Chapter 34: It's Nothing Simple

After we found ourselves a nice and cozy restaurant, we discussed our next course of action over our round dinner table. The food I ordered was a good plate of sauteed crabs served with garlic and butter. Just having smelled the garlic and butter sizzling on my plate, I knew it had to taste good. And it did.

“So, how’s the beach?” I shifted my eyes to August and asked. He seemed to be upset about something so bad he was emitting a gloomy aura. A face I didn’t want to see while we were eating.

“It was alright.” He smiled back, and from that smile alone I knew he wasn’t fine.

“How alright is your “alright”? Did you get rejected or what?”

Right after that question left my mouth, he got hyper. August nodded vigorously and described in detail how he used the lost necklace method to pick-up this girl he found so damn attractive only to end up having her slippers whacked across his face. Poor guy. He deserved a better treatment, but it was good to let him know that girls aren’t that easy to deal with.

Emily suddenly pinched my cheek and broke the nasty grin that surfaced on my face.

“Stop making fun of him,” she complained, and I noticed she cleaned up her plate.

It made me smile. “What? He failed, so it’s a good opportunity to make fun of him.”

She pinched me even harder, so hard it started to hurt a little. “What? Don’t you feel any remorse?”

“No, you don’t understand, Miss Emily. The reason why I took them in is because I take pleasure making fun of them.” I laughed an evil laugh that it was so uncharacteristic of me I choked a little.

“Yep, that’s Master right there,” Lepust added. Damn you.

Because of that Emily twisted my face even more. I heard Lepust laugh, and fatso followed.

“Now finish your food, little boy.” Emily grinned and peeled out the crab's meat for me. Thinking back, I had a good idea what she thought with that smile. After that I became a product of my own foolishness.

It’s a clear night. I press my back and lean my elbows on top of the railings of our room’s balcony. The chill of the evening wind is seeping through my bathrobe it’s making me shiver. Behind me the clear view of the ocean can be seen and the continuous sound of the waves splashing produces a sweet melody to my ears. I can even smell the crabs that we ate for dinner mixed in the seawater. As expected of Emily she picked such a fancy hotel. I’m worried that it’ll be expensive, but it seems like she had already paid for three days in advance.

As the evening wind continues to blow, the door to our room opens. Emily comes out, wearing a pink bathrobe, tottering, as if she’s in a daze. I was quick to move from my position to catch her, and she simply fell against me.

“I’m so cold, Reimuz. It’s so cold…”

Damn, she’s shivering like mad. I scoop her right off her feet and enter our room, kicking the door behind me shut. I grab a blanket and sit on the couch, keeping her cradled on my lap as I wrap the blanket around us.

“Emily…”

She holds onto me, kneading on my robe as she fight to steady herself. Seeing her face paler than a ghost, I know it’s not the right time to ask questions yet. I rub her back and press her face on the comfort of my shoulder, rubbing her cheek with mine.

“It’s so cold…” Emily murmurs in pain, still shivering.

I stroke her head as gently as I can. I’m not sure what’s troubling her, or what made her to feel like this. She’s always been pale, but I’m an idiot for not noticing something this huge.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Emily,” I say, breathing into her hair.

“I don’t know… You were in the bath with me then suddenly you left… And then you’re here with me again.”

“Didn’t I told you I’ll be getting some fresh air outside? What’s wrong with that?”

“I don’t know… I don’t know…”

She rambles on and on, her hands tightly fisting on my robe and her voice is breaking, but I let her speak. There is a reason for this behavior, but whether it’s because of her loneliness, low self-esteem, or insecurity, I do not know. And I want to punch myself for not knowing.

“Emily, go to bed, okay? I’ll sleep with you,” I say, hoping she’ll be able calm down. I hug her even tighter and leave the rest to my body heat.

After some appropriate time she responds weakly. “Can we stay like this for a little while?”

I concede, and as the clock ticks by, I can feel her breath stabilizing on my shoulder.

“Our bath is plumbed to a nearby well. What do you think about the shower?” Emily asks as I comb my fingers through her hair. There was energy in her voice, so I’m guessing she’s feeling better now.

“It’s definitely my first time using one here,” I murmur. “It was a big surprise.”

In this world, at least.

“Really? There’s plenty more varying technologies in Mercantile I can’t wait to show you.”

Emily eases back a little, and to give her something to think about, I deliberately sniff her neck.

“No rush, baby. We’ll see them all,” I say, nudging my nose on her neck. She smell of soap and female skin, a delicious smell I’ve acquainted with for the last few days.

Emily stares into my eyes, and I think she’s trying to gauge my mood. As soon as I return a smile, she giggles.

“You want to drink, Reimuz?”

“I’d rather have you take a rest, but if you want to drink then it’s fine. I’ll join you for a glass.” I smile wryly.

Emily stands up as she softly brush her purple hair aside. She walks to the small side table of our couch and grab the bottle of wine resting on top of its chilling ice bucket. From the bold colors, the furniture, the gigantic four-poster bed, and the wine - this seems like it’s a room for energetic couples. The cork opens with a small pop, and Emily gingerly fills our glass. Oh lord.

When she plops back on the couch beside me the colors has somewhat returned on her face.

“Emily, I think it’s better if you rest after all,” I say, taking the glass of wine she offers to me.

She somber. “I’m sorry if I was a little hysterical…”

“Emily, I don’t care. What I want to know is what caused you to act like that.”

She takes a sip of her wine, maybe to boost her confidence to speak. I don’t know.

“You probably don’t remember because you’re too busy wallowing yourself in sorrow… But when I first saw you a few months back, you were making such a despaired face as if you lost everything. After that I had a talk with your Master… about your condition…”

Emily stares at me in horror. She turns and falls against me, pressing her tear stained cheek on my shoulder.

“Knowing that it was me who caused you to make such a dark expression, my chest tightened, even now it’s hurting, as if something is squeezing my heart. It was me who ruined your life, Reimuz. It was me. And earlier when we met back, you were making the same face all over again… I thought you would disappear forever… That you would leave me once and for all… I was confused…”

I hesitate to speak, because what’s on the tip of my tongue is a lie and I can’t utter it.

Yes, I blamed you in my head so many times. But it was foolish of me to think like that. It was all in the past now. You’re nothing but a victim. There is no use to blame you for something I chose to do myself.

But I know she isn’t looking for meaningless words of comfort or sympathy, so I hold my tongue inside. I rub her back with one hand, kissing her hair repeatedly until her tears subsides into jerky hiccups.

Then she pulls away and empties her glass of wine in one shot. Her eyes and nose are swollen pink, her face slick with mucus.

“I think it’s best if you sleep after all.”

In the end, I didn’t drink. I set my glass on the side and lift her off the couch, with one hand on her back and the other under her thighs. I lay her down the bed and press a kiss on her forehead, rubbing her eyebrow with my thumb.

Emily reaches out to me and whispers, “Don’t go. Please.”

“I don’t even have the slightest intention of running away. I’ll be here. So sleep well, Emily.”

Trying to stay true to my words I lay on the bed myself and let her snuggle. I feel an obvious need in her touch and the unexpectedness of it blows my mind. It shows how much she wanted me to need her. How much she needed me to need her.

The kissing, the hugging, the holding hands, the very memorable sex - was it just guilt after all? Or did I perhaps touch a spot in her heart all along? Dammit. Old man, what shall I do?

So in this chapter it was revealed that it was Emily who called to the MC on chapter 24 :-/