Chapter 5: Real

Lyra’s coffee had gone cold. Third cup of the day, and she still felt far from being awake. The thought of having so much money on her washing machine almost made her want to throw up. Hallucinations would never give her that. Was she too drunk or too out of her mind to realize that she had robbed someone for it? There’s no way that she's even capable of that. Hallucinations? Were they simply hallucinations?

She heard a loud thud from the living room. Wendy slammed her door as she entered the room. She knew that this was her chance to get out and grab some food in the kitchen. It’s past seven in the evening already, and she forgot to get lunch. Or maybe she actually planned to not go out while her aunt was out. When she thinks about what that woman did to her, she wants to rip out her hair and scream at the top of her lungs.

The moment she stepped into the kitchen, she could feel the hunger that she had suppressed for so long. But instead of grabbing some of what Wendy cooked, she chose to boil water for a mediocre meal of instant noodles.

"This is taking too long, Elvis. We need to get her to do something immediately. I do not know for sure, but I think that I messed up. And if I was correct, I do not know for how long I’ll be able to make her listen to what I have to say."

Why did she have to be that loud? Now, even if she wanted none of it, Lyra couldn’t help but listen to what Wendy had to say. Especially since she realized she was speaking to her father, the man she despises the most.She had nothing but resentment for Elvis her entire life. And now, hearing how the two formed a team to use her, her eyes felt hot.

While waiting for her noodles to cook, she can clearly hear Wendy yapping about her.

"I did not know what happened, but I think she doesn’t remember the whole night clearly. I was hoping that before she pieces all the shit together, she’s already married to Mr. Romero or Mr. Walter, whoever has more money; I don’t fucking care.

Lyra sobbed while cracking an egg into the soup.She can't seem to shake the left and right heartbreaks.Her life became a huge joke, and there she was, still lost, trying to escape it all.

She was still wiping her tears when she realized that it had been boiling for too long. Her night sucked already; she doesn’t need soggy noodles to make it suck more. Without thinking, she grabbed the pot with her bare hands.

"Oh my!" She bit her lips to stop herself from crying louder. The red lines on her poor fingers throbbed with pain.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Derrick was there, out of nowhere. Standing in front of Lyra, he held the hot pot of noodles with no problem at all. His eyebrows were furrowed, making her think that there’s at least someone in the entire world that still cares if she's hurt.

But maybe because she was too critical and smart, she tried to avoid looking into his eyes, thinking that she was being tricked by her imagination once again. The drug, the hard couple of days, the depression—it’s everything else, but she did not consider the fact that Derrick might actually be real.

"Are you still denying the fact that I am real?"

She focused on dumping her fingers into a bowl of cold water instead of listening.

He raised his brow, clenching his jaw, and asked, "Could you speed up this process so that you accept whatever the fuck is happening with your fucking life?" This all happened because you called me for help. You begged me to save you, did you forget?"

"The human brain is too strong; what the heck?" she whispered, making Derrick sigh.

"Do you want me to prove my existence?" I can easily do that. "I told you already."

That made her halt. There was this small hint of curiosity in her eyes, but the moment was spoilt by the loud voice of Wendy.

"Of course I can make her sign the marriage contract! Just make sure that I get my cut from this. And I want at least five percent of the shares!"

Three seconds passed before he heard the woman laugh to her heart’s content, and he watched as Lyra covered her mouth to weep without letting her aunt know. The betrayal crushed her soul, but she wouldn’t choose to argue with Wendy over it.

"You’re being forced to marry someone," Derrick said. "I can help you with that." You know, right?"

When he noticed she had turned to look into his eyes, he felt something that he couldn't explain. He was good at reading people’s emotions, but he’s very aware of how she is looking right now.

"You’re scared to believe that I am real, but that’s crazy. I could see the look of desperation in your eyes. "As if you’re begging for me to be real."

"I am really thankful that at least you are here, trying to make me feel that I am not alone." But…"

Derrick made her stop talking by pulling her arm. He used his long legs to take her out of the apartment immediately.

Watching his back, Lyra failed to realize that they were headed outside the unit. The noise outside made her realize that the world never stopped. Everyone else chose to continue on with their day-to-day lives as usual, and there she was, scared to take the next step. But just thinking about it makes her knees weak. When everyone around her sees her as a winning lottery ticket, what could she possibly do alone?

"Excuse me, sir." She snapped into reality when she heard Derrick’s voice. Her head popped out from his broad shoulders, greeting the confused stranger with her snotty nose and red eyes that stood in front of them.

"Yes?" the man said. A cute dog wagged its tail beside him. He seemed to be walking the dog when the devil stopped him.

The devil stopped him, and he responded.

"Wait!" she pulled Derrick’s sleeve and pointed at his face. "Sir, can you see this man?"

"Uh- yes?" The man responded, confused.

"Who else should we ask?" Derrick whispered straight to her ear. With a grin on his face, he faced the stranger. "Sorry, sir, my fiance just woke up. She couldn’t believe that I was finally home.

"Oh! I see! I was so confused!" He laughed while Lyra began to question everything. "Miss, believe me, he’s here." I’ll go ahead and leave you two to catch up. "Congratulations, by the way, and God bless you two!"

"Huh, God bless?" Derrick scoffed. "Wow, that’s really strange to hear." "If he only knew who he said that to."

"Oh my Go-"

"Really?"

"You’re real?" Lyra asked.

"Of course, I am."

With her jaw still wide open, Derrick pulled her to the other side of the road, where a bunch of stalls were covered in thick smoke. The smell of different kinds of meat sold on skewers being grilled made Lyra hungrier, but she couldn’t focus on that now. All she could see were the older women who were just grilling moments ago and were now following Derrick’s every single step. Their jaws were all dislocated by how stunning he was.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked.

"Who is he? I’ve never seen him before."

"Isn’t that Wendy’s niece? Maybe he’s her boyfriend?"

"No, I’ve seen her boyfriend before. He’s much uglier than that."

The whispers of the vendors were too loud for them to ignore. Lyra wanted to deny it or maybe explain the situation. However, she doesn’t know where to start. And looking at Derrick, he did not seem to mind at all.

"Come on, what do you want to eat?" he asked once again, squeezing her hand a bit. That’s when she realized that their fingers were intertwined. It felt so natural and comforting that she did not really question anything at all.

She paused before responding, "A-anything."

"Can I buy everything that’s already cooked?"

The vendors gasped.

"All of these?" they yelled in unison. He nodded without saying another word and pulled out his thick wallet.

"I—I can’t finish all of that," she whispered, still fumbling her words.

"Don’t worry; Zin can help you with that." Believe me."

"Okay."

"You can go stay there, far from the smoke. I’ll wait for the food, and we can go back to your apartment unit."

"But my aunt’s there. I don’t think she’ll be going to the bar tonight, or she might be heading out a lot later."

"Exactly. Do you really think I can comfortably leave you with her alone?"

Every single word he whispered was the word that she wanted to hear.

At that moment, she realized how dangerous this was. He’s the only one standing beside him; he's the only one who’s willing to hold her hand through it. He is the devil, and she’s very happy to stand by him.

She never said a word back, but she held on to his hand tighter, wishing that he'd never leave.