FicWad

He was perched in a chair he had put in the corner of the basement, looking at the girl anxiously. There was a small dent in between his eyebrows that had been there his whole life, he had always been a nervous child, watching out for his siblings and this was the closest he could come to furrowing them. His face was exactly the same as when he had died and Returned, not a single mark, dimple or wrinkle more or less.

The girl stirred, dragging him out of his thoughts of his younger sister. She looked quite a lot like Sophia now he thought about it, they had the same soft brown hair and they both had that hazy, dreamy look as they slept. The woman’s eyes flickered open sleepily; she rubbed them and opened them widely in panic.

“What’s your name?” Greg asked calmly, and he noticed her flinch at his voice.
“Wh-who are you? Why am I here? Are you going to h-hurt me?” She stammered, her eyes darting between the man in the corner and the staircase, leading to an escape route.
“My name is Gregory, and no, I’m not going to hurt you,” he stood up and walked over to her, as she shrank back into the wall beside the bed. “What’s your name?”
“P-Pumpkin.” Gregory smirked at her slightly, then sat down beside her, “that’s all anyone ever calls me.” She defended her name proudly. Pumpkin prided herself on her nickname, only her Grandmother called her Virginia. She shuddered internally at the thought of all the sloppy kisses her Grandmother would plant on her cheek every time she visited. Then she remembered her surroundings, and started to shake.

“Pumpkin, you need to calm down,” Stated Gregory, noting her distress. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”
“Why c-can’t I just g-go home?” She stammered, and looked at his strong hand on her shoulder feeling even smaller. Her breathing got shallower, and she started to shake some more. He put his arm around her and pulled her in to his chest, smiling as she relaxed slightly. His smile faded as she pulled away abruptly and stood to confront him. “I just want to go home, go back to where I should be, why won’t you let me go?!” Her voice was stronger now, which was a good sign.

“The thing is, Pumpkin, you died,” his soft words echoed around the basement. At this, she crumbled.
“H-he wouldn’t let me g-g-go and I just wanted to be left alone but he st-started to push me and I couldn’t, I couldn’t,” she started to shake even more violently and collapsed onto the floor in the centre of the room. Greg pulled her into another hug, and guided her back to the bed, sitting her down gently.
“I know, I know. You’re safe now, I promise,” he soothed into her hair as she shook, and when he heard her sniffing gently he pulled back to look at her. “You know I won’t hurt you, don’t you?” he half told, half asked her. Pumpkin nodded gently, and mentally shook herself.

“How am I alive?” She questioned him quietly.
“You’ve Returned, I brought you back,” He answered simply. “I’m sorry, but could I look at your cuts?”
“Why? Is there something wrong with me?” She got up from the bed and stood in front of him, arms folded.
“Not at all, I just need to check if you’re healing.” Pumpkin frowned, not satisfied with this.
“You won’t t-try to hurt me? He said he wouldn’t but he, he lied to me and what if y-you’re like him and you’re just lying,” Gregory frowned and shook his head in response, angry at whoever had done this.
“I promise I won’t try to hurt you, cross my heart,” he made an X over his heart, feeling silly but she seemed to be satisfied with his slightly childish reply and gently lifted her t-shirt to reveal several angry looking gash wounds across her stomach. The short sleeves of her shirt showed dark purple bruises on her arms from being grabbed and there were more along her neck. He put his hand on her hip gently to steady her, as seeing them herself had made her sway slightly. She leant into the warmth, and he very lightly traced his hand next to one of the wounds. They had long since stopped bleeding, but the blood was only clotted and they hadn’t even begun to scab over like they would if she was still alive. The man tried to be gentle with her, in case she was still sensitive to the pain.

“I can’t feel it,” Pumpkin answered his unspoken question. “I can feel your hand, but it doesn’t hurt. It just feels like its sore skin.”
“I’m sorry,” He said as he began to pull her top back down to cover the skin, but replaced his hand back on her side over the fabric. Standing slowly, he placed his other hand on her waist and they stood, face to face, Pumpkin having to lean up slightly to look Gregory in the eyes. Staring into her eyes, he noticed how they were more blue than grey, a blue that shone against the flecks of pale silver.

“Don’t be, it’s not your fault,” They were so close they could feel each others breathing, and Pumpkin shifted slightly so her hands were on his waist as one of his slid behind her back. She had stopped shaking now, and was looking right past his hazel eyes into his soul. The kiss was brief, saying more than either of them could. A muddled combination of gratefulness, lust, and trust; which made Greg sigh. It’s too much, too soon. This shouldn’t be happening.
“So Gregory, where do we go from here?” She asked, leaning her head on his shoulder. He sighed once again as he played with her brown locks gently, the guilt and regret washing over him and answered with:
“I don’t know, but call me Greg.”