chapter 26

Chapter 26

Wren stared curiously into the wide mirror, her almost blue eyes growing thin under her wincing expression as the burning hot iron gently swept through the volume in her hair, she soon met her own eyes in the mirror, a wide smile slowly painted itself across her face as her hair had fell in a neat shape around her face as the iron settled on the counter next to her, she was instantly greeted with Mr. Owens curved mustache that followed his lips he looked at wren with a comforting gesture.

Just then, a knock broke through the peace of the house; the wren left the bathroom in a hurry in hopes of Percy she skipped down the stairs turning the corner with a whip of her hair as She opened the door, the smile still printed on her face. a moan sounded from the hinges as she met Ronin's farming eyes that bounced off hers, the door frame, his fidgeting fingers, and then repeating the Sam motion, before a word could escape his mouth, "Hey" he said his voice slightly cracking as he soon began to insult himself over it, his head grew louder, "hi" wren returned the greeting in a low mellow tone, everything stopped when she spoke, her voice had changed like everyone else it was prominent, it was heard.

Wren looked behind her as Mr Owens met them at the door. His eyes examined Ronin carefully; a cautious eye gleamed over his buzzed head and the stern look on his face; he then watched Wren's nervous body language.

Inviting Ronin in after a shared glance with the wren, he looked across the clean home, bright with warm light and a presence similar to the center he had been at.

He slid his shoes off quickly, almost embarrassed as he did so, building his height again,, he paused when faced with the man's hand; hesitantly, Ronin shook it with a small nervous grin, hoping he wouldn't mess it up.

The man returned the greeting before helping Wren evolve the visit as he cut her from a blank stare she forgot she'd entered. With his help, the two continued up the stairs, the floorboards squeaking under their weight.

The man shook his hand and seemed almost numb at the tips upon shaking Ronin's hand. He catches Ronin's back before disappearing into another room.

Ronin followed the wren into her room, the walls painted a plain but colored tone, light and comfortable as if it were spelled in the walls that seemed to be a patterned flower over the color. "Damn," Ronin said, glancing at the room once more before returning to her gaze with a grin; he turned, swinging the door behind him as he walked forward, beginning to talk. His voice was high, timid.

Wren's eyes blared open as the door clicked shut, the noise repeating in her head she began to narrate it before gripping her skirt getting louder, Ronin's gut wrenched as he saw Wren, and just then her eyes returned to what he remembered, Ronin hands shook as he came closer afraid of what happened, what he missed, what he did.

Wren covered her ears suddenly slamming into the wooden dresser before hitting the ground, "shit" Ronin slid to the floor his fingers trembling as they attempted to touch her now pale face, her body began to sway, and his words couldn't reach her, and Ronin began to grow a sweat, what had he done.

Wren could feel her fingers grip her ears tightly, folding them over, the same clicking sound repeated as she continued to narrate it, unable to stop, His voice had fled; it had tied under her overwhelm.

The door swung open as Mr. Owens opened the door, his eyes and brows held up in a concerned etch on his face; he leaned, pulling Ronin into the door frame with a glance of horror in his eyes; they reprimanded any blame he could've placed on him.

A heavy tap initiated Ronin to stay; his eyes shook around the scene, his fingers fidgeting with each other as he did so, watching how the man sat on her bed, a high squeak following it. Just the room began to change, shift as if the walls had admitted some sort of breeze. The man took a subtle breath before he began to hum; it was slow. Somehow, the pitch was perfect, and he soon built a melody, a story within his song.

Wren's hands had fallen lifeless on the floor mimicking the expression on her face.

The man looked into her dark eyes as they began to fill with a thick wall of tears that had soon released as he slid slowly off the bed to gently press her into his warm chest a slow rub on her back timed with his calm breathing.

Ronin could only watch in horror, he fretted what the man would say, a million scenarios played in his head, each one building the leaning stature he based his luck on.

Inching back from the room his chest pounded louder as his eyes grew with it, meeting Mr Owens who glanced at him and back at wren before watching as Ronin gripped the door frame staring blankly at the two, he slowly came to his feet inching towards Ronin cautiously.

"It's ok Ronin, shes okay" he attempted to tell him over the line of continued words that strung from Ronins mouth as if unconnected to the rest of his expression. His hands grazed over his head as he turned to the hallway. Mr Owens following him with a calm voice his hands slowly raised grabbing ronin's what couldn't position themselves, jerking with his eyes that cut to the man as he took Ronins hands down to his side.

"Ronin, hey" he tried to catch Ronins eyes on his as he begun to speak, "it's not your fault Ronin, ok now take a breath, it's not your fault" he ended in a hesitant close of his mouth, watching Ronin for a response, "o-ok" Ronin put to words watching as he nodded to them.

Mr Owens begun to speak as he mentioned calling someone for Ronin to which he squirmed in the mans grip gasping as he begun to force his arms off of his jacket, "no, no Mr" Ronin said in-between the spit that covered his lip, "no, Mr please don't, you can't" Ronin pleaded as the man tried to call him down in a growing restraint.

"Get you fucking hand off of me" Ronin suddenly yelled cutting emotion he almost seemed to act, watching as Mr Owens backed up at the tone slowly releasing his grip as ronin ripped his hands off his jacket stumbling down the stairs as he then oilled the door open, rolling the rug beneath it as he pushed himself out slamming it behind him with a grunt.

The snow crunching under his boots as he'd begun to sprint down the driveway his arms swinging in front of him for his shadow had shown the same, following him as he crossed the street.

His mind running faster than the feet that slapped the concrete below him, heavier than the bomb that tucked in his chest, and colder than the wind that bit at his face, digging through his forehead, and cutting through his skull it had reached him, infected him.

And spread though, leaking from his nose and bleeding in his chest.

Until stabbing through a wall he'd thought he built stronger as he'd hit the floor his warm cheeks scraping the snow that had become hard, idolized peices of ice that planted on his face. He'd tried to run away, past the fences, past the homes, he'd crossed a road he hadn't before, he'd tried to change as he had fled from the small town. The one moment he was on top of it.

This circled in his head as he lay, his face had begun to grow numb, like his eyes had done long ago, taking it from his father as if it were a gen, and wearing it as if he thought it would help him hide.

Help him run.

This he listened to, told from his shadow that has fallen with him, torn him down, and held him there, it was then a shiver hit Ronins spin as he pushed himself to his feet, whipping his face with his jacket he'd before his legs began to carry him through the field he'd only now made it to, he'd been there before but this was new, a motivation from the pathetic figure he could only see when the sun came out.

This motivation was something that had been repurposed, changed to help. To heal.