Keep your voice low and make sure only the two of you know what is said in that conversation.
"Yes, a friend told me that some people are hiding from the Sent Ones in a disused clinic… I thought I would never be of any use to this information, but it looks like we need them."
Irina could see Emil's eyes light up and faint happiness come over her face.
A safe place was exactly what he needed.
"Do you think they would accept me? What about you and our parents?"
"I don't know... We can go there... I hear they do a recruiting test to see if we're capable of getting into character... For a week we stay away from everyone to make sure we're trustworthy."
Emil listened attentively and in his mind that rigid method of selection made sense, it seemed the only possible place for him to stay safe.
"So this place is a disused clinic? Do they masquerade as an active clinic?"
"Yes."
"Maybe… Maybe we should go… Just the two of us, I don't trust Dominica."
Irina smiled confidently, but internally she was about to burst into tears.
Dominica was the person she trusted most in this world, there was no better and more capable person than her to have by her side.
"I don't trust her either, she is always the best far away..."
Emil nodded in relief, his sister really was the only person he could trust.
But he remembered something, something that made him extremely afraid.
Irina had an Envoy, he knew that even because she participated with him in 'Unbreakable'.
The brief thought of Irina trying to deceive him popped into his mind.
Would it be possible?! "What about… As for your…"
Already imagining what he was referring to, she soon spoke trying to lessen any fear he had within himself.
The Sent Ones were the biggest threats, so she couldn't be seen as an ally. "I disposed of it like you did."
Emil looked at Irina for a few moments in disbelief, but finally he smiled and hugged his sister full of relief. "Thank God... You did it right..."
Irina had finally assured Emil that she would return in a few hours and for that she used the excuse that she needed to warn her friend about them being interested in joining the 'fake clinic' and mainly to lose Dominica and the others.
She even left a prepaid phone number that she said she would use only in adverse situations and that only Emil and her friend had known that number.
He felt so relieved that even he felt interested in the chocolates he had won, he really missed that sweetness.
Watching Emil through her car window she waved her hand and even from afar she could see her brother's face filled with expectation.
He couldn't wait to see her come back and go to that clinic together.
The car finally accelerated and moved into motion.
Dominica was confused, she figured Emil was going along with them.
Irina, knowing that there were big confusions, simply asked. "Go to a rental car agency, I need to get a car to take Emil to the support clinic."
A startled Dominica nodded and soon plotted a route to the nearest rental office, but she felt confused about something. "Did he agree to go to the clinic?"
Irina smiled bitterly. "In a way yes..."
Dominica didn't understand at first, but didn't elaborate on the matter.
Also because soon after she started talking on the phone to what was clearly the doctor at the clinic.
Everything became very clear when Irina began to explain the situation and under what conditions Emil had agreed to go to the clinic.
Basically she had lied to him.
She knew the family dynamic well and lies were one of the last options between them, Irina must really have been desperate to just lie to Emil.
She sighed a little complicated already imagining how Irina could be feeling.
Finally, when renting the car and notifying the clinic about everything that had happened, Irina was ready to pick up Emil, she had even changed her clothes and was wearing something simple and not too flashy.
She really got into character.
Dominica would wait at the rental car office, Irina didn't intend to stay too long and would just use the rental car to drop Emil off.
It didn't take Irina long to get to Emil's house and almost as if she was running away he got into the car.
The two talked in a surreptitious way, but Emil was clearly calmer by the simple information that he was going to a place that offered him safety.
Irina was driving at the speed limit, she needed to make Emil believe they were in a hurry, but they couldn't raise too many eyebrows and traffic fines weren't good for someone trying to get away.
Convinced that Irina was really helping him seek refuge they finally arrived at the clinic and Emil didn't suspect a thing.
For him it was just like a clinic, they acted so well that it seemed real.
Incredibly real.
At the end of it all, Emil was sent to an isolation area, the doctors first needed to see what situation he was in and only then would they know whether or not he was able to interact with other patients.
If not, a slower process of resocialization would begin.
First take him outside for a walk alone, then a few minutes with the other patients until the point where he is fully capable of being with others without being a threat to himself and the other patients.
Irina said goodbye to Emil with the excuse of trying to convince her parents to join them.
It felt so heavy, she was lying so blatantly and deceiving her own brother.
She was so ashamed of herself.
As she finally got into the driver's seat and rested her hands on the steering wheel, her eyes became cloudy and she couldn't see very well.
She could barely stand the tears in her eyes and began to cry silently.
Irina felt terrible, the worst human being in the world.
How could she forgive herself? How could Emil forgive her?
She cried for some time, she couldn't say how long, but she just stopped crying the moment she heard her cell phone ring and without noticing much about who was calling her, she answered it imagining it was Dominica wanting to know if she was okay.
"Dominica, I'm on my way, wait for me in the parking lot..."
A laugh echoed through the phone's speaker, graceful and husky.
It was Bella.
"I don't know who you're talking about, but if you want I can actually wait for you in the parking lot..."
Feeling her heart racing she finally looked at the caller and it really was Bella.
Hearing the huge silence Bella sighed in her heart, what kind of thing do I need to do for you to talk to me?!
It was always very frustrating to have some kind of initiative and be completely denied like that. "... Maybe I should pretend to be Dominica so I can exchange a few words with you..."
Hearing that was a little embarrassing and Irina despite being scared had some kind of pride inside that didn't allow her to act in a non-stupid way.
She wasn't fully aware of what cowardice, fear or panic was.
Irina didn't know to what extent this effect of Bella on herself was motivated by her traumas or by the simple fear of talking to a beautiful and confident woman.
Well, no matter how much she thought about it, Amany was also beautiful and confident, in different ways, but she also had those qualities.
But Irina wouldn't run away from Amany, quite the contrary.
Embarrassed by her enormous silence, she decided to react in some way. "Cough...Sorry, I was just caught off guard...What do you want to talk about Bella?"
Bella had a soft voice and seemed in such good spirits, it made even Irina slightly forget that she was completely devastated about abandoning her brother in a clinic.
"I wanted to invite you to dinner."