"Are you still sulking because of that?"
Drystan glanced at Galene who instantly laughed the moment she saw Drystan glared at him. Galene's last night fiasco left a sour taste on his mouth mainly because he hadn't had the chance to get back at her.
"Should I just kiss you here right now to call it even?"
Galene's cheeks turned red but her smile just went wider.
"You'll kiss me just to call it even? Not because you want it to"
Galene's laughter rang throughout the streets when she saw how Drystan's whole face turned red.
"Ha~ you're seriously having fun with this aren't you?"
"What you get for thinking you could tease me"
Drystan smiled before letting out a sigh and raising both of his hands as a sign of defeat, to which Galene chuckled again.
"By the way, are you sure you can go alone?"
Galene felt Drystan's hand slowly sneaking into hers as he intertwined them, rather than avoiding the contact, she clasped them tightly before smiling at Drystan. The two of them were now on their way home. Galene still had some things to get from her apartment before she go straight to Serenity's house.
Drystan had offered her company again and again but she refused. It had been almost a month since the last incident with her parents and according to the landlord, there were no more disturbances as of lately.
It was safe for her to assume that they wouldn't come anytime soon so she wanted to grab some stuff in there before going to Serenity's house. Since hers and Serenity's houses were in the opposite direction of Drystan's, she didn't want to impose on him.
She smiled and nodded at him.
"I'll be fine, the landlord did tell me that they didn't hear any disturbances as of late, I'll just grab a few things quickly then go to Serenity's"
This didn't alleviate Drystan's worries though. He let out a sigh and embraced Galene to which made her surprised. She had thought that he was restraining himself from hugging her because he wouldn't be able to let her go but she guessed it reached its limits.
"What about self-control Zael?"
"I'm still restraining, I haven't kissed you yet haven't I?"
Galene's face burned bright red when Drystan stared at it. He smiled before hugging her tighter. Galene buried her face at his shoulders to which she had inhaled his scent. Somehow being in his arms made her feel safe and secure. It had always been like that, and she was slowly getting used to that certain feeling.
"Ahhh I really don't want to let you go, can't I just come with you?"
Galene chuckled before patting Drystan's back lightly. She knew how Drystan had been worried about her for the past few weeks.
"You need to rest, I'll be fine. I'll call you once I'm on my way to Serenity"
Drystan let out a heavy sigh before letting Galene go.
"I'll wait for your call, please don't get hurt on the way"
"I won't"
Drystan's worry was valid and understandable. After knowing that her alcoholic parents had been abusive towards her since she was a child, he couldn't calm himself down. He didn't want Galene to go through all that trauma once again. What he wanted was for her to be happy all the time.
But fate had a different wish for Galene.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Let go"
Galene gritted her teeth as her mother pulled her hair harder. The moment she had stepped out the elevator to her apartment she saw the people she feared the most.
"How dare you run away from your own parents, are you going to be like your brother?"
"I told ya, we should've just sold the three of them back then"
"I said let go, I'm going to call the police"
Galene felt tears well up in her eyes as a heavy hand came across her face, the loud sound of the slap echoing all throughout the empty hallway. She struggled to get away from them but her parents pinned her to the wall.
"You ungrateful brat, where's Aslan? call him right now or you'll get another beating"
Galene shook her head hard, her parents wanted to mooch off her brother, that's why they were trying hard to look for her and her siblings.
"No"
"You bitch"
Galene gasped as her father clasped her throat and pounded her head once on the wall. She could feel the sharp pain in the back of her head. Her tears started falling one by one as the grip on her throat began to tighten.
"What? answer me now, are you still not going to tell us? Don't you have any shame for the parents that raised you?"
Galene wanted to answer back, never had she felt anything for them aside from fear. She didn't feel loved as a child and she wasn't grateful because they never raised her. The one who went through all the hardships of raising her and her younger brother was Aslan.
She felt a much sharper pain through the back of her head the second time her head was pounded on the wall. The tightening grip around her throat didn't help either. Her head was now spiraling, she could feel every vein in her body screaming at her to get out of there.
So when her father turned around towards her mother, she with little strength left in her kicked him far away from her. Galene coughed hard as she stumbled to her feet. As hard as it was she ran, her head and throat hurt, it was hard for her to breathe but she needed to get out of there.
The elevator was out of the question, she hurried towards the end of the hallway where the emergency exit was. She succeeded in getting inside but the sharp pain from her hair being pulled made Galene scream, the back of her head was the place where it hurt the most.
"F*ck where do you think you're going?"
"Don't even think that I'll let you get away"
Galene's tears ran down her face as she felt her head being forcibly pulled.
"I won't tell you anything. We won't go back to that hell of a life with you"
"You really are ungrateful, if you're not going to help then just die"
Galene's eyes widened when she felt the grip on her hair loosen, she thought it was a relief not until she felt a strong force on her back pushing her.
She struggled to grab the handrailings but when she lost her footing, she knew it would be useless. She closed her eyes as she welcomed every pain that had enveloped her body. Before she knew it everything went quiet and dark, but in her head, she called the person to whom she wished to see, even if it'll be her last.
"Zael"