Why do I feel so alone?
Each time I stared into the mirror, all I could see was the girl that once knew Levi, and couldn't stop loving him. A girl that looked at all his flaws, and loved each one. A girl that Levi could never love back.
"Viola, are you alright?"
Eren's hand presses against my shoulder, turning to face me. I was crying again, my tears already halfway down my cheeks.
"I'm sorry for crying," I say with embarrassment, quickly wiping all the remaining tears and holding back my tears.
"You can always cry," Eren mutters, embracing me in a tight hug. "Crying isn't a bad thing."
For a few seconds, I nearly choke with gratefulness, but then remember her harsh words, pushing Eren away from me.
"I'm going."
I couldn't be with Eren, no matter how much I sometimes wanted to. Even if I didn't mind being embraced by Eren… I hated myself for being so weak.
"Viola." Eren grabs onto my wrist as I walk the other way. "Is this about Mikasa?"
"Of course not, that would be stupid," I lie, struggling to loose myself from Eren's grasp. His face fell, looking hurt, as if he knew for certain I was lying.
"I can protect you from her," Eren says, almost as if he was going to cry. "I don't want you to see you cry anymore, Viola…"
"Eren, what are you doing with her?" Mikasa's voice thundered, as she appeared out of nowhere.
"Stop hurting Viola, Mikasa!" He suddenly spits, foolishly defending me.
"Eren, stop!" I tell him, as he looks bewildered at what I say.
"V-Viola, I just…"
"I don't need you to protect me! Just leave me alone." My own words made him look even sadder than before, also hurting me inside. "I… just… can't do this anymore."
I let go and left him stranded, sobbing even harder than before, as the others glared at me, the girl running from the only person who cared about her.
"Meow."
The cat purred, staring at me as I entered into the small, crowded one bedroom house I lived in called home. He sat upright on the hardwood floor as I made my way to the kitchen.
"What do you want?"
He was a peculiar cat, not even mine, only continuously entering my house through the pet door that I never bothered to get rid of. I didn't know his name, so I just preferred to call him, the "cat". I enjoyed his company, nonetheless, and I didn't mind his frequent visits and the fact that he loved to scratch all my furniture.
The door rang. and he paused his session of licking fur as I opened the door.
I was face to face with a man with blond hair, charming blue eyes, and ridiculously thick eyebrows, a smile between his cheeks. He looked familiar, and I straightaway distanced myself from him.
"Are you Viola Sena?" He asks, holding a police badge for a name that read as Erwin Smith.
"I am," I answer hesitantly, hoping that this wouldn't be a sequel to the incident two years ago.
"I'm Erwin Smith, and I was wondering if you knew this man."
"Look, I'm not interested in—" My mouth fell agape as I examined a faint picture of his raven hair, stoic face, and that once known scowl.
"Levi," I manage to sputter out, as Erwin stuffs the picture back in his pocket, clearly happy with his accurate prediction.
"I'm glad you know him, Viola," Erwin grins. "You'll be helping us… retrieve him."
"R-retrieve him?"
"Indeed, you see… he's a murderous criminal, and we need him back alive. As he is still a minor, we're hoping to change his views and make him into a man of justice."
"Look I," I hesitantly reply to his request. "I don't think I'm the right person."
"You've known him for many years, and as we know, we can use use that to our advantage. I know how much you care about him, so you'll get the benefit of seeing him again."
I was feeling selfish. Exploiting Levi in order to see him again, for my own sake. I bit my lower lip as I anxiously thought out the situation.
"Don't worry," Erwin smiles reassuringly. "We won't hurt him."
"I don't think Levi's done anything wrong, though," I begin, bursting with slight confidence. "He's not a murderous criminal, everything he's done is for a good reason!… He's had to witness his own friends die in front of him, and that must have been hellish…"
"He's killed countless of innocent people… committed burglary, killed his own partners, Isabel Magnolia and Farlan Church…"
The cat purrs unexpectedly, and I find myself completely shocked, almost feeling as if the world had just crumbled around me.
