Aftermath (Part 1)
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Gwyn
A slight breeze blew Gwynβs hair out of her face, waking her up, bringing her focus back to her surroundings. She sat on the edge of the restaurantβs roof. Every so often, she bounced her heels against the side of the building, a crooked little smile on her face. When she raised the bottle to her mouth again, it was empty somehow.
Hmm. Thatβs odd.
She threw it at the other empty bottles standing on the floor beside her, and they toppled with a satisfying clatter of glass. Something about how the noise failed to startle her brought her to attention, but then she lost focus again when she turned her gaze on the sunset.
Weβre kinda similar, you and I, she told the overly pastel range of clouds. Muted and fuzzy around the edges.
She turned her head at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.
βOh, itβs you.β
βYep, just me.β Kolβs voice sounded like a barely contained eye roll. The rest of him followed his strange face as he came to sit next to her. Gwyn turned to stare at the clouds some more.
βIβd offer you another one, but it looks like youβve already had more than enough.β
Gwyn threw back her head, allowing a short sharp laugh to escape her.
βYβknow what else Iβve had more than enough of?β She kept going before Kol could answer. βYou. You and your excuses and acting like you care when you donβt. You only care about yourself.β
βWhat is that supposed to mean? Do you have any idea how much time I spend helping you?β
βOnly to be close to me. You think you can raise yourself by riding on my coattails, but no. Thatβs not how that works.β She got to her feet, teetering on the edge for a moment, then started pacing back and forth beside the empty bottles. βEvery day for you is only sleep, eat, destroy. You treat people like means to an end, pieces you can manipulate to get what you want. And you know what happens when you get what you want?β She was pleased to see Kol sitting in shock when she turned to face him. Her gaze bored into him from behind the frazzled curtain of hair covering most of her face. When she spoke again, her voice came out in a deathly soft whisper. βThings blow up. People die. Monsters die.β
βIs that what this is?β Gwyn hadnβt remembered Kolβs voice being this annoying. βYouβre still torn up about that?β
Without warning, she scooped one of the bottles off the ground and threw it at his head. She missed, but barely.
βI raised her! She trusted me, enough to do anything I told her to! If you hadnβt made trouble, this wouldnβt have happened.β Deep down, she wanted to sob but she couldnβt. Something had broken, leaving only jagged sharp edges. Edges like that could hurt someone. There was another empty bottle in her hand. She didnβt remember picking it up. Oh, she wanted to throw it. She wanted to throw it so badly, but instead she turned her back on Kol and wandered to the edge of the roof. She studied the drop for a moment, then held the bottle out over the empty space and let go. It glowed in the sun for a brief moment, then shattered on the faraway pavement.
βGwyn-β
βNo.β The crooked smile had returned to her face. βYβknow, your name suits you. You like to think you have a heart, a nice strong brave one, but all you got was a sad black lump in your chest.β She locked eyes with him for a long moment, then tottered her way downstairs, humming to herself.
Author Notes: Iβm baaaack!
I missed the Sincerely, Vintage characters too much to leave them, so hereβs the beginning of a sequel series. I might keep up with it, I might not.
In other news, Iβm starting up on Wattpad under the same username. Come check me out!
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