CHAPTER 3
Author's Note
Happy 2022 everyone! I'm hoping this year is a good one.
Quick side note, I've been having some trouble with formatting since last time I uploaded to fanfiction it was a very different website! I'm trying to figure it all out so bear with me!
~Gum
The grey walls were riddled with a wide array of markings and stains. It was more than obvious that they had seen its fair share of people. Eren wondered how many stories had unfolded before it. How many people had stood where he was standing in that very moment...
Man, he really needed to get a TV.
After being ungracefully kicked out of Petra's house, the teen didn't know what else to do but to go to the shit apartment he had rented just two days prior. He was too afraid to go out without being sure that he had a bodyguard around and he didn't exactly have friends or family to visit. So, the boy ran to the illusion of safety found in his apartment, ordered a pizza with his new phone, devoured half of it and then proceeded to blankly stare into the void for the past 20, maybe 30 minutes. There wasn't much to be done inside the tiny place other than that.
Those stained walls held within a dirty old mattress slightly elevated by a primitive block of wood pushed into the center. Next to the bed was a wobbly stand that could barely support the weight of the lamp on top of it. In the left corner there was a small refrigerator with nothing in it... and that was it. Everything else was bare, cold, musky... Just overall shitty.
The only semi-decent thing about the apartment was the tiny bathroom it was connected to. It didn't seem as ancient as the rest of the place, not to say that it wasn't old but if the apartment was built when the Gods created Earth, the bathroom was made when humans discovered fire. It had a shower, a toilet and a sink and Eren was happy with just that.
Knock. Knock.
The teen grabbed his chest in fright. Eren's startle died down quick, being replaced with desperation. By the Gods, he hoped it was the bodyguard. The boy raced to the door only to have his body freeze once his hand was inches away from the doorknob.
What if it wasn't him? What if it was one of the guys looking for him? Would they kidnap him? Torture him? Outright kill him?
"It's me." The familiar voice spoke.
Eren sighed in relief, the tension in his body melting away. The boy felt considerably happier to see Levi Ackerman's face than he had been about an hour ago.
"Hey-"
Out of nowhere, the man grabbed Eren by his collar, forcing his way in, shutting the door and then turning around to push him against the wall with such force, Eren thought his bones would begin to crack.
"Listen to me you little shit, the only reason I took you as my client was so I might as well get paid while I stalked you because if you get anywhere near Petra's house ever again I will throw you into my basement and cut you up little by little until you're nothing more than a mountain of meat on my floor."
Terrified didn't even begin to cover it. The panic took the boy with such rigor that his nervous system was on the verge of shutting down completely.
"Ah- I- I didn't even go there 'cause I wanted to! She appointed me there! I swear!" He shrieked.
"All I know is that you know where she lives now and if you ever get any bright ideas of doing anything to her, then you're dead. I'll make sure of it. Got it?"
Eren nodded.
"Good."
The teen was unceremoniously dropped to the floor.
The man pulled out a tablet of some sort and looked around. He drew the device closer to Eren and squinted. He crouched down and roughly began searching the pockets of the teens pants. Eren let the man do as he pleased, being too afraid to defy him.
Levi Ackerman extruded the black cellphone out of his pocket and began typing things into it. Moments later, the man threw it onto Eren's stomach carelessly.
"I still have to do my job so I added myself to your contact list. I'm under 'Jonathan' and I'm also your number one on speed dial.
"Petra told me that you'll be my client for six months. The first month I'll be watching you closely for 24 hours so I can learn your habits, routines, patterns, all that shit. After that I might not always be around. Sometimes I may assign someone to guard for me while I do other things or I'll just do it through devices like cameras I've placed and such.
"I already scouted the area and I have a good view of this place but for your sake and mine, the bathroom is off limits for me. Last thing I want is to see a teen jacking off all day.
"If you're ever in danger, you call me immediately. Another way to signal you're in trouble is by doing this."
Levi Ackerman walked towards the only window in the whole apartment that faced the street. He closed the old flower curtains, leaving them to meet at the right side instead of the middle.
"Got it? Not the middle, not the left, only the right. If you do this you're telling me there's someone in here that shouldn't be." He put them back in their original state and looked at his hands with distaste.
Just as the man began to direct himself towards the exit he said, "Oh, and try not to call me too much, it really annoys me. Welcome to Survey Corps. We're glad to be of service."
And just like that he walked out, leaving Eren on the floor completely disheveled. His hands wouldn't stop shaking.
Trying to even out his breathing, the brunet put his head between his knees and focused on his heartbeat. He focused on the rhythmic drumming of his heart.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Levi Ackerman was a scary man, but that was good. That meant he could ward off all the other scary guys looking for Eren.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Eren didn't know how long he stayed in that position; maybe 5 minutes maybe an hour. All Eren knew was that when he finally came to, he realized how tired he was. The boy hadn't been able to sleep last night or the night before that. The paranoia had been eating him alive. He hoped that that wouldn't be the case anymore.
Eren dragged his heavy body towards the window, pushing aside the sticky pink curtains. His eyes lazily moved downward where cars sped past the world as if they were being chased. Then he lifted his gaze, looking forwards at the buildings just as ugly as the one he was currently in. They all seemed to be one kick away from breaking down entirely. Most windows were closed. In the few that were open there were people watching TV or writing. Then there were the more extravagant ones like the couple arguing from the top of their lungs or a drunk man singing a love song to his lamp. Lastly, he looked upwards; past the rushing cars and the vomit-inducing neon signs and past the angry couples or the drunken bastards.
His dad was always a fanatic of the stars. He could talk and talk and man, could he talk about them. The brown-haired boy had never been very smart but he would enjoy those talks anyways because the passion in his dad's face was enough to keep him interested. And every time Eren felt blue he would look up to the stars to remind himself that his dad would always be there to protect him.
But there were no stars in the sky of the city nor were there Grisha Jaegers.
The teen wondered if Levi Ackerman was watching him in that very moment. Scary Levi Ackerman.
The man was probably laughing at him or muttering something about how stupid Eren looked. The teen concentrated on the roofs, hoping to catch a glimpse of him somewhere just so he could make sure that he wasn't alone. It was to no avail since they seemed to be completely deserted.
All Eren wanted in that very moment was to close his eyes for a couple of hours, that was it but they kept on opening by themselves. He felt as if an axe murderer would appear if he let himself drift off.
Eren pulled out his phone and stared at it. Levi Ackerman had said not to call him but he was more tired than he was scared of the bodyguard. After all, Eren was paying top dollar for him, a single call was little to ask for in return. Eren just wanted to make sure there was someone, anyone looking out for him.
Eren dialed for 'Jonathan'. He looked back to the empty roofs. The teen waited for the other person to pick up not even caring if the man began cussing him out for directly disobeying his orders.
"Are you deaf, brat? I told you no constant phone calls and seeing as you're on your ass staring out the window like a dumbass, I doubt there's an emergency."
So he was watching him. Eren searched for his bodyguard again and unsurprisingly failed at discovering any shadowy figure that could resemble Levi Ackerman.
"So... you're there?"
"What? Of course I am you dumbass, you're hearing my voice aren't you?"
"No... I mean... you're out there... guarding me..."
"Yes, it's literally my job." The man responded dryly.
That one affirmative word soothed his nerves more than his guard would ever know, "Great. Thanks... sorry, I just needed to make sure, you know?"
There was a small pause and then Eren heard a sigh from the other side.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Is that all?"
It was but Eren didn't want the conversation to end. If it did, the brunet would be subjected to the horrors of his crippling loneliness.
"Can we just talk... until I fall asleep? I don't really want to be alone right now."
Another pause.
"Look kid, I understand you're probably going through some difficult stuff right now but you need to know, and hear me well because it's important, that I'm not your friend. You can call to confirm that I'm doing my job or to ask about any suspicious activity I may see but I don't do small talk, I don't do gossip, I don't do conversation and I sure as hell don't tell you bedtime stories, understood?"
Oh, Eren understood. He had understood even before he had asked the question. The teen nodded, forgetting that he was on the phone. Luckily, the person on the other side of the call had a clear view of him.
"Good. Now go do whatever the hell it is you usually do without worrying about any psychopathic killers 'cause I've got that covered."
Then the call ended.
Eren closed the window, leaving the curtains open for Levi Ackerman just in case. He didn't blame the man for being so outright honest with him, in fact, he appreciated it in a certain way. However, that didn't stop the burning knot in his throat from forming or the tears forcing their way out of his already tired eyes.
He really did understand, more than ever before. The realization had finally begun to settle in, forcing him to face the consequences of his actions; to take in this new reality. Nevertheless, Eren didn't want his bodyguard to hate the brunet any more than he already did by seeming so pathetic. So, Eren slowly tumbled his way into the restroom where he would remain unseen. Falling to the floor as soon as the door was shut, the stream of tears began falling down his face and wouldn't stop. He cried for hours on end until the exhaustion finally took over, allowing him to drift away into slumber. In his last seconds of consciousness, he couldn't help but wonder if he had done the right thing by running away.