章節 7: The Reason for a Name (2)
Warning: themes rape and suicide
"I'll walk you," he said bluntly.
I am admittably extremely unfamiliar with the dating process, but I am still quite certain that this was not how it was supposed to go.
He had sat outside the store until the person he was waiting for walked out. That person was the cashier. Once he saw her, he walked up to her and said those words. He seemed calm, but she seemed shocked and slightly terrified.
"E-excuse me?"
"I'll walk you back to your place. It's dangerous for you to go alone."
"Excuse me? I mean, I'm okay, thanks, but no thanks."
She tried to walk away quickly.
He frowned but didn't follow. Instead he called out, "Two blocks ahead. Behind the corner on your left. A man is waiting there."
Her brisk footsteps immediately came to a halt.
"He's tall. 6 feet 1. Black hair, crew cut. Muscular. Probably 180 pounds or so."
"H-h-how do-?" She was trembling.
He slowly approached her like he would a frightened animal.
"I can deal with him. I mean you no harm. I can just walk with you."
A vein pulsed on the side of his neck.
...
"That stings." He touched the bruise on his arm, frowning.
The young woman was kneeling on the ground in shock. The aforementioned man was sprawled on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. He would wake up to broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a few knocked-out teeth, multiple bruises, and a deep-set fear of this location. He wouldn't remember my companion's face.
My companion looked toward the woman who was in no state to do anything. He sat down slowly, a safe distance away from her, where she could see his actions but not feel threatened. He didn't look at her, but I knew he could sense her every movement.
Her emotions were easy to read. Fear. Distrust. Anxiety. Despair. Hidden behind all of that was a strong desire. A desire to speak, perhaps? Undoubtedly a desire to run away.
She was slowly calming down, and was probably debating whether or not to make a break for it, when he finally said something.
"I'm hungry."
"Wha-" she inadvertently gasped.
He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out some granola bars.
"Want one?" He didn't wait for her response before tossing it in her direction. She recoiled, and the bar plopped directly in front of her. She picked it up carefully and examined it, then turned her head to look at him. He munched on his bar nonchalantly.
"T-thank you."
He nodded. The sounds of plastic crinkling and chewing filled the silence for a few minutes.
"I can walk you to wherever you need to go. You don't have to tell me your address. Just go to any place you'll feel safe, then tell me to stop and I'll stay there while you leave," he finally said after finishing his bar.
"Why are you helping me?"
The girl who seemed so timid and weak before asked in a surprisingly strong voice.
"... Your name," he muttered.
"Excuse me?"
"It means 'light.'" He turned his head and fixed his gaze on her. She flinched, but then stared back.
"How do you know my name?"
"You wear a name tag while you work."
"You were watching me?" She tensed as if to run.
"... I have a good memory."
That wasn't a lie.
He pulled another granola bar from his pocket and began eating it.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Oh," he said with disinterest.
She frowned, but waited for him to finish eating.
"Okay." He stood up slowly and brushed the dust off himself. "Tell me where."
...
He walked ahead of her, never looking back. She called directions occasionally, and he raised a hand to show he heard.
"Stop," she finally said. He did.
"Thank you..." He didn't turn around as she began to walk away.
"Wait," he called out to the woman behind his back. "Whatever you're thinking of doing. Don't." Her footsteps didn't falter.
When he couldn't hear the sound of her walking anymore, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Hey."
- I cast the invisibility spell on you. I also boosted your stamina and agility.
"Thanks."
He followed her.
...
She clearly didn't trust him, as she walked to a destination five blocks away. Or rather, she started off walking but broke into a sprint. She turned down another road, traveled two blocks backwards in the direction we came from, then turned once more before arriving at her apartment.
"Haaa. haaa. haaa." She panted loudly after closing, locking, and chaining the door behind her. Then her legs buckled and she began trembling while hugging herself.
He had followed her quietly and observed all of this.
"That man," he explained to no one in particular. "He was her boyfriend."
I already knew this information.
- You were angry.
I stated my observation.
"I'm still angry."
That was true. The vein in his neck was still pulsing.
"He raped her, yesterday. He walked her home from work, then forced himself on her. Scum." He said mildly despite his choice of words.
- That's not the only reason you're angry.
I was pretty certain of this fact.
"It's not." His eyes were still trained on front door of the woman's apartment. He frowned, then began walking quickly towards it.
- She grabbed something and took it into the bathroom.
I guessed what he wanted to know.
"That is the second reason."
He casually picked the lock, and I undid the chain. It would be troublesome for her to replace if he broke it now. I undid the invisibility spell as he walked in.
The woman gawked at him as he grabbed her wrist. She was standing in front of her bathroom sink which was slowly being filled with water. I made a soundproof barrier around the small room.
"You lied to me." She sounded betrayed.
That was false. He might have been misleading, but he had told her no lies.
"Of course I did." He replied nonchalantly, not denying it for some reason. "There's no way I would leave you alone when you were planning on doing something like this."
He increased the pressure he was applying in her wrist and her hand opened up.
"You lied to me," she repeated.
He caught the thing that dropped from her hand.
"I told you not to do it."
"It's none of your business what I do."
"You're right."
"Get out."
"No."
"You have no right-"
"I know I don't." He fixed his gaze on her, and she gulped nervously. "I have the least right out of everyone. But I still have my beliefs."
He looked at her emotionlessly. His eyes were empty, like black vortexes devoid of light. But the vein still pulsed in his neck.
"To let someone die when you have the power to stop them. That's the same as murder."
His knuckles whitened as his hand gripped the knife tightly.
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matcha_leaf
matcha_leaf please do seek professional help if you need it
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