Chapter 14 - CHAPTER THIRTEEN

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚔

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮'𝘀 𝗣.𝗢.𝗩.

It was half an hour past six in the evening when the shoot was wrapped up. I was surprised to see Sir Xyryx all smiles even when we finished at sundown. I am now in my waiting room preparing to leave. I cannot help but feel nervous and anxious all at the same time. I am also worried that Ashe might go back on his words.

While gathering my things, there was a knock on the door. I zipped up my bag and went to open it. "𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘄?" Ashe asked indifferently. I was shocked to see him by the door that all I could do was nod. He started walking away from me and that was when I got back to myself. I closed the door and quickly followed him. He was greeting everyone and wishing them a good night. I followed after him doing the same. I cannot seem to find Leif so I might just send him a message later.

We went to the elevators that led down the ground floor. "𝗧-𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁. 𝗪-𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗯 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁?" I asked when we were about to reach the building's main door. "𝗜'𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗿𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝘁. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵. 𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗴𝗼." he replied while walking down the front stairs.

~***~

I had bought two slices of cakes and two orders of coffee for the two of us. I had Ashe settle in the living room while I prepared the food I bought. I took a deep breath before going to the living room. Placing the tray containing the cakes and coffees on the coffee table, I sat on the single sofa across where Ashe is sitting.

"𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁." I said taking the strawberry cake. He took the coffee and sipped on it. I was about to finish my cake when I noticed he had already finished his coffee but did not even touch the cake. "𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀?" I asked. "𝗡𝗼. 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲… 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. 𝗠𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱." he said. I glanced back up at him. I think it is time to start this talk. "𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂?" I asked, meaning to know his full name.

"𝗜'𝗺 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗟𝘆𝗻𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮." he said followed by silence. He opened his mouth and shut it again several times, looking like he was debating with himself to say something more or to end it there. "𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗲. 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲." he finally said after debating in his mind. "𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱?" I braved myself to ask. "𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲. 𝙒𝙀 𝗮𝗿𝗲." I gasped at the sudden confession. "𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲." I am talking to an enigma incarnate, face to face, in flesh and bones. I shuddered at the realisation.

It was all too much to absorb at once. I was absentmindedly playing with my fingers while listening to what this man had to say. I will myself to understand and hold a grip on what this man before me had said. I searched his face, anything that might confirm that he was just joking, but I found none. Instead, I noticed his formerly gleaming silver highlights becoming the colour of the rest of his hair, and his hazel brown eyes are now turning to electric blue. His sudden change in appearance is just a push for me to finally believe in him.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱... 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗜'𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗼? 𝗔-𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗺 𝗜 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱?" I was gushing words after words. He sighed again. "𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝘆. 𝗘𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗮𝗺 𝗜 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?" I shivered and nodded absentmindedly.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿... 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻." I felt fear eating me whole. I was drowning in my own thoughts when a memory snapped.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂" I gasped as I pointed to Ashe in front of me. He jumped at my sudden utterness of words. He looked at me quizzically. "𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂?" I asked. "𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝘆, 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲." he calmly replied. "𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗜... 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺." he continued, voice just above a whisper.

It was now my turn to look at him quizzically. "𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻?" I questioned. "𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗻. 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻." I heard him mutter that only made my brows furrow more.

"𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲? 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂." he suddenly questioned. "𝗪𝗵𝗮-" I opened my mouth to question but he cut me off. "𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!" he said. I sighed before answering "𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿, 𝗷𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗵 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱." I answered. "𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘇𝗲𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻." he explained.

"𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂... 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺." I whispered my realisation. "𝗜-𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜'𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁." he said only above a whisper.

"𝗜'𝗺... 𝗜'𝗺 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗜 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘀." he said, quivering like he was afraid himself. He fell silent. We fell silent. Only the silent taps of the raindrops to the house roofs can be heard. I did not even notice that it had started raining outside. Heavy atmosphere engulfing our bodies as we both keep our minds wrapped around what was said.

A sigh left him after a few moments getting my attention. It feels colder as the night gets deeper even when the air conditioning in my house is not that cold. "𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸, 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁..." he sighs again. "𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻." he continued and that was what pulled my thoughts back to me. "𝗘𝘅𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗲?" I shrieked when what he uttered sank in to me.

"𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿... 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝘆? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳-𝘂𝗰𝗸? 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺? 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝘆? 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗹?" I blurted straight. I do not even know if he understood any of it. He sighed again for what felt like the nth time since we started our conversation.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮. 𝗘𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵. 𝗔𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁." I warily eyed him only to notice that I was still sitting holding on to the empty cup of coffee, hands quivering.

I stood up. I do not really know what to do right now. Heck, I cannot even point a finger on what I am feeling right now. Emotions surge through my whole being clouding my rationality. I stared at him for a while longer until he spoke again. "𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲. 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲." he said and started walking to the direction of the door.

I collected the dishes we used and started to clean up. I do not know what to do or if I should listen to him and believe in him, but I felt his sincerity when he said he meant no harm. I mean, some might say he might be telling the truth by the way he saved me several times, but he is still like my perpetrators. He might be after my blood too.