Eirin balled her fist with her eyes closed and thought, 'What a hypocrite. I thought you wanted to die?' She soon felt someone's hand on her waist as she was pulled out of the truck's way.
"Do you want to die that badly!?"
The moment she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Shade's angry expression and she heard him panting as if he ran to her aide. "If you treasure that friend of yours, you should find the cause of her death! Not die like a clueless idiot!" the young man screamed at Eirin, but her eyes wandered to the middle of the road. "Hey! I just told you not to die."
"The bracelet."
Eirin rushed back to the road after seeing no more cars passing by.
"I was picking up this bracelet," Eirin explained and showed Shade the bracelet she was holding.
Shade rolled his eyes and said, "Why would you go to such lengths just for that?" The annoyance in his voice made Eirin raise an eyebrow at him.
"Why are you getting mad?" Eirin sighed. She could not even start explaining what happened and how she ended up in the middle of the road despite not wanting to.
'What if this guy sees me as someone crazy?' Eirin thought.
"What are you doing here anyway?"
Both were drenched by the rain, and they soon heard loud sounds of car engines passing on the road. Despite her question, Shade did not answer at all which made the teenage girl see waiting for him as pointless.
"Well, thanks for saving my life. I'll go now, bye," Eirin casually said. After Shade did not respond, she turned around and started walking away. Her thoughts were filled with information she wanted to ask her grandmother about. "I remember grandma trying to tell me something, but I was too out of it," she muttered while walking her way back to their house. It was still raining, and she could hear someone else's footsteps behind her.
'What does he need this time?' Eirin thought after stealing a glance to Shade who was walking behind her. "What is it? Is there something you want to say?" she sighed and looked back at the young man. The sound of the rain filled their ears as it got heavier, also hindering Eirin's clear vision. Shade once again did not respond, causing Eirin to groan with frustration.
'I don't care!'
Eirin ran towards the path back home, and she heard Shade's footsteps, splashing through the puddled water they passed by, letting her know that he was catching up to her speed.
'Why the heck is he following me!?'
Even till Eirin reached their front gate, Shade was still behind her with no words coming out of his mouth. This caused Eirin to feel anxious and terrified of what was going on.
"What the heck is your problem?"
"Eirin, my dear, you're back," Eleanor snatched Eirin's attention as she held an umbrella to protect her already drenched granddaughter from the rain. "I was worried where you went. I am thankful Shade was with you." Her tone changed after seeing Shade which caused the young man to click his tongue while Eirin could not differentiate if it was honest or sarcasm.
"Either way, I am glad you both are safe. Come now, you two must have been freezing after being drenched by the rain for so long. It will be bad to catch a cold."
Eirin's forehead creased after Eleanor welcomed Shade to their home. She turned to Shade at once, causing her straight and drenched dark brown hair to slap Shade's face who was just standing behind her. The teenage girl quickly rushed into the house after seeing the grim expression on Shade's face.
'That was dangerous.'
Eirin was forced to take another bath and the moment she looked at the mirror, she could see her colon-like birthmark on the base of her neck glowing. "What the heck?" She touched it with her hand, and it suddenly stopped glowing. "What was that about?" Despite all the weirdness that caused, Eirin decided to brush it off and took a dip in the bathtub filled with warm water and milk.
"Was that guy involved with Ava's death?" Eirin stared at the milky white bathwater and swished her hands through it. "Was that the reason he's here? Do I have to explain everything from the beginning to Grandma now?"
Eirin rested her head on the edge of the bathtub and stared at the bright ceiling. Her swollen amber eyes squinted as she sighed. "I guess that is how it is. For me to find answers, I must go through everything from the very beginning."
After taking a warm bath, Eirin stared at her reflection in the mirror. She stared at her naked body, her clear white skin, and her perfect face. The teenage girl could not understand why Ava was so envious of her seemingly perfect face. For her, she looked unreal, inhuman... like a beautiful monster.
"Dear? What's with the rush?"
Eleanor stood from the sofa after seeing Eirin with her dripping wet hair. Water dropped on the marble tiles, making Link find a mop to wipe it with while Eleanor took a towel from the closet. "Your hair's still damp. You might catch a cold like this," she said as she patted the sofa, telling Eirin to sit. The water coming from her hair caused the gray sofa to look darker as it got damp.
It hadn't been a day since Eleanor saw her granddaughter trying to take her own life, which is why she could not help but worry.
"Why are you cleaning that?" Eirin raised an eyebrow at Link who was diligently cleaning the floor.
Eleanor cleared her throat after drying Eirin's hair and said, "Wait a moment, dear." She went to the kitchen to get Eirin some hot cocoa to warm her stomach. "Drink this first."
Link, Cali, and Shade all watched as Eleanor cared for Eirin. It was as if they were from a different world, and the warmth they were seeing was never to be theirs.
"My dear, are you sure you're feeling alright now?" Eleanor could not let go of Eirin's hand, afraid that if she did, Eirin might hurt herself again. "You have been gloomy for a while..." she tried to sugarcoat her words.
Eirin smiled, which caught Eleanor off guard. "I'm fine now, grandma. I'm sorry for being bothersome the past few days." It was a genuine smile, and her words sounded sincere causing Eleanor to feel guilty.
"Do not say that. You were not a bother." Eleanor hugged Eirin and caressed her hair. Eirin felt loved, but more than that, she felt embarrassed being stared at by the three sitting in front of them.
"I-I'm going to be fine now, grandma." Eirin moved away. "That's why I need to let you know some things that happened to me the day before Ava... before the incident with Ava." The teenage girl hesitated. "It might have been caused by me. By those creatures I've met."
"I shall listen."
Eirin took a deep breath and said, "It started that day."
Eirin had told Eleanor everything that happened, starting from how she followed Bright and ended up in a different place, to how she almost died at the hands of Shade and that shadow-like creature. She continued talking until she reached the part where she must remember what might have caused Ava's passing.
"T-That's what happened." Her voice cracked which made Eleanor's grip on her hand tighten. "I need to know the answer, Grandma. Did Ava die because of those things? Was it because those things are after me?"
Eleanor glanced at the three before she breathed in. "There is a huge possibility that what you're thinking is correct," she said. "But I cannot explain it to you, nor do I have definite answers. You must look for it yourself, Eirin."
"Where am I supposed to find the answers?"
Eleanor turned her gaze to the three. "They will bring you to the place where you need to be right now," she said. "My former student, Regina, will help you find the answers you seek. I did not want this to happen, but you will be safer there than here." Her eyes welled with tears as her grip strengthened.
'I need to go with these people?' Eirin thought and flinched as soon as she could feel Cali's winter gray eyes gawking at her as they glowed. 'Why is she staring at me like that?'
"Are you coming with us, grandma?"
Eleanor flinched. "I am still not sure," she said before leaving the four in the living room, using the excuse of contacting her former student. Eirin then gulped and started biting her fingernails while trying not to look into Cali's eyes.
'Can't she see that I'm uncomfortable with her stares?' Her legs trembled due to anxiousness, and that was when Cali, the culprit for Eirin's anxiety approached her.
"Is there something wrong with my face?"
Cali only stared at Eirin for minutes until she let out words that caused Eirin to freeze.
Meanwhile...
"Was it you?"
It was an unusual tone coming from Bright Goodwin as he entered a dark-lit room with a serious expression on his face. The chilly air coming from the air conditioner of the room complimented the frigid tone he used.
"I told you she has nothing to do with this. And my friend too, was it you? Did you kill her?"
A soft chuckle coming from the man sitting on the swivel chair in the middle of the room caused Bright to ball his fist. The man faced Bright, and he flashed a cheeky smile. "Whoa there, mister," he said as he rested his chin on his palm. "I did not do anything else after the day you told me not to touch your little girlfriend."
"I'm serious, Aegis."
The man giggled and he flicked his finger, making the light open and brightening the room in one go. Bright could see the whole room and the decorations all over it. Different body parts of humans are preserved and placed into frames hung on the wall. It was the man whose name was Aegis's weird hobby.
"So, do I. I admit that I tried to end her life, but you told me not to, so I did not."
Bright could not feel the sincerity in Aegis's words as he saw him laughing without any remorse.
"Don't be so stiff, my dear Bright. Did you not see the man alongside your little girlfriend? I know you know."
Bright trudged towards the man's desk and said, "Was it your doing? Did you make her jump in the middle of that road?" The man chuckled. "Stop laughing and answer me truthfully."
"Come on now, Bright. I was just having a little fun. You were there to save her, were you not?" Aegis said as he stared at Bright with those muddy brown eyes filled with greed. "Too bad, someone got ahead of you. What will our little prince do now that his princess is being stolen by a demon?"
Bright smashed his fist into the desk breaking it in half. "I do not like this joke," he said with that unfriendly and stern tone. "Do not touch Eirin ever again. If you still want your dreams to come true."
Aegis laughed as he watched Bright leave the room. "He is serious, my oh my." He spun his chair and looked up to the ceiling. His silky shoulder-length black hair grazed the backrest of the chair.
"This will be fun."