Taking the direction that José- the bartender had given him, verifying with the bodyguards standing by the door, and after having passed through other processes, Alphonse found himself sitting in an intense room that seemed like a gang head office with pairs of eyes glaring at him. There were at least six people in the room other than himself, and they all shared the same hostility as the couple that sat in the opposite couch to him. They all seemed to be on their guards, as though they were facing a threat. " The stench on you doesn't belong from around here. You smell like a wild rogue!" The middle-aged woman who sat with one leg crossed over the other while folding her arms and glaring dangerously at Alphonse, twitched her nose in a show of disgust as she said. The man who sat beside her seemed to nod his head at her words, sharing the same thought as her. ' From what I can tell, they're both at the head. The man is probably the leader of this pack and these other people a
Thud! Just as I shut the door behind me, I realized it was probably a stupid idea to do what I was about to do. The whole place was dark and I could barely see anything at all! I quickly reached back to find the door to my room amidst the darkness and once I did, I gently pulled open the door. The light from the lamp made a slight change but it was barely enough to see. I could only make out the walls and a dark space that seemed to lead to somewhere; another hallway perhaps, I couldn't tell. Step after step, I gently proceeded while trailing the wall toward the vacant hallway ahead. I knew this was deadly considering if Darren caught me roaming about his house like this, I could end up in trouble. However, I couldn't hold back this curiosity in me. Darren seems too mysterious and he makes me feel like it would severely harm me to stay around for too long. I could smell danger on him and I find him untrustworthy. I believe every man is like this. They prey on weak
The morning dew covered the woods densely, causing a damp coldness all around. The air was crisp and fresh, carrying the earthy scent of the forest. "Ngh!" Darren grunted as he squinted his eyes open, the first thing in his field of vision being the damp area of dried leaves and twigs, surrounded by tall trees with thick branches. It was the early grotesque appearance of nature at dawn. " Aagh!" He groaned in distress and held his head as he pushed himself up, a severe ring reverberating through his head. Darren couldn't help but clench his eyes shut and shake his head. Slowly recovering from the splitting headache, Darren looked around, unfamiliar with the terrain he found himself in. He wondered just how far he'd wandered into the woods this time. This wasn't a surprise to Darren. Afterall, it wouldn't be the first time it would happen to him. It was more of a common occurrence to him. " Ugh! I have to find my way back home" He muttered and slowly rose from the floor.
Kyley looked between the bed and Darren, her entire being still shivering in fear and anxiety. " Will you?" Darren asked, pointing towards the bed with his gaze. The expression on his face made it obvious just how furious he was. ' He's gonna treat my wounds? Not harm me?' Kyley was confused and didn't know whether to believe Darren. ' Nonetheless, there was nothing to do but play it calm and by his rules' Kyley decided to listen to Darren for now. There was no way she could escape now anyway. " O-okay" Kyley nodded nervously. She slowly and cautiously got back in bed, her gaze moving to watch Darren with every move she made. Darren exhaled heavily and walked over to the bedside, he placed the needle holder down and revealed the suture needle and thread that he'd held in his palm the whole time. Kyley looked at this and couldn't help but grow tense. Darren tied the thread to the needle and raised his fierce gaze to look at Kyley. " Show me your wounds!" Darren order
Kyley stared at the wooden ceiling beams that added a rustic feel to the room's aesthetics, while still deep in thought about what had happened earlier." Show me your wounds!" Darren's stern face appeared in her mind as he yelled at her over and over again. Her pain had significantly reduced after Darren had attended to her wounds. However, Kyley still didn't know how to feel about it. The fear and anxiety in her heart still remained, and her body would shudder every now and then.Her trauma had kicked in.Kyley felt like a trapped mouse, waiting to be slaughtered. She was wounded and had nowhere to go. She couldn't help but curse her ill-fate.' Why do I always have to go through this?' Tears threatened to break out of her eyes. Kyley was hurt, in pain, and was mentally exhausted- she's collapsing. She could barely hold on to the last bit of sanity left within her, Kyley believed she would soon lose it. And Darren was probably the last straw.' Darren...' Kyley didn't know just wha
" I didn't mean to hurt you or anything, but you were throwing things at me and making it difficult for me to tend to your wounds. So I had to force you to stop throwing a fit. Sorry if I made you feel some sort of way" Darren slowly recounted, choosing his words carefully. Darren didn't want her to think he was calling her crazy. It was obvious that he believed the pain from her wounds was what made Kyley react as aggressively as she did earlier. He understood, and he wanted her to know he really did. Silence reigned over in the room for a long while. Kyley didn't respond to Darren's apology, she just lowered her gaze in thought.' He is genuinely apologizing?' Kyley repeated in her mind, over and over again as though she were trying to remind herself that this was real. Kyley had never been apologized to by anyone. Never! And hearing Darren apologize to her made her feel some kind of way. ' Moreso, he actually cares' Kyley could tell from the sincerity in his tone that Darren mea
'Huh?' Kyley thought she heard him wrong. " Oh! I have an idea. Give me a second" Darren said and turned around to leave the room. However, he grabbed the wooden bucket and mop stick before leaving the room entirely.' Huh?' Kyley was even more confused. She watched his back with a stupendous expression as he walked out the room. Did he really just asked if she wanted to go outside? Kyley was left baffled. Just what was Darren thinking? Soon, Darren returned to the room while Kyley was still deep in her thought. The latter raised her gaze and was shocked to see Darren row in a wheelchair." I've had to use it in the past, plenty of times" He said with a small grin. Kyley gasped in shock hearing this and she instantly expressed hesitation. Just what did he mean by having used the wheelchair plenty of times? It sounded a bit creepy " O-of course, I've used it myself is what I meant" Darren clarified seeing the look of contempt on Kyley's face. He smiled wryly realizing his mistake.
Kyley looked at Darren for the longest while, confused as to what he meant with his words. The evocative expression on his face made her rather curious as to something." Why?" She asked.Darren switched his gaze to Kyley and raised a brow. " Why do I feel this way?" Darren wasn't sure of what Kyley was asking." Why did you move out here in the middle of the woods?" Kyley rephrased her question. It was something that baffled her ever since, and it shaped her image of Darren being undeserving of trust. After all, who in their right mind lived in the depths of the wood all alone? It just didn't make sense no matter how much she tried to look past it." That's a long story. I'll tell you when it's right time to do so. But... Just know it wasn't by my own decision." Darren said with a bitter smile. How could he blurt out that he'd moved all the way out here because he was cursed? He was trying to win her trust here, not scare her. Kyley would definitely jump out of the wheelchair and fle