Ch-10 ★Hero

[Aulaura]

He was angry, no he was furious.

The blue cloth slipped out of my fingers, landing on the floor with a soft, shuffle sound. I had a crossed a line, I was standing on one side of the line and he stood on the other side, his arms up, preventing anyone from joining him.

His Raven, black hair lay in a tousled mess while his once warm, brown eyes were now stirring with nerve racking rage. He looked mad enough to create havoc. Hands were held in a tight fist as he constantly clenched and unclenched them.  The red tint on his skin bellowed the anger burning inside of him, the fire was rising burning everything in its path and I was standing in its path.

He walked towards me, his eyes fixed on the frame behind me. The empty alcohol bottles getting crunched under his feet. I cringed.

He stopped in front of me, his tall body towering over my small one. The bags under his eyes showed that he still hadn’t recovered from the infection. He really needed to rest.

I gulped, my heart hammering against my ribcage. The portions of my stomach churned painfully. It wasn’t just because of fear, there was something else working its wheels and chains. His proximity, his scent filled my sense. The smell of dried, cigarette smoke and something else, I couldn’t put a finger on it. The smell held freshness to it mixed with a drizzle of sadness. It rose from him and dissolved into me.

What was happening? This isn’t sane. I should be terrified by the presence of the man in front of me but instead I was savoring his nearness.

“How did you dare to enter this room?” he hissed, breaking the trance I had been set in. His chest rose and fell rapidly. I could see he was trying to control his anger.

“I-I wha-wa” I couldn’t get coherent words to escape my lonesome mouth. “The sound,”

He narrowed his eyes. “What sound?” He stepped forward, closer to me, as I stepped back away from him.

“The clock,” I pointed towards it. “Its alarm went off so-so I-I came to stop it,” I stuttered, feeling breathless. 

He kept on advancing towards me, looking into my eyes. He tried finding something in them, to see if they agreed with my mouth.  I didn’t realize when my back hit the wall, I was caught and there was no escape. My heartbeats were wild now, I could feel color rise towards my cheeks.

“Leave,” He spoke notch lower than before. He was so close, just inches away. I could see the golden flecks in his brown eyes.  His eyes darkened, destroying the light inside them.

I felt myself tremble ever so slightly.  “What?”

“Leave!” he yelled loud enough to make me jump.

“I’m so-sorry I hadn’t meant to intrude I-“

Suddenly he gripped my arms painfully, his nails digging into my bare flesh. I winced in pain. I felt something hot trickle down my arms. I looked at it and saw droplets of blood sliding down my pale arms.

“Pretend like you never saw any of this,” The expression on his face told me that I shouldn’t mess with him.

I nodded my head. A sinking realization settled itself in my chest. In my dreams he was the hero who had saved me from Hunter but in reality he wasn’t the hero I was looking for.  He was my worst nightmare. 

Looking into his eyes, few emotions cracked through them. There were waves of sorrow and despair colliding upon one another, crashing against the sole ray of hope.  Why was he doing this to himself? Why was he letting go of hope?

“You and Sam,” The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them.  They left mouth like a bullet train. “Are you-guys together?”

He smiled, a cold smile that sent shivers down my spine. “She’s not Sam,” his eyes lingered to look at the frame behind me.

Why did he mean? If this girl wasn’t Sam “Then who was she?” my mouth betrayed me once again.

His eyes flickered back to me; once again rage was ignited inside them like a burning flame. He roughly pushed me aside, letting go of my arms.  I stumbled on the glass bottles before regaining my composure.

I placed a hand over my bleeding arm. The wound sizzled under my hand. It hurt so badly. I tried desperately not to cry. I have to be strong and hold myself together.

“Who is she?” He repeated his face blank. There was an iron, clad wall that was guarding him. I couldn’t see past any of it like before, I couldn’t see if he was angry or not.

His face was devoid of any emotion. He looked serenely calm, the calm before a terrible storm. I felt my body quiver. I didn’t like this, the serenity in the air surrounding him.

He smiled again that same cold distant smile. His eyes lost the color in them; they were now two black pits of darkness glistening under the light.  I couldn’t feel my heart beats anymore, there was too much fear clogging my body as I felt myself go numb.

 “None of your business,” I couldn’t ignore the icy texture his voice held.

“But-“I wanted to know who she was and how on earth did she so strikingly resemble Sam.

Then he snapped. He ran his hands through his hair in an irritated gesture.  Taking his left arm, he knocked down the frame in one move. A loud clash echoed through the room. The frame shattered onto the ground, its shards went flying out in every direction.

I felt like instead of knocking the frame he had excruciatingly knocked the breaths out of my lungs.  I was horrified beyond bounds, my eyes widened as I observed the damage.

Jay collapsed onto the ground.  I rushed towards him, my hand reaching out for him.

“Leave!” he screamed. “Before I lose control over myself. Leave!” His voice broke towards the end. I wanted to help, I wanted to pick him up but I didn’t have the guts to stay. I was terrified of Jay.

He could do anything at the moment. It would be for the best if I left, left him with his ocean of sorrows.

I ran out of the room, before leaving I spared him one last look. His body was crumbled on the ground as broken sobs shook him. I wanted to comfort him, I wanted to go back and wrap my arms around him, telling him that everything will be okay. Jay I wanted to  help you but I can’t because you won't let anyone help you. Why? Why are your walls so high? How in the world was I supposed to break them? Why did I want to break them?

All of this was too confusing for me to handle. I turned my back towards him with the memory of his broken state engraved forever in my mind.

[Jay]

At exactly one o’clock in the afternoon Melody had left me, leaving behind a piece of herself in my care.  At this time, her sweet laughter, beautiful smile, and saccharine words had left my life forever. I tried reaching for her but she slipped out of my fingertips, disappearing away.

I closed my eyes and fell back into the sea of glass. I was swimming in the ocean, trying to reach land. I couldn’t. The ocean wasn’t letting me as its waves pulled me away from my destination.  I had to give up, I’ll never reach land. I have stay here in the ocean until I can swim no more.

I had lost it today, I’m sorry Aulaura. I had never meant to hurt you. Seeing you in this -in this room- scared the daylights of me. I was scared you would find out my truth, the truth behind my existence.

I’m broken mess, a sinking ship I’ll only bring you down. I have no control over myself. These memories etched in my mind won’t let me take control. The room brought back a memory:-

Melody looked mind-blowing the night I took her out for our first date.  She smiled at me, shyly as she straightened her gorgeous, red dress.

“You’re getting more beautiful with each day,” I whispered, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

She blushed feverishly. “I could say the same to you,”

“Oh really?” I grabbed her hand, she grasped it softly. I led her towards the terrance. I could hear her tender footsteps behind me as she tried climbing the ladder. She was having a hard time with her heals.  “Do you want me to carry you?”

She shook her head violently. The blush on her cheeks seemed to be getting darker with each passing second. “I can manage,”

I ignored her protest, cradling her body in my arms. She looked up at me, a small smile curling her rosy lips upwards. “You always save the day like my hero,”

“For you, I’ll always be a hero,” I promised her kissing her forehead.

She smiled brightly. “I know,”

I had broken that promise.  I wasn’t her hero. I couldn’t save her when she needed me the most. 

“Damn!”

I couldn’t breathe properly in this room with all these memories surrounding me.  These memories were beginning to suffocate me. I thought I could survive with her memories but now these memories were choking me. They brought back the guilt I had failed to suppress.

I needed to get out of here. I can’t take it anymore.

I walked out of the room, not finding any strength left in my body.

Making my way towards my room, I found my jacket and phone had been placed carefully on the bedside table.  Beside my phone, there was a strange yellow bottle filled with pills. The bottle had a post-it note on it.

thє dσctσr gαvє чσu thєsє

mєds tαkє єm 2х α dαч.

tαkє cαrє σf чσursєlf.

 -αulαurα

Shit man, she was here taking care of me and I had treated her so badly. What was wrong with me?

Taking the phone, I called the first person who could divert my mind.

“Ey’ pal, you didn’t show up at the studio,”

“Matt, come to my place,”

He didn’t question me twice, sensing the urgency in my voice. “Heading over there now,”

Grey Mansion, London

[Aulaura]

Me and Sam were sitting in the study room while I desperately tried copying the notes from the lectures I had missed today. Sam had bandaged my arms. She asked me how I had hurt them. I lied, telling her that I fell into some thorny bushes. 

I looked down at the notebook lying in front of me. I couldn’t concentrate no matter how hard I tried.

My favorite topic of DNA fingerprinting seemed dull. I watched Sam who sat across me on the table.  She was reading ‘The tale of two cities’ by Charles Dickens. She looked to be enjoying the book.

I turned my attention back to the notes.

The DNA test report in other family relationship tests, such as grandparentage and siblingship tests, is similar to a paternity test report. Instead of the Combined Paternity Index, a different value, such as a Siblingship Index, is reported.

I couldn’t focus, no matter how hard I tried these words seemed like gibberish to me. His face flashed in front of my eyes.  Brown eyes filled with tears were looking at me. His jaw looked sharper than before, he had it clenched tightly as he grinded it.

“Save me,” he whispered. “I’m drowning,”

“You won’t let me,” I replied.

“You haven’t tried,” and he was right. I couldn’t give up on him without trying. But why did I want to help him? He was stranger to me. So what if I his fan, he still was nobody to me.

It doesn’t matter.  I wanted to help him and I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself.

I shook my head, slightly as I tried memorizing the notes.

The report shows the genetic profiles of each tested person. If there are markers shared among the tested individuals, the probability of biological relationship is calculated to determine how likely the tested individuals share the same markers due to a blood relationship.

All of the sudden my phone started blaring out with the tune I had set on it.

“Boy you keep my heartbeat skipping when you touch me.

When the night starts slipping save the day. “

 Great, it wasn’t like I could focus anyways. I placed the phone by my ear.

“Good evening my lady,” I instantly froze in my seat. It was Hunter.  How did he get my personal number? My eyes briefly flickered towards Sam. she was too engrossed in her book to notice the phone call.

I got from the seat, rushing towards the bookshelf in the corner. “How did you get my number?”

“Shh, that’s a secret,” he laughed from the other end. I didn’t like the confidence in his laugh. It was like he had already won this war.  “I have hidden sources in your very own house,” He can’t be serious.

“What do you want?”

“You,” He laughed again, this time louder. “Nice joke right? I want her. Give her to me or you’ll regret everything,”

“I already told it’s a no,”

“But I don’t like hurting beautiful creatures,” I could visualize the smirk on his thin lips.

“Then don’t”

 “I’m not going to be stupid this time like the last time I let her go,” He jeered.

“What do you mean?”

Silence. There was silence on the other end for few minutes. Then he spoke again, this time with a light hearted tone. “Seems like someone hasn’t told you the truth,”

“What truth?”

“Why don’t you ask the dear friend of yours?”  I looked at Sam. What was she hiding from me? “I don’t care about what’s going on between you two. I want her. Today,”

“How many-“

 “Bring her to the dance fiesta,” he interrupted me.

I narrowed my eyes at the phone even though he couldn’t see me. “What makes you think I’ll do that?”

“Do I need to give you a reason? “ He laughed. “You know I can do anything,” His voice dipped low enough to send a cold shiver down my spine.

“I won’t-“

“I just want to see her. It’s been a long time after all,”

“Why? How can I trust you? You could hurt her-“

“I would never hurt her,” The bare sincerity in his voice caught me off guard. “Because I love her,” and with that the phone line ended. I was left with dead silence and echoing thoughts. 

I walked back to the table. Pulling the chair, I took a seat.

Sam looked up from her book, smiling at me. “Who was it?”

“Hunter,” Her eyes widened for a minute.  She quickly covered her shock with a nervous laugh.

“Who is this Hunter? Some new guy,”

“You tell me,” I muttered under my breath. She didn’t hear me. I shook my head, smiling sweetly. “Nah-uh a new friend,”

“Oh really?” She raised her eyebrow. She knew that I wasn’t the social type. She knew I didn’t have many male friends. She knew almost everything about me but I knew nothing about her. “Met him at college?” She couldn’t hide the tremor in her voice.

I shrugged. “You could say that,”

“Interesting,” She murmured thoughtfully after a moment, returning her attention to the book. Unlike before she didn’t look as interested in the book, she absentmindedly flipped through the pages. 

I picked a pen and began answering the worksheet.

Q 1) What is the importance of repeating tandems? How are they used in rDNA technology?

 Occasionally I would catch Sam looking at me, giving me a scrutinizing stare.  She would smile then she would begin reading the book again.

Should I agree with Hunter and take Sam to the fiesta? Could I trust him? Was he telling me the truth? All of this could be his plan to get Sam by fooling me into bringing her to the fiesta but then I couldn’t ignore the honesty in his voice. He could have easily gotten his hands on Sam a long time ago. What was stopping him?

Another thing was puzzling me; Sam never told me that Hunter loved her. Why? What was she hiding from me? I had an intuition she was hiding something from me. I didn’t know that something was going to this big. All this time our relationship had been built on nothing but a bundle of lies.

 Did I really make the right choice by hosting her in my house? I hope she doesn’t make me regret my decision.

Author’s Note:

Late update but a long one so it makes up for it. Right? Unedited btw.

I wanted to go wild with this chapter. Make Jay seem even more scary but I thought if I would do that then Aulaura wouldn’t want to return to him haha  :P.

I’ve noticed something that I not gaining any new readers and that only a handful people are reading this. That’s pretty sad. Sigh but I’ll finish this book no-matter what for all you guys who read it.

Re-wrote this chapter for the fourth time. Don’t even ask why  and now I feel like shit. Blah. I hope you guys like it.

Comment and make me feel like a happy monkey again.

=Keep on living.

Tak.