Vanweek - Day Two: "Princess."
Day 2 of Vanweek pt.2! Thank you so much to @vanessaverse-official for all their hard work!
Hope you guys enjoy :D!!
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Gregory giggled, skipping ahead. The sheet covering him fluttered in the wind. He had insisted on going as a ghost, and against Vanessa’s best judgment, she let him.
The night was warm - rare for Halloween - and throngs of parents and kids traveled up and down the brightly-lit street. A slight breeze kept her from overheating in her dress. A large princess gown that Luis found while out shopping with Gregory. She didn’t exactly want to dress up like a princess, but….
(“You can be a princess, Mama ‘Nessa,” Gregory said, his big brown eyes staring up at her. “Please? I wanna go trick or treating with you, papa Luis, and daddy.”)
Vanessa inwardly groaned at the memory. How could she ever possibly say no to that adorably cherubic face, huh? The answer is she can’t. Not now. Not ever.
Luis got out of dressing up, only because he had to leave work to meet them. (The pizzaplex is oddly strict about their employees having any sort of fun or whimsy while on the clock). And Evan couldn’t leave his job in time for trick or treating, but Vanessa promised him that he could take Gregory next year (more like threatened, if she’s being honest).
“Mama ‘Nessa?” Gregory asked.
“Yeah?”
“When will Papa Luis be here?”
Vanessa pulled out her phone, tucked away in a miniature handbag that came with the dress. “Uh…” She checked through her messages. “Looks…like any minute now. Do you want to start without him?”
Gregory shook his head. “Nuh, uh.”
She eyed the hordes of children everywhere, grabbing handfuls of candy. “You sure? There’s a lot of children already.”
“Mhm, I know. But I want to wait.”
Vanessa smiled. “Okay, let’s find a spot to sit then.”
-x-x-x-
Day turned to night. The sky darkened and dark gray clouds covered the moon. Kids started to leave, their bags full. And porch lights shut off.
Vanessa grew antsy, which in comparison to the eerily calm four-year-old, probably seemed kind of funny. She checked her phone for the twentieth time in five minutes.
“Gregory,” Vanessa said. “It’s 8:30. Trick or treating ends at 9.” She scooted closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He took off his sheet when they sat down, it lay across his lap. “I know you wanted to wait for him, but if you want to-”
Gregory hopped off the bench, dragging his costume along with him. “Don’t worry, Mama ‘Nessa, I’ll go get Papa!” He took off, sprinting down the slowly darkening street.
She gasped, memories of lost children coming back to her. Vanessa scrambled to her feet. “Gregory!” She hollered, but the boy was long gone. “Shit,” she cursed.
Hiking up the skirt of her ridiculously puffy dress, Vanessa did her best to run after him.
Wind whistled through her hair, and sticks broke underneath her work shoes. The small number of people congregating on porches or in front yards didn’t pay her any mind, either too focused on securing the last little bit of candy or too drunk to care.
“Greg-o-ry!” She shouted, desperate and terrified of what sort of dangers that could lie in wait for a little boy. Her foot caught on an uneven part of the sidewalk, sending her to the ground.
The tiara Gregory had painstakingly placed on her head flew off. Vanessa could feel a sticky wetness and a stinging pain radiating from her palms and knees. Her stomach roiled. She didn’t want to see. The idea of seeing….that….dripping from an (most likely superficial) wound, made her want to throw up.
“Vanessa?”
Despite the familiarity of the voice, she startled. Vanessa sniffled, rubbing the back of her hand over her eyes. “‘M okay.”
Luis bent down. He held Gregory in his arms. “Your hands,” he muttered.
She shook her head. “I…I don’t want to look.”
Vanessa could feel his eyes on her, as if searching for something. A memory. A recollection. But she had nothing except the faint sickness in her gut, reminding her of the blood on her hands.
“Okay,” he said, hitching Gregory up a little higher. “Let’s get you guys home.” He helped her up, using his one available arm to support her.
-x-x-x-
A while later, after Luis took care of her knees and hands, they settled together on the couch. A halloween-themed movie played on the TV. One of the few that all three adults deemed was okay for Gregory to watch, and not one that Vanessa had ever seen before.
A mostly empty bowl of popcorn sat on the coffee table in front of them.
Gregory laid asleep, sprawled out across them. His head lay in her lap, while his legs lay across Luis. Near immediately after they arrived home and put a movie on, he conked out.
Vanessa stroked his hair. The terror she felt earlier still hadn’t all subsided, and only the constant reminder that Gregory’s okay, gave her a slight reprieve from her worries.
“How’s your hands?” Luis whispered.
Vanessa quirked an eyebrow. “...Fine….I guess.” She still couldn't bring herself to look at her hands, even though the injury was cleaned and bandaged. “Thanks for cleaning them up. I don’t think I could have….” she trailed off.
“Anytime,” he answered, understanding her completely.
“I do kind of feel bad.”
“Why?”
“For ruining halloween for Gregory.” Her fingers continued to comb through his hair. “He didn’t even get any candy.”
Luis laughed, laying his hand over hers. “I don’t think he cared about the candy.”
“Wha-” It hit her then, staring down at her pseudo-son’s peacefully sleeping face. Even in his sleep he looked happy and content. She looked at her boyfriend. “He wanted us.” Her eyes burned and tears threatened to fall. “He wanted us all together,” she warbled.
Luis tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “And, if we’re assigning faults, I would be most to blame. I lost track of time trying to troubleshoot a sound problem for the main stage. I should have paid more attention.”
“It’s fine,” she murmured. “All’s well, that end’s well. And besides,” she said, “I think tonight was a success in all the ways that matter.”
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