Little One, Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Late the next afternoon, Amy was sitting on the couch, her eyes low. She was silent, with an odd countenance about her. Anya pouted a little, sitting next to her.

"Cheer up, Amy. Your face is so sad." She pulled a silly face at Amy, who managed a crooked little smile, holding in a little giggle.

"T-thanks..." The tiny girl murmured, hugging her knees softly. She stared at her feet, stewing in her thoughts. Suddenly, she looked up, a bit guiltily. "I..." she swallowed softly. "I didn't... want to talk about what happened earlier but... after I did, I... f-felt a whole lot better... f-for some reason..."

Anya shook her head in wonderment. "I... Maybe thinking about it more is helping you. But I won't make you do anything." She ruffled her roommate's hair, managing to get another smile out of her. "Just keep trying to be happy, M'kay?" Anya stood, smoothing out her dress. The albino girl made her way to the kitchen, and Amy simply sat at the couch, head down, pondering unhappily.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a loud rap at the door, and she sat upright, glancing about in wary surprise. Anya poked her head out of the kitchen, calling to her.

"Amy, be a dear and get that? My hands are full!"

Amy sighed, standing and making her way timidly to the door. She opened it wide, peeking out. She blinked, surprised to see a tall, athletic blonde, with a suspicious look in her eye. Amy blinked. Aside from some styling differences and the physical size, the girl looked a lot like Anya. The biggest difference, apart from her size and bulk, was her hair and clothing- while Anya dressed in long dresses and had an elegant flair to her, this girl was dressed like a jogger- tank-top and shorts. Impressive, considering how cold out it was. Her hair was close-cropped, and a set of dark brown eyes glared out.

"And you are...?" She asked, boldly. Amy flinched, surprised by the terse, and slightly hostile manner in which the tall girl addressed her. She felt a creeping fear grip her heart, and struggled to maintain her composure.

"I... M-my name's Amy." She stammered, eyes wide. "You..." She trembled, offering a nervous, visibly forced smile. "You're... Anya's sister, a-ain'tcha?" She felt immense discomfort at this woman's stare.

The girl stared for a moment, before smiling a little, seeing how skittish the little one was. "Yeah." She responded, a bit of warmth entering her voice, and Amy felt the fear begin to leave her. "Is she home?"

Before Amy could answer, Anya yelled from the kitchen, causing her to jolt slightly.

"If that's you Casey, come in already and stop scaring my roomie!"

The tall girl shook her head, smiling softly. She gently brushed past Amy, careful not to bump into the jumpy-looking girl. "Oh hush! I'm not scaring anyone!"

"Roomie...?" Mumbled Amy under her breath, a ghost of a smile playing about his face. She flinched, hoping that Casey hadn't heard her. Luckily, the older girl seemed too interested in chatting with her sister.

"You never told me you had someone living with you." stared at Anya quizzically.

"It's a recent development. I'll tell you more later, but right now, you can join us." She chuckled, lifting a pan. "I just fixed us lunch, and there's plenty for three." Amy perked up visibly at the mention of food, which made Anya laugh even louder. "Yes, Amy, you are a whole person. Even if you are only half the size of one."

Amy shrank a bit, blushing and mumbling, but smiling nonetheless. Anya seemed a bit more energetic with her sister around- more excitable and prone to teasing. Amy didn't mind too much- it gave her a sense of familiarity, like she was being accepted into a place that she had never expected to be accepted in.

Amy set upon her sandwich like a hungry wolf. Anya and Casey munched at a more sedate pace, watching the small girl eat. They chuckled now and then, as she rapidly devoured her food. Upon finishing, she swayed a bit, looking strangely woozy. Anya blinked suddenly, and darted forward, quickly catching Amy as she began to slump over. The waifish girl flinched awake- she had been drifting, now that her belly was full.

"S-sorry... You know. D-didn't sleep well last night." She struggled to slip back into her seat, rubbing her bleary eyes.

Anya tutted, glancing at her older sister. With a raised eyebrow, Casey mouthed a question, and Anya nodded softly. With relative ease, she lifted the small girl off the couch- Amy uttered a sound of complaint, but did not struggle. Calmly, the athlete carried her to Anya's room, lightly flopping her onto the bed.

"Sleep now, chat later, m'kay?" She winked, and with Anya's help, tucked her in so tightly she couldn't escape- something that Casey had done to Anya several times in the past. Amy struggled futilely for a few minutes, but eventually gave up, collapsing against the cozy pillow, once again seduced away by the realm of sleep.


The sisters left her there, returning to the main living room, taking a seat on the couch, sporting amused grins. However, Casey's smile began to fade a little, and her slightly suspicious nature gave her a few nagging doubts.

"So... Roommate huh?" Casey tilted her head, eyes narrow.

"By a certain definition, yeah." Anya shrugged. "Poor thing, she's got a lot of problems. What she really needs is a therapist, but from what I've seen of her, she'd be too scared to go." The girl paused, examining her hands. "She's only told me a little, and I doubt it even amounts to a little bit of the horrible things that have happened to her."

Casey leaned forward, eyes wide. "What? What the hell does that mean?!"

Anya quietly related Amy's story to her sister, avoiding the bit about the cute girl breaking into her house, instead making up a story about taking her in from on a street corner.

"...You're too nice sis." Casey tutted. "I feel like she's just gonna end up taking advantage of you, y'know?" She leaned in, eyes narrowed even further. "I don't wanna assume anything bad about her- I mean, I've literally known her for about seven minutes now, but I can't help but be worried..."

"Casey, please." Anya looked her harshly in the eye. "She's harmless, and I'm gonna help her. It doesn't matter what you think. You really think that a girl like that is going to hurt me somehow? She can barely even stand half the time."

"Look, someone has to save you from your good intentions!" Casey stated bluntly, trying to keep her sister's gaze- it was difficult. "Supposing she's not harmless? What then?"

Anya shrugged. "Then it'll be my own fault. She won't hurt me." She softened her look calmly, keeping her expression cool and diplomatic. "I'm going to help her, Casey. Please, I want to do this. If I can't help anyone else in my stupid life, then at least I'll save this innocent little girl who's life was absolutely dreadful before I took her in."

Casey hesitated, lowering her gaze. "...Well, I won't stop you, I guess." She smiled weakly. "You're a good kid Anya. If you want to do this, then just be careful, okay?" The athletic girl ruffled her sisters white hair.

Anya grinned, fixing her hair issues. She nodded softly, giving her sister a quick hug. "Thanks sis. I'll be okay. Just... if I need a hand...?"

Casey gave her a thumbs up. "I'll be around. At least you don't have to worry too much about money- grandpa and aunt Jane left us both enough that you should be good for quite a while."

Anya nodded, a bit sadly- she always did feel strangely guilty about spending the money her deceased family members had left her, but the rest of her family constantly reminded her that the reason they left her the money was to spend it.

" Listen, I gotta get to work." Interjected Casey, ruffling her sibling's hair. "Seeya later sis. Be good." She stood and made her way out the door. Slowly Anya flopped into the couch, sighing and blowing a strand of hair out of her face. The girl calmly tugged out a little notepad, and began to write.

Once, there was a little girl, a girl who, for her entire life, lived in fear and loneliness. Her mother and father were thankless to be blessed with a child who, behind all of her timidity and her melancholy, was a selfless, and beautiful girl. A little one, who...

Anya paused, uncertain of how to continue. She closed her journal and slid the pencil into the spiral. The girl walked to the hall and peeked inside to see Amy fast asleep, curled on the bed, still tucked in too tightly to escape. The girl looked at peace with the world. Anya felt her lips pull upwards a little, closing her eyes.

"...So it should be." She murmured softly, slipping back out. "Goodnight little one." And then, as an afterthought.

" 'Be good?' What am I anyway, five?"