Chapter 6 - A Little Confusion

Sim was sleeping harder than he had ever slept. The constant exhaustion was taking its toll on his stamina and his concentration. He was barely keeping himself awake at this point as he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in~" He mumbled sleepily.

The door opened revealing Della who gawked down at her sleeping friend. He sat up and tried to sit up straight. Della quickly helped him up by placing her hands on his hips as she lifted him to a standing position.

"I brought some lunch," She said as she handed him a container. 

"Oh…good the others are out," Sim yawned. 

"Do you have other people living here now?" Della asked. 

"Remember that guy we found at the fire?" He responded. 

"You are allowing him to stay?" She asked. 

"Only for a little bit…" He muttered. 

He opened the container peering inside before chowing down while listening to her  questions. After he finished eating he took the container, giving it back to her as he went back to sitting on his bed.

"What happened with your sister?" She questioned.

"Hmm…a lot happened," Sim thought. 

His eyes were closed as he got up sluggishly looking out the window of his room to gaze up at the large spiral tower. The building stretched across the entirety of the cityscape. Its glass and metal walls reflected the moonlight sending shivers down his spine. The tower rose to the clouds leaving an empty void between buildings. A cold draft entered through the small gap in the windows and ran down his spine making him jump slightly.

"You know all the stores shut down and a new one opened up right?" Della noted. 

"Wait-what?" Sim shouted. 

"The new shop is called 'The Old Useless Man' and takes points?" She explained. 

His face kept getting redder with each word she muttered as he stared wide eyed at her in disbelief. His eyes darted over to where Della stood. Her head resting back against the doorframe staring at the ceiling in boredom A smile crept onto her lips watching the gears turn inside his brain as he realized something important.

"W-What does your Dad do now?" He asked. 

"He is talking about buying a sword and following the others to the tower," She laughed. 

Sim was speechless; he listened to Della  as she talked idly. Her bright red lips moving swiftly in front of her pale ivory face. Her blonde wavy locks flowed along behind her, gently swaying with her every move. Her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight shining through the window next to her. After some time she glanced back over at him.

"Are you listening?" She scolded. 

He was embarrassed as he was zoned out  completely, not paying attention to a thing she just said.

"I am sorry I was busy thinking about something else," he apologized.

"What exactly did you find out?" She sighed.

"Well-" Sim whispered. 

The door slammed open for Roman and Isla to parade in. Their clothes disheveled and dirty from fighting, both looked extremely happy to see Sim. Sim gave them both an irritated look

before looking towards Della who merely rolled her eyes.

"The town is getting so many monsters lately!" Roman laughed. 

"Me and Roman took care of em though!" Isla smiled. 

He felt he no longer had a sister at this point as she now took the role of Roman's sister from what he had written as they stood proudly with their arms crossed grinning like idiots.

A knock on the door had him dashing downstairs as he pushed the others to the side . The loud banging coming from the outside was unmistakable, he knew who the visitors were before he saw them or so he thought. 

A group of people dressed in white robes  came barging into his home. As soon as the door opened they all fell silent.

"Hey! What the fuck do you think you are doing?" Sim yelled. 

A hooded figure pulled down her head covering to reveal her bright red hair. Her dark blue eyes shone beneath thick lashes. Her face was covered by two thin scars that went across her face. Her sharp nose made her appearance appear more intimidating and cruel.

"Hello, we are looking for someone…may we meet the other residents of this household?" She smiled. 

"I want you to leave so I can rest!" Sim scolded. 

She tried to step past Sim forcefully but as soon as she stepped forward he blocked her path

she glared at him.

"Listen to me, we are not here to help you," The hooded woman growled.

"You are wasting your time here. I said go!" Sim threatened. 

Sim didn't try to stop her this time since she seemed stubborn. The others looked at her confused. They were obviously curious about what was happening. They were also trying to get inside but Sim refused to let them in.

"Unified Control!" Isla yelled. 

A large metal ball crashed in front of the stairs where the hooded woman was  as Isla walked over to her.

"Don't hurt my brother or I will kill you!" Isla declared.

Isla's golden energy started pouring out of her as she stood there staring down at the hooded woman. Everyone peeked behind her, curious as to why she would give up on attacking her. Even though Sim could sense Isla's power, the woman's energy was slowly fading away as Isla held her ground Sim felt an immense amount of anger swell inside him.

"We will be going…" She whispered. 

Before anyone could respond the hooded woman disappeared. The metal ball she had been standing on broke upon hitting the ground. The ball exploded in pieces sending everyone flying backward. Della stumbled off her feet falling backwards as Simon watched in shock.

"I wonder what they were looking for," Sim pondered. 

"No mental weights in the house!" Roman shouted. 

"I am sorry brother," She smirked. 

In less than forty-eight hours the landscape has morphed into a fantasy land.  All kinds of magic filled the air as birds soared overhead or fluttering about in the trees. Magic is a rare sight to see in modern times.

Even though he didn't have a good relationship with Isla her current manifested personality change and closeness with Roman saddened him inside . It left him feeling uneasy and guilty. He didn't like seeing her hurt and vulnerable. She looked like herself again, but the person he once knew couldn't remain hidden. He wanted to fix things, but there wasn't enough time and she needed to learn how to control the power inside of her sooner rather than later.

"Why is she calling Roman her brother?" Della asked. 

"Long story…it's okay," Sim laughed. 

"I guess I will see you later…okay Sim?" She smiled. 

She silently disappeared from sight leaving him alone with only Roman to keep him company, Simon sighed in disappointment. There was a big chance to get close to her again after all is said and done, but the fact that it bothered him still remained.

"Was she your girlfriend?" Roman asked. 

"She is my childhood friend!" Sim shouted. 

He felt so mad they interrupted their alone time. He should have seen this coming, yet he hadn't. Why is everything always happening around him now? 

"You look off today," Isla noted. 

"I am going mad!" Sim yelled. 

Sim walked to the door slamming it behind him as he went downstairs . He leaned against the wall breathing heavily. Sighing he rubbed his forehead and rested his cheek against his arm holding his head. He turned his gaze toward the sky, watching the clouds roll around lazily.

"Oh, are you Della?" A familiar voice chimed. 

"I am, why?" She responded. 

"I have something to show you, Miss. Della," The person noted. 

Turning around the corner he watched Della happily having a conversation with the white hooded figures. The two strangers smiled brightly at her as she giggled while chatting excitedly.

Something inside of Simon clenched tightly at the sight. He clenched his fists tightly, digging his nails into his palm. Anger coursed through his body and he felt himself getting angry. 

"They knew Della was at my house perhaps…" Sim whispered. 

He watched closely as they left together pushing Della ahead of them as they continued talking among themselves. He heard them laughing, his grip tightened until he dug his fingernails even deeper.

"They know about you!" He shouted.

Della gawked back pausing to see who yelled  else present.

"You're right, I am going crazy," He muttered angrily.

He closed his eyes, leaning his head against the cool brick wall and taking deep breaths in and out. His mind flooded with thoughts of Della. His heart felt heavy, he felt horrible. Inside he felt worried  and sad he could no longer handle the feeling he didn't understand why, he wanted to feel happy. Why can't he feel happy?

His mind raced overthinking and over thinking and overthinking all at the same time. He felt overwhelmed with feelings and confusion his vision blurred as tears formed in his eyes

He quickly wiped them away.

"Something doesn't feel right…" He thought.