Finally got around to finishing this bonus. Fun fact though: This one was in development since the second bonus which in case you didn't know, was a VERY long time. That said, enjoy.
Bonus Chapter 3: A "Small" Favor
11/14/2015, 03:17:30 PM
Have you ever wondered why time goes by so slowly when waiting for something you're anticipating for? Or better yet, why the hell teachers keep you in class for the last remaining six minutes when all the others let their students out? And you just turn your head to the left of you to see hundreds of them outside the window, talking or screwing around, just waiting to get their weekend started. I then sneak a look at the dark-red haired girl sitting in front of me. Her rapid knee motion echoed through the history classroom as she looked enviously out the window. As I slowly scanned the room I learned both of us weren't alone, they all seemed like they wanted to jump out the window for their soon to be freedom. Letting out a silenced sigh I unzipped my backpack to bring out an overdue library book.
As far as I knew from past experiences the universe apparently always wants to screw me over when it comes to reading in school. For example, when I finally find some free time in a class and open one not ten pages could go by without the bell ringing. And don't get me started on how long I had to wait for this book to get turned in from some guy who had lost it. Two damn months! Not only that but he hadn't even read the book before that which was the first book in the trilogy. And now for the cherry on top, he eventually picked up the first, reading twenty five pages worth before saying it was a "Waste of time." Once I heard that from Ashley never in my life did I want to hunt someone down.
'Well, time to catch up.' I thought, flipping through the pages until I have progressed through twenty seven pages. I glanced at my watch to check the small holographic display, 1521. Three more long painful minutes... I was broken out of my thoughts when a white slip of paper landed on my desk. I tilted my head slightly in confusion. I slowly gripped the edge of the neatly folded paper with my fingertips before opening it, revealing the neat handwriting in it. Inside, what I've read... I wish I threw it in the trash can before I got the chance to read it.
"This may be too weird to ask you considering We've known for each other for a week but... Can I stay over at your house for the week off Please?
-Rin
To top it off she drew a small chibi distressed anime character to symbolize the gravity of her situation. I looked in front of me to see her head still forward, probably twiddling her fingers as well.
"You have your girl friends, why don't you ask them?" I whispered.
She tilted her head slightly back before speaking. "They said that they couldn't." She said in a soft voice. The school bell then let out it's signal, informing school is now over. And at that moment Rin stood up from her chair and enclosed both of her hands together. "Please!" She said loudly, bowing her head. Now most of our classmates turned their heads at us.
"F-Fine!" I stuttered in a hushed tone. "Just please stop that."
Her eyes were sparking in relief and a grin formed on her face. "Thank you! I'll be waiting for you outside. I have to do something real quick." I simply nodded in acknowledgement. She then joined the stream of students out the door and into the hallways. Packing my book back into my backpack, I soon stepped out into the hallway. As I walked through the crowded halls of teenagers I thought about what I just agreed to.
'Does she do that intentionally?' I wondered, then sighed. 'Well... Congrats you dumb fuck, you promised a girl whom you want to stay the hell away from you... a nine-night's stay.' I slammed my palm on my forehead. "Fucking fantastic." I sarcastically muttered. Following the hallway towards the west exit I searched for my motorcycle. Sooner or later I found it stationed at a nearby bike post, it was a silver BMW S1000R with carbon fiber parts and a tinted windshield, and hanging on the right handlebar was a matte grey AFX FX-41DS helmet. How did I get a motorcycle like this exactly? One day I was walking home from school when down my road I saw it. It was pretty beat up at the time, engine was not working properly with a broken cylinder, two valves and a damaged intake, not to mention the rust covering the god forsaken bike. Last thing that stood out on the bike was a cardboard sign saying "Free, if you can fix it." Seeing that, I took it as an opportunity and a challenge. That day I took it towards an old garage that was run by a old friend of my dad. Ignacio.
Ignacio has taught me all the things I know, even made me into a classic muscle car gear head. When I first came to his warehouse I was at least twelve years old, and that was two months before the accident. The place was located in the suburbs, where crimes were committed often so our "reunion" was a bit on the wrong foot.
12/1/2015, 07:34:21 PM
'Should be the right place' I thought, standing on the sidewalk across the street from the warehouse.
'Sure about that?' An electronic voice asked.
'Hm, where else would it be?' After that thought I pulled up the rear-peg of the bike with my foot before rolling the broken down motorcycle across the road. Once I approached the main garage door my arm hesitated before knocking. "Hey!" I shouted. "Anyone there?!" Suddenly, the sound of a raging dog banged on the other side of the gate. I stumbled back from the sudden outburst of the canine. Just then, the gate opened, revealing a man looking in his mid-thirty's and was wearing a white T-Shirt, covered with a black leather jacket, Below that was dusted brown jeans and dark brown boots. And behind them was his dog... and it was pretty terrifying, and swiftly ran towards me. "OH, SH-!" I fell backwards from the impact of the dog's pounce, the dog wasn't done with me there,
for it chomped on my jacket and yanking it viciously. I tried to push the animal off of me but it just seemed to anger it more. "Fuck!" I yelled, raising both of my hands to the owner. "Please! I give up! AH!" I screamed in pain at my last sentence, the dog scratched my arm badly with blood starting to seep out. The owner saw this and took action.
"Down girl!" He yelled. The dog, hearing this, held back a little but still continued her thrashing. A small moment came by until he gripped an iron pipe and slammed it against the wall of the warehouse. "Hey!" He said more angrily. "Okami! I said down!" The dog named Okami this time, let me free from its jaws. I then stupidly scampered away from it.
"Holy shit!" I breathed heavily. "What breed is she?! A wolf?" I asked while examining my vintage military jacket to find rips and tears.
"Yes." The man simply answered, patting the wolf's head as it retreated to his side. "Lobo mexicano. Or if you still don't understand... a Mexican wolf. Endangered species." He gazed at me. "Who are you?" He asked.
"Nikolai." I answered. The man frowned. "Who. Are. You?" He said more firmly in a suspicious tone.
"Err... Nikolai." I say. "Nikolai... Miles?"
"Liar..." He says, whistling once. Okami noticed this, and positioned in a running position. I flinched back. "Aiden... And Nikolai Miles... Are dead, since six years ago, in a car accident."
"W-Wait, I could prove it!" I stuttered. "Ask me anything about Nikolai, that should prove it."
"Yeah?" The man said. "'If you're Nikolai then what is your middle name? Huh?"
I... expected a different question but alright. "What?" I asked to confirm.
"His middle name, Aiden never told anybody but the kid and his wife. Hell, even the kid has never told anybody as far as I know... Five seconds." He said, crossing his arms.
"C-Connor." I stammered, calming down, I firmly spoke. "My name... is Nikolai Connor Miles. And you, are heavily mistaken about what happened." I said.
07:48:01 PM
After clearing up the story for him he believed me. And I learned him and my family have close ties, how close? Legal guardian close, if by any reason both of my parents die they would choose this man to take care of me, Ignacio was his name.
"Me and your father go way back." Ignacio says. "We have been best friends since second grade."
"Really?"
He nodded his head. "Yep, I think I still remember. We talked about what we wanted to do when we grow up, he said he wanted to be an inventor, a scientist, but he also wanted to be a doctor to save lives." He raised his head to meet my gaze. "Do you know which path he chose?"
I tried to remember at the time but sadly that memory is as good as gone. "No, you see. I have a minimum two year memory span, so I dont really remember anything but fragments of it."
"Hm, but if you were to take a assumption from anything you remember of him what would you think?"
Pondering for a long time I chose to take a guess. "A... scientist." I said. Ignacio smiled.
"Aw, so close. Truth is: he became both of those people, in fact he became famous because of it." As he said this it brought up a question.
"If he was so famous why does my mother and I live in that small un-air conditioned house?"
Ignacio tilted his head. "Mother?"
Furrowing my eyebrow I continued. "Yeah, you know... my mother who lives with me?"
"But you cant be living with your mother be cause she..." Ignacio stopped himself, an indescribable tone and expression filled his face and his words. "Because she is on a long-term business trip isn't she?"
"No?" I said with a questioning edge.
"Oh not yet huh? Well in any case her trip might be real soon then."
A sheepish expression washed over me. "You say that like it's a good thing." I inaudibly say to myself. "Anyway what did my dad create that made him famous?"
Ignacio laid his head back, using his two hands as makeshift pillows. "Oh that. It was a miracle device, your dad called it: Project LAZARUS. Although it was an accomplishment to behold it was short lived."
"How so?"
"The damn D.o.D, when word spread about it they took their window of opportunity and sealed it away from the media and 'Confiscated' his research all in the matter of four weeks." He said this while shivering at the word as if it was venomous. "Fucking feds, you'd think they're supposed to be the good guys." His voice then raised in anger in each word. "But instead of using it as it's supposed to, they kept it locked away from the people and children who needed it the most, only to sell it to some damn half-ass PMC industry to re-label his work, make a crap downgraded version and use it for bloody war!" He gritted his teeth before standing up to unleash a barrage of strikes on the wall with a nearby wrench from a wall rack. "And while they take the praise, they dont even lift a finger for your father but a letter! The fuck?!" He says, slamming harder.
I just sat there, motionless, not knowing of how to calm him down. Normally if this would happen I would subtlety shy away and go on with my day. But this is different, he is not just some classmate or stranger, he is family, part of my dad's family. "Deep breaths..." I nonchalantly said. 'Damn Niko! Way to play the assertive role for once!' I thought sarcastically. Ignacio continued his bashing, I moved my head up to look at him. "Igna-" I stopped myself when I realized playing the shy kid was getting me nowhere, I then closed my eyes and took a deep breath. 'Alright, let's jump to BLT Training Camp status.' I clutched my hand into a fist before yelling. "QUIT... YOUR SHIT!" I yelled to the point of my voice echoing off the wide open space, even Okami flinched. Before he swung again he slowly turned his head back. Me, I was breathing heavily, now realizing what I've done.
"That... was almost exactly like your mother." Ignacio said, gasping for air.
"Past is the past." I say weakly. "Since ten years ago, I think you should know by now, shit happens. And there is no escaping it but to look forward to the future." I diverted my gaze. "Now..." I took out my backpack and unzipped it to get out a water bottle. "About the motorcycle."
Annnd that's pretty much how it happened. After unlocking the chain that secured the cycle through the front wheel, I then rolled it towards the drop off. Which was jam packed with students waiting for their rides. Ten freaking minutes have passed, and my patience was getting worse by the second. Sighing, I let my head down to rest while waiting, listening to the buzzes of chatter around.
"S-Sorry! I have to go!" I heard someone close by say. I lifted my head, turned back and opened my eyes to see a brunette with brown eyes and wore a brown jacket that stood near some guy.
"Come on! Just come over and give me a chance, I promise it won't happen again." The guy replied.
"I'm sorry, but I dont want to." She said trying to stealthily walk away. But her retreat was halted when the guy seized her by the arm. "Hold on!" He said as he tightened his grip. The girl let out a faint whimper of pain.
I scanned my surroundings. They're located on the same sidewalk that connected to the drop off, but they're more further down so while everyone's talking to their friends they cant really see what's going on. But someone like me however... After a long moment of thinking I sighed. 'It's a week... most likely they won't even remember me at all later.' I thought. Kicking down the rear-peg, I pulled down my cap slightly and took out my shemagh to wrap it around my face before getting off the bike and walk towards them. Normally I'd probably stand out if this was hot weather, fortunately it's not. All I have to do is act natural and let my usual dont-give-a-damn aura do all the work and bang, I'm invisible to others around me. As I reached the two I leaned on a tree not too far away from them and blankly stared towards the football stadium across. I let a couple of attempts from the guy pass until he tightened his grip more on the girl's arm. 'Seems like he won't give up anytime soon huh?' I thought before finally speaking up, interrupting him.
"Just give it up already, it's clear she want's nothing to do with you." I said, emotionless. My body slightly tensed as I sensed them both looking straight at me.
"Who're you? Her boyfriend?" He hostilely said, letting go of the brunettes arm.
"Hardly." I say, keeping a nonchalant demeanor. "More like a concerned classmate." That part was true, I have both of them in separate periods, I just dont bother to memorize names nowadays.
"Oh, I know you." The guy says. "You're the class robot." He smugly says. Hm, an asshole that plays king of the hill, preying on people for ego and popularity... Not the first time this happened to me. Faint murmurs from the girl could be heard, she was trying to tell him to lay off. I took small steps while talking as I approached the two.
"Well I could take your light insults all day. I just came by to suggest that you hunt some other poor girl before laying this one and announcing it to the whole school as your trophy." I calmly said.
"He does that?" Whispers the brunette. I walked and leaned towards her ear.
"Behind all the girls back of course." I whispered back. "Such as locker rooms, restrooms, and occasionally lunch." As I said this she flinched in surprise. "Oh please, you're surprised of that? Just use your head, you'd be surprised what you could see. And if he bothers you more... I dont know, scream or whatever, that'll get him right off you. Got it?" The girl nodded her head.
"I'm right here asshole." The guy said.
"Still? Listen, your whole cover is blown, just walk aw-" I was interrupted by him gripping onto my shemagh and looking at me with furious eyes.
"Or what?" He said threateningly. I noticed that people were gathering around us. This is bad, this was simply supposed to be an in and out conversation and not... This. I heard a few murmurs from the people surrounding us. "Is Darius really going to fight him?" Says one. "My money's on the T-1000!" Says another, which kinda made me chuckle in the inside. I calmly took hold of his wrist, taking it aside. As my eyes scan the crowd it makes contact with two questioning golden irises.
"Have a wonderful weekend." I say politely as I turn and walk away, the crowd fills with murmurs of disapproval.
"Yeah, you too. Watch out for crossroads, dont want to make daddy's mistake again, huh?" Darius taunted as he spat towards me. I came to a dead stop.
"Imperdonable..." I said in Spanish with a held back raged tone, I about-faced and came back into the crowded circle. Darius cocked his eyebrow. "You can... say what you want about me, punch me... insult me. But if you think you can spit on the people six feet under and delude yourself of being untouchable without punishment you are dead wrong."
"Ha! Who's going to stop me, you? Look at me, I'm a walking beast unlike you!" He said this, extending his finger towards me. Confidence during a fight... Big mistake. I could talk for days on how his position benefits me, how his stance is and how his finger is too far out. As I came in my striking range I swiftly took hold of his finger before bending it upwards and twisting it, and at the same time bringing my right knee up and angling my foot before dropping it towards his ankle and letting gravity do the rest. He yelled in pain and confusion as I subdued him to the ground. Further action was unnecessary, I looked up to where Rin was at. She had eyes of dinner plates due to what just happened, I flicked my head to my left to signal that we were leaving now. As I was midway out of the fighting circle I once more stopped for a second. "Oh, that's right." I said to myself. I turned around to briefly remove my shemagh to spit back at Darius on his neck before pulling it up to my nose. "See? Knew I forgot something. One more thing too, don't make me deal with this bullshit again." As I said this the crowd went wild with praise and started chanting, "Robot."
As I rejoined with Rin she gave me a look. "Not another word, let's go. Now." I said, walking fast. Behind me I heard small taps and a soft voice.
"Is what he sai-"
I interrupted her without turning around. "Shut. Up." I said rather sharply. Rin flinched at this. As I got back on my motorcycle I dropped my head down and sighed. As I felt Rin get on behind me a silence went by before speaking up. "I'm-..." For some reason my mouth couldn't move. How you you even 'deliver' an apology anyway? Without it being awkward? "S-... So-" I stuttered, I then closed my eyes tightly. 'Great... Just look at how helpless you are. You can't even say an apology after that?'
"Sorry." The Japanese girl's voice sounded behind me. I opened my eyes to look at the mirror. Rin was giving me a sympathetic look. I looked forward, towards the exit gate in front of us. After fishing the key from my pocket I inserted it to the ignition. "Yeah." I said, turning the key and hearing the engine start. I handed her my helmet. "Just hold on tight." I said, then flinched when I felt hands gently wrapping around my waist. "N-No!" I felt blood running across my face. "T-The back of the bike. There's a handle bar you can use." It took a while before her limbs let me go, now gripping the steel bar. I scratched the side of my hair before accelerating, hearing the engine roar in the background.
As we made the trip to my house halfway, into the city at a red light, she yelled over the and car engines. "Hey!"
"What?" I asked.
"Can we go to my house real quick?" She said before adding. "Need to get some things."
"And you're just telling me this now?" I said, annoyed.
"Don't worry It's just around this area. about two miles." Rin says. Two miles?! I'm running on fumes here, how do you expect me to make that!? Closing my eyes, I focused my mind towards my sight. As a triangle grid moved down in the darkness I opened my eyes, revealing my HUD. I positioned my eyes on the motorcycle a square grid rippled across the vehicle rapidly before a list of information appeared. BMW S1000R, Weight: 897 lbs, Top Speed: 125+ mph, Fuel: 4.6 gal., 4% Remaining. Estimate: 3 Mi. "I hope your right." I say. "Otherwise, we're going to have to walk the rest." As the light switched green I accelerated and took a left.
04:05:07 PM
After a handful of minutes ticked by as I followed directions I couldn't help but to question our location. The terrain in which the road was on was a rather large hill, that just happened to be blanketed by either large houses and what seemed like mansions in the distance, over the horizon. My lips parted at the sight before words came out. "Okay... seems like were lost." I said. However, the girl behind me shook her head.
"No, we're not. Just a little further, three houses up this road."
I counted the three buildings to find a... huge mansion. As much as I wanted to keep it in, the words practically tumbled its way out. "You're rich." I blurted out, then quickly tried to save myself. "W-Wai- t-that's not what I meant. I mean..." My mind skimmed through multiple words that might be more respectful, but of course even with this advanced micro-computer in the back of my head I ended up saying the sentence rather awkwardly as I said one word at a time, slowly. "You're... doing well for yourselves?..." How did that turn into a question at the end? Hell if I know. I guess you can say this is how I am when I step out of my casual demeanor and try to explore the deep forests of formality... Then I come back gaining another trophy of awkwardness only to serve as a reminder of why I shouldn't even bother with others.
"Thank you!" Rin replied, sincerely, as if what I said hasn't brought any discomfort to her, whatsoever. Or did it not? As we rode near her house I decelerated and took the chance to subtlety take a glance back towards her face to find a delighted grin on her face, as anyone could tell, she's excited for something. Which in truth, scares the living shit out of me. I followed her eyes towards a black SUV in the large U-shaped driveway that was protected by two separate fancy looking gates. As we approached the gate a man who wore a black business suit came into view, raising up his hand to signal for me to halt.
"State your business here." The gatekeeper ordered with an authoritative tone.
"Oh, well... I came to drop off this girl." I said. The guard narrowed his eyes a little in disbelief. I then noticed from his crossed arms, one of his fingers seemed to linger towards a small bulge in his suit. Rin swiftly took off the helmet I gave her.
"H-Hi Ike-Sama!" Rin brushed down her hair with one hand while waving with the other. The man known as Ike then dropped his arms to his sides at once at the sight of Rin.
"M-Master?! My apologies!" He quickly bowed before her. As I looked at the scene, Ike shifted his attention towards me. "Madam, if I may ask who is this... commoner?" He says, as if people like me are completely foreign to this area. If I haven't been picked on all my school years, my tolerance probably would of gone off as soon as he emphasized that last word.
"Oh, this is Miles-San." Rin says as she pats the top of my cap lightly, I respond to this my slightly shaking my head to get her hand off. "Nikolai Miles, a friend I met in school."
"And why has he come to drop you off? Why didn't you call your chauffeur?" Ike once more questions. Once he said this I lowered my head to cover my face, as I did this I gritted my teeth and fired a glare behind me.
"You had... a god damned chauffeur?" I growled softly towards the short red haired girl sitting behind me. She answered my mildly hostile question with a sheepish smile, then looked up to Ike and forged an innocent face.
"Sorry, I forgot her phone number." She says. Ike let his hand run down his face.
"Lee, this is no light matter. Your mother specifically hired us to make sure you are safe at all times. In and out of home, no exceptions."
"Yes! And I will." Rin said as she enclosed both of her hands. "I'm sorry for my arrogant actions, I promise such a thing shall not happen again." She finishes it by bowing her head with a hint of mockery, showing discussions like this has happened many other times. "So... Please don't tell Mom about this?" She pleaded to him.
Ike seemed to be having a long battle of morals before grunting in frustration. "Fine, I won't." As he says this Rin's lips curved upwards. "But... Don't expect your chauffeur to do the same..." He says underneath his breath. He motioned his right hand to his ear, pressing on a ear piece. "She's here."
A buzz followed his sentence, a few seconds passed before the gate began to open. As it did, Ike walked to the left, stepping off the road before motioning his arms invitingly into the private property. It took a few seconds for me to get the idea he was hinting for me to drive in instead of letting Rin off here and now. I then lightly twisted the right handle to roll in the high class driveway and park in a suitable place behind the SUV. As Rin adjusted her messenger bag and practically jumped off the bike she spun around and leaned towards me while I was taking view of the mansion. "Would you like to come inside?" She says, passing my helmet back to me.
"Um... I'll just wait here so-" I was cut off by my stomach growling and by the looks of it, Rin seemed to lower her gaze towards where the sound was coming from.
"Hm? seems you need something to eat!" Exclaimed Rin as her eyes sparked at the chance of opportunity. I quickly shook my head.
"D-Don't worry." I stuttered, getting my bag to unzip it and pull out one of the contents within. "It's not a problem." I say as I close my eyes and bring out a small potato chip bag. Rin's eyes narrowed with disbelief.
"It doesn't seem to provide much, don'cha think?" She says as her arms cross around each other.
"Oh..." I nonchalantly said as I reach for another. "That's why I bring a spare." I then introduced another out of my bag.
"Wha-!" Rin seemed dazed by this before recovering herself with a small joke. "Heh, I guess this is just usual everyday lunch, huh?"
And so, to think of just going along with it seemed to confuse my dense head, and in response to it's panic, it came out with this. "Everyday routine." I say underneath my breath while stretching. "Bowl of soup in the morning, chips mid-day, and of course something like ice cream or popcorn at night." As I finished my sentence, Rin was stupefied.
"Are you serious?" She asks after a long silence. As much as every fiber in my being wanted me to play that innocent-playful-person everyone trusts... the other side of me knows that it'll end up in a serious backfire. So I play... plain 'Nikolai.' I drain my face of all identifiable expressions let my eyes wander towards a small digital watch on my wrist.
"Oh, hey... It's about four-forty-five." I say. 'Screw it, if this tactic can work on a councilor and senior volunteers at a cope of loss program, how hard could it be for a simple classmate?' Basically, what I'm doing is subtlety changing topics, bit by bit, if you choose wisely you could just about throw anyone off track of what they want and manipulate their interest somewhere else. Since lying is not my strongest suit, this works perfectly.
"You did not answer my question..." She continued to press on her topic, stepping in closer to flick my forehead.
'Or... Not.'
"I'm being serious right now Ni-Chan... Eating that stuff is very bad for your health. Along with eating little to nothing, you'll just develop a disorder."
I rubbed my forehead with my finger before replying. "Okay, can you please stop calling me that? Also, you have no business telling me what I should or not eat, it does not affect you in anyway." I say. 'You're a bit too late as well...'
As Rin opened her mouth to debate further the sound of double doors opening caught her attention, I looked over her shoulder to see two adults, a man and woman who seemed in their late thirties. The man seemed to be talking to someone on his phone whereas the woman was examining a paper, not only than this but a few personal advisers seemed to be accompanying them as they approached the black vehicle in front of them.
"She's not?" The man said over the phone. "A-Are you sure she's not in the district?... I don't care if they checked or not, make sure they double if not triple!" The man then hanged up before sighing. "Where can she be?" He muttered. Rin then let out a whistle in his direction to get his attention. When the man looked around his surroundings he soon found the source. His eyes then settled down before he held out to silence an adviser who was informing him about business. "One second." He murmured to him. As he stood before Rin he crossed his arms in a parental manner. "Do you realize how worried we were?" He says with a bit of fury in his eyes.
"I-I'm so sorry!" Rin bowed her head. "My phone ran out of battery, I had no choice but to get help from someone else." She says as her arm gestures towards me. At first what I'm guessing is her father just looked at me for a while before his eyes slightly widened.
"Oh, thank you for helping my daughter. I'm guessing you two are friends?"
"Yes."
"No."
Rin and I responded in unison, as her father cocked his eyebrow I continued my answer. "More like acquaintances." I finish. "Oh! Sorry, my name is Nikolai Miles." I said as I got up from the bike and extended my hand.
"Yes, I'm aware." The father replied, shaking my hand. "You look just like your father, Aiden." I flinched back at this.
"Who are you?" I say a bit bluntly, ignoring Rin's stare of disapproval. The man took a deep breath before speaking once more.
"Katashi Lee." Says the man. "I worked alongside your father during his projects, well, until the event in which he sold his research. I'm very sorry about the incident that has happened, his ideas and mind seemed as if it was ahead of it's own time." As he said this he bowed respectively. He then looked up to see me staring in disbelief. "You don't believe me, do you?"
"With all respect, I don't really trust anyone." I answer, trying my best not to burst out the many questions I have. "From what I've heard from a... relative, the whole team was disbanded and had gone their separate ways."
"Yes, and few received job opportunities by the company that bought your father's work." Replied Katashi.
"And you took it." I said. The man smirked a little before speaking.
"Hm, and how could you come to such a conclusion? With little evidence?"
"Because there is. We're standing on it, and it's pretty huge." It's true that this mansion plays part of it, but I haven't forgotten the real scenario behind this. If he was part of the project he would sure as hell know half of what he said is complete and utter bullshit. What really happened was that the government took the research for war, and if a corporation got a hold of it, it could mean two things, either the company bought it fully, or the government needs help in reverse engineering and is funding... Either way, a ton of money must be involved to hire the best of the best. And where better to start with the original team?
"Heh, you're a sharp one aren't you kid? No wonder Rin here is interested in you." Katashi says as he scratches Rin's hair.
Before Katashi could talk again, Rin spoke up. "Um, Dad?" She asked. Katashi responded by shifting his attention towards her. "A-About that business trip you and Mother are going on..."
"Oh! Yes, are you ready to leave with us?" Katashi asks as his eyes widen with memory. Me on the other hand, it took a while to process what I've just heard. And it took a hell of a lot effort to not get back on my bike to drive off with the little fuel it had. As Rin stood there looking for some reasonable words, a woman with long auburn hair stepped into view, next to Katashi.
Rin PoV
'Crap...' I thought as my Mom entered the conversation.
"Hon, we need to go soon." She says into Dad's ear. And just when she was about to switch back into business mode she caught a glance of Ni-Kun. "Oh? Who's this stranger?"
"His name is Nikolai." Dad answers, he follows this up with a whisper in Mother's ear. Most likely telling her his full background. "-And he has taken the effort of bringing Rin here home."
"Really?" Mom says, interested. As she walks up to... Nikolai. Eh, that'll take some getting used to. She asks him a series of questions such as: Was it a bother bringing Rin back here? Are you sure? What's your relationship with my daughter? Friends? Or something greater? Ok, THAT one got my face to heat up. However, Nikolai surprisingly kept his composure. But his stuttering words exposes how off guard he truly is.
"N-No!" He coughs out, continuing the rest of his sentence nervously and nearly inaudibly. "I don't know about her, but were just acquaintances."
" 'Acquaintances' don't take the time and trouble to give a lift from the school to here." Mother remarked.
"Well, apparently... This one does." Nikolai says while scratching his head. As mother chuckled a little my dad tapped my shoulder to get my attention.
"All this aside, what did you want to ask me?"
I then breathed before gathering up my remaining nerve to ask him. "Y-Yeah, about that business trip you and Mom are going on... Well you also said I didn't need to go if I did not want to right?"
"Yes, but you'd need someone to look after you whom is trustworthy to both your Mother and I." Dad answered. "What about it?"
I turned around to make sure Mother was still busy with Nikolai before facing back. "I found someone who can look after me." I said, weakly.
"Hm, that would be? I've never got to meet any of your friend's parents." Dad says as he tilts his head.
"You... just met him." Before I knew it the words came out, leaving me wide open for questioning.
"Wait... he's-" Dad started, quickly I stammered more details.
"W-Well! He's the guy I've told you and Mother about! And considering I'm supposed to help him, it's a good chance you see..." My eyes started to drift away with every word that was coming out my lips.
"Okay." Father replies, calmly.
"H-Huh?"
"Well yeah I mean... Now that I think about it you seemed eager and interested when speaking about him at the table. I trust you'll be able to take care of yourself but for your Mother... I'll try to think of something." Before I can say anything one of the business advisers practically started dragging him away, mumbling something tech related that I don't understand. The same goes for mother, an adviser drags her along, saving Nikolai from any other questions. As the SUV rolled out with both of my parents waving goodbye I found myself alone with Niko-kun by my side.
"She was... interesting..." Nikolai muttered to the left of me, scratching his cheek with his index finger. As I looked closer at him I saw his emotionless eyes narrow slightly. "So... were you ready to leave with them, Rin?" He says, eyes still locked onto the ground. He says it casually, but I know there's a trace of annoyance in his words somewhere.
"I-..." My mouth stopped at that moment, as much as I tried to calmly reply this was the result. "N-.. No..." At this Niko-kun let out a suppressed sigh before walking up to his motorcycle, putting one hand on a handlebar and the other to flick his finger two times at what I'm guessing is the fuel gauge, then he looked out to the straight road that was outside my family's mansion. Niko-kun then closed his eyes for a while before opening them to reveal his now glowing amber irises.
"Six miles out, limited fuel... two miles, estimate time... thirty five minutes on account of dense traffic... Dammit." He mutters softly, he got on the motorcycle and turned it on, his eyelids then drift towards me. "Well what are you waiting for?" He asks. I hesitate before speaking. "Wh- Huh?" Is all that comes out. A long moment of silence goes by before Niko-kun takes the helmet off the handle bar, he stares into the visor until sighing and motioning the helmet towards me.
"If you're up for it. Don't expect a full ride over, not enough gas... I can't guarantee your stay will be as comfortable, obviously." I was bewildered from what he just said. I lied to him, and he is pretty much being forced in a friendship with a polar opposite, yet he is still willing to help me? Why?
"Why.. are you willing to help me?" I unconsciously mutter.
"Probably because I'm an idiot..." He avoids my eyes and furrows his eyebrows as if he's debating before looking at my general direction. As he opens his mouth to speak nothing comes out until five seconds later. "...Because who else will?" The words weakly tumble out. At that moment I heard the familiar sound of heels behind me, stepping at a fast rate... please don't tell me who I think it is. I see that Nikolai is looking at whoever is behind me with a blank expression.
"Miss Lee?" There was venom in her words... a LOT of it. Enough to send an ice cold shiver down my spine.
"M-Ms. Lackey!" I greet as I turn around, smiling stupidly. "How are you doing toda- AH!" I yelp in pain as she seizes me by the cheek.
"Today, I was waiting at the side drop off entrance to your school." She hisses, raising her pinch.
"Is that right?" I reply, or want to reply. My words were probably incomprehensible to others but myself.
"Yes, in fact I've waited there for an hour and a half until a teacher informed me that you were not on campus."
"Sorry! Please stop, my phone died!" And at that moment bad fortune strikes once again as a ringtone sings from my pocket. Lackey just looks at me with a dead stare, her eyes exposing her rage. A long period of time goes by until I awkwardly raise my arm to fish for my phone, when I get it out a random phone number fills the screen, on top of the options whether to accept it or not. As I look up, I see Ms. Lackey's fake smile, when I look to Niko-kun for help I see his face covered by his cap and scarf, I'm guessing he's not going to help anytime soon.
"You know what the proper punishment for this is, do you?" Ms. Lackey says. In fact I do, and it's going to take everything I have in persuasion to let it pass!
"...Please go easy on me." I helplessly plead, closing my eyes tightly.
"It just so happens that I'm out of mercy..." I hear her say, momentarily I feel her other hand pinching my left cheek. She lets me have a moment of peace before stretching my cheeks apart with all her strength.
15 Minutes later...
I looked up from the backseat of this black Mercedes Benz to see Lackey on the driver's seat and Nikolai to the right of me, staring out the tinted window. My eyes dart from the two of them continuously since not one word has been spoken after my "punishment" so to say. I feel like I'm being shunned by both of them as they seemed to be avoiding eye contact. So it seems the reason behind Lackey's sudden appearance is because my father figured that instead of riding a motorcycle he thought a car would be more comfortable, and not to mention roomy for my clothes and other stuff.
"I'm sorry." I mutter, hoping for at least a response.
"Karma is a bitch ain't it?" Niko-kun mutters softly, still looking out the window. I breathed deeply then exhaled, well... Nothing I can do now. I might as well call that unknown phone, make sure it isn't some business calling the wrong people. Getting out my phone I scrolled through the recent phone calls, I tapped the red highlighted number before bringing the phone to my ear. I hear my phone ring as its waiting for a response... but at the same time I hear a faint vibration sound in this silent atmosphere. I trace it to my right side, I turn my head to find Niko-kun's hand in his pocket. He brings it out along with a cellphone in his hand, he taps the screen once before putting it down. And at the same time my phone stops ringing, signalling the person ignored the call.
"You're the person that called." I say. A moment goes by before he replies.
"As I said." He says, putting his hand in his pocket to get out a strip of paper. "Your Mom is an interesting person." He then drops the paper. When I examine the paper I see my phone number written in ink... dammit Mom. As I close my eyes for a second before opening them back up, remembering a question I've been curious about since I've met him.
"Niko-ku-" At that moment I purposefully coughed in an attempt to correct myself. "N-... Nikolai?" I stutter, trying his name without an honorific out. 'Damn it, you're trying to help him! So you might as well get in his comfortable side!'
Nikolai raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement, he seems surprised in his own silent way I guess that I dropped the honorific.
"Your name." I say.
"What?"
"If I may ask, why exactly is it 'Nikolai'? I mean, your heritage has completely different names so why that?"
He moves his head away from the window and just stares at the floor. "My mother is Hispanic and a bit of German, and my dad had a Russian background." He answers simply, as if that would answer all my questions. 'You can at least tell me more...' I thought. Trying to find out more about him without prying too much, I eventually resorted to asking one small question.
"So how did they decide who would name you?" I ask. He then brings out his hand in front of him and balls it into a fist.
"They played rock, paper, scissors..." He nonchalantly answers.
'Wha-!' I find myself trying my best not to rip out my hair. 'Why?! For god's sake, it's naming a child! Surely a simple game like that couldn't decide the fate of one's name, could it?'
"Answer this..." Nikolai said as he looks at my direction.
"Huh?"
"Why... are you trying to befriend me?" He asks. I blinked in response, I've already told him haven't I? Just when we exited out of the councilor's office.
"Because you seemed lonely." I answer.
He sighs in a frustrated fashion before rubbing his eyes. "That's not what I meant, Rin."
I tilt my head. "What?"
"Yeah, I look gloomy as fuck, I get it. But, is that it? If that's the case I'm not going to lie. I don't trust you..."
What he said threw me off, maybe even upset me. "Why?"
"Find a person with a problem. Be the solution. It's not like all people have pure intentions nowadays... They've been doing it all the time under everyone's noses at school."
"Wait... our school?" I turn my body towards him in interest.
"Hm." Nikolai laughs silently, looking once more out the window. "Yeah, having nothing to do but roam the hallways you tend to ah... See and hear things that assholes would do anything to keep you silent."
"How long have you been doing this?"
"Enough to know being 'popular' gives you enough influence to get away with anything as long as you're playing the victim. And I've seen people with good intentions gone bad when they found out how to use that popularity to step on people's necks for personal gain. King or Queen of the Hill... You can call it." He then looks up towards Lackey who was busy with the GPS. "That house, white one." He points towards a house on the left. It's... small compared to mine, no traces of maids or services obviously. The lawn seems to be freshly cut, but not to perfection.
"Looks... Common." Lackey exclaims as she takes a U-turn.
"Lower-mid class, not the best... but it's better than the alleys that's for sure." I notice that his gaze is directed towards a driveway into a small garage.
"Your vehicle is stored there as promised. We took the charity of refilling the tank too." Lackey informs.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." Nikolai says, moving back to his seat, waiting for the car to stop.
"Thank Mr. and Ms. Lee. They're the ones that insisted." Lackey replies, pulling over. Nikolai opens the door and steps outside. As I un-clip my seat belt to get out from his side he shuts the door, paying no attention to me. He then walks to the trunk of the car before opening it, revealing my luggage. I open my door and step out to join him. Nikolai takes hold of two packing cases and motions his head towards the last two, signaling me to take care of the rest before walking off towards the front door of his house.
"What a gentleman." I sarcastically say, since usually the guy is supposed to take care of the woman's luggage. I mean, my other normal guy friends would do that as if by natural instinct. But then I remembered. 'But then again, he's not a normal person is he?' I think.
"That's hilarious you'd even think of me as one." He verbally jabs back at me in the distance. "You know it's not like you have two arms or anything, not that hard to hold a handle." Nikolai says as he opens the door and disappears in the house. I sigh before wrapping my fingers around the two handles and dragging the two cases out of the trunk. They're heavy... I give myself five seconds to complain before forcing myself to deal with it and remind myself that he is offering me a roof to sleep under for a week. I close the trunk, then made my way towards the white painted house, as soon as I'm near the door I wave a goodbye at Lackey, signalling that she could go now and help my other two sisters.
As I close the door behind me I see that the house is a bit roomier than I thought it would be. I look to the right of me to see an everyday piece of furniture missing. 'Where's... the shoe cabinet?' Another thing I noticed were three pathways, in front of me was a staircase upstairs, to the left seemed to be the kitchen and dining area, and the right was a room with two couches and an average size TV which I'm guessing is the living room. I don't see Nikolai anywhere, but I do hear footsteps, both large and small which seemed to be coming right above me. "Nikolai?" I call out. No response. I say his name another time before putting my bags and shoes aside on the nearby couch. I wander my way towards the stairs, I look up before hesitantly placing my first foot on the first step. "This should be fine, right?" I murmur to myself, taking more steps up. When I reach the second floor I look towards an open door on the left, there I see Nikolai kneeling and looking down. As I walk towards him to ask what's he doing he holds his arm up to silence me.
"Don't say anything... don't even move." He warns before moving his arm in front of him. At first I have no idea what he's talking about but then I hear a soft growl and with it a large dog comes into sight. It had a yellowish-grey pelt which was heavily clouded with black over the back and tail. It seemed to be sniffing Nikolai, circling around him and analyzing him. "Come on, Okami..." Nikolai whispers. "I'm the same kid you fucked up back in the day." As the dog calms down Nikolai slowly raises his hand to pet it gently. "See? Nothing to worry about." He says, rubbing the dog's head more casually as it seems to recognize him, the dog then takes Nikolai by surprise and knocks him over and starts licking him tenderly. Nikolai let's out a few curse words before pushing Okami off of him. "Now that's just uncalled for..." The dog just spins around in excitement, seemingly delighted by Nikolai's presence. I couldn't help but find it cute, I unconsciously let out a giggle. Both the dog and Nikolai spun their heads towards me, in an instant the dog's warm demeanor turned cold and jumped in front of Nikolai in a defensive stance, growling fiercely at me. I completely froze at that moment, unresponsive at the sudden change. Nikolai quickly jumped in shielded me before making few gestures followed by long whistles. "Down girl!" He hastily says. "This is Rin, a... guest."
"U-Uh, Nikolai?!" I stutter.
"Don't!... run." Nikolai instructs. "Keep calm." He then takes hold of my forearm and motions it towards the dog.
"What kind of dog is that?" I ask.
"Lobo... a wolf." He simply answers.
'A wolf?! How the hell?' Before I can speak again, the wolf approaches my extended arm, growling deep as it draws closer. I step back, preparing to run if I have to, but Nikolai keeps his grip.
"Don't run, you want to make a good first impression. Stay still and maintain eye contact, straiten your back more if you can." Nikolai whispers. Okami takes a few steps forward before coming to a dead stop from at least four steps from Nikolai. The wolf looks and tilts it's head questionably, I look to Nikolai to see that he slowly steps aside, leaving me vulnerable. Okami put's its right paw forward for a second before suddenly dashing toward me. To my surprise my legs were frozen in place... Actually, it may be fear that's keeping me from running down stairs. The wolf is right below me, glaring at me with its eyes. Following Nikolai's instructions, I do the same. Okami then circles around my body, catching my scent with its nose, it inspects me more before standing in front of me again, seemingly making its verdict. As minutes go by the wolf simply turns around and jumps on a nearby bed next to Nikolai before sitting down.
"What... just happened?" I ask, weakly.
"A test of respect." Nikolai simply answers, rubbing Okami's back. "All dogs and wolves do it."
"So... what? Did I pass?"
"Depends on your definition. You didn't necessarily 'pass' but... you at least got her tolerance." He looks back at Okami. "Don't have any food for her at the moment though... Eh, meat should suffice in the meantime, right?" Okami barks in acknowledgement. "And I'm guessing Ignacio is busy at the garage huh?" After a moment of rubbing her back, Nikolai stood up. I was too busy looking around the room, grey walls, blue carpet, a wooden desk, and bed with a few anime and game posters on the wall.
'So this is what a guy's room looks like?' I think. I expected it to be more... messy but from what I see, everything is neatly in place if you don't count the fact four books are lying around on his bed. As I look to Nikolai to speak, something takes me by surprise. His head... His. Bare. Head. As in, without the cap he has always been wearing. I see that he has black hair with a crew-cut, I can also see a portion of metal right at the center in the back of his head. It was shaped like a circle, with three chevrons on the bottom of it each are measured longest to shortest top to bottom. I notice there's also a half, circle glowing in the center, showing the unit is up and running. How long has he had this on him? What of his thoughts and imagination, his emotions and empathy? Is it the machine that's doing it, or... himself? Just giving it thought make's me feel sorry for him. So this is what people meant, a walking robot among them. As he places his cap on a hook on a mirror, he scratches his head before covering the metal device with the palm of his right hand. Crap... I've been staring too long haven't I?
"Pure titanium." He says, as if reading my mind. "And you're probably wondering if I'm... Well.. human."
"Ah! N-No I-" I stutter, holding my hands up and waving them.
"Don't even bother." He sighs, turning around. "Let's make one thing very clear. I don't need your sympathy, Rin." His words are cold yet there's something else in them, like the time at that stairwell when he told me to go away. Suffering, I would call it. "It's almost time for dinner..." He walks right past me before I could protest, whistling for Okami to follow. After a moment. I too, start following the line. As we walk down the stairs I feel something hit me, I remember how unusual his hunger is. He's most likely going to eat something small and unhealthy, how to avoid that? I don't know... I could try cooking for him.
"Hey, Nikolai?" I ask.
"Huh?" He murmurs as he takes the last step of the stairs before turning right, where the kitchen is. "Oh. Yeah, hold that thought. Is there something in particular you want? Or..." He stops at the stove before I can say what's on my mind.
"Oh, no. I've just been thinking... Since you've been helpful so far, can I cook?" I ask. Nikolai responds to this by just standing there, for minutes, staring blankly at a shelf. I slowly walk closer to him, my arms crossed behind my back. 'Is... he frozen?' I ask in my mind.
"No thanks, I'll... just cook for us, don't worry about it." He responds, getting a small bag from the shelves. As I lean in to look at it I see it's contents, spaghetti. "Don't mind this?" He asks, waving the bag towards me.
"No, not at all." I respond, observing him as he takes headphones out before putting one in his ear and connecting his music. Then he starts to take more ingredients out from the cabinets above. A can of diced tomatoes, olive oil, and a bag of rice. He then puts the ingredients on the counter shuts the top cabinets and goes to work on the bottom ones. Pulling out a pot, a pack of matches, bell pepper and onions. Just when I think he's done he moves aside to his right and opens the refrigerator on his left pulls out a sealed plate of diced chicken. 'I don't think all these things are necessary, are they?' I think to myself.
"You can go wait in the sala." Nikolai says, going to the faucet to wash his hands.
"The... what?" He waves his hand towards the right.
"Living room, hard to miss."
"No need." I reply, washing my hands at the sink before setting myself next to him. I pick up the green bell pepper and a knife.
"What are you doing?" Nikolai asks.
I turn towards him, spinning the pepper. "Helping."
The whole forty minutes was... peaceful. Nikolai was very helpful through the procedure, since I've never tried cooking in my life, I made a lot of errors here and there. But for the most part, Nikolai practically did all the cooking. And here we are, at the dinner table with two bowls of chicken and rice spaghetti. "Why is there rice in the bowl?"
"Extra flavor." Nikolai responds, passing a spoon towards me. "Or... something like that. I don't know why, I just sort of picked it up."
With those words I look back nervously at my bowl. "That's reassuring." I mutter to myself. Well, to look on the bright side, he seems to have a reasonable portion of food in his bowl.
"Just saying, if you want seconds, here you go." he pushes his supposed bowl towards me. I look at it blankly. So, he made all this... for me? But what about him?! I look to see Nikolai open the fridge door to pick up a hot pocket... A friggin' hot pocket... I turn my head to the right of me to see Okami, and by the looks of it she doesn't seem so amused either by the way she's whimpering.
"Nikolai, you've gotta eat more." I say, holding the extra bowl towards him.
"I'm not that hungry." He responds, opening the packet.
"It's good..." I say even though I've not taken a single bite.
"I'm aware, I nearly make it on a daily basis for my Mom..."
A small moment of silence goes by. "...Eat." I command. He responds by lazily waving the hot pocket before putting it in the microwave. My eyebrows furrow in anger. 'Fine, have it your way.' I then slowly and silently stand up from the chair, Okami's ears peek up at my movements. As I take hold of the extra bowl the wolf seems to be aware of what I'm doing, she doesn't bark or anything. If fact, I think Okami is actually encouraging me to do so. That said I slowly make my way towards him, since he has both earbuds in, that makes this much more easier. When I'm close behind him I ready the bowl that will be stuffed in his face in a second.
"Wha-" Was all he could make out as he suddenly turned back to me, seeing the bowl in my hand. Before he can react I swiftly pushed him on the counter, his head barely missing the microwave. I proceeded to force his mouth open, shoving everything I could down before he could realize what's going on and start resisting. After a few seconds of struggling he shoved me off of him. "What the fuck are you doing?!" He shouted as he gasped for air and taking his earbuds out, glaring at me.
What am I doing, that's... A VERY obvious question, you cooked this meal and here you are not eating it. Instead you're eating a damn pizza pocket! Irritated, I step back and take my bowl and spoon. "Idiot!" I shout, then unconsciously take a spoonful of the spaghetti. Crap, this is... good, too good, after a few moments of savoring the flavor, I noticed I was still standing in place. For an awkward moment I then stepped out of the kitchen.
Nikolai PoV
I witnessed as she exits the kitchen, seemingly wondering around the house, and to a hallway that only had one door which led to the restroom. I walk towards the kitchen door to call out to her. "Hey! That hallway is-" I stop myself, realizing she's out of hearing range. "A dead end..." I mutter. I look back to the kitchen to see that my hot pocket is done. But after that event I've lost my... appetite. I pursed my lips before noticing Okami sitting tentatively in the corner, I looked at her and at the spot where Rin force fed me. You know, from this angle, I have a clear vision where the scene took place. "Sometimes I really hate you... You know that?" I murmur at Okami, roughly scratching her ears. I then check my watch to see it's getting late, I look out the window to confirm it. Sighing, I make my way towards the refrigerator to get something to drink, before I get the chance to open it I saw a small note I've not noticed before. Taking it in my hand, I observe it to see it has today's date and my mother's signature, I then mutter the message softly. "As I know how inconvenient this may be, a business opportunity has presented itself at work today. So, I won't be back until two weeks from now. Please bear with me, before I left I put money the drawer of your desk. Use it responsibly." Even though there was more, I just crumbled up the letter. 'You could of just told me in person at least, or maybe phoned it...' I thought to myself. Throwing it away, I opened the fridge to get a water bottle before picking up a plate to settle the hot pocket on.
After that, I showed Rin the small guest room we had before the incident happened, it's still weird how I found myself avoiding it since it's just a room with two beds, a small TV and a dresser. Something about it just bothered me, without further ado, I climbed upstairs to my room and settled down on my bed. I'd say my room is as average for a guy who reads and plays video games, a bookshelf wall to my right, TV right in front of me that's connected to a game console, a desk that's located in front of the window that has my drawing notebooks on it, and to the left is an old Laguna guitar with a dark sunburst finish that is connected to a JVM210H Marshall amplifier... My father was a hobbyist back in the day... and I'd hate to see all his stuff gone to waste. Besides, I've always liked Marshall, it really helps in my part time job I scored at a local music shop. The pay is fairly alright, and my job is just to see if all the equipment in inventory works properly after shipping. Best part is that most of the time I don't need to wear a uniform! My work is in the background, just the way I like it, only time I step out is when a new batch of guitars need inspection, or when someone needs re-stringing and I give their guitar back to them.
I laid my head back when I finished my hot pocket and water, watching the spinning ceiling fan in front of my eyes. I think I've already thought about this before... who the fuck is Rin exactly? And why now. Why now, someone actually takes interest in me? What her actions have been so far are supposed to be suspicious, like how she's in the guest room at this very moment. Yet, I don't feel a skeptical vibe around her, instead I feel nothing. 'Maybe... she actually is doing all this from goodwill?' I shake my head furiously from that thought. No, that's not it, it's never it. If things were as simple as that, then maybe there wouldn't be that much drama and liars at school and in the world. But in Rin's case, I just can't find the slightest fault... No matter how many times I scan her movements and actions with my A.I. she always comes out clean, and it frustrates me.
I bite the nail of my right thumb, any more thought into this topic will most likely trigger a massive headache, I need a distraction... I look to the right where my bookshelf is. I reach over to a book that I'm a third through. 'One will do right?' I think to myself as I look at the hardcover. After opening it to the page I'm on, I let my imagination immerse itself in the story.
Before I sunk in the pages my last thought was.
'I've really screwed up... haven't I?'