After The Fall - END

32. Run

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Coming to my mother's house and eating at the same table as Orinthar has become something I can't avoid. He is always there; at this point, I'm sure he already lives there, and he is looking after my mother like she is the center of his universe. His eyes hold so much love, and his face contorts from this hard expression to the softest one I've ever seen gracing his face.

Oh, to be looked at like that by someone.

"Why are you coming back?" The question slipped out of my lips, not only startling the male in front of me but also myself. We never share any words, not even greetings. I completely shut him off if he tries to make conversation or even walks toward me.

Orinthar schooled his expression. "I made a promise to your mother to come home to her."

"What is the reason for your imprisonment?"

"Someone challenged me. Usually, we fight until one of us is dead, but I told him not to in exchange for some information plus I have to serve some jail time."

"Is it allowed to do that?"

"To do what?"

"To exchange information to get out of the duel."

"No. It's not customary in our tradition, but I begged him. I don't care about anything else as long as I can meet her again."

Zorion has great pride, so for him to beg for his life in battle, right in front of his enemy, he must really want to fulfill his promise to mom. Plus, can I stay mad when my mother is on cloud nine but tries so hard to hide it when I'm around? No matter how hard she tries to suppress it, some of her joy still escapes, and she's grinning from ear to ear.

I don't have the heart to do that to someone who endured everything so she could keep me.

"I don't like you," I said out of the blue, and he replied in no time.

"I don't like you either. You hog her every time you're here. You've already done that for the past 25 years. Let me have her for a couple of days, will you?"

My mouth gaped in surprise. I never thought he would sass me back, and everyone would think he grovelled at our feet for forgiveness. Instead, he told me not to come for a couple of days.

"I also don't like seeing you here every day. Don't you have your own house?"

"I don't," he answered without hesitation and without embarrassment. His arrogance might describe how he said it perfectly.

"Mom, he is poor. It's already hard for both of us. There's no need to add another poor alien in," I yelled at my mom, who bit her lip to hide her grin. Her happiness is blinding me.

"Stop it, you two. Let's eat." My mom pointed at me. "You need to go home as soon as possible; the storm will come at night."

We eat in silence most of the time. I also don't exchange goodbyes with Orinthar. It still feels weird, and I don't want to force myself. Baby steps. But I'm glad I don't have to act nice or feel guilty when I snap at him when he is being nice.

The wind is starting to howl louder, and black clouds hang low, hiding the twin suns.

I walk faster across the trees. Without the suns, darkness envelops my surroundings, giving me goosebumps. The sound of a twig being stepped on nearly makes me jump out of my skin.

My feet can't take another swing when I see a man, a human, stand ten feet from me. He wears a mask that covers his face, but I can see his skin that isn't covered by black clothes. I take one step back to run back to my mother's house. I'm only half way, so I can outrun him. But another man stands behind me, then another two come out of the back of the trees.

"Catch her." One of them said it while he pointed his finger at me.

My mind runs faster than my feet to map my surroundings. I knew this forest like the back of my hand since I was a kid, I knew places they didn't know. Maybe.

I take my first run and hear the drums of feet marching behind me. Hot on my tails. No matter how fast I run, they manage to follow me. I jumped off the tree branch but there's a sting of pain in my stomach. I brush it off and keep running. The forest blurs around me, leaves and shadows merging into a chaotic dance. My breaths come in ragged gasps, and I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

Pain eats me from the inside. The forest seems to stretch endlessly, the trees whispering secrets I can't decipher. My mind races, searching for an escape. A hiding place I always come to when I need a place to cry after human kids bullied me. I drag myself there in hope no one finds me.

My heart beat like a crescendo and my breaths short after running. I can't hear any of those pursuers' voices, but I keep hiding in the small cave behind a big tree and bushes.

The pain in my stomach became unbearable. It gnawed at me like a relentless beast, twisting and churning. I don't remember anything else before I succumb to the darkness.