The desire to negotiate seemed to be coming to a long end. Barbara's throat felt hollow. She blinked a few times until the top of her head finally found the end of the absurd imagery. Perhaps Abihirt was still carried away by the situation, when the man was angry everything became unclear. Or, some other kind of feeling—struggling to tell her something. There was a point in reconsidering Froy's strange attitude, which would not have been in her favor if, indeed, it did not inhale odd scents and linger only in a few places.
"You know, Abi. This attitude of yours is making me rethink something I was trying to forget. You were never going to talk about those things. But just now, it all seemed so clear." Barbara's irises looked at her husband seriously. She understood Abihirt was listening very well, so the man waited for the moving tip of the throat to finish the rest of the delay—perhaps deliberately allowing a few moments of silence, and then spoke. "What am I talkInstantly the air felt cold, suffocating, as Barbara waited for Abihirt to add a significant answer. The gray irises were unreadable, though the movement of her husband's lips slowly confirmed something. "It is not my habit to judge whether someone is beauty or not. You're wrong if you think I'm like that." Abihirt's words were not short, but it was too risky for Barbara not to take them seriously. Even she could only freeze when the man walked away. Just like that. Confirming that their argument had ended here—not wanting to hear the rest. "Abi." No. Barbara wasn't going to let this be a threatening reflection on their relationship. She soon caught up. Momentarily transfixed... watching her husband carry a pillow and appear to want to leave the room. "Where are you going, Abi?" "Sleeping on the living room sofa." "Are you so angry that you want to sleep in the living room?" Barbara raised her voice slightly to face the man. The
"No." "No.” "Stop it." "Don't do this." It felt like Moreau had only been asleep for a short time, but the faint sounds outside rang out so clearly in the stillness of the night. As if it was trying to take all of her control, then she jerked up cluelessly staring around the dark room. It was too odd to imagine someone still leaving an impression when there should be... nothing left. There was nothing out there. A familiar deep, raspy voice. Moreau understood who the suspected perpetrator was lodged at the top of her head. Struggling not to believe that Abihirt's voice was bitter and almost lilting. "No ...." Again. Moreau's throat twitched roughly at the thought of her being in a tricky choice. Coming out or not, it was like letting some parasites eat away at her body. It would be difficult to face the thing that was trying to eat her up; at least be responsible enough not to be overwhelmed by the pain. With one hand outstretched,
"Abi." Once more. Moreau tightened the touch on her stepfather's upper arm. Slightly pressing the fingertips, giving pain, so that the man would wake up and realize. However, it took several details of effort to drag Abihirt out of the ensnaring nightmare. She thinned her lips. It was a little difficult to ensure a closer look when the back of the sofa limited the remaining space between them. It had to be by getting out of the way. That's what Moreau did when she finally half bent down and smothered Abihirt's lips there. She didn't want her stepfather to make any more significant noise and wake everyone up. Perhaps she felt wrong for doing so. There was no choice. Her bright blue irises were glued to a face that looked confused. Abihirt was sweating badly, and immediately pushed Moreau's hand away, while the man's lips parted to snatch a breath while still sounding excited. "What are you doing here?" Abihirt asked after a few moments of calm. Moreau did no
"You must have hit Froy too hard," Moreau said almost in a whisper. Still very careful, at least, though what she found was that something about Abihirt barely even gave a reaction, as if whatever the man had done had no significant repercussions to worry about. "A little off." That was all. Moreau quite disagreed about Abihirt's statement just now. Her stepfather's gray eyes might have been thoughtfully staring every time the bandages slowly wrapped there, but she was silently trying to figure out a much more complex part of the flat—nearly unreadable expression. "You're completely out of it." While adding, Moreau finally made sure the ends of the bandage were tied into a tight knot. Now, she would return to the room. "Froy deserved that." Moreau admitted that Abihirt's statement was correct. Froy did deserve the controversy from the harsh actions. But they also had to realize that things were starting to change a bit. Some feelings had been shaken a
"You shouldn't act up in front of your uncle. Don't forget that we really need him. What will you do to feed your future wife, if he no longer cares about anything you do?" It was still quite early in the morning, but Moreau was sure she was not mistaken in recognizing someone's voice that almost resembled a warning; a whisper; and other relevant things. She had only intended to go to the kitchen, had found her stepfather still sleeping in the living room, but thought that Barbara would be out of the room soon. Shouldn't have any business with that man for now. Even the conversation between mother and son in the kitchen, involving Abihirt, was not to be added to the list of interests. It was just that there was an assumption about hearing a story in its entirety. Gloriya and Froy's conversation would of course continue, and this was where Moreau chose to stay silent, observing what she might be able to take in well. "It's useless, Mom. You know how I've been to Uncle Abi
There was no clue if Roger would be so close. Now; leaning in just to peer into the kitchen, he chuckled. "Two troublemakers." The man said something that really made Moreau struggle to understand the odd situation and at least barely believe it. She frowned, but wouldn't be able to stop herself from being overwhelmed with curiosity. "What's wrong with Aunt Gloriya, why do you also call her a troublemaker?" she asked in surprise. Froy could probably be understood. An asshole of a man with a broken mind. It would have been better if Froy had not returned to the countryside. Still, that was the problem they faced. Moreau understood Roger seemed reluctant to elaborate, but continued anyway. "Not as messy as Froy, but very annoying at times, and most importantly always troublesome. Maybe she knows Abi always wants Froy's troubles to be over, so she often asks for help. Now she's even trying to persuade that brat to get a share of her brother's company." The
All it took was the act of opening the door for Moreau to step into her own room. However, there was a special urge that made her hold back, fixated on observing Abihirt's form still there, in the living room, sitting back with his laptop on his lap. Occasionally she would also catch the man massaging his own nose or rubbing his temples, and seemed to be trying to really focus on the monitor. Abihirt not feeling well? The gesture said it all, but Moreau didn't have enough courage to approach. She didn't want to swim in clear water when it would make it murky. People were sober; busy; and possessed of enough instinct to be suspicious. Something that would not be better than nurturing a caring attitude towards her stepfather. There was Barbara. It had to be Barbara. She could vent everything to her husband. Moreau just didn't understand why her mother was nowhere to be seen. Still sleeping? That would be in an odd crisis, since Barbara always woke up early. Perhaps
"You wait here. I'll see Abi for a moment." That was it. Moreau wasn't sure she had the right to just say one particular part. Her mother had a point when the woman began to walk away. Had been so close—now hugging the serious man from behind. Perhaps Abihirt's first-time reaction was surprise. Perhaps not. The man had instant anticipation and a tendency to give good reflexes. Most fair; it was necessary to surmise that her stepfather wasn't interested, or in fact, already was... so she caught Barbara as if to say something, then tendrils appeared as the woman dropped a light kiss on Abihirt's face. A sight that instinctively made Moreau look for another angle to watch. She didn't know why she didn't want to witness the couple's togetherness there. It was too odd to imagine her like a thorny rose; nurtured by her mother—nourished by clear water, then turned into a piercing one. Or should Moreau admit one thing she did last night, about her mistaken assumption about