Author's notes:
Hey, I'd like to present the 19th chapter of the story. I hope you'll it :) If not, tell me what you think, so I can improve both my writing and the story.
PS. Before I will finish this chapter, I will take a slight detour and write the 3rd chapter of "Last Christmas". I want to finish some of the shorter stories, so I can fully focus on the longer ones which need more development.
. Sorry, I wasn't able to finish the chapter till the end of the month. I will post what I have currently, but sadly, it's not much. The last couple of weeks were rough for me. I will try to push the entire chapter till the end of the next week. Sorry, for letting you down. What do you like about the current version of the chapter? What could I change? I would really love to hear some of your thoughts.
.PS. I feel like I need some feedback. I feel like I'm losing my drive for writing. What do you think about the story, about the chapter? Now, more than ever, I need to hear what you're thinking.
As always, thank you for everything, and see you next time :D
Changelog:
2021-02-21: A preview was posted.
2021-03-01: Added additional content.
2021-03-03: Added additional pages.
2021-03-05: Finally finished, posted the entire chapter.
Writing schedule (for the next 2 weeks):
- "Family tree",
- maybe start a new story.
Of course, the schedule is flexible, if you want me to write something else, let me know in the comments :D
End of author's notes.
Evelynn's POV (Sunday, early morning):
To say that Evelynn was exhausted would be an absolute understatement. The night following Akali's awakening was rough, to say the least. That her Protégé's dream could be true was a thought that kept the lawyer from her sleep. Even though she kept her eyes closed, her breath low and steady, she was so far away from Morpheus's realm. However, she was not the only one having problems with falling asleep that night. The raven-haired beauty, her protégé – Akali – was wriggling all over the hospital bed. The living goddess tried to keep the teenager within her arms reach. Still, over time, that task was becoming more and more draining, challenging to maintain. It was so evident that the nightmares did not just fade away. Until Akali would find a way to cope with them, they were to say. They would always linger at the very back of the teenager's mind.
The expensive makeup Evelynn quickly put on did not hide the signs of fatigue. If one was to look closer, focus on details, it would be just a matter of time before one would realise how exhausted the woman was. Still, most people would not waste their time to look for such details. It could be considered a daily occurrence for the magenta-haired woman to spot people mentally or even, in some cases, physically drooling at the mere sight of her. In the past, she considered that as a weird way to compliment her. However, over time, it got boring, became annoying. Evelynn would have never spoken that aloud, but she was ashamed of her behaviour back then. Currently, the siren would just walk past anyone, not sparing a single glance at someone outside of her league. And, to be perfectly honest, her league was narrowed significantly recently.
The woman chose to meet up with Talon at "Thinking Cup". Thinking about it, she decided to meet with at least a couple of her previous dates there. There was nothing extraordinary about that cafeteria, or at least in her opinion. Still, there were not many places the diva found impressive, outstanding. She was supposed to be in the cafeteria at 10 am.
The siren sighed heavily when she looked at the screen lock of her phone. She was already late for 15 minutes, yet she still had to find a parking lot. Cursed be the lack of sleep. Without hesitating, she decided to speed up a bit.
Evelynn's POV (30 minutes later):
The door leading to the café was pushed much forceful than needed. Evelynn heard the sound of the plaster crumbling, but honestly, she did not care. The woman saw the man walking her way. He was most likely the cafeteria employee who wanted to reprimand her. With a low scoff, she decided not to wait for the man.
"Add it to my bill," she said loudly, going to the alcove section of the café restaurant.
"But, Miss…" the employee tried to start the conversation.
"I'm already late. Would you kindly get out of my way?!" Evelynn replied, adding as much venom to her voice as it was humanly possible.
"Of course," the man responded, visibly shuddered. "Would you like me to bring you the menu card?" he asked, trying to regain his composure.
"Please, bring two," the magenta-haired woman said. Even though the sentence was meant to be friendly, the lawyer did not hide her anger.
"Right away, Miss," the employee added before getting out of the enraged woman's sight.
Evelynn did not care. She needed to find Talon and somehow explained the whole situation. Her ex-friend was sitting at the alcove situated right next to the windows as it was to be expected. On the table, there was an empty mug. Based on the deep-browns stains inside the porcelain, Talon had already drunk some coffee.
"Of course," Evelynn scoffed the moment she did not spot the man.
It was so usual for him to sit at the very corner of the alcove, so nobody could see him at the very first glance. Without much thinking, she came even closer, sitting a the bench afterwards.
"Oh, hey Evelynn," Talon greeted her with a cheerful tone. "Traffic jams?" he asked nearly instantly.
"To some extent," the lawyer replied, shaking her head slightly. "Can I have a coffee before we delve into business?" she asked. "I've had a terrible night, slept little to none. I just need some caffeine to refuel," the woman added before the man in front of her could ask another question.
"But, of course," Talon replied instantly. "I knew something was off when you were not here at 10 o'clock," he added. "You've always been praised for your punctuality. But, hey, nothing happened. I drank a cup of coffee, had a sandwich, talked with some people. Don't be hard on yourself for being late," the man tried to assure Evelynn.
"Fine," the lawyer exhaled deeply. "Do you want anything? That's the least I can do for being late," she asked.
"I'll have what you're going to order. Let's put it that way. Whatever you end up ordering, I'll be fine," the dark-haired man responded with a broad smile.
"Ok, let me deal with that stuff first," the living goddess said, standing up. "I'll be back in a sec. I'm going to order something for us to drink and eat."
She did not hear the response. After all, there was nothing to reply to. Within a heartbeat, she left the alcove, heading toward the counter.
"It's going to be a long, difficult day," Evelynn allowed herself to complain a little.
Evelynn's POV (a couple of minutes later):
Talon was a very handsome man. He always has been. Somehow, the realisation of that hit her just now. Her ex-friend was slightly below average height. In the past, he used to have short dark-brown hair. It seemed that over time he allowed it to grow a bit. More than that, it appeared that it got darker, turning into the raven colour. Currently, his hair was styled in a ponytail. As always, his unkempt fringe was covering the light-brown eyes, or at least to some extent. Some said that his eyes were of amber colour, but Evelynn preferred to refer to them as light-brown. The noble blood genes were running in his family's blood – even a single glance could verify that. Evelynn would describe his facial features as defined, sharp, noble. His cheeks must have collapsed since their last meeting. At least, if she remembered him correctly. He had his right ear pierced. "Hmm… just another addition," Evelynn hummed inside her mind. The two clips that she spotted were small, silver, possibly made of the purest silver.
The magenta-haired woman continued to spectate her ex-friend while slowly eating the ordered sandwich. If the lawyer has been religious, she would have called the coffee the god-sent gift today. She took another small sip of the thick, hot, and black as night brew. Even though the man was visibly focused on his sandwich and hot chocolate, the golden-eyed woman doubted that he had not spotted her stare yet. He seemed to be unphased with their after-years meeting. He acted so casually, so relaxed. If Evelynn had one wish, she would have prayed for Talon not to notice that she was just acting.
"How about filling me with the recent news, Evelynn?" the dark-haired man asked, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. "Let's start with something much pleasant that business, shall we?"
"Fine," the siren replied coolly. "What do you want to know, dear?" she asked, forcing herself to use her more-sultry tone.
The man chuckled instantly. "I must remind you, that particular voice of yours doesn't work on me," he added with a broad smile. "Why do you try to pretend that you're someone else?" he asked another question, shattering Evelynn's hopes.
"Hmm… I don't know, maybe, it's just my habit," the lawyer replied, continuing to act.
"If you say so," the man responded. "You're looking good even though you're evidently exhausted," he added. "I assume it's connected with your protégé – Akali?"
"Yes, it's a correct assumption," Evelynn noded.
"She's most likely the very first person you truly took care of," Talon made a comment. "Anyways, tell me what happened recently. If you can, please, do tell me why you postponed our meeting so suddenly?" he opted to change the topic, at least to some extent.
"Ehh…" the lawyer sighed. "I hoped you wouldn't delve into that matter. However, I owe you some explanation. I cancelled our yesterday's meeting because Akali was in the hospital," she explained.
"What happened then? Why did you get into the hospital?" the dark-haired man wanted to know.
"She had an accident during her football match on Friday," the magenta-haired woman slowly said. "If I recall correctly, I've told you about that match day."
"You did," the brow-eyed man admitted.
"Anyways, she got hurt at the very end of the game," the siren whispered quietly. "Actually, she was attacked by one of the opposing team players," she added.
"Pardon?" the surprised man asked. "How someone allowed the fight to occur during the match? Was that asshole punished?" he asked additional questions.
"Well, I'd need to tell you the whole story, and for that, I think we don't have time for that," Evelynn swiftly responded. "However, I can assure you that that kid got what he deserved," she added.
"Evelynn, look," Talon started. "If you don't want to talk about that, we can freely skip that part. Finish your coffee, and we'll start talking about the business," he added, sighing.
"I'm sorry, Talon," the diva apologised. "I just don't want to talk about her, and especially about what happened 2 days ago," she added with a heavy sigh. "I've told her that I'll protect her, and yet, when she was vulnerable, I failed to protect her."
"Eve… it's not your fault. It's not like you forced that psycho kid to hurt your protégé," the raven-haired man tried to reassure the lawyer.
"I know, yet, it still hurts," the magenta-haired woman confessed.
"Take your time. It's not like you have to tell me everything, or even anything," the dark-haired man responded. "I can wait. And… Eve, I'm here for you, as I've always been."
"Thank you, Talon," the golden-eyed beauty whispered. "I don't deserve to have a friend like you," she added quietly.
"Bullshit, everyone deserves to have someone," Talon said with a broad smile. "So what? Do we begin, or you need a bit more time?" he asked a moment later.
"A couple of minutes, if you wouldn't mind," the lawyer uttered in a whisper-like manner.
"No problem," her friend uttered instantly. "I'm going to order some tea for us, be right back."
Akali's POV (more or less the same timeframe):
Her phone started to beep again. With a heavy sigh, the raven-haired woman lifted herself up on her elbows and reached for the damned piece of technology. She had been ignoring it for at least an entire hour, but it seemed that someone was very persistent. And… Akali could bet that she knew who was calling.
She was exhausted. The nightmares had not let her rest during the night. More than that, her wounded leg – currently wrapped with plaster – was constantly aching. To some extent, it was to be expected. After all, one of the doctors said she would have problems with that leg for at least a couple of days. Still, it was one to know about the possibility, but it was so different to bare through it. She felt that the painkiller she had taken earlier began to wear off.
The moment she was about to reach the stupid piece of technology, the sound died out. With a low hiss, she grabbed her phone, unlocking it a moment later. Her notifications feed was flooded by the messages and unanswered calls from Katarina as it was to be expected. The teenager sighed heavily once again, thinking whether she wanted to answer the calls or just to clear the feed, pretending that nothing happened.
The internal fight inside her mind lasted a couple of prolonged moments. Even though she was clearly not in a state to deal with the red-haired vixen, she decided that it would be appropriate to call her back. Out of courtesy, at least.
Another call from Katarina caught her with her finger lingering over the 'call back' button. With the decision still fresh in her mind, she swiped the green button, answering the call.
"Finally!" the red-haired assistant uttered in a slightly annoyed tone as the greeting. "Do you know how many times I called today?! Why didn't you just pick up?"
"Good day to you too, Kat," Akali greeted back the redhead emotionlessly. "I am still on painkillers, so I did not hear your calls," the girl swiftly lied.
"Oh…" the red-haired woman clearly gasped, most likely only now realising that the teenager had been released out of the hospital only a couple of hours ago. "Sorry, baby," she apologised after a few moments of silence. "I just wanted to check on you and got a bit angry when you continued not to pick up the phone," the woman tried to explain.
"Understandable," the raven-haired girl replied, sighing. "What do you need, Kat?" she asked a moment later.
"Why do you ask? Can't I call my girlfriend just to check on her?" Katarina asked.
"Maybe you could, but let's be realistic. You are only calling when you want something. What is it today?" Akali responded, not even caring to hide the hint of sadness. She did not have the energy to remind Katarina that their relationship was currently in shambles.
"Fine, fine, fine," the red-haired assistant gave up. "I wanted to invite you to the party. I'm throwing it next weekend. That's all, I swear. Will you come?" she asked the question as quickly as she could.
"Must I remind you that I have my leg wrapped with the plaster?" the exhausted teenager asked. "I will have problems with walking for some time," she added.
"Wait,… you can't walk right now?" the surprised assistant asked.
"I can walk, but it takes a lot of time and overall, it is problematic," the teen explained. "I do not know whether I will be able to come to school this week."
"Relax, my dear badass," the redhead allowed herself to chuckle. "Skip the classes this week, rest, and at the end of the week, come to my part. I'll take good care of you," Katarina offered.
"I will let you know what I decide later this week, ok?" Akali replied. "I am exhausted. I need to get some sleep. Till later," she wanted to finish the call as soon as possible.
"Sure, be a good girl. Love you," the red-haired woman bid her farewell, hanging up.
"Why always me?" the raven-haired woman asked a rhetorical question to herself, falling on her face, seeking some rest.
Evelynn's POV (2 hours later):
"You're joking, right? Please, tell me you're joking," the magenta-haired woman asked, hiding her face inside her hands.
"I wish I could say that. I really do," the raven-haired man replied, a little disgusted. "However," he sighed heavily, "it's all I learnt."
"I need to end their relationship. I need it to end, now," the lawyer whispered, getting ready for leaving. "I can't let Akali be hurt," she added.
"Eve," Talon called her, reaching out for her right hand. "Don't try to act recklessly. There's still a margin of error of what I've learnt. I'm not saying that you should allow my 'dearest' sister to scheme, but accusing her openly will have consequences. Maybe… maybe, try to take a closer look at her. Try to find out more. I'll try to do the same, myself," the man tried to be a voice of the reason. "I know…," he paused, "screw it… I can't say that I've ever been in a similar situation, but try to calm down. Allowing your actions to be affected by pure emotions is never a good option. And… your case is not an exception."
"I feel like I should act," the golden-eyed dived uttered quietly, halting. "I feel like I have Deja Vue. The only difference is that this time, I can see what I've done in the past. I feel like your sister can be the 'bad seed' I used to be when I was younger. You've endured through me. I don't want her to suffer. I just want her to be safe and sound," she allowed herself to confess. "I've made my mistakes. It'd be a lie if I said that I didn't. Look, I just don't want her to go through the same shit that I've gone through. Or… in that particular case, be a victim of someone like my younger self," the woman added after a pause.
"It's perfectly understandable," the dark-haired man assured her. "You're trying to fill the role of her mother. It only speaks highly of you that you want her to be safe and sound. After all, she's your child," he added.
"Yeah… she's my child," Evelynn replied unconfidently.
"There's a lot on your mind?" the raven-haired man asked, spotting the woman's hesitation.
"Yes, yes," the lawyer replied instantly. "A couple of last days weren't exactly good for me," she added with a faked smile.
"Is it connected with Akali's injury?" Talon wanted to know. "You seem to be broken, defeated, sad," he added after a short pause.
"I think it's just a mixture of my lack of sleep and everything that's going on around here," the magenta-haired siren responded, trying to sound a bit more confident. "There's nothing to worry about. You don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine," she assured her friend, flashing a quick, small smile.
"Well, about that, I think that old habits die hard," Talon allowed himself to chuckle a little. "Look, if you need someone to talk to, or whatever, call me," he offered. "When I said that I still care about you, I meant it. If you need help, you know where to find me," the man added with a broad smile. "However, unfortunately, I need to go. The boarding for my flight is soon to begin," he provided a bit of further explanation.
"Sure, go," Evelynn replied instantly. "Thank you for coming, Talon. I really appreciate it," she added after a moment or two.
"Anytime," the dark-haired man assured the woman.
Within moments, the raven-haired man got up, put on his thin jacket, then hugged Evelynn.
"Till the next time," he whispered before turning back and heading toward the exit of the cafeteria.
For Evelynn, it seemed as if the time froze, at least to some extent. Her chat with Talon made her realised something. Something that she was not yet ready to talk about, at least openly. She was brought back to reality when the door closed with a loud click after her friend's leave. The man right about a couple of things. First of all, and probably the most important detail that he spotted, was that she constantly acted. The lawyer tried to pretend that she was someone else. It could be seen as ridiculous. After all, her younger self considered herself to be the most perfect person walking the Earth. Yet still, the magenta-haired woman had her doubts.
The second thing Talon was right about was her hectic lifestyle. So many things were on her mind, consuming its space, throughput capacity, wasting her time. To some extent, the moment Akali entered her life, the siren allowed many thoughts to start bothering her. It made her insecure, vulnerable in so many ways. Still, the golden-eyed beauty would not trade these past months spent with Akali for anything. That liveable teen changed her, and for that, the diva should be eternally grateful.
Evelynn allowed herself to delve into the depths of her mind for a couple of next minutes. It was evident for her that she needed to come up with a new plan regarding her life. The past needed to be discarded, the present must be embraced, and the future must be planned.
After what felt like ages, she rose up. Enough time had been wasted sitting at the cafeteria, thinking. Without any further hesitance, she headed toward the counter, ready to pay up for the damage she had caused early.
Akali's POV (at the same time):
Calling her sleep abysmal would be a massive understatement. The nightmares seemed to be little clingy things that glued themselves to her mind, not wanting to go away. These thoughts, visions, dreams flooded the deepest part of her consciousness, filling every ounce of free space. They were like bacterias that suckled to a healthy cell, poisoning it, contaminating, killing in the process. They seemed to be inevitable.
After two hours of wiggling all over the bed, Akali finally gave up. The sleep would not come, or at least it would not bring her relief. She spared one glance to look over what her insomnia caused. The sheets were clawed numerous times throughout her unstable slumber. At least a few places where the fabric was ripped or torn apart were spotted instantaneously. Some of the longer fibres had been pulled from the material, currently laying all over the bed. Thankfully, the damages were maintainable, tolerable. However, it did little to none to cheer the teen up. The sheet had been soaked with Akali's sweat. She was still covered by it. The heavy, stinky smell of sweat was filling her room entirely. She recognised it nearly instantly. It was a smell of someone afraid of something, feared beyond the common meaning of that word.
She needed to take a shower. The smell alone was causing her empty stomach to rumble, making her want to puke. The raven-haired girl felt weak, vulnerable. It felt as if the gall started to fill up her empty stomach content. It certainly did not help with managing the current situation.
As quickly as she could, she reached the bathroom, slamming open the door. She basically bumped into the solid frame of wood, too tired to counteract. The cold floor seemed so welcoming to her, so comfortable. For a moment, the teen wondered whether just to lay down and try to sleep. This primal urge must be fought. Otherwise, she would slowly allow her body to overrule her decisions.
After a couple of moments of struggle, Akali continued, delving deeper into her bathroom. The dump pieces of her clothing were thrown somewhere, mindlessly. After all, the exact location where the cloths would lay did matter little to none.
The teen stepped into the stall as naked as the day she drew a breath for the very first time. The eyelids were allowed to close, redirecting the direct control toward the sense of touch. With some problems, the handles were located after some time. Akali opted to use cold water, putting faith in it to wake her up.
Soon enough, the waves of cold water began pouring down from the showerhead. Her body's initial response was to huddle up, trying to get out of the water range. She fought off the urge to run away or to at least raise the temperature of the water. Against her body's will, she put the hands onto the wall, allowing the cold liquid to wash over her entirely.
"I must endure. I must regain control over myself," the raven-haired girl was repeatedly whispering.
After an unspecified period of time, the sound of the pouring water faded away. The silence once again took a rule over the mostly empty house. Akali walked through the bathroom naked, not caring about the discarded pieces of clothing at all. The steadily increasing pain level could mean only one thing, the painkillers wore off entirely. Knowing all too well that it was just a matter of time before the next wave of scorching, painful sensation would wash over her, she headed straight toward the nightstand. Not caring at all about her nudity, the doubled dose of pills was swallowed, followed immediately by the sip of cold water.
The relief came after a couple of prolonged moments.
Sighing heavily, Akali headed back toward the bathroom. The dumped clothes must be picked up from the floor, then thrown into the laundry bin. Looking at the brighter side of the current situation, at least the very first bullet point of her today's plan was already crossed out. The sad part about it was the fact that a couple of dozens more still awaited their completion. Yet another deep sigh escaped her throat before she could even notice. Nothing could be done about that. Healthy or wounded - there were tasks for her to take care of, no matter what.
It was laughable how difficult putting on clothes became due to the one stupid plaster. On her bed, dozens of pairs of trousers were currently laying. None of them could fit the additional width of the bandage. Even though the teen was not the biggest fan of skirts, she was – to some extent, of course – forced to wear one, currently. Either that or she could just be walking throughout the mostly empty house half-naked, presenting her dark as night thongs. Damned, be Evelynn who bought her these.
Without wasting more time, she put on the same skirt she wore for her date with Katarina and headed toward the exit of her room. The hunger sensation that was up to now muffed by the pain flared up. It was certainly past the usual time of breakfast, yet she had nothing as of now. Akali needed to prepare something quick and filling enough to allow her to deal with the rest of her to-do-list.
Making it to the kitchen did not take her more than a couple of short-lived moments. She was not surprised that Evelynn was not home. To some extent, she seemed to recall that the magenta-haired woman mentioned the meeting with an old friend of hers. However, it might be as well the byproduct of her nightmares, her lack of sleep. Eighter way, the living goddess was not home currently. With a little shrug, she got down to work.
A short note covered with Evelynn's neat handwriting was found whilst gathering the required ingredients.
Darling,
I'm going to meet an old friend of mine whom I haven't seen for some time. We reserved a spot at "Thinking Cup" for 10am. I didn't want to wake you up. I've seen that you had problems with falling asleep. If the painkillers wouldn't ease up your pain, I'll call the doc to obtain something else for you. I noticed that you've taken all of the pills already. I left a new pack by your nightstand. If anything should occur, feel free to call me. I should be back around 1 – 2 pm, maybe a bit earlier. So, if you don't want to cook, I left some money for you to order whatever you want. Till later, darling.
Always yours,
Evelynn
"It is not like you could not just send me a message via phone," Akali sighed heavily after reading the note. "So, apparently, you have not yet succumbed to the madness, Akali. Good job," she allowed herself to contemplate with herself ironically.
"Change of the plans. I want something much more calorific for the meal," she whispered after a moment of pause.
Without an ounce of hesitations, all of the previously obtained ingredients were put back to their righteous places. Instead of the light salad that was initially planned, the eggs and the bacon were picked up. Additionally, 2 slices of whole-grain bread were put inside the toaster.
Soon enough, the smell of fried bacon filled the room. The fatty parts were sizzling, exploding from time to time. Akali's nostrils were overwhelmed by the sheer mixture of the strong smells. The impulse had been already sent to her brain, only worsening the effect of the hunger. The teen was pretty positive about her drooling over the nearly finished food.
Finally, the meal was ready. The very anticipated moment came when the girl could get the first bite, finally ending the reign of the hunger inside her body.
With a broad smile all over her face, the food started to be devoured, slowly filling the raven-haired teenager. One of the primary needs had been satisfied shortly after.
Evelynn's POV (30 – 60 minutes later):
She was supposed to return home after her meeting with Talon. Yet, she found herself unable to do so. Inside her head, inside her mind, the battle continued. Who was to say which side had an advantage currently. It was truly exhausting. If she was to tell what happened between her leaving the cafeteria and the current moment, she would be unable to reply. She simply did not remember what she had done. It was so confusing.
"Get your shit together, Evelynn," she uttered in a stone-cold tone to herself. "You were supposed to come back home to check on Akali, maybe even cook something for her. Yet, instead of that, you're complaining," she allowed herself to extend that internal conversation for a couple of moments longer. "She's hurt, be the adult you're supposed to be, and take care of her, god damn it!"
There was nothing to add to that. Evelynn knew – deep inside – that she was running away from the problems. It was so ridiculous to think that her mind marked Akali as a problem. After all, the diva learnt so much from the young girl she adopted. She owed her a lot more than she would openly admit. That was a clue of that whole matter.
A couple of moments more were spent staring through the front window of her disgustingly expensive car. Even though she kept staring through it, she did not see anything. Before her eyes, the images fetched straight out of her mind were presented. The number of times she allowed that to happen was most likely only known to the God above. In the span of the recent months, the siren found herself reflecting on her past more and more. More than that, she was especially focusing on the memories connected exclusively with Akali. The raven-haired teen conquered her world - it was safe to assume that. It felt as if she had been touched by the magical wand. Everything changed as soon as the girl appeared in her life.
Without further wasting of time, the engine of the vehicle roared, announcing its return to life. The magenta-haired woman was not entirely sure whether it was the best for her to drive, currently. After all, she could be considered mentally unstable. The siren pushed these thoughts into the darkest, deepest hole of her mind. She had no need for them, at least for now.
With time, the raven-haired beauty's images – she got used to calling 'darling' – faded away. The magenta-haired woman was thankful for that. It was already so difficult for her to keep her mind in check. There was no need for the external images to flood her mind, clouding her sight of reality.
Contrary to her daily basis, she did not speed up. Maybe, just maybe, she was following the traffic regulations for the very first time, or at least in recent history. The lawyer felt guilty. She should have called Akali earlier, checked up on her. Still, now, it was just in the past. Nothing could be done to change that. The most she could do was to apologise, make up for that committed mistake.
Evelynn needed to regain her composure. Talon was right that she became quite an impulsive person. Who was to say what would have happened if the man had not stopped her? What could have happened if he had not asked for her to calm down? She became too reckless, too confident. With every single victory she achieved, her ego got boosted. Over time, it seemed that the diva had concluded that she was untouchable, unbeatable - the common first step before the downfall.
The golden-eyed woman seemed to focus on driving so little. To some extent, the statement that it was natural for her could have arisen. However, it could be just a sign of dumb luck. She was crossing street after street, but somehow she felt trapped. She felt as if she was stuck in the same place over and over again. Maybe the diva was only dreaming about all of these. Maybe… the meeting with Talon was just a dream, just a thought created deep inside her confused mind.
Evelynn needed a couple of blinks to came back to reality. She was exhausted, about that she was positive. She needed to get home. There was no telling how long would she be able to drive like that, avoiding an accident. A sound system was turned on just to entertain her mind, to keep her awake, to keep her mind as far from her though as it was possible.
"Hey Google," she uttered in an exhausted voice.
"Hey, what can I do for you?" the system replied shortly after.
"Play something to entertain me," she responded swiftly.
"Sure, I'll play 'Turn the page' by Metallica," the piece of technology announced.
The soft sounds of the guitars soon filled the interior of the expensive vehicle. The melody carried sad emotions, longing for a change. Before the woman could notice, the vocalist began his part, singing in a low tone. Even though Evelynn was not much of Metallica's fan, that particular song was good. The mix of melody and Jame's voice mashed well, creating a sad ballad.
"I hardly can think of a worse song for now," the magenta-haired lawyer commented, wiping down a lone tear running down her cheek.
She wanted to be home already. She wanted to be close to her protégé, to held her close, to have her inside her arms.
With that thought in mind, she sped up without hesitation.
Evelynn's POV (30 min later):
It was highly possible that the siren had not been happier than in the moment she finally parked her car inside the underground garage. Nearly immediately after exiting the vehicle, she pulled the handkerchief out of the pocket. She must admit that she did tear up more than she should have during the song. Even though the tears themselves dried out already, their traces, remnants were still visible. Thankfully there was a bottle of still water inside the car. The woman poured down some water on the fabric before cleaning her face.
After a couple of moments, she felt relief when she had seen her reflection in the vehicle's window. Every last remnant of her crying was gone before he entered the lift. Somehow, she had a feeling that something was off. Still, she could not properly name it, or even in that regard, point in out.
When the loud click announced that the lift reached its destination, that feeling returned with doubled effect. The soft sounds of the guitar were filling the air, mixed with the sound of Akali's voice. The voice sounded as if broken down as if the signing person was crying or had been crying recently. Her home was currently filled with the song she had been listening to not so long before.
Without thinking too much, she started to run toward the girl's room. Without an ounce of hesitation, the heels were discarded, thrown to the back. The coat shared the same fate as the boots. Evelynn's mind was on the run. She knew something was off. Her current goal was to find her protégé to find out what happened.
The sounds of the woman's heavy steeps rumbled throughout the house. Yet, still, it did not drown out the sound of the guitar. To the magenta-haired lawyer, it seemed that Akali was reaching some kind of peak, playing more and more aggressively, loudly, not caring for the strings to break.
After a couple of moments of the run, she bumped into the solid frame of the teen's door. The initial impact of her charge opened the door. However, the side effect was her losing her balance, falling onto the floor shortly after. Evelynn groaned loudly. Still, she got up nearly instantly. The diva felt as if she was in some kind of predator mode. Her senses were enhanced, significantly more sensitive than usual.
At the back of the room, at her bed, Akali was sitting, playing the guitar. Even though there were no chances for her not to spot what happened a moment ago, she was still playing. The girl was still focused solely on the instrument. The siren immediately spotted the traces of tears. So, as she expected, her darling had been crying.
"Akali?" she called the teen tenderly. "What happened?" she asked when no response was provided.
"Eve," the raven-haired girl uttered in a low, sad tone. "I remember what happened," she added shortly after.
"What do you remember?" the magenta-haired woman asked, getting closer. "Is it about your family?"
"No, I remember what happened on Friday," the ninja responded, stopping her play. "I remember who did this to me," she added in a much sterner voice. "I want him to pay up for that."