Wild Bonds

Ash Morgan

As childhood friends who had ran away from their home together, Iris and Jinx had to rely on each other to survive. Therefore, Jinx didn't believe that a selfish decision from her would lead to them ending their friendship.

In fact, she didn't think anything could lead to such outcome. Jinx trusted Iris too much to believe she'd leave her.

' I know I'm being quite selfish, but... I just have to do this. I need to!' Jinx clenched her fist hard beside her as she watched her beef cook.

Her childhood was a mess. She never knew her father, and her mother was abusive and an alcoholic. There's always been certain questions in her mind, and now she could barely hold back from wanting them answered.

Despite how much she hated her mother, the truth stands that she was the only person that could answer her questions and put her doubts to rest.

Jinx was lost and needed closure.

" I need to do this, Iris..." Jinx's grim voice broke the tense silence in the room.

She had been thinking about this for a while now since the previous night...

Left to her, Jinx didn't wish to tell Iris about her plans and the reason why she wanted to leave with that guy from last night. However, she couldn't leave Iris hanging like this.

She realized it wasn't entirely fair to her best friend who'd looked up to her for a long while as her only family.

That too, not when she was about to leave her and have her fend for herself for a while now.

" So you're really gonna leave for Ravenpeak with that guy huh?" Iris who sat in the sofa put down her phone to ask out loud. She furrowed her brows and looked to the side, seemingly unable to look Jinx in the face.

Iris was unable to catch a good sleep all night as she couldn't shake the furious burn in her heart at Jinx off. And now, it had only been fueled even more.

Jinx was silent for a while. She hung her head in sorrow and assented in a low tone, " Yes. I have to..."

Tzz!

All that remained in the silent room was the sizzling boil of the beef.

Since the beef was already done, Jinx added the pre-sliced onions, letting them sauté with the beef. The onions that already seemed dry instantly softened and caramelized, mixing in with the sweet aroma in the air.

" I get it" Iris picked up her phone after a while and didn't ask anymore questions.

Jinx raised her gaze hearing this, unsure of how to feel about it. She stared at Iris's lean back as the latter sat in the sofa, feeling a strange sense of coldness seeping from them. For the first time, Jinx felt so distant from her best friend.

They'd had their differences in the past and they managed to settle them. But this time, a wary sense of fright wrapped at Jinx's heart. She feared that she might... she might lose Iris!

" Iri-"

Knock! knock!

Jinx was cut short by the sound of a gentle scratch on the glass door to the balcony.

The white curtains were drawn fast but the bright ray of sunlight in the morning was enough to outline the figure of a young man standing by the balcony.

Startled at first but regaining her calm shortly afterwards, Iris turned around to look at Jinx with an accusatory stare.

Jinx pursed her lips and turned down the heat to the stove The beef was done anyway.

She swiftly sauntered to the balcony door and pushed the curtain aside, revealing the person.

It was the same guy from last night!

" Ever heard of a door?" Jinx asked as she slid the door to the balcony aside.

" I'm sorry, I'm still not certain of what door to knock. I don't wanna raise suspicions either so I figured I'd use the familiar route." The guy smiled wryly as he explained. His thin lips curved into his cheeks, and his thin-cut slightly bearded face slightly squeezed.

Dressed in a casual top and baggy jean pants, Jinx couldn't help but be convinced that he was really young. Perhaps still in his late teens or early twenties at most.

In contrast to his shady look from last night, he seemed much less harmless. However, his short black-brown faded hair was still a mess. He also had a small back-pack behind him but Jinx didn't look too much into it.

" Yeah, right" Jinx rolled her eyes and turned around leaving the door open.

Taking the cue to come into the room, the guy walked in right behind Jinx.

' It smells nice in here...' He commented when he smelled the aroma in the room but paused when he saw the naked lady from the previous night.

Feeling awkward, he was unsure how to greet Iris as he could still remember just how she looked from the previous night. Regardless, he decided to shoot a nod at her, though he failed to control the wry smile on his face.

However, not to his expectation, Iris suddenly rolled her eyes and looked away. He had no idea but he could tell that this lady had a lot of animosity towards him for some reason.

Just now, she looked at him as though she wanted to attack him mid-convo with Jinx.

But seeing how she looked away and didn't seem to show no interest, he also decided to mind his business.

' ...' Jinx who had seen the scowl on Iris's face couldn't help but pause to stand in the room. She sighed internally and turned to face the guy and asked instead, " You have it ready?"

" What?" The guy shook his gaze from Iris and looked at Jinx bafflingly.

Jinx stared at him and wondered if he was dumb for a second. However, she pointed shortly after, " The money. I'm not moving an inch from where I am without it, I believe I already made myself clear" Jinx placed a palm on her waist and stretched out the other in demand, showcasing dominance.

" Oh right. I have it, Miss uh ..."

" Jinx!"

" R-right. I'm Ash" He expressed an awry smile hearing her name. " Anyway..." Seeing how Jinx couldn't care any less, Ash lowered his head to reach into his side pocket to bring out a handful of cash.

" Here you go" he handed the wad of cash to Jinx.

Ash didn't bother asking if this meant that the lady before him had accepted to take him to Ravenpeak, after all, the answer to that was pretty obvious at this point.

" I'll be glad if we can move out today" Ash added, clenching the bag behind him to show that he was ready.

Jinx counted the cash and couldn't help but look at Ash in surprise. She didn't expect that he'd pay all the money to her at once like this. Isn't he trusting her too much now?

Jinx couldn't help but stare at him for a short while, seemingly lost in thought.

" Alright!" Jinx didn't seem to have a problem with them leaving today. She already considered that to be a possibility. Jinx nodded at him seriously to indicate she was okay with his terms, and turned to leave for the kitchen afterwards.

How could she travel such a long distance without having breakfast first?

Left standing in the living room, Ash felt a bit awkward, not knowing what to do for a moment. However, he sauntered towards the vacant couch shortly afterwards while eyeing Iris.

" Hey" he thought to say hello to her regardless of how hostile she seemed towards him. This was the least courtesy expectant of him after all.

Iris hearing him looked up from her phone at Ash, shot a cold hostile glance at him, and returned to using her cellphone.

' Well, that's quite the welcome' Ash lampooned with a wry smile as he sat on the couch, tapping his fingers nervously.

He shot a glance at Jinx but the latter seemed busy dishing breakfast.

Jinx who had grabbed the buns and cheese in the refrigerator, laid them out on a plate and at this time the beef was already cooked.

Ash watched as Jinx scooped a generous portion of deliciously stir-fried beef onto each bun. Then, Jinx put some of the sliced tomatoes on top and added some cheese.

Looking from the serious Jinx to Iris who seemed grumbled for some reason, Ash couldn't help but finally realize that perhaps, he might have walked in at the worst moment.