Chapter 14

Herminia groaned as she opened up her drowsy eyes. It was morning once again and she saw Clarence sitting next to her gently shaking her shoulder. She rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn, noticing that her body was slumped over the coffee table. With a tired groan she sat up on the couch before arching her back to earn the sound of a few satisfying pops.

"Herminia, were you up all night reading?" Clarence asked.

"For the most part. I've must have dozed off without realizing it at some point." Herminia replied while trying to brush strands of hair that had fallen in front of her face.

Clarence was very surprised to hear his girlfriend's dedication to the topic she was having to face. He couldn't believe she chose to stay up all night reading about the Azran just like Randall did back when he was alive. Examining the young woman a little closer, the red-headed man was able to clearly see faint dark circles underneath her brown eyes. He bit his lip without uttering a word; he was proud of Herminia for facing her fears but he didn't want her to lose health over it. He cared deeply for his girlfriend and wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to her since he loved her that much. The thought of her falling into a ill state depressed him a little, urging him to try to prevent that scenario.

"Well..." Clarence began taking a pause for a moment before continue, "Just try not to over do it in the future alright? Remember you still got classes to attend."

"Of course, Clarence. I'll take care in the future." the young woman replied with a smile, "So would you like some tea. I'm fixing to go make some."

The young man couldn't help but smile back before answering "Sure that sounds lovely. It'll give me a bit of energy before I have to meet with Denise. Her boss called her in for work early. Though I wonder what a scientist could want with a intern at such a early time."

Meanwhile with Denise she squeezed her eyes shut as she was slapped to the ground. She wanted to do nothing more than to cover her ears from the yelling that blared in her ears from her boss Bill Hawks. The man had called her in earlier because he wanted her to perform a rush job on some experiments he had been working on. She clenched her teeth as she pushed herself off the ground, listening to the scientist yell at her how some companies were paying him to have the results presented that very same day.

"They must be done today and if you dare question me again about how I run things here I'll hit you even harder until I knock some sense in that thick skull of yours!" Bill Hawks yelled in anger.

Denise opened up her blue eyes, glaring at the man with brown hair and brown eyes wearing a white lab coat, glasses, a red button up shirt, brown pants, and black shoes. She wanted nothing more than to shoot back a snarky remark toward the scientist but she kept her mouth shut, knowing anymore words would only result in him hitting her again. Without a word she began hastily gathering up the materials required for the experiment. The young woman couldn't believe that the scientist before her was so greedy that he had agreed payments from six different plant food companies to create a chemical to help plant growth. But the problem was Bill Hawks had promised what he didn't have and now he was forcing the workload on her in only one day.

Denise's hands shook slightly as she began testing some mixtures of different chemicals to find the proper mixture required. She wondered why she always chose to work for such a horrible man, but then she quickly remembered the reason why. Bill Hawks had promised her a good job position but only if she cooperated with him. If she were to break away from the internship she would lose her chance of getting the job position and would have to search for some one willing to accept her.

"I can't give up. This is the best way to insure I get a good job. As much as I hate Bill Hawks, I have to hold up my end of the bargain." she thought to herself as she hung her hair low, allowing her brownish-gray hair to hide away her blue eyes that were full of pain, "Besides it isn't as painful as the pain from having a love never returned."

So she continued to work on the experiments that had to be hastily completed, burying her feelings as best as she could.

Descole was sitting in a chair with his fingers tapping against the arm rest out of annoyance. Once again Melody had called him over to her home once again except this time it wasn't to have him talk to her father, it was so she could talk to her. His brown-eyes examined the woman's living room which had trophies and fossils displayed along the walls with elegant furniture and a fireplace filling the room to show how wealthy the family was. He was very surprised that one simple archeologist could become rich just by discovering different ruins left by civilizations. Before he could think about it anymore his thoughts were interrupted by Raymond entering the room.

"Lady Melody will be with you in a moment, Mr. Sycamore. She's having to attend a few last minute preparations." the butler said with a bow.

Descole raised a brow upon hearing the word "preparations." It made him wonder what the women had to possibly prepare for if they were only going to have a little chat. He glanced over at the man standing across from him, figuring the man may held the answer.

"Pardon me for asking this but what could she possibly be preparing for?" the young man asked.

Once again Descole nearly stopped breathing when he saw the strict glare he received from Raymond. He already knew it would be foolish to try to underestimate the butler based on his glare, after all the old man was more threatening than he appeared on the surface. Fortunately much to Descole's relief he saw the butler calm down as his glare slowly faded away.

"Lady Melody had to meet with a business partner of her father's. A man who goes by the name Noel Venorb." Raymond explained, "As the daughter of a very important and wealthy archeologist it's Lady Melody's duty to attend to these matters when her father is away."

Descole remained silent as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. There was something about that business partner's name that sounded odd to him and also familiar. He mulled over the name Noel Venorb and couldn't recall bumping into anyone that ever had that name. But once again his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door swinging open.

"Sorry for being late, Sycamore. I just had to settle a few things. So shall be going out?" Melody said with a smile.

"Going out? I thought you were wanting to chat at your home like you requested?" Descole asked in confusion.

At that moment Melody's smile quickly faded and fear developed in her blue eyes.

"I-I-I changed my m-mind. Something came up and I would like not to be home at the moment." she stuttered in nervous as her eyes stared at the floor.

The young man narrowed his eyes at this scene. He knew something bad must have happened due to Melody's personality shifting so suddenly. The way how her aura of happiness quickly vanished was unnerving for Descole. The young man thought about bringing up the sudden change of behavior until he saw the strong fear in her eyes that were pleading him to leave with her. Without a word he let out a loud sigh and nodded his head in agreement.
Melody's expression instantly brightened as she instantly grabbed him by the hand and lead him away.

"Must you always drag me along." Descole muttered under his breath with a hint of annoyance.

As they were leaving the house, unknown to the both of them a man was watching from the window.

"Well it seems your daughter is leaving with a friend. Either way I think she understands the circumstances she must now bare. After all she knows what happens to people who try to break a deal with me." the man said while lowering his sunglasses, revealing his brown eyes.

Behind him was Melody's father with his dead body lying slump in a chair and a bullet wound in his forehead.

Descole didn't dare say a single word to the young woman as they walked together through the streets of London. He didn't couldn't erase the image of seeing her so frightened when he had questioned why she suddenly wanted to leave the house. He didn't know why but seeing her so frightened made him a little angry at whatever caused her to be in such a state.

"So, Sycamore, how about we go to one of your favorite places. I'm sure you know of a great one." Melody said with a giggle.

"Wait what?" the brown-headed man exclaimed, instantly snapped out of his thoughts "What do you mean I would know of a great one?"

The blonde-headed woman smiled as she wrapped both of her arms around Descole's right arm and leaned close to him.

"Well you're kind of like a gentleman and naturally gentlemen know of great places." she answered.

Descole narrowed his brown eyes upon hearing this conclusion. He considered it the most ridiculous excuse he had ever heard. He also find it strange that Melody considered him a gentleman. He believed his sister would make more of a gentleman than him had she been born a boy instead of a girl. Though despite these thoughts he still found the compliment flattering. Deciding not to let the young woman down he let out a quiet sigh as his mind began sorting through different possibilities.

After coming up a location he finally said "I suppose there's one place I could take you to."

Melody couldn't help but beam in excitement as she continued walking with the brown-headed man. It didn't take long for the two to reach a small restaurant. The young woman tilted her head in interest at the man's choice; she heard about the restaurant's high profiling and wondering how the man could have known about it. Instead of asking she chose to remain silent as she was guided inside. Luckily the restaurant wasn't too busy and the two got to be set at a table immediately.

"My what a lovely place, Sycamore. I heard of this place but never visited." Melody commented as she examined the tables covered in red tablecloths with a single lit candle in the center.

"Neither have I." Descole replied, "I only know of this restaurant because my mother had told me how she had met my father here."

"That's so sweet, Sycamore. I would love to meet them someday." the blond-headed woman stated with glee.

But the young woman's smile quickly faded when she saw the flash of hurt for a moment in the young man's brown eyes. She began to rub her hands together nervously, knowing she had said something wrong. Quietly she bit her lip and lowered her head, recalling the scene she had witnessed earlier of seeing her father lying dead in a chair while Noel Venorb was holding a gun.

"I'm sorry." she whispered with her voice cracking a bit.

"No don't be. I didn't mean to make you upset." Descole replied, feeling a bit guilty that he unintentionally caused the young woman to enter her depressed state again.

Melody lifted her head back up before rubbing her blue eyes, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to start pouring.
The two remained silent until the waiter came by and they placed their orders along side with some wine. Melody especially wanted the wine so she could attempt to drown her depression a bit in the alcoholic beverage. She wanted anything to help her cope with the depression over losing one of the closest people to her.
Once the waiter had filled both of their glasses with wine, Descole was shocked to see Melody quickly grab the glass and gulp down as much of the beverage as she could. When he saw her finish her glass and tried to grab his he quickly pulled the glass out of her reach.

"Melody, what's gotten into you?! You drank that glass like you've been wandering days in the desert!" he exclaimed.

Melody blinked her blue eyes in confusion until she realized what she had done. She frowned as she slumped back into her chair.

"I'm sorry, Sycamore. I just haven't been feeling well since this morning. I've asked you for a joyful chat and now I'm ruining it." the blonde-headed woman said as she rubbed one of her arms.

Descole now knew for certain that something had happened at Melody's house. The woman's actions erased all doubts from his mind. But he knew even though he peaced those facts together, he couldn't be certain about what happened and asking Melody might only disturb her even more. So for the young woman's sake Descole decided to leave the mystery to rest for the moment.

"Quite alright. I believe I can understand the circumstances." he said with a smile, hoping it would prompt the woman to do the same.

Much to his pleasure Melody did smile at him. Seeing her smile again was comforting to Descole, much similar to how he felt when he saw Herminia smile. Wanting to make sure her smile remained the brown-headed man chatted joyful with the young woman with the smile remaining on his face. The two laughed and talk for what seemed like hours as Descole casually held his wine glass, only drinking from it a few times. As he talked to the young woman he began to realize something he considered rather surprising; he was actually enjoying spending time with Melody.

Denise brushed as much of her hair in front of her face as possible, trying to hide the bruises on the side of her face. She didn't want anyone in her science class to ask questions about her injuries and suspect her boss. She feared if Bill Hawks was suspected of abuse her internship would be terminated with him and she would have lost her chance at the position he had promised her. Once she reached her classroom a small smile formed on her face when she saw Clarence was already in the classroom.

"Denise, you made it!" the red-head man exclaimed as he waved his hand.

The brownish-gray-headed woman waved back as she sat down next to him.

"So how was the internship? I was surprised at how early your boss called you in for work." Clarence said.

"Oh he just wanted me to help him finish up a few things but it was alright." Denise partly lied.

Clarence nodded his head before he directed his sight on the young woman's hair. He instantly noticed how she had it style differently where he hair hid most of her face. He knew it was normal for his partner to have her bangs hide her right eye but no more than that. His mind grew more curious at what could have brought on the sudden hairstyle change. He knew the style wasn't very practical and if anything it would make Denise have trouble during the lesson due to the hair impairing most of her vision.

"It's more like she's trying to hide something on her face." he thought to himself.

Deciding to test the theory he said "Say I noticed you new hairstyle but wouldn't it cause problems. You won't be able to see most of what the teacher writes on the board with your hair like that."

Denise instantly flinched she heard this statement. She began to brush more hair over her face in a slight panicking matter.

"I-I-It's just a n-n-new style I wanted to try out. Th-th-that's all." the young woman stuttered nervously.

Clarence frowned upon hearing this response, he knew the brownish-gray-headed woman was hiding something that apparently happened to her face. He began to grow worried if Denise's face was hurt but that left him to wonder why the young woman would choose to hide it from everyone. Without a word he laid his hand on Denise's should, prompting her body to stiffen.

"If you say so, Denise." he started with concern in his voice, "But just know you can always talk to me. I am your friend after all."

The young woman remained silent for a few moments before finally saying "Right... friend. Thank you, Clarence."

The red-headed man smiled before directing his attention to the teacher's lesson.
Denise clenched her fist tightly as she thought about the word "friend." She clenched her teeth in anger at the thought that she would never become more than that. She hated how she had to ignore her heart that screamed out for Clarence as because she wanted him to be happy with the woman he truly loved. But because of her choice it resulted her in feeling endless pain ever single day that could never be healed. But she did not blame Clarence for that fact, instead she blamed the one woman she believed that prevented her from ever feeling happiness.

With her head lowered and her eyes squeezed shut she quietly muttered "I hate you... Herminia Layton."