Mimi's Demons

Chapter 73: Will You Always Like Me?

Juli's dorky avatar made the laughing emote.

'Who the **** do you think you are? A clown?'

Mimi just stared, frozen, as the little dark avatar boy swung his arms around, waiting.

As Juli's avatar made itself busy in their vicinity rather than running off, Mimi rolled her lips between her teeth. For reasons even unknown to her, her eyes wandered down to her arms, which were bare for once, showing all her scars including the new pink one that stood out from the silver, straight lines in two bumpy crescent moon shapes. Where she had bitten herself in an attempt to save herself from being kidnapped.

The memories of what happened after flash flowed through her. Duke's careful care. His presence. Offering to send for a different doctor. The toy store. The camp out.

Trust isn't something you can force, Serena had said.

Mimi's heart trembled along with her thumbs as she typed.

Her pink text window popped up.

'No.'

The seemed to suffice her mysterious friend, for after a moment he started moving, picking up rocks and going to the shore to fish. It was strange how quiet he was compared to Juli's jabbering, even after Juli finished his shock that someone would ever suggest to get rid of THE Duke, or dare to. He made all sorts of comments about the black haired avatar getting it before Mimi chased him off. She fished beside her mysterious friend long after she ran out of bait and had to run around for fish shadows. She found herself wholly invested in believing they were really besides her, fishing quietly. The quiet was familiar.

The little avatar had green eyes.

She pulled out her little text screen, but hesitated. Honrye could only touch stuffed animals. He wouldn't be able to play videogames.

She ended up changing her mind and let the quiet continue.

The sun set and her room had grown dark except for the light of the TV (she eventually connected the Switch to the TV so it could charge and she could have a bigger screen). A steady, safe calm had replaced the tense knot in gut and chest. The dark skinned and haired avatar with the green eyes never left, even after Juli did saying he had homework to do. It followed her, occasionally emoteing or giving her stuff. Several times she pulled out the in-game keypad to type a message, then lost her confidence and put it away. She didn't want to weird them out. And she didn't want to be told she was wrong either. It made her happy to make believe and hope that maybe, somehow, the little avatar was her missing best friend.

Behind her the door opened. She only knew because of the sound it made across the carpet and the minute gust of cooler air from the hallway.

"Kitten..."

Duke's voice was soft, careful.

Despite herself, she glanced back. The mafia boss was holding a tray of food and still dressed in his work clothes. The shadows under his eyes seemed darker than usual, though that may have been the blanching lighting from her TV.

He didn't smile, but didn't rush in bringing the food to the bean bag. He pulled out the folding legs from underneath it (there were so many of those kinds of trays in this house) and carefully situated the food over Mimi's lap, a trick in itself with the beanbag, but he made it work. Then he sat cross-legged on the floor besides her.

"Is it okay if I sit here?"

Mimi already knew how out of the norm it was for Duke to ask permission for anything. He never did, not from anyone but her, though she wished she could follow him around like a ghost as he worked to see if that really was the case when she couldn't see or hear stories from an impressed Juli. Did he really treat her that different?