Charmed Chaos

7. She is a....

NOLAN

Emily Rock.

She was the first thing I thought about as I opened my eyes. Sitting on that rooftop and just chatting with her had felt way more satisfying than one would expect. There was just something about her that I couldn't help admiring.

Okay, who was I kidding? There were many things I liked about her.

I loved the way she always had a smile on her face whenever she spoke and the gentle yet captivating manner in which smiles formed on her face. She was calm but there still was this air of confidence around her.

Just then, my phone rang it was Rue, my girlfriend.

“Hey baby,” Rue let out, her voice a little unclear as it seemed to be raining over there, “are you back home now?“

“No, I'm not,” I stated, clearing my throat before continuing, “but I will be in no time.“

Rue told me she hoped to see me when she came back as she hadn't seen me in nearly two months.

“Of course, Rue,” I assured her, now sitting uprightly, “I will be back before you get home. Don't even bother yourself over that.“

Here was the thing— Rue had a job that took her all over the world and she loved her job. I mean, she loved it enough to travel wherever she had to, and I didn't have an issue with that. Of course, I would be a liar if I didn't say that I sometimes wished we spent more time together.

“You still don't want to show me to your parents,” she let out, the tone of her voice a little more serious now. “Oh, don't bother about it. I'm sure you have your reasons. You always do, but I have no doubts that it is in my best interests that you keep them all to yourselves.”

There was a strong element of sarcasm in her last statement.

I didn't like lying to Rue. Even though I knew I had to, I didn't like that I constantly had to keep some parts of my life veiled.

Rue would often ask me about my parents and where they lived. I would just tell her they were alive but never where they were, what they did or even anything about their personal lives.

As you would expect, she had a problem with this.

My voice a little low, I let out, “Rue, can we not do this over the phone? We will speak when we meet.“

Letting out a sigh, she said, “Okay, whatever you say, Nolan. I mean, I have asked you about your family in all the years we have been together, but you always shut me up. Now, isn't it a little funny and convenient that the one time you decide to see them is when I'm far away?“

Taking a deep breath, I let out, “Let's do this later, Rue.“

As soon as I said that, she cut the call.

Standing, I walked into the bathroom and began brushing my teeth, whistling as I did.

Look— I get it. She had once said that her friends had long told her that I didn't take her seriously and wouldn't ever consider settling with her. To them, I was keeping her away from my family because I didn't value the relationship we had. This, however, wasn't true. I did value our relationship and still wanted to be with her. But I couldn't allow her to get to know about my life, and that was non-negotiable. Even if it were to cost me what we had.

“How do you see the town now?“ Nicholas enquired, sitting next to me at the dining table as we ate. “There have been a lot of changes, especially in the main market area.”

“Oh,” I let out, still chewing the food in my mouth. “I… uh, haven't seen that area yet. Today, I intend to do some walking.”

Nodding, Nicholas said, “Yeah, you should. It does help clear the mind.”

Nicholas, Mum, Dad, Annalise (Nicholas' wife), and I were all the people present as we ate breakfast. Only Nicholas, Annalise, and I were even saying anything. Mum and Dad just kept quiet, their gazes down to their plates.

Dad was at the table today and, knowing Mum, I had no doubts that she had talked him into having breakfast with me at the table.

Onto something else— just before we had breakfast this morning, I saw Brenda and Mason walking out and going to school. When I left Darkwood for good years ago, Brenda was about six years old, and Mason, only a baby. I will honest here— seeing them made me realise how long I had stayed away from my family. And while I don't regret my decision, I was aware that I chose my dreams over them.

Soon Mum and Dad left the table, after hurriedly eating, to go elsewhere, leaving just me, Nicholas and Annalise.

“Be honest,” Annalise started, leaning back, her gaze on me, “did you even miss Darkwood at all?“

Seeing the funny look on her face, I grinned, saying, “It was my home for most of my life. It's rather hard to not think about it. So, yes, I did miss it at times.”

“Hmm, hmm,” Annalise let out, looking away for a moment.

Chuckling, I shook my head as I said, “You don't believe me, do you?“

Nicholas chimed in, a cup of tea in his hands, “It's rather hard to believe you, brother. You leaving here was a dream come true for you. You always hated life here, man. I don't believe you ever missed anything here.”

I couldn't blame him for thinking this way. When I was much younger, I hated that we never really left the town. I would always tell anyone who would grant me an audience that when I got older, I would leave Darkwood and never return.

Funny enough, prior to Mum's call, that was pretty much the game plan I had.

After having a bath, I decided to ask Mum when we would actually go after Naire. If I could know just when, I would know when I could leave.

I found Mum in her study again— it seemed to be where she always was these days.

“When are we leaving?“ I questioned, staring blankly at her. “And please, don't say you can't tell me.”

She turned away from the screen and fixed her gaze on me. “We are leaving tomorrow.“

My eyes widened, I asked, “So you didn't think I should know?“

Waving it off, she said, “This really isn't that big of a deal. Though I was going to tell you sometime today.”

Hearing this did put a smile on my face. The faster we could get to the vampire couple's home, the faster I could get out of here.

Mum turned away and continued working on the PC.

Look— I wasn't heartless. I felt for Naire and I knew that she was probably going through the worst time of her life. I knew this. Yes, I did think she was the cause of her own suffering. No matter what, going to Zuna and Grace has to be one of the most stupid things anyone can do.

Feeling a little bored, I decided to take a walk.

Before leaving, I saw Dad, tending to the little garden out front, whistling as he did. I could tell that he spotted me in peripheral view, but, as has been the case since I returned, he just acted as though I didn't exist.

At this point, I was sure he wouldn't say anything to me until I left. Or even forever.

Just as I left the premises, Ella called.

“So it's only about three days until you return?“ Ella asked, her voice full of energy as always.

Without hesitation, I answered, “Yes, I should be back in three or four days at most.“

“In that case, it will be like you never left. Everything is fine, no issues whatsoever.“

Ella went on to continue to talk about work-related stuff, and as she spoke, I pondered on whether I had lied to her or not. I mean, I did want to go home in three days, but I couldn't tell if that was even plausible. If indeed we were going to meet the vampires, the result of our journey will determine how long my stay will be.

That was if the vampires didn't have us for dinner.

After getting off the phone, I tried to enjoy the walk, happy that the heat of the sun wasn't so intense today.

But just then, I saw the restaurant. Okay, as I walked past it, I sensed she was inside of it, and then I remembered she told me that she, her sister, and her aunt ran a restaurant in town.

“Don't be weird,” I muttered to myself as I contemplated entering the building.

As I got in and sat at a table, I saw that she and her sister attended to a table and then they went out back. Though they didn't quite look alike, I could tell they were sisters.

“Not bad,” I said, taking in the view of the colourful interior of the restaurant.

But just then, I saw Scott.

He stormed into the restaurant, his eyes seeming to scan the inside of the place. For a moment, he seemed to freeze when he saw me, but he took his gaze away, going towards the table of another man.

“You think you can fck with me?” he let out, driving a punch into the guy's face. “What did you say about me, huh? What did you say? You think I will let you fck with me?”

“I didn't even….”

Before the guy could say anything, Scott drove another punch into his face, and another. And then Scott flipped the table over, kicking the guy in the stomach, smashing the table on the ground. He pulled out one of the legs of the tables and, like a rabid animal, began to strike the man on the ground.

Just another day of Scott being Scott.

As this happened, Emily and her sister came out. As they stared in shock, Emily's sister said something under her breath, but I heard it.

And that means Scott heard it too.

“What did you say, little miss?” Scott asked, now less than a foot away from us. “You better start speaking before I lose my patience.”

“I'm sorry,” she pleaded, every colour leaving her face as she bowed her head before him. “I don't know what got over me… I don't mean what I said.”

Scott was a bully, always have been.

At this moment, I thought about stepping in, but knowing Scott, I was certain it would lead to a fight. So, I would wait to see if he was going to let them be.

Soon, he felt the lady's apology wasn't enough and asked Emily to also apologise.

Looking at the expression on Emily's face, her eyes unmoving as she glared at him— she wasn't going to apologise.

Damn. I was going to have to step in.

But as he tried to land a blow on her, I jumped out of my seat but soon sat back down as Scott fell to the ground, his hand hitting the tiled floor.

Immediately, Emily's sister began to tell everyone that Scott had had too much to drink.

“Stupid drunk,” a man sitting nearby let out. “Good thing he passed out. Heaven knows what he would have done to her.”

I felt as though I was the only one who noticed what happened before everyone in the restaurant. Perhaps it was because I was staring closely at Emily and saw that she snapped her fingers right before Scott fell.

Oh, my goodness!

She was a….