For the damned | ✓

10

"WHAT ARE YOU EVEN doing here?" the Reaper said," you were in the hospital -" He stopped himself in time, trying to cover it up with a cough. "I mean, it's late."

"So you were actively avoiding me in the hospital," she remarked.

His words were stiff when he replied, obviously not that good at making excuses. "I would never be that unprofessional."

She chuckled and he continued, voice dropping lower this time as he dipped his head to look her in the eye.

"Besides," he murmured," it seems I can't escape you even in my dreams, Delilah."

"I am sorry about the dream," she said," I have no idea how I got there."

He stared at her for a moment, like he was trying to decipher her intentions from her eyes, before finally nodding.

"I'll take your word for it," he said," because you looked just as surprised as me."

"Helio," she said suddenly," is that your name?"

She knew she had said the wrong thing when he froze, taking a step back as the mist around him thickened, until she almost couldn't see her surroundings anymore.

"Don't call me that," he said, voice tinged with ice," only she can call me that."

She would have apologized, but she didn't want to keep saying sorry when she didn't even know what for - not because her pride didn't permit her to do so, but because he deserved more than an empty excuse. Instead she tilted her head to the right, his contour visible through the fog, like she was watching him in a crystal ball.

"What do you want me to call you?" she said, stepping forward to see him better," I can't know if you don't tell me."

His eyes glowed silver in the mist, focused on her as if she was something holy. It felt like he wasn't seeing her for a moment, but someone else entirely, though when he blinked it was gone, back to his usual closed off look.

"It doesn't matter what you call me," he said," I do not intend to see you again. You -" He breathed out, shaking his head like he was dispersing the confusion in his own mind. "You make me act like someone I can't be anymore."

When she parted her lips, she could feel a solemn feeling in her heart as she made her own decision, nodding at him.

"I understand," she said," I won't keep looking for you then. It seems I am just bothering you."

It did sadden her, because she had been so excited to get to know him. And besides the fact that he was her idol, it had felt soothing almost, to have someone who understood her for the first time. She wasn't the only one who saw the ghosts anymore, the only one who felt so chaotic in her own mind at times, like she could never be alone.

Still, it was clear that whatever want she had for the contact, he didn't share the same sentiment.

He seemed surprised at her response, staring at her as she smiled, before turning around to walk away. She was just about to check up on Jonathan when he grasped her wrist, pulling her closer. With surprised eyes she fell in his embrace, her back against his chest as his cloak fluttered in the wind around, her reflection catching in his scythe. When she looked closer though she was startled to see there was no face, just a blank canvas of brown, which was washed away by the wind.