She'd wanna keep this memory," Lust took a picture of them.

"Hahaha… Yeah," Pride smiled to hide his seething jealousy.