Calm before the storm

I don't care, no I wouldn't dare
To fix the twist in you
You've shown me eventually what you'll do
I don't mind
I don't care
As long as you're here

For the next couple of days I was at peace. Azrian and I had fallen into a kind of understanding. We would spend the early mornings lounging in his vast bed, laughing at the other's adorable bed hair and falling comfortable around each other. But that did not dispute the fact that there was always this tension in the air. It was if our bodies were always hyper aware of the other, like two connecting magnets striving to merge ourselves together.

Azrian would have to leave and spend time with his men at closed meetings that I was not allowed to participate in. There was something obviously going on, but no one was telling me. Of course I was curious, especially since the others would leave the house for hours and come back to talk with Azrian. No one would meet my eyes when they did this.

Despite all this secrecy, I was also growing more relaxed around Azrian's men. It turns out that I was not the only one who gets unsettled around Gabriel. I noticed that Rein, Typher and Vane all grow a bit tense whenever he's around.

Rein, on the other hand, was extremely easy going, despite all of that leather he adorns. One day over breakfast he saw me staring at his tribal-looking tattoos on his arm and winked at me.

"Like what you see, Abby?" He smirked, causing me to laugh as his smile was infectious. This caused a low growl from Azrian, who seemed to not like his men mock-flirting with me. I made up with Azrian later that night by kissing him senseless in bed.

Zane and Typher were the only ones that I had not got to know that well, but they seemed polite enough when I was around and obviously respected Azrian enough. Azrian told me that all of his men were very loyal to him for their own reasons, making me curious again to know that had happened in their pasts.

Charles, I found, was the easiest to get along with, probably because I've known him the longest. He also seemed to be the closest friend Azrian allowed himself to have. The way they talked together and the way in which Azrian's body relaxed ever so slightly when Charles was around led me to believe that this English man was probably the closest hope I had to getting to know some of Azrian's past. I made note to try and corner him later and drop some not-so-subtle hints that I wanted to know more about the man I was sleeping next to each night. I would have tried asking Azrian about his own past, but every time I did he would shut me down, and I was getting sick of people not answering my questions.

…

Azrian POV

It seemed as if Abigail was starting to become more comfortable and relaxed in my home and around my men, and for that I was grateful. However, Charles had informed me that she was continuing to ask questions about my background. I could not risk telling her about my past; it would be too horrifying, even for her. And there was still the problem of Mikhail reappearing in Hong Kong.

…..

Abigail POV

Frustrated that I was not getting any answers out of Charles about Azrian's past, I decided to take a walk. It was only until I had walked a majority of the down the Peak did I realise Azrian had been following me. How was it that my body just seemed to know when he was nearby?

I stopped to alert him that I knew what he up to and waited for him to show himself.

"Hello." He murmured against my ear; causing my stomach to clench at the sound of his voice shivering down my shoulder.

Trying to compose myself I repeated the greeting back coolly as I was still annoyed with him for not opening himself up to me.

He sighed in frustration as I continued my walk downwards.

"Abigail, what is it? I thought we were getting along." He asked as he kept pace with my strides.

"Yeah. I thought we were getting along too, but obviously it seems that I'm untrustworthy since you refuse to tell me anything about your past when I've told you so much about mine. You also refuse to tell me what the hell is going on, and don't give me that look. I know something is up." Azrian's face had been poised to interrupt me when I spat out what was on my mind.

"Alright." He paused. "I'll talk to you, just – where are you going?"

I had turned into St. Michael's Cemetery; revisiting the place where Azrian had first tried to contact me that day when I was with Adam.

I reached the Bauhinia tree and sat down under its leafy shade.

"This is where you first saw me," I said out loud and looked up at him since he had remained standing. I smiled. But at Azrian's stoic face I thought maybe he had forgotten. "You know," I urged, "the time when I thought I had seen someone in the trees over there and it was you. But then you left and someone else was there trying to hurt me."

Surprisingly, Azrian looked like he was dreading telling me about something. He sighed and sat down next to me.

"That wasn't the first time we met."

"Of course it was." I said; obviously baffled by his strange behaviour. It looked as if he was debating about what to tell me but then he spoke.

"Don't be mad."

Of course by now I was indeed getting angry.

"Spit it out," I demanded.

"When you first saw me on that boat I thought maybe you would remember."

"Remember what?" My heart was thumping.

"But I guess you didn't… Abigail, do you remember the time you got lost in Stanley Market when you were five years old?"

Stanley Market is situated on the South side of Hong Kong Island, by the beach. It is a major tourist trap and sells just about anything; ranging from flip-flops to swim suits to jade bracelets to Chinese souvenirs. I let my vague memory take me back.

I was shopping with my Mum. We had driven down one Saturday afternoon, just the two of us since Dad had to stay at home and work. Mum wanted to buy me new trainers for my first day of Primary School as I would need them for P.E.

After purchasing my bright white sneakers, we went for a wonder around the market. To my five year old eyes the place was gigantic. Stall upon brightly coloured stall was covered to the brim with jewels, treasures and colourful items. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed at first and clung on tightly to my Mother's hand; terrified that I would get lost. And then eventually I did.

I'm not sure how I did get lost. I was probably distracted by an interesting toy or some sparkly tourist souvenir. When I came to realise that I had lost my Mum, I panicked and ran away from where I had been standing. A stupid choice to make really since she was probably close by.

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes and it felt like I couldn't breathe. Everyone was so tall compared to me as I darted in and out between pairs and pairs of legs. A place that had earlier seemed fascinating and safe to me had turned into my own torturous maze.

I think I was crying out for my Mum and was just about to let the tears fall when someone crouched down next to me.

I remember it was a man and that he had such beautiful eyes.

"Are you lost?" He asked; his voice deeper than Dad's.

"Yes," I whispered; scared that if I spoke any louder I would begin crying and I refused to cry. "I lost my Mummy." My bottom lip began to tremble.

"It's okay. I'll help you find your Mummy."

I remember thinking that Mum and Dad had told me to never trust strangers, yet this man's eyes were so pretty…

The tall, dark stranger slowly, almost hesitantly, held onto my hand and led me back through the crowds of tourists and locals. We found my Mum near a toy shop.

I can't really remember much else after that. Just that Mum came down to hug me close to her and that she couldn't thank the stranger enough. And that was it.

"It was you," I whispered to Azrian under the tree.

He just looked at me intently.

I broke the silence.

"You met my Mum… why didn't you say anything?"

His eyes looked sad when he said, "I wanted to tell you. I thought maybe you would have at least recognised some part of me on that boat, but I guess you were young and it was probably all a blur… are you angry with me?"

He seemed genuinely worried that I was mad.

"Angry? No… I'm just confused. Why didn't you tell me about this? Sometimes I think about that day, about getting lost in that market, and I always wonder who that stranger was and what would have happened if he had not shown up to help me."

"I'm sorry; I just didn't know how to tell you. I wanted to say something when you told me about what happened to your Mum at the beach. I was going to tell you that I saw how much your Mother loved you when she found out you were safe and how you shouldn't blame yourself for the way your Mum died. She was trying to protect you and I know that she does not want you to blame yourself for her death."

I accepted the apology but kept silent about the bit about my Mum.

"What were you doing in Hong Kong then anyway?"

Azrian paused again and pondered what to say to me.

"I had just found out that you were to be my Bleeder. I had been to Hong Kong a few times by then already so I told myself that I was there visiting old friends, but really I was just curious. I'm sorry if that sounds stalkerish but I just had to look at you once, just to see what girl you would grow into. I saw that you had separated from your Mother and that you were about to panic that I finally intervened. At first I did not know how to approach you, or how to hold your hand, but your eyes trusted me so much that instead of thinking about how one day something would happen between us, all I could think about was that I needed to help you."

He honestly looked apprehensive about how I would react so I guess I shocked him by placing my lips on his.

Azrian's large hand reached up to cup the back of my head as we kissed underneath the Bauhinia tree.

When we separated to allow me to breathe, I whispered "thank you".

….

Lyrics at beginning were All The Same by Sick Puppies :D