darker_london | Renee / Pierre - explosion

Renee felt like her entire soul was ready to snap in half by the time she was home. Her cheeks were stained with make-up, tears and Tasha's blood. She'd done her best to wipe it all off, but had really only succeeded in smearing her make-up even more. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and hibernate forever.

Of course, the closest thing she could do was hole herself up in her and Deirdre's room and bawl her eyes out. Deirdre wasn't home... she had probably gone to see her father. Dammit! She really needed the other girl's comfort right now, but of course, Deirdre had no way of knowing that.

She was making no effort to be quiet as she sobbed into the pillows, but she still jumped when there was a knock on the door.

"Renee? Sweetie, can I come in?" It was Pierre's voice. Anger gripped Renee's heart, replacing her grief for the moment. She rose from the bed and swung the door open, immediately landing a hard slap across Pierre's face. "God fucking DAMN you, Pierre!"

Pierre staggered back from the blow, more from the shock than the actual impact. It wouldn't bruise as it had when Del hit him, but it hurt him infinitely more. "Renee, what...?"

"Shut up! Just shut up, you fucking Judas! How the fuck could you do that to me, Pierre?! You had me locked away in there! I thought you were trying to save me! But you were behind it all along, just like Kait and..." She couldn't even bring herself to say Scarlett's name. "Oh God!" she screamed, and slammed the door on Pierre once more, collapsing on the other side and letting her tears flow.

Pierre stood shell-shocked on the other side, his mind trying desperately to figure out exactly what the Hell Renee had been on about. He and Kait had been responsible for her being locked away? Where on earth was all of this coming from? He knew she could be paranoid, but... this was ridiculous.

"Renee?" he asked softly, leaning against the door. "What's going on? What are you talking about?"

"Fuck off!"

The words stung, but Pierre had to keep trying. "Renee. I don't know what you're talking about. Please... tell me what I've done."

The door flew open once more, and Renee glared at him furiously. "Why are you pretending you don't know? You were all in it together, all three of you! You just wanted Kait for yourself, and Kait wanted Scarlett, and Scarlett... Goddess, what if she hated me all along?" She was about to break down into tears once more, and the realisation only fuelled her rage. "You did this to me! You all wanted me out of the way so you shoved me into a fucking mental hospital where I couldn't interfere with your lives!"

Pierre had to back away in the face of Renee's fury. "Renee... what are you talking about? We never did anything like that!"

"I saw it in your goddamn journals, Pierre! All those comments and posts that you let me see! That you let everyone see! Deirdre and Jude and Slink and Tasha..."

Tasha. Oh God no.

"Non... Renee, did Tasha tell you this?"

"It doesn't matter who told me! How can it matter when it's true? It was all there right in front of me!" She leaned heavily against the doorframe, suddenly feeling utterly drained and helpless. "Just leave me alone," she begged.

"Okay," Pierre nodded. "I'll go. I'll give you time alone. And I hope you realise soon who the real liar among us is."

Renee shot Pierre a hateful look and slammed the door on him once more.

His heart racing, Pierre moved quickly back into his room and started throwing the things he would need into his bag. He wasn't moving out, not by any means, but if this continued for any considerable length of time, he was going to be needed elsewhere. A few changes of clothes, toiletries, wallet, phone... the essentials of life. He had to get to Scarlett, hopefully before Renee did. She and Kait would both be devastated, but it sounded like Scarlett had a special place in Renee's fury. With any luck, he'd be able to have Kait make her way down to Scarlett's while he was en route.

He had to be there for them when the shit hit the fan. Maybe if he was holding them together, he'd be too busy to fall apart himself. Throwing his bag over his shoulder, he dialled Kait's number as he descended the stairs, hoping to the God he knew didn't exist that she was there to pick up her phone...