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Language:
English
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Published:
2023-02-28
Words:
1,316
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
6
Kudos:
17
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173

foggy afternoon

Summary:

veras never gonna get better

first finished fic ever (shock)

Work Text:

A foggy afternoon welcomed the Perfumer, eyes struggling to open. Laying on the floor, she caught view of the objects around her. Booze spilled onto the floor, pills, and copious amounts of perfume. As her stomach started to ache along with her head, she wondered if she had somehow consumed the perfume in her drunken state instead of the alcohol.

She stumbled over to the bathroom, collapsing to the floor as she began to vomit into the toilet. She didn’t want to remember what caused her to drink so much, and wasn’t about to try either. She emptied what was in her stomach until all she could do was dry-heave. Next time, she thought, I should leave some water around before I start throwing up. Standing up, she turned to her sink, rinsing her mouth out and yawning, only to wince at the feeling of an intense hangover. She turned on the sink, running the water and letting it fill up the sink. Once it was sufficiently filled, she suddenly dunked her head into the water, shutting her eyes and letting the cool water help her wake up. Pulling her head up, she gasped at the feeling of the cold air. Water dripped from her brunette hair, and Vera wiped her face with a towel, feeling parts of her skin hurt and become irritated, but she didn’t care at the moment.

She opened the door and walked into the living room. She noticed small amounts of vomit and blood along with the booze, pills and perfume in the room. She scrunched her nose in disgust at the smell, tip-toeing around the mess to get to a bottle of painkillers on the floor, and filling up a cup of water in the kitchen next to the living room, taking as many as she thought would get rid of a headache like this. As she swallowed the pill and the water, she silently wondered where the blood came from, only to look down at her body and find cuts all along her body, likely the results of the shattered glass from the bottles of alcohol and perfume.

Placing down the water, she re-entered the bathroom, turning on the shower. She waited for the water to warm up. She hated cold showers, after all. She ran her hand under the water, hissing at the pricking pain of the cuts being irritated by the water, small streams of blood being washed away. It was warm enough. She undressed herself, making sure to lock the door, despite knowing she lived by herself. Stepping into the shower, she felt the water wash over her head, running down her cut-up skin. She sighed slightly in relief of the comforting warmth, despite the stinging pain of the irritation of her injuries. Running her hands through her tangled hair, she felt her hangover ease a bit with the mix of warmth and the medicine she had taken. Remembering the mess in the living room, she started to frown a bit. She’d have to clean that up soon. Once the perfumer had finished cleaning her body, she grabbed the towel she had used to wipe her face, wrapping it around her body.

Just as she was about to make her way to her bedroom to get dressed, she heard a knock at the door. Jumping slightly in surprise, she thought about how she hadn’t heard from anyone in quite a while. Whoever it was could wait anyways, and with luck, leave. She ignored the knock, taking her time getting dressed in her usual outfit. A knock again. She huffed in annoyance. Whoever this was certainly was persistent.

“Vera Nair, this is the police. Please open the door.”

The police!? She felt herself immediately break into a cold sweat. Did they reopen the case? She glanced at the mess on the floor. She needed to sweep this up right now. Grabbing a broom and wet rag, she quickly hid the garbage under the sofa, hearing yet another knock.

“Vera Nair. If you are unable to open the door at this moment, we will be forced to break it down to know if you are safe or not. Please respond if you are able to.”

“In a moment!” She shouted in response. Wiping the remains of the blood and perfume, she threw the rag into the water-filled kitchen sink, and walked to the door, wiping her hands on her dress and opening the door. Standing there was a young woman, with dark brown eyes and curly chestnut hair tied into a ponytail. She silently wondered why the officer used the word “we” instead of “I”. She assumed it was a royal “we”.

“Are you Vera Nair?”

“I am.” She felt a small wriggle of a dark feeling in her heart saying those words.

“I’m here to perform a wellness or welfare check. You haven’t been seen at work or outside the house in quite a while, as reported by your business partners and coworkers. May I come in?”

“You may.”

Stepping out of the way for the woman at her doorstep, she found herself silently thanking that they at least sent a hot officer to check on her.

“You know, you’re quite polite compared to most officers I’ve met. It’s a very becoming trait of yours, Miss…” She trailed off as she closed the door behind her.

“Behamfil. And thank you.”

“Miss Behamfil, of course. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Are you often the officer on duty for these…welfare checks?” She sat at the coffee table next to the sofa, watching as the officer checked her home.

She blushed a bit at the compliment. “Yes, usually. Have you restocked your fridge yet?” Miss Behamfil, changing the subject, moved to show the poor amount of food in the perfumer’s fridge.

“Ah, no…I haven’t had the chance. I’ve been dreadfully sick, you see.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. She had been sick. Sick of the people at her workplace’s bullshit. And she could simply stay home because she was the owner anyways.

“Well, that would explain it. Have enough food, water? Family come to visit sometime?”

“I’ll be fine, officer. As for family…I’m afraid my parents have passed due to their age, and my sister died long ago.” She slightly dropped her head as she spoke.

“Oh…I’m so sorry Miss Nair. Here,” She wrote on a piece of paper, ripping it out and handing it to her. “It’s my work number. Call anytime if you ever need help or just to talk.”

The perfumer stared, looking between the paper and the gently smiling face of the woman before her.

“Thank you… it’s been a while since I’ve received such kindness.”

The officer bowed a bit. “Of course. I’ll be out of your hair now, I’m sure you’re not too keen on having an uninvited guest in your house and questioning your mental and physical stability.”

“Not at all. Well, although it is a bit insulting to think I may be mentally unwell, I certainly don’t mind if you’re the one asking.” Miss Behamfil blushed. She was certainly easy to fluster, Vera thought while smirking. She felt her stomach ache a bit, her smirk faltering.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” The chestnut-haired woman prepared to hold the woman in case she crumpled into herself due to the pain.

“I’m fine, I just…haven’t eaten a healthy meal in a while.”

“Miss Nair, you need to take better care of yourself. Not eating a proper meal can cause many problems, such as-“

“Yes, yes, I’m aware. I’ll make sure to take care of myself. You said you were going to leave, were you not?”

“Ah…yes, I did say that. I’m sorry. I’ll see myself out, then.” The woman pulled away, standing up and moving to the door.

“I hope we’ll speak again sometime, Vera Nair.”