"You just ca out of a car with a man inside, Em. I saw it."
I froze on the spot, realizing the possibility that Mason might've seen with Noah inside the car. Because I spent a while inside his car, and he probably saw coming in and out from Mona's cafe too.
I didn't want him to get suspicious that I might've planned sothing with Noah. Nobody should know that I was planning to take down those three bastards, just like I did with Kristen and Leah before.
Since I couldn't trust Mason, I didn't want him to know that.
I held my breath out of nervousness. I stopped eating the ice-cream imdiately and put the spoon down, "Uh…. Yeah, what about it?"
"What about it?" Mason's gentle smile faltered as his gaze darkened at . I still hadn't sensed any hostility towards , but I could sense that he was hostile towards soone else.
His aura also changed from a warm, huggable aura into a... malicious man. I didn't know how to describe it, but it was terrifying for , who had seen it a few tis.
"M—Mason?" I tried calling his na to no avail.
He was staring at for a while and got nervous, so I looked down, "I—Is there sothing wrong?"
"Oh, nothing at all, Em… it's just… I wonder about the identity of that man…."
"He--He is unrelated to us, no need to know about him," I said because I didn't want to drag Noah into this.
"Unrelated? Why are you so concerned about covering up for him if he's unrelated?" Mason asked again, continuously cornering .
"That—" I felt like a woman that got caught cheating by his boyfriend. I got tongue-tied because I didn't know how to answer it.
Noah and I had a mission, and I refused to let anyone disturb this. Because if Mason knew this, it might also accidentally leaked Noah's sexuality, which was a top-secret for now.
"Why don't you answer , Em?" Mason chuckled mirthlessly. "Are you dating him? Though, I don't think he is into that."
"I have nothing to answer, Mason. I do co out of his car, but it's for an entirely different matter. I… I have sothing to do with him."
"Sothing? Did he threaten you?!"
"N—No, it's just our personal mission together. Because I promised to save him from sothing," I replied.
Honestly, I still didn't understand why did I had beco so obedient in front of Mason. Maybe it was just his aura that was too strong that it made unable to refuse him.
"Save him? Don't you know that he is—" Mason paused midway and took a deep breath, "Okay, I trust you, Em. But make sure that you're not going to hurt yourself, okay?"
"Mason, why are you doing so much just because of this?"
"Huh? What do you an?"
"I an… we have nothing between us, right?"
Mason looked surprised for a mont, he bit his lower lip, but I could see that he was triggered by my words. He wanted to say sothing, but he zipped his mouth again.
"I… I have nothing to say, Em," Mason said with a grievance in his face. "It's more complicated than you think, but you will understand later…."
"But still if And if that guy… or anyone dares to harm you… then I will make sure they will…."
…
Okay, Mason was definitely sothing else when he got pissed off. I didn't want to get into his bad side whenever I saw a part of Mason's true face being unveiled in front of .
But it didn't terrify as it should. It was actually preferable for personally. Because I disliked all the lukewarm behavior that he showed in front of his rabid fans.
"Don't worry about it. It's just a small matter," I replied.
Mason smiled and nodded, "I understand, Em."
**
Mason and I left the ran restaurant after we were full. We stood in front of the restaurant and looked around, trying to find a better spot to continue our date.
Since I was so full after going to Mona's cafe and then eating Ran, I refused when Mason asked to go to a cafe to eat again.
"Honestly, Mason… it's not really the best day to have a walk, don't you think?" I said. "The weather is cold today…."
"Yeah, you're right, Em. Do you want to play arcade or sothing? Let's go—"
"I can't let you pay for everything. Let's just end the date here, okay?"
"… Okay."
"Thank you for today. I'll definitely repay you. Though it's not really with the money, since I don't have any for now. But I can always bake you more of those cookies…."
"Oh, yes, yes! Please bake more of those cookies!" Mason reacted unreasonably excited as I offered that.
"Then, I'll give it to you on Monday, if you're going to school—"
"I will! I will go to school!"
Damn, was it that good of a baker? How could he look so happy with just simple cookies?
But that wasn't a problem at all. With that cookies, I'd feel less guilty about having a date with Mason and getting treated every ti.
We went separate ways, but I could see him still staring at my back as I walked away.
I knew that Mason could feel scary, creepy, or whatsoever. But I also had this sense that he didn't an bad to . At least he was never hostile to .
Besides, he had indirectly helped in my first two targets, Kristen and Leah. I saw no harm in being close to him other than his crazy fans.
**
I returned ho by bus and checked the clock, it was already 5 P.M.
"How's the date, Miss Jones?" Mom teased as she greeted when I entered ho.
"It went well, Mom."
"That's great. So, can we know the na of this boyfriend of yours already? I'm actually very curious, you know."
"No, I can't tell you his na," I shook my head. "Well… I'll tell you his na later on because I'm not sure if we'll start dating or not."
"Aw, shucks, I was excited about nothing…." Mom sighed. "Oh well, don't forget to tell . But don't tell your Grandma, though. You know how obsessed she is with that mysterious man."
"Ugh, I understand," I said. I returned to my room with only one thing in mind.
What kind of approach would be good for to reach Elise? I knew it might sound easy, but approaching soone who got sexually assaulted wasn't easy. Most of them tended to bury the wound deep inside, not letting anyone know about their struggle because they were afraid to be stigmatized.
How did I know… because I was…
"No, don't think about it, Em. It's better if you forget about that incident entirely. There is no use of rembering that…." I shook my head as I denied a mory that almost ca to mind. It was also my coping chanism because I didn't want to rember the horrible sexual assault I experienced in my previous life.
I took a deep breath and started texting Elise. But I kept deleting paragraphs because it didn't sound genuine enough.
So I started imagining what would I want to hear when I got depressed and scared of life after I got bullied and sexually assaulted in my previous life.
—
Emmy: Hi Elise, my na is Emlyn Jones, a freshman, and I got your number from Mona, your best friend.
Emmy: You can ignore if you want, but please read this text because you're worth everything in this world. You might think that you don't have any worth anymore after it got stolen by those three bastards.
Emmy: But you're… you're worth everything, your life is important, your happiness is important. I understand because it takes one to know one.
Emmy: Please cry if you want to cry. You don't need to hold it back because I know the pain. That excruciating pain slowly eats your heart. Take your ti if you want so ti alone, but rember, so people care for you. Mona kept telling how she's worried about you.
Emmy: I am here because I want to help you. I know you can't live normally until those bastards got what they deserved.
Emmy: Elise, take your ti and then text back if you want my help. I will surely help you.
—
I dropped my phone and crawled to the bed. I kept rembering my previous life as I texted Elise, those dark days when I couldn't even sleep without crying first.
It was so depressing that I wished I had enough guts to kill myself, so I could end my own endless tornt.
That scar on my body might've faded a long ti ago, but the scar in my heart would forever be engraved no matter how many rebirths I did.
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