The low rumble that she once loved was now horrifyingly steely and devoid of warmth. It was nothing like him and she couldn't understand, refused to understand the reason for this change. Later she would hate herself for expressing her emotions on her face but now her mouth dropped open.
She stared at him, shocked, confused. Stupidly incredulous at his actions. His mouth was pressed into a clean line, his eyes? Unreadable, murky and dull. He leaned against the wooden frame of his door, arms folded as if he hadn't the time to deal with the likes of her. Her body froze with a chill that rushed up her skin.
She felt like an unwanted sales girl at his door. Someone who wasted his precious time. Someone he did not want to see.
She opened her mouth wanting to say something, anything. Are you okay? She wanted to ask. What's going on? She wanted to say. She took a small step forward only to be slapped sharply in the face by his actions.
He plucked a wad of cash from his pocket and he slammed it on her suitcase, kicking the flimsy thing forward. She watched it as it rolled to bump her knees. It didn't hurt as much as his actions did.
"Your pay," he said simply, with a shrug and she stared, feeling a rush of humiliation and confusion flood her frame.
He was cold, void of emotions except for disdain and something within her soul ached and twisted, breaking a little at his actions. She stared at him, her eyes flickering over his. He had the audacity to look away and not meet her eyes. Did he hate her that much that he couldn't even look at her?
"What's wrong?" Her voice escaped her lips before she could stop it and she watched as something within him fumbled. He clamped up before she could even understand it fully, turning cold again. He shook his head, blonde hair brushing out of his eyes.
"Look," he sighed, sounding as if she were a bother as if she took up his damn time and she was wasting it. "I don't need your service anymore, okay?"
Service. She flinched, feeling the word sit in her head. He made it sound like she...She was some stupid fling. Some fucking prostitute. He leaned against the door, tapping his foot.
"I can't let you stay here forever. My boyfriend is back," he said, shrugging as he reached for the handle at the door. Amber stared at him, her mind freezing at the word, malfunctioning in its dissection of information. Boyfriend. "So, leave," he spat out the last word, his tone poisonous.
The word clung to her, ringing loudly in her mind, over and over again. What was he saying? Why was this happening? Amber didn't understand, could not understand how someone as kind and as gentle as Ezra could say all this. Her mind spun. Sure, if he really needed the space for his family she would understand. Amber would leave, she would as long as he just said it clearly. But why did this feel like something else?
His words made it sound as if he did not want to see her again.
"Ezra, what's going on?" She stopped him, her hands reached to hold his without a second thought. Even now she could feel it, their bond. It thrummed warm and soft, light like the flutter of wings.
For a moment, his eyes, they broke just a little. Like the crack of ice that covered a huge lake, concealing everything from the outside world. Then there was a flash of anger. A burst of something that roared deep within him, piercing into her skin and dragging her into its depths...Disgust, annoyance and deep dark hatred. Her breath hitched as she stepped back.
Hurt.
"I'm not a fucking saint," he snarled, tearing his hand away from hers. "I just don't need you anymore." His voice, it climbed, the loudest she'd ever heard from him. "So there's no goddamn benefit for me to let you stay here like a fucking free loader." He spat his words out, looking at her with disgust.
His words they tore at her heart. They made her feel small, lost and just—She paled, her heart pounding in her words, incredulous at the situation. Why was he saying it like that?
He slammed his palm on the door and she jumped. "We're done," he repeated, "don't ever fucking come back here." He glared. "Does that not make any fucking sense?"
He scowled, rolling his eyes. Annoyed. She hated that expression, it made her feel stupid. It made her feel unwanted. Was this really how he saw her after everything they did together? How could he? How could he? Her heart squeezed painfully as she stepped back, biting her lips as she stared at him.
"Get the fuck out before I call the damn police," he snapped, turning to go, refusing to meet her eye.
"Ezra—"
He slammed the door locking it shut before she could utter another word and she watched in shocked silence as the door clicked with a familiar beep. No fucking way. She blinked, running her fingers through her hair.
This made no sense. No fucking sense at all. She reached for the bell, determined for more, only to freeze her fingers looming over the button. What right? What right did she have to press it? You're his soulmate. The voice in her head reminded her. Ring it now, ring it and tell him everything. But would he believe her? Her mind recalled his eyes, cold, icy orbs that mirrored MinJae's.
He wouldn't.
He wouldn't in this state. At his meanest he was confusing to her and she had never seen this before. She didn't know what to do. Her fingers returned to her side, and she stood, feeling lost and hurt. Her heart clenched painfully, twisting and turning in her chest. She brought her hand to it, rubbing the skin above her heart.
Ezra had definitely been aloof after their make-out session in the car but she thought they had grown closer. She thought he would at least be kind enough to keep her as a friend. That he would at least give her that respect. Was this it?
No. The voice in her head reminded her, something deep within her soul surging forth and pushing courage into her system. No, she couldn't lose him. She couldn't. He was just being stupid, something fuelled him, triggered him and he was just confused. She couldn't because she love—
She raised her hand, intent on pressing the bell, intent on revealing everything to him, only to freeze when she heard sounds within the apartment. Her alert ears were picking up on the muffled voices.
"Ezra? What happened? Who was that?"
Fuck.
Her heart skipped a horrified beat and she ran. Her feet were pumping underneath her as she fled as if the devil were hot on her heels. MinJae. Holy fucking hell. That was Ryu MinJae.
Fear flooded her system, dashing out whatever confidence she had like the smoke from a fire extinguisher. It gushed, running through her body like poison and burning her insides. Her chest, it hurt. Her pulse rushing in her ears, thumping loud and clear with each pump of blood. Her heart was racing so fast it felt as if it would fly out of her chest.
God. Her feet stopped when she was outside and she bent over panting as she knelt on the pavement. Her breath coming out of her in quick flurried pants as anxiety clung to her chest, cold and icy.
It sat upon her shoulders like a demon, sinking its fingers into her heart and squeezing the flesh into a bloody pulp. She rubbed her face with her hands, wiping at the beads of sweat that dripped from her forehead.
Fuck.
Her fingers trembled with her terror. Fear paralyzed her, holding her captive within her mind. The feeling spread through her system, strong and almost tangible like a beast that gnawed at her heart. She feared MinJae. She was so frightened that she just baulked at the sight of him.
She barked out an exasperated laugh that she stopped due to a sudden lurch of nausea. Good God. Her body convulsed again, and she held herself then, small and cold on the path. She blinked, smiling widely as her eyes went blurry with moisture. She couldn't breathe in her numbness and she inhaled, her body shaking.
MinJae was the bad ending in her story.
MinJae had always been the demon that roamed her nightmares. The dead end to her story, the one person who could single-handedly send her far away from them all. God.