From the need to clean up the backyard to the kitchen, Caroline's body suddenly jerked and froze as she found Abihirt's tall form turning his back to her with shoulders that looked solid. She never expected him to come home early. Before leaving, Moreau had said a few things and left a message for Abihirt who seemed to be busy cutting something. The sound of the knife touching the cutting mat sounded so real. Through such a careful action. Caroline quickly controlled herself and stepped closer. There was still a need to get to know the employer who tended to be so familiar. She just had a little trouble remembering some of the recent events. Perhaps slowly Caroline would soon gain the knowledge. "Sir ...." She spoke quite carefully. There was absolutely no intention of startling Abihirt while the man was being serious, so perhaps her empl
"Because you lied to Mrs. Voudly, now I'm really sick." Moreau spoke with an uncomfortable urgency after hearing the clatter of someone approaching. She felt cold all the time, and had just decided to take shelter under the thick blanket. It was quite a relief to be able to sleep in Juan's bed, considering there was only one room here with the man always sharing a bed with someone, if Juan's lover was not busy with work. However, the man had certainly followed Moreau's departure. Now towering over her with his arms folded across his chest. Juan clucked and flopped down on the long sofa. For a moment the man inhaled and exhaled a little roughly. Playing with his own hair with a skeptical look in his eyes. "You're not sick because I lied. That's just a coincidence. The truth is that you refused to eat since noon or afternoon when I offered you something to get into your stomach." Moreau had expected it. She was becoming more and more convinced that Juan was actually gathering
A faint knock on the door caught Moreau's attention. She immediately looked back while trying to adjust her sitting position leaning against the headboard, waiting for Juan to step inside, the strangest thing was, the man always had no sense of decorum, especially since this was just a shared room. Juan should have exercised his full rights, not have to knock; ask permission to simply step inside or do whatever was left. "Come in, Juan. I'm hungry." There was a feeling of tension as she watched the door handle move. Someone rapped firmly, but it barely occurred to Moreau that she would find Abihirt walking in with something in hand. The plastic burger that was then handed over so close in front of her. She frowned. Wondering where the man had gotten the item from. Robbing from Juan? Very unethical if it did happen. "What are you doing here?" After a moment Moreau finally asked the question, half annoyed. She held her head high, acting very bold and not caring at all that
There was a slight difference, it was worth underlining. She was a little scared in the face of his hoarse and deep voice as he turned stern. Saying nothing more, she immediately grabbed the plastic burger, wanting to look inside the contents, but was a little surprised to find a solidly stitched cloth with both legs and hands in funny lumps. One of Moreau's eyebrows rose high as she lifted the object out. A stuffed panda. However, it felt a little wet. "What's this for?" She asked in surprise, hoping for a quick answer as she scrutinized Abihirt's face, which was damn handsome with a few strands of hair hanging down in front of his forehead. The man's fingers seemed to have repeatedly adjusted what was left. It should be noted that the messy dark hair was already a bit long, but maybe... Barbara was not in the mood to ask her husband to trim it. Fuck that. Whatever her mother wanted was not something Moreau needed to interfere with. Faintly... she detected Abihirt's lips s
Irony. Whatever Moreau was doing never escaped the glint in Abihirt's gray eyes. She felt particularly nervous when her stepfather appeared to be waiting for something, perhaps placing the plastic garbage under the foot of the bed, and downing the full glass of water in the bottle she had bought with Juan that day. Moreau would never forget to bring it with her everywhere, even to this place... had just set it down on the nightstand, then glanced at her stepfather with an unexpected feeling. Moreau's breath hitched, then pulled the blanket over herself. "If you don't want to go home. You can wait on the sofa or go meet Juan outside, I want to rest." She added while adjusting her position to lie down. Not so fast. Well, not when Abihirt switched to sitting with half of his body facing her, while one of the man's hands made sure to wrap around Moreau's ribs as he pressed against the mattress. "Juan said you felt cold most of the day." Abihirt's deep, hoarse voice almost subc
The light of tendrils penetrating through the glass window, which Moreau had forgotten to cover last night, slowly made her frown. She immediately jerked awake, then looked back just to confirm something .... Her stepfather was on her back and shirtless. For a moment Moreau was transfixed by Abihirt's sleeping face. How calm, almost perfect. The man's breathing was regular, seemingly still too deep for Moreau to take any wrong action. She only intended to get up, wanting to pick up the cloth that was scattered carelessly. However, she stopped when her bright blue irises stared at the flat object the man had placed on the nightstand. So close. Moreau didn't know whether she should act recklessly or let the sudden curiosity go to waste. It seemed that the more she held back, the more it would make things a restless blob. Moreau's
"What are you doing, Moreau?" It was as if the man had just realized something... immediately jolted awake by the scattered shock there. Moreau swallowed harshly to face Abihirt's unreadable dark look. The man rubbed his face roughly, then passed over Moreau's body to simply grab the cell phone on the nightstand. Not knowing if she had left a trace, but Moreau noticed how Abihirt's lips thinned to then glare at her for a moment, as if the man had discovered something and decided not to say it. Just massaging the sturdy-looking bridge of his nose... for a moment, then one of the man's arms reached out to simply land the back of a hand on her forehead, making Moreau have to hold her breath. "Feeling better already?" A question that she could not understand whether it was a concern from A
Moreau's bright blue irises did not break eye contact for a moment, even though Juan was looking at her as if the man wanted to drink in some statement that had to be seriously elaborated. It was so odd to find Juan staring straight there, with such a skeptical look on his face. Much to Moreau's consternation, she had repeatedly tapped her fingers on her own lap and also arranged the strands of hair forward so that Juan would not find a reddish mark in the hollow of her neck. The man would grow suspicious. Moreau didn't want that to happen. "Can you stop looking at me like that, Juan? I'm uncomfortable." She spoke, but while adjusting the tapping of her hand into a faint squeeze on the hem of her thick furry coat there. "Why is that? You owe me many stories, Amiga. Now tell me, where did Mr. Lincoln sleep last night? He didn't leave the room after suddenly standing at the door of the house when I came home from the tavern, and even took over the burger I was supposed to bri
"You mean, my mother is doing anything that could be called cheating?" asked Moreau not with any inclination to be sure, as if something was trying to urge her to fish for how far Abihirt could go. It took a while before the deep, husky voice was heard. "What else could it be?" Abihirt was justifying anything. Anything that ended up being an odd blob in Moreau's mind. Not understanding why the man chose to remain silent when her stepfather was the most knowledgeable of Barbara's faults. And to underline, they were all in similar circles. Doing things not much different. Endless betrayals.However, it would be fairer not to delay the desire to know Abihirt's true reasons. Moreau swallowed roughly, momentarily making sure that she touched the man's shoulder. "You know everything my mother did behind your back, why not talk to her directly? At the very least, until my mother no longer has a relationship with Samuel." The pause between them was suddenly thi
There was something odd about Moreau struggling to interpret Abihirt's statement. She didn't want to go too far, let alone take over Barbara's bed for a night. Such an unethical part. However, her mind still didn't want to. "Probably best not to." Still with the same residual need. Moreau could feel how parched her throat was, but she didn't need a splash of water just to make things feel better. There was nothing to soothe, even as Abihirt's fingertips had—slowly—lifted Moreau's face up, while the man's fingers also tentatively brushed across the surface of parted lips. "It's getting late, Abi. Aren't you tired—" Moreau's voice was held at the tip of her throat. Not because she was forced to close her mouth. However, Abihirt's idiosyncratic approach was completely indecipherable when the man dropped a light kiss on the lips, then lifted her body just like the act of moving a large doll—not heavy, but had to be quite careful when crashing on the bed. I
Now Moreau's attention quickly fell on the surface of the soft mattress, where some sinister image of her mother and stepfather's romance continued here like something painfully incarnate. She never wanted to be caught between potentially painful things. Six months had not yet been completed, but Moreau was already overwhelmed—not by how Abihirt would be rough in bed; but rather... she felt; sort of bound by the urge not to share the man with anyone—not even her mother, though Barbara was the most entitled. This was very wrong. Moreau recognized that. Just couldn't control the forbidden ego when the survival instinct had taken over. She was afraid this would end up worse. More painful; like having to plunge into more violent feelings—then, there was no way out. "Are you going to stay there until sunrise or until your mother comes home?" Abihirt's deep, raspy voice almost sounded like something urgent—demanding Moreau to be dragged to the surface, so she had
Now Moreau was seized by the same tension as earlier. Her eyes moved restlessly, hardly knowing that she had a purpose here. Things were not in good order, though that was why they still needed a reason. "Chicao made me chase her all the way to my mother's room. That's all." Yes, that was it. She did not feel obliged to explain things to her stepfather. "It's not because you secretly did something to me?" Woefully, Moreau could not think straight. In the end she knew Abihirt would not hide the man's knowledge long term. There were no answers. None could be found. Moreau swallowed harshly again. Suddenly her tongue was very groggy. Afraid that Abihirt would ask her something that was still relevant. "Why aren't you sleeping?" Fortunately, no. This time Moreau was a bit adept at controlling something inside her that was so gray. "I was just watching. Wanted to go to my room, but Chicao wandered off with a bell around her neck," and replied almost
Moreau felt her entire pulse and heart forced to speed up. The loud voice in her chest was pounding. She gasped for a moment. Stunned. Almost too afraid at the thought of having just been caught doing something forbidden. Abihirt would probably be angry anyway, the man still seemed to be trying to understand the situation around him. Still learning things... where the inappropriate part was finding someone else here. Something like a new event. Moreau continued to watch every single thing Abihirt did. Staring nervously and swallowing quite hard; hoping not to hear a throaty sound like a big splutter. "What are you doing here, Moreau?" Abihirt's deep, raspy voice resembled a croak, as if the man had been completely immersed, so it took a while to recover a lost memoir. In fact, with the remnants of sleepiness still pervading, her stepfather would blink a few times, rubbing his rough face, then Moreau would find the man would not leave eye contact between them.
No idea what made such a distinction. She was sure there were many secrets inside Abihirt and wanted the man to let them out, but her stepfather chose not to try just once. Perhaps it wasn't as if Moreau knew that Abihirt was sick enough of Barbara's infidelity to decide to retaliate in a more devious way. Her position was on the line. Moreau understood how she had been used as an outlet. Just couldn't help herself when she started to like the man. Idiot. She smiled bitterly at the thought of buying foolishness. Abihirt would not try to fall for another, while only towards Barbara was the man so in love. It was, sort of, a thing; truly pathetic. Silently taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. Moreau tentatively extended a fingertip to simply brush across her stepfather's upper arm. Feeling every touch there, was probably what Barbara did most often anyway. There was still no specific reaction where the man's hand remained flexed in a position forming the angle
The corner of Moreau's lips twitched faintly. No idea why this felt like something that seemed to give her leverage. Barbara really knew how to charm Abihirt, while she had never given the slightest thought to simply seeking the man's attention. It felt unnecessary—perhaps, and a little inappropriate. "It's nice to be petted by your master, doesn't it?" Still lightly stroking Chicao's soft fur. Moreau tilted her face slightly as she thought about things. She wasn't talking about the touch of Abihirt's hand on the man's pet—just something that came closest—when they started to want each other; venting everything they held back, even if it was a big mistake; as Chicao suddenly twisted her body. Almost simply making a circular pattern, following the tail that was also wagging. However, Moreau never expected Abihirt's dog to run away immediately. "Wait, Chicao. Where are you going?" The prospect of where Chicao was headed was terrifying. Moreau didn't want them t
There was not much to do after Barbara left home. It's worth pointing out that Moreau still took a disobedient course of action—deliberately deciding to watch until quite late with so little interest in climbing the steps, but she had to. She and her mother did not strike up much of a conversation after Barbara's last statement at the dinner table. Their complicated relationship could not be said to be entirely at fault, though it was. Moreau couldn't expect things to go well, while they knew Barbara always wanted what she thought was right—then never wanted to try to take the place of simply standing in someone's point of view; no matter if it was wrong or not. It would have been the worst decision if Moreau hadn't expressed all the disgust in her mind, because after all, they knew what finally made Barbara stop from wanting to see Abihirt's expensive watch in person. The man is sleeping .... There was something Moreau could not describe when thinking back
Dinner would not have been so awkward if the events of the previous afternoon had never happened. Moreau had just sat directly in front of Barbara who had said nothing, even though the woman knew they had resolved the conflict by hanging perhaps, but there was really nothing more to talk about. She didn't think owning expensive things was a mistake. Or perhaps Barbara was waiting for someone else. Moreau just realized Abihirt was nowhere to be seen. Normally, the man would have been at the dinner table earlier; keeping Barbara company. Strange. If she had to admit something; she was still interested in just taking a step back—about the man's pale face when he persuaded Barbara to leave her room. Perhaps the correlation between the two was quite plausible. Moreau silently exhaled air from her lips, a little accidentally noticing that Caroline had prepared a special dinner—a healthy meal for the man who was not present here. The woman hadn't even left yet. Had it not bee