Chapter Three
Allen sighed as he walked through the snowy night. It was relatively light out. The moon was full that night, and after the snowstorm had ended, the clouds had cleared right up, and the stars had come out. It was beautiful that night, and it was on nights like that that he was really reminded of the grace of God. He felt bad about how he had treated Road. She was trying to change, and he wasn't giving her a chance to prove that she could. Even though he had said that he was going to give her a chance, he wasn't. He had to wonder if he was really such a bad person that he couldn't give someone a chance to change. He wanted nothing more than to find Road and take her back to his house. But what did he know about Road? Nothing. How was he to know where she would go? Maybe God could guide him in this case. He had made a mistake, but now he was trying to fix it. He looked down and thought for a moment, praying for guidance.
Road stood by the side of the lake. It was only partially frozen over on top, but it was enough that she would die pretty quickly after she jumped in. They might find her body in a few weeks. She didn't care, though if they didn't. It wasn't like anyone else would care. She looked at the ice cold water, and thought for a moment. Was Allen serious when he said all those things? It was true that he had been pretty mean to her, but that wasn't usually what he was like. Anyone could make a mistake. Maybe if she went back and apologized, then he would forgive her. Yeah. Like that was ever going to happen. She didn't deserve to be forgiven, and if she couldn't even forgive herself, then who else would be gracious enough to forgive her? She took a breath in and then breathed out.
She finally finished and then took one last breath, knowing that it would be her last. She tied the rock that was next to her to her foot and picked it up, throwing it into the lake just as Allen got there. She heard him yell just as she flew into the lake after the rock. He ran toward her and tried to stop her, but it was too late. She plunged into the ice cold water and below the ice, and soon disappeared from sight. Allen looked around desperately for a moment. For some reason, he had heard a little voice telling him to go to the lake. That he would find the answers there. He knew, though, that to find the answer, he would have to save Road, so without a second thought, he dove into the lake and swam down to the bottom, ignoring the biting cold and the weight of all his clothes. Even in his boots, jacket, shirt, and pants, he was moving pretty quickly, and once he got to the bottom of the lake, the water started to feel a little bit warmer. He searched around in the murky water for a sign of Road, not finding her immediately. But then, he saw bubbles coming from a few feet away, and he turned around and swam over to her, looking around in his pockets for a knife, but finding none. He would have to break the rope on his own. He went over to the rope, and pulled it down slightly, wrapping the two ends around his hands and pulling as hard as he could, doing everything that he could think of to break the rope.
He could feel his chest getting tight as he pulled more and more, getting out of breath underwater like that. The cold was robbing him of strength, and not being able to breathe was doing the rest. Road was already resigned to her fate, and didn't care. But Allen did, even though he was close to passing out. Finally, he yanked hard, and the rope snapped in his hands. He gasped in shock, allowing the ice cold water into his mouth and lungs. Resisting the urge to cough, he grabbed Road and carried her up to the surface, swimming to shore. Road gasped and coughed as they hit the surface, and Allen breathed heavily as he climbed up onto the shore with Road, wrapping her immediately in his jacket. She looked awful, and after a moment, Allen picked her up again and carried her back to his house.
When Road awoke, she found that she felt awful. She wasn't even completely sure of where she was. She looked around blearily, thinking for a moment and getting her bearings. The last thing she remembered was jumping into the lake. It looked like she was in Allen's house. Maybe this was heaven. Had she really done enough good to repent for all her sins? If this was heaven, it was even better than she had expected. If she could live in Allen's house for eternity, she would literally be in heaven.
Moments later, Allen came out of the kitchen, sniffling slightly, looking almost as bad as Road felt. He was pale, and sweating, and his face was flushed with tinges of pink. He had dark bags under his eyes, maybe from lack of sleep, and his hair was limp and matted to his head. His entire body was shaking violently like he was cold, even though he was breathing heavily like he was overheating. He looked over at Road and smiled weakly. Even though Allen himself was a wreck, he had been taking care of Road like it was his responsibility. What was more, he had jumped into the freezing lake to save her, even though he said that he had hated her. She didn't really understand, but she wondered if she should question it, or take it as a sign that it wasn't time for her to die, just yet. Maybe God even spoke to people like her. Maybe she wasn't alone in the world.
"Allen…" Road began. She looked away, blushing, and it had nothing to do with her fever. "Why did you save me? This is the second time that you pulled me out of death's grasp, and you haven't told me why."
"You know, Road, even servants of God can be selfish sometimes, so please don't think too badly of me when I say that I saved you both times because I would have felt guilty had I just left you…" he said quietly, wheezing a bit in between. Road could tell, though, even in the state that she was in, that there was more to it than that.
"Allen, do you really hate me?" Road asked, looking just like a normal sixteen year old girl that had just realized what a stupid mistake she had made. For Road, though, it wasn't just any stupid mistake. It was a stupid mistake that could have caused much more damage than it had. Road was lucky that Allen had been there to stop her.
Hesitating for a moment, Allen stared hard into Road's golden eyes, and sighed, shaking his snow white head in resignation.
"No, Road. I don't hate you… I-I wanted to convince myself that I hated you so that I wouldn't have trouble telling you to leave if it ever came to that. But now, I'm not sure I could make you leave. I didn't think that it would ever be possible for a Noah and an exorcist to be friends. But I suppose that there is a first time for everything."
"Allen… I'll understand if you do want me to leave after I tell you this, but I'm glad that it was you who found me on the street. I've always considered you more than just a friend, even when we were enemies. Even though I knew that you hated me, you were different from most humans. I had long since grown disenchanted with humans, and their propensity for cruelty. I thought that I wanted to destroy the humans, but you showed me that not all humans are like that, and I guess I… I fell in love with you."
Allen looked at Road for a moment, wide eyed, unable to say anything. After all, how could he respond to something like that? He couldn't tell her that he loved her. That would be a lie. But could he really just ignore her? He stood there, thinking for a moment, and then he shook his head sadly and said, "Oh, Road. I…"
"Please don't say it!!" Road suddenly shouted, startling Allen. "I know what you're going to say, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to hear it! Just please tell me that we can continue to be friends!"
"I can't believe that you'd still want to be friends after what I said to you."
"Wait. How did I end up in this… unless…"
"I uh… I put some pajamas on you… *Achoo!*" Allen sneezed and blew his nose, groaning slightly. He felt awful and his head was killing him. Road had been unconscious for two days, and in that time, Allen had caught cold, just as surely as if he'd sat next to someone who was sick.
"You should get some rest. You look awful, Allen." Road said in concern. In the past, she wouldn't have given a damn about some human's health, even if they had just saved her. But now, she found herself genuinely concerned for him.
"No… I-I can't. I still… need t-to make dinner and clean up the house."
"Allen! I'll make dinner!"
"You can cook?" Allen asked, his face going blank. He had never expected Road to be good at cooking. She just didn't seem the type.
"Of course I can cook!" Road said loudly, although she wasn't really angry. She stood and walked over to the kitchen. She took out a pot and went into the fridge, looking for food that she could throw together. She had rarely cooked in the past, but when she did, she always liked what she made. She wasn't sure if she knew how to clean, though.
Road had come from a very wealthy family… who hated her from the moment she was born. They never outright abused her, but she couldn't even remember her father or mother telling her that they loved her, or even looking her in the eye. When they did talk to her, they did so with their backs turned to her. The servants and maids took care of her when she was a baby. To her parents, she was just a burden that they were stuck with. She was only too happy when the Earl came to leave her family behind for one that would pay attention to her. She realized shortly into her time as a Noah that her family and the Earl were evil. She didn't care, though. She just wanted them to love her. Now that Allen had taken her in, she was determined to get him to care about her. She knew that he may never actually love her, but that wasn't important anymore. She had once wanted more than anything for him to love her, but now she just wanted to be able to be friends with him.
Allen sat down, grateful that Road was helping him. He really felt awful that night, and after Road had offered to help, he had gone up to bed, partially at Road's insistence. Allen wasn't sure about letting Road do the cooking, as he had no idea what kind of things she had ever cooked, even. However, when he smelled what was coming out of the kitchen, he knew that he hadn't needed to worry after all. Road brought out a large bowl of something unfamiliar to Allen. It smelled good, though. Even though Road still looked a little bit tired and thin from when he first found her, she seemed to be doing a lot better.
"What'd you make, Road?" Allen asked politely, standing up in an offer to help. Road pushed him back down and grinned, though. She actually looked pretty excited, considering how heavy the air had been just an hour before.
"Stewed slugs, roasted maggots topped with ground cat liver and some soy sauce for flavor…" Road said, grinning even wider. Allen looked at her, horrorstruck. The funny thing was, he wouldn't be too surprised if Road really had made such a dinner. After all, he didn't really know anything about her, so she very well could have eaten that kind of thing all the time.
"Ahahaha! Just kidding! You should have seen the look on your face, Allen… It's scalloped potatoes and some leftover beef stew."
Allen sighed in relief as she put the tray down and put a plate in front of him. He felt a little bit strange having her cooking dinner for him. After all, wasn't he the one who had taken her in? Oh well. He would have to get to bed early that night. He had to go to church in the morning, and he was debating whether to bring Road or not. It would certainly be making quite a statement to bring her along, but on the other hand, maybe nobody would notice her. Yeah, that was likely. Especially given that Miranda, and all the rest of the Order, including General Cross would be there. Yes, Cross was still alive, despite him making it appear as though he had died. Apparently, he had become bored of the Order already, and ran off again by faking his death. And he had done a good job, but during the war, he came back, and fought with them. Now, he was in town permanently, living a peaceful life… well, as peaceful as Marion Cross can possibly live.
"This is really good, Road. Oh, by the way, I have church tomorrow. You don't have to come if you don't want to. All my old friends from the Order will be there, so perhaps it would be best if you stay home…" Allen said, trying to be polite, but feeling like he was being a little bit short with her. Road shook her head, though.
"I-I want to go. I used to go to church every week before I became a Noah. My family was deeply religious, and even though we didn't get along, they brought me to church on Sundays. Maybe it will be good to go back.
