Chapter 518: Unorthodox Solution, Part
“Always the one for surprises, aren’t you?” Mom said, more amused than surprised upon seeing the sa dark, sullen figure suddenly appearing, kneeling down before . “Really, I didn’t expect you for another ten... fifteen minutes. You haven’t fed, haven’t slept... mmm well, in any case, I’m happy to know your skills haven’t waned in the slightest.”
And with a welcoming expression, Mom fully turned around to greet her proper.
“Welco back, Adalia.”
The figure remained silent, staring at . It was almost as if she couldn’t hear her – dripping wet, her pale skin partly covered in gri. It also was like staring at a pair of crystal balls – the way her eyes swirled and fogged – always so murky, so empty, and yet, so slowly, they began to shimr.
A silvery cascade of hair was spilling onto my clothes, more and more, the frills of her dress, the chill of her breath, with every inch she drew nearer.
That’s when I found my voice again.
“Adalia...” I winced. “You’re kinda crushing my legs here.”
.....
And that’s when she seemingly found hers too as well.
“Crush..ing...” She softly repeated, before continuing on with her advancents regardless. “Here... you’re here...”
“Yeah,” I affird, imdiately sensing the edge in her voice. “I’m here, Adalia. I’m okay.”
But apparently, words weren’t exactly enough for her to be content, she had to feel to believe, and so slowly extended her hand, I felt the cold, wet tip of her fingers, the sharp, pointed edge of her nails carefully brushing the side of my face.
“You’re... okay...”
Then as lightning briefly filtered into the barn, lighting the dark, I saw it again – on her face, so close to mine – that quiver, that shimr... welling up in her gaze.
Tears?
She really was one for surprises, alright...
“Well, you don’t see that every day,” I uttered with a smile, lifting a hand off the ground and slowly reaching out toward her. “Alia’s seriously going to kill for making her big sister cry.”
“Cry...ing...?” She blinked, and imdiately sothing fell from her vacant stare. “I’m... crying...?”
“What, don’t tell you’ve never cried before.”
“I... have... I rember I have...” Another hard blink and even more began to fall, “I rember... not like this...”
“Not like what?” I asked.
Suddenly, in a flicker, her face breezing past my reaching fingers, she crashed herself into , burying her head into my chest, the cold of her arms, her skin, sohow so warm, so soothing... tightly in an embrace.
“This...” She whispered blankly. “This... feeling...”
I forced out a breath, fighting against the added pressure. “Hugging?”
“Crushing...” her muffled voice quietly answered. “Inside ... pain... so much... pain... seeing you... I want to hold you...”
“Well... then you’re already on the right track,” I said, barely even able to wriggle my arms up. “Any tighter, and you’re gonna suffocate .”
That’s when Adalia pressed herself against even harder, tighter. Her voice, so much quieter. “I... don’t want... to let go... of you...”
Seeing her, hearing her, I could feel that crushing feeling too.
“Then don’t,” I said, wrapping my arms, and holding onto her too.
Back then, she had a good overhead view of what transpired, perched up there behind the blinds of a bedroom window. Every stumble, she saw it. Every scream of agony, she heard it. Yet unable to do anything about it. What did Sammy say before? Adalia outright refused to let go of , leave , and only did so at Mom’s behest.
I still wasn’t sure exactly how far to the brink I pushed myself back then... but if it’s got the emotionally repressed vampire clinging to this tightly, and trembling at that... I must have really given her quite the fright, then.
To try and assuage her restlessness, I made sure she could hear breathe, and feel as my hands gently yet firmly held her close. All to assure her that I was fine, that I’ll be alright... that I was still alive, and that I wasn’t going anywhere anyti soon.
So imrsed I was in the mont, that for quite a while everything else just sorta escaped – thus leaning defenseless as reality slapped hard in the face with the sound of a faint playful chuckle.
“Oh my, my, my...” Mom plopped herself in the corner of my sight, and she couldn’t look more pleased even if she tried. In her head, the chi of wedding bells was probably ringing all around us. “I suppose I won’t be needing my movies anymore.”
Would love nothing more than to pretend we didn’t have a googly-eyed audience internally squealing at the sight of us. In fact, I’d also love nothing more than to slip into the mont – forget everything else. But given current circumstances now, there was sothing else I wanted even more.
“Interrupting this almost feels like a cri,” Mom said, sighing, simply admiring the scene of us at a distance, like we were a painting hung on the wall. “Regardless... I’m terribly sorry, Adalia, but could you please let go of my son for just a short while?”
Adalia continued to remain despondent to her words. To my knowledge, this was like the first ti Adalia was intentionally ignoring her request.
It’s kinda amusing, almost as if she was cuffed to and had also thrown away the key. She was acting like a cat, refusing to listen, doing as she wanted... so reluctant to part from my arms.
So I parted from hers instead. Gently lifting her up and putting her hands in mine.
“Okay, taking it back for now,” I said. “You can hold all you want later, alright?”
Her vacant gaze remained a million miles away from the current situation at hand, but with a rousing blink, I knew she heard every single word loud and clear.
“No... need...” She said, gazing back at with eyes now steady. “Not what... you need...”
Adalia began to shake her head, outright denying my proposal, instead proposing her own.
“You want to stay... you don’t want to rest... but you need rest... I want you... to rest... so promise ... you will rest...” said once, ntioned twice, over and over on repeat she went on, as if she hadn’t stressed it enough tis already. “Please rest...”
Heard her loud and clear.
“I promise...” I said, before nudging over to the dark figure in black looming and cooing at a distance. “Go help her out.”
Finally, for once, Adalia slowly shifted back of her own volition... and Mom’s smarmy smile only grew even smarmier.
“Charming, aren’t you?” She said to , a look of mischief flashing in her crooked stare. “Since when?”
This casualness she had, this aloofness she was exuding. I sure do hope it wasn’t unfounded... because seeing that haggard, haunting image of Harry’s face re inches behind her wasn’t doing much to offset my unease.
Walking a few paces forward herself, she t Adalia halfway, facing her with her palm outstretched, and with her usual smile.
“No trouble finding the place, I hope?”
“No...” Adalia replied, slowly dropping sothing I couldn’t quite see in her hand, before taking a step back once more. “You did not... hide it... very well...”
Mom lightly scoffed at that. “Never said I was the one that hid it, my dear.”
Whatever ‘it’ was, it was definitely small, and furthermore, if it needed to be hidden at all in the first place, then clearly it wasn’t sothing that belonged either.
My curiosity couldn’t be sated keeping silent, I have to know.
“What is that?”
“A little foresight,” Mom imdiately answered, already anticipating that I’d ask. “In case, ever one day, sothing abnormal would try to disrupt my normal, which in turn, would leave with no other choice... but to deal with that abnormality myself.”
She says all this maintaining a calm and steady gaze against the harsh coldness of Harry’s, who was still seething in silence.
“You aren’t worth this,” She told him. “Using it for you, it’s really such a waste, but alas...” This ti she briefly flicked her eye to . “A promise is a promise.”
Slowly, she opened her fists once more, and as I craned my neck as much as it could, all I managed to see was sothing lightly fluttering in the middle of her palm.
I blinked, peering a little closer, straining my sight a little harder, and again – it just fluttered.
I voiced my confusion. “A piece of paper?”
Mom didn’t turn around, but I could hear her faintly chuckling. “A prayer, dear,” then she spoke again, this ti directed to the blazing pair of eyes in front of her. “For you, surely you must be rejoicing, seeing this. You’ll actually have a fighting chance now, won’t you?”
“Why do you have that?” He asked, more in shock than in rage. “You’re madder than I thought. That or you’re making fun of . This isn’t going to help you!”
“Oh, but on the contrary,” She said, squeezing the thin slip of white paper between two fingers. “Just wait and see...”
Reviews
All reviews (0)