Help

by WittyNameTFM

Chapter 30. On Edge

Cold.

The winter had definitely set in, Sour exhaled, watching the smoke leave her lips, headed upwards into the air. 'It's too damn cold…' She thought with a small smile. The truth was, she loved this time of year. It'd only gotten better with people to care about. She pulled the scarf up to cover her mouth, walking toward her friend's house.

*mew*

Sour paused, mid-step. 'Huh?' She glanced around, wondering if she'd imagined the sound. Studying the bushes near her feet, she spotted a tiny tail poking out. She knelt down as the kitten crawled out of its hiding spot. "Oh…why are you out in the cold like this?" She asked as it mewed, moving closer to her outstretched hand. 'It's so thin…'

Her heart sank as it showed little hesitation to put its head against her hand, she gently scratched its cold head. It wasn't scared of her. This kitten was used to people. Someone left this poor thing here. An anger bubbled deep inside of her. 'How…? How can someone do that to a poor animal?' She asked herself, kneeling to pet the cat. "Come here, baby…" She cooed, easily lifting the freezing animal. It snuggled against her warmth, Sour covering it more from the cold. 'I can't leave it here…'

"I've got you, little guy…" She said as she carried it with her. 'They'll understand…right? Lemon will know what to do.' She assured herself.

The kitten seemed quiet, she had to hold a hand to it to make sure the worst hadn't happened. Sunny's folks wouldn't be mad at her, right? She turned the corner, heading down the street to her house.

A chill ran down her spine and not from the wind that blew over her. In the distance she spotted a familiar blue hair color and amber skin tone, but without the highlights she was accustomed to…and on a much older woman at that.

She'd never met Indigo's mother, but her gut instinct was SCREAMING to run in the opposite direction. Her gut had rarely been proven wrong. She stuffed her hand in her pocket, grabbing her phone as she cut a quick turn. 'What the fuck is she doing in Sunny's neighborhood?!' She asked, hurriedly finding Sunny's number and hitting the dial.

"Oh, that's probably Sour." Sunny said, the girls looking up at the ringtone. One of Sour's favorite songs. It was a nice touch for Sunny to coordinate the song with the caller.

"Why didn't she call Lemon?" Indigo wondered aloud.

"Why would she call me? I'm at Sunny’s place." Lemon noted.

"Because you're like…her comfort person, right?" She asked, tilting her head. The implication of the innocent question wasn't lost on the musician, who coughed, using the moment to hide the red dusting her cheeks.

"Hello?" Sunny asked.

"Sunny, we have a problem. A big problem." Sour's voice said through the speaker.

"What is it?" The thespian's mood shifted immediately, standing to exit the room, if what she was to be told would be in confidence…

"Okay. Hear me out." She sighed. "I've never met her. But I think…I think Indigo's mom is in your neighborhood." Sour said, glancing back down the street she had exited. The woman had gotten into a car with a purple haired lady, around the same age.

Sunny caught herself. Thanking the heavens she didn't answer on her wrist phone. "Early to mid 40's, Indigo's skin tone and hair color?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"Minus the highlights?"

"Fuck." Sunny swore so seldomly that it caught Sour off guard. "Can you get here safely? I'll tell my dad."

"On it…but shouldn't I keep an eye on her?"

"I don't think it's wise for you to get in her crosshairs…especially alone." She glanced back to her bedroom door. "There's no telling what she let happen, so it's safe to assume she's not safe to be around."

"You're right…I'll be there soon." She assured. "Indigo didn't hear, did she?"

"No, I answered on my phone, luckily." She said, knocking on her dad's office door. "Be safe, please."

"Of course." Sour said with a small smile. She looked down to the kitten in her jacket. "Good news, little guy. You're not gonna be as big a problem as I thought." She chuckled bitterly before ducking back down the alley, heading down a backroad.

---

"Dad."

"Yes, sweetie?" He asked before she opened the door.

"Dad," She quickly closed it behind her. "Sour just called. She thinks she saw Violetta in the neighborhood."

He looked up from his project with a frown. A metal knee brace sat on the desk, half painted "Are you sure?"

"She confirmed her appearance before calling. There's a high likelihood." Sunny nodded.

"She's not going to come near our family. I promise." He said with a small smile, though it betrayed the anger behind his words. He picked up his own phone. "I'll call the police and let them know, you should head back to the girls. Try to keep this quiet for the moment. It may not be good for Indigo to know just yet."

"Are you sure it's safe?" She asked with a frown.

"She's not going to touch a single hair on either of my girl's heads. I promise." He said with a more genuine smile as he punched in the number.

A knock came from the front door, both father and daughter jumped at the sound. "Sour!" Sunny supplied. "It has to be her."

He stood, walking around his desk. "I'll get it with you then." He said as he walked past her, phone still in hand. As he approached he heard voices he didn't recognize. Sour was quiet around him, but he knew her voice from when the girls got her riled up.

"Are you sure she's here?" One asked.

"I hope so. I hope it's not too late." Another spoke.

He opened the door, catching one of the girls off guard as she had raised her hand to knock again. A pale yellow girl stood in front of him. She wore a baggy jacket and mittens over her hands, what looked to be a skirt with leggings under the long coat. A baseball cap covered braided purple hair…with streaks of light blue and pink. It dipped into the collar of the coat. The girl behind her was a light blue, a hoodie covering her upper body, her hands stuffed in the center pocket, a pair of jeans and sneakers. Her hair was a pink and red mix with light purple highlights. That was styled into a side ponytail.

"Can I help you?" Solar asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Oh! I hope we got the right place, I'm looking for Indigo?" The girl in front asked with a smile.

"And what is this entailing?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"O-Oh, right. Uh…" She took a moment to right herself. "My name is Supernova Zap-"

"Like the girl from that band?" He asked.

"You know us?" The girl behind her asked.

Sunny stepped up behind her dad. "Band?"

"Your father has an eclectic taste in music." He shrugged.

"Oh, that's cool! Well, I actually came to check on her…you're her guardian?" She asked.

"She's one of my girls, yeah. Why would you need to check on her?" He asked.

"Well. It's…" She sighed. "I'm her cousin. My stupid mom posted bail for her mom…and I think they're looking for her."

He glanced down at Sunny. "Go see if she wants to see her cousin." She nodded, dipping back into the house. "I'm sorry for leaving you in the cold at the moment." He said. "It's difficult without knowing the full story."

"I understand…" She said with a small frown.

"Solar!" Sour's voice called from the driveway, she was oddly holding her stomach as she ran.

"Who's she?" The girl behind Supernova asked.

"Another of my girls." He chuckled, stepping to the side to let her pass. "A good friend to my kids."

"These two okay?" She asked as she approached.

"They are." Indigo said from behind Solar, she hopped on one foot with her crutches, to meet them at the door. "Hey Su."

"Indy! Ohmygosh, what happened?!" She asked.

"Sports accident." She shrugged. "Solar, can they visit for a bit?"

"As long as you're okay with it, I don't mind." He said. "I'll be in my study. Call for me if you need anything, kiddo." He mussed her hair before letting them in, closing the door behind them. He lifted the phone to dial as he walked.

"Oh, it's so much warmer…" Supernova said with a smile.

"Indigo, who are they?" Sour asked.

"My cousin, Supernova Zap and her friend Kiwi Lolipop." She said with a smile. The older girls seemed to flinch at the word 'friend', though Indigo didn't seem to notice. Sour did, quirking an eyebrow at them.

"Oh my god, is that PostCrush?!" Lemon asked, entering the room suddenly. "You two are one of my favorite pop bands going today!"

"You know them?" Indigo asked as they moved to the living room, Sugarcoat and Sunny joining them soon after the commotion.

"Know them? Indy, they're one of the biggest pop duos going right now!" Lemon said.

"Don't mind her, Lemon is our music nerd." Sour said quietly.

"Their upbeat yet somber reminders of how the world can cheer them and simultaneously shun them for the choices they make daily. Their music that projects a positive aura and sound despite some of the harder things hidden in their lyrics, I'm a big fan." She said, trying to pull herself back from the geeking out phase.

"I really appreciate that. We work hard on our lyrics and to know that there are fans who actually feel some of what we put into it…well, it's a bit humbling, to be honest." Kiwi said with a chuckle.

"Yes, thank you so much, miss Lemon." Supernova smiled.

"I'm trying my hardest not to ask for an autograph…" She said with a strained chuckle, Sour patted her head.

"You're doing wonderful. Time and place."

"I know-"

*mew*

Sour blinked. "Oh. Right. Uh…I found a kitten freezing outside and brought it with me." She said, unzipping her jacket to reveal the small black kitten.

"Aww it's adorable!" Supernova and Lemon cooed simultaneously, reaching to gently pet it.

"You don't mind, do you Sunny?" Sour asked.

"Oh, it's okay. Are you gonna keep it?" She asked.

"I don't think I'd be a good pet owner…" She admitted as it nuzzled against her.

"I think he says otherwise." Lemon teased.

"Do you think I could?" She asked the musician.

"Of course I do. You're a total softie when you wanna be." Lemon smiled, hugging her gently, the kitten reaching up to bat at Lemon. "Ooh, he's jealous~"

"The cat is cuter than you…I'd be worried." Sour teased, unaware of how her comment sounded until after it was said.

Lemon faked offense, putting a hand to her chest. "How dare…"

"It's good to see you again, Su. Last I heard you were on a trip with your friend. Turns out you were starting a band. Good to know that now, I guess." Indigo chuckled, cutting Lemon off. "Sorry for not keeping in touch."

"I know things weren't…the greatest, but I never thought-" She frowned. "That's no excuse. I'm sorry I left you to fend for yourself…"

"They hid it well, Su. Don't blame yourself. Sunny had to twist my arm to get anything out of me." She pointed her thumb to Sunny.

"Thank you for taking care of Indigo." Supernova smiled, bowing her head slightly.

"I feel like it always ends up coming back to this…" Sunny sighed with a chuckle. "I was just worried about you, Indigo. You'd stopped being the girl I knew and I wasn't going to watch you struggle in silence anymore."

Indigo blushed lightly, pushing her gently. "You make it sound so dramatic."

Kiwi and Supernova gave one another a knowing glance. "Well, it was a pretty big deal." Supernova said. "Indigo, I got wind of something and I couldn't leave it alone."

"What is it?"

"My mom…she bailed your…her sister out of prison." She said with a frown. "The only reason I know is because she stole the money from me."

Indigo stiffened at the news, a distant look in her eye. "H-How? Shouldn't she be in there for a lot longer?"

"I don't know…" She said, looking down. "But I informed your guardian…and I wanted to make sure you all weren't in the dark. Surprise was her biggest weapon, how could you prepare for what you wouldn't see coming?"

Sunny took Indigo's hand, squeezing gently. The athlete blinked, seemingly snapping back from the trance. Sunny's grounding contact pulling her back. She took a deep breath and exhaled it before calming herself. "I'm definitely not ready to face her…but I can get there…thanks."

---

"Thank you officer Armor. I'll keep you on speed dial, is there anything else you can do?" Solar asked.

"Until we get hard evidence on her, unfortunately not at this time. I'll patrol more in that area and head that way now. Do you have any cameras around your home?" He asked as he stood, gathering his jacket and hat.

"I do not, but you can bet I'll be putting some up in the next few days. One of her friends said they saw her, man. I don't want this to affect Indigo. She's doing so well…"

"I understand, Solar. We'll do everything we can. If she breaks her parole, she's going right back." He said. "Be there in a few minutes." He hung up, pulling on his jacket. 'What kind of idiot risks going back to jail right away? Well, I guess the same kind that let her husband abuse their daughter…' The man sighed.

Author's Note:

I got so sidetracked this month. But I made it. A lot of this was done at 5 am, apparently my brain finds the times that people are asleep or just getting up for morning shifts as the best time to write.
I hope you guys like it, merry christmas!

Comments

[RainbowSunshine]

Not as depressing as I was expecting tbh Merry Christmas!

[WittyNameTFM]

11459264
Nah, I dialed it back from my initial idea. I'm still trying to figure how that'll work out. Thanks! Merry Christmas!

[RainbowSunshine]

11459267
Out of curiosity what was the original idea?

[The Sleepless Beholder]

Oh, this was great! Some tension and reunions plus adorable cat giving extra points. I can tell what Solar's project is for

I don't know what kind of more depressing version of this you had in mind but I'm glad you went with this. Indigo needs a break after her injury.

[WittyNameTFM]

11459273
I may use it in the future, so I'll keep the details to myself. But it entailed Solar confronting Violetta directly.

[WittyNameTFM]

11459274
Oh, we all know the other shoe has to drop at some point. I just want to pace it out a bit better.

You can tell what Solar's project is? Awesome, i described enough to get that point across

Real talk, I've had the idea of Sour getting a pet knocking around in my head for a while. It was gonna be a dog at first, but here we are.