diamonds

chapter 18| Hibi

"You said an hour!" I rolled my eyes.

"And it's very clear we spent more than that now is it?" I retorted sarcastically. He let out a gruff noise in annoyance. As soon as I grabbed my cash from my winnings I grabbed Caspian's hand and dragged him out of there.

I didn't stop to say hi to old friends. I didn't stop to listen to the music. I didn't even stop to breathe the stank ass air. It was just grab my shit and go.

Just like it should've been from the very beginning.

And oh boy did Cas remind me of that.

"Why don't you beat yourself up about staying too long too?" I asked irritatedly "It's not exactly like you came after an hour to drag me away from whatever that was" Caspians face dusted with a pink hue briefly before he started coughing.

"Well, you know this place better than I did and you left me!" He shot back accusingly. It was my turn to rack my brain for excuses and, honestly? I had none.

"Let's not play the blame game here" I mumbled beneath my breath in defeat.

Truth was I did stay for longer than intended. And my bleeding fists and bruised calf reminded me of that as we walked down the nearly deserted street. It was a quiet night, the only people out were drunks, thugs and a few people rushing home (there were probably some criminals out too but hey whose counting?)

I was more than disappointed in my lack of self-restrained. My mind went haywire as soon as I'd beaten that cocky punk and I couldn't help but feed on the feeling. The feeling of being a winner. I shook my head out of those dark thoughts and let my eyes wander around our surroundings. My vision caught sight of the bags that Caspian carried that were equally filled with money.

What the-

"Where did you get those from?" He snapped out of whatever he was thinking about and glanced down to the bags he was carrying. They looked quite heavy but he made them look weightless as he carried them easily without breaking a sweat.

"Oh, these? I got them whilst gambling on the third floor" My mouth went agape causing him to chuckle. "What? Are you surprised?" I wanted to throttle him with the smug look that flashed across his face.

I was. I'd never managed to win any of the games that happened on the third floor and it constantly pissed me off, I told myself in an attempt to heal my bruised ego that everyone there was just a cheater but truthfully I just didn't have the manipulation skills required to win at any of them. And here Cas was, carrying bags full of money that he'd collected by doing the one thing that I couldn't.

"You're telling me you spent your day scamming old rich men out of their money?" I huffed "I'm so jealous" He shrugged.

"I played a lot of card games when I was younger with my mom, you could say it built my experience" I rolled my eyes as jealousy reared its ugly head in my mind as I envied the idea of having a healthy parental relationship.

"Well, you've got to teach me one da-HEY!" I felt little arms grab one of my bags and a little person takes off down a nearby alleyway. Caspian and I shared a look before we both bolted after them. We reached the end and confusion washed over my features as I saw nothing but a dark wall.

"Shh shhh," I snapped my head at the noise in the corner. Two children were there, they looked completely alone as I could see their living situation. My heart shattered.

A little boy was holding my bag tightly in his arms as he soothed his younger sister. They both looked dirty and looked as if they hadn't eaten in months. They had nothing but some dirty cloths for blankets and a box behind a dumpster. The boy followed his sister's wide eyes and we made eye contact.

His eyes widened and he immediately started trembling in fear. He looked barely eight, his sister looking five, point is they were concerningly young. He held out the bag in my direction with his shaky hands "T-take it, I j-just need a-a b-bit please" I stared into his eyes for a moment before shaking my head, but that seemed to make him even more terrified "Y-you can d-do what you w-want with m-me okay? J-just don't hurt h-her"

He took a protective stance over his younger sibling and my heart went out to them. I felt tears rim my eyes but I blinked them back. "No" I stated. I shoved the 4 full bags towards them "Take it all okay? Take as much as you need" I smiled at them sympathetically and the boy started crying silently.

"T-thank y-you so much m-miss" I shook my head.

"Go to the orphanage down the street okay? Go to a short lady with short black hair and tell her Hibi sent you okay?" They nodded aggressively and I smiled "Take care of each other okay? You're all you have" The boy smiled determinedly and the little girl nodded shyly, still hidden behind her brother's leg.

They grabbed the money and ran with each other out of sight. My heart clenched at their dirty feet and I nearly shed a tear when the little girls ripped up dress shifted and a bruise shon clearly in the moonlight. Caspian put a hand on my shoulder and I immediately shrugged it off.

"I don't want to talk about it".

I opened the motel room and Caspian and I walked in, in silence. I hadn't spoken a word since the encounter with the children as all I could think about was their safety and if they were alright now. I saw myself in the little girl and that scared me as the last thing I wanted her to have was a life like mine.

"Irina!"

A lot of shuffling happened in the other room but Irina eventually stumbled out, looking dishevelled and dazed. When she caught sight of us her eyes nearly popped out of her head "Goodness I thought they took you!" She cupped Caspians cheek in concern before looking me up and down, a gasp leaving her throat at the blood I was covered in.

I shook my head in amusement at her overprotectiveness.

"No need to exaggerate Rina, it's just been a couple of hours" Her eyebrows fell in confusion before she grabbed my shoulder tenderly.

"Hibi...it's been three days".