The Bond

Ch 74

"Bold."/"Bold italic" : animatronic is talking/animatronic is talking in mind

"Normal."/"Normal italic." : human is talking/human is talking in mind

=o^o=

"Mike ... stop crying."

Lucy looked at Michael who was still sobbing in the rear passenger seat with a sweatdrop. They were stopping at a rest area after driving for two and a half hours, they could have arrived in four hours but Lucy's injury didn't allow her to keep driving. The sun had faintly appeared.

"But your shoulder ..." Michael stuttered, staring at Lucy's wound with watery eyes and drooping eyebrows. "I'm sorry ...."

"Crybaby."

"Ennard!" Lucy shot the nonchalant Ennard a reproving glance, only to shrug. "Don't worry Michael, we can find a nearby clinic after we leave again."

Michael wiped away the tears that kept flowing, his lips pressed together and he squeezed his fingers as he lowered his eyes. Guilt overcame him, he didn't want Lucy to get hurt just for helping the two of them—moreover, Lucy had nothing to do with their background from the start. Seeing the amount of blood flowing out of Lucy's wound made him feel a little nauseous even though the blood was now imprinted on the cloth.

He had never admitted that seeing such a large amount of blood in one place scared him. It reminded him of Evan. A thick red liquid that splattered onto his face. Michael bit his lip hard as he rubbed both sides of his face uneasily. He felt dirty. Unknowingly, his sobs broke even more.

"Michael, I'm really okay." The corners of Lucy's mouth drooped down, she was starting to feel worried about the man—didn't expect Michael's reaction would be this bad. Lucy turned her gaze to Ennard, they stared at each other for a moment.

Ennard frowned as Lucy gave an expression as if he had to do something with the eldest Afton, he didn't know what to do either. "Don't cry." That's all he could say, Lucy looked at him with the look of 'Are you serious?'—what did Lucy expect from him? Give him encouragement and comfort? "It's not your fault, Benedict." Well that sounded better.

"Still—they chased after me and Lucy got hurt because of my own problem ..." Michael lowered his head deeper, he didn't have the courage to look at the girl. "Evan too ...."

His eyebrows raised upwards at that, Ennard finally turned his head. "You know both were unintentional accidents, Afton. It's not your fault Dawson got shot, it's the bitch's fault. Your brother too—you used to be a stupid delinquent, but you never intended to harm him. Don't blame yourself."

Lucy watched how Michael started to rest his head on Ennard's shoulder after Ennard said that. Michael now looked calmer even though he was still sobbing softly. She didn't really know about Michael's background other than his conflict with Ennard in the past, she remembered that Michael had said that his parents had died. Many things now made her curious, but Lucy knew this wasn't the right time to ask.

Leaving that aside, at least Ennard managed to calm Michael down.

Even so, Ennard seemed to tense up as Michael laid his head on his now slightly wet shoulder. This time he really didn't know how to react other than sitting up and awkwardly while Michael still made himself comfortable. At last he turned to Lucy; intended to seek help, but Lucy had turned to the front again and was lost in thought.

"Afton—you lean elsewhere."

"No, your shoulder is more comfortable than the car window."

Ennard cursed inside, his cheeks starting to warm again. Now how was he supposed to get rid of this shortie? His shoulder was getting numb. "You really are a pain," he muttered tiredly.

Suddenly the weight off his shoulder disappeared, Ennard looked at Michael who slightly raised his head to look at him. "Am I ...?"

The question made Ennard flinch, Michael looked pitiful—especially with his eyes slightly swollen from crying. Michael kept looking at him, waiting for a response from him as he grew nervous. Why did he feel guilty for saying that now? It wasn't like this before. "Ugh ... come here."

His hand pulled Michael back to lean on him, Michael was a bit surprised by that but he didn't protest at all and got back to comforting himself again, this time feeling more pleasant because Ennard's wires were stroking the top of his head.

While Ennard gave a small snort before glancing out the car window, he felt a burning sensation on his face. Lucy just watched from the rearview mirror with an amused smile.