The Winter Clock

CHAPTER 31 – TELL ME

“Tell me, Dr. Rein. Are you hiding something?”

Reina felt her palms sweat, and her toes were starting to get cold. Her lips trembled, not knowing if it was her ice coffee or her current situation. Probably both. But Reina is Reina. Despite the difficult situation she was in, she was able to compose herself. She took another sip from her coffee before putting it down. Vander only observed her every move.

“Are you suspecting me as metahumans or what?” Reina uttered, faking her laugh. “Aren’t you overthinking, Doctor?” She added, shaking her head. Hearing her remarks, Vander’s eyes softened. Is he really overthinking things?

“I told you, didn’t I? Woman’s guts are real. Not only that, I am a Doctor, so I’m familiar with those situations. The same goes with you.” Reina reasoned out and gently tapped Vander’s shoulder. But before she could remove her hand, Vander grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer to him. Reina gasp and her eyes widened. Their face was only a few inches away.

“D-Doctor-“ Reina stopped when Vander tightened his grip to Reina’s wrist, and his eyes were looking directly at her orbs, making her feel uneasy. What on earth is wrong with him?!

Reina pulled her head away and gulped when Vander’s face came closer to hers. Reina stopped upon seeing Vander’s facial features closely. Thin yet sharp nose, dark brown orbs, long lashes, high cheekbones, kissable lips. His handsome. Honestly, he looks younger than his age. Reina was tempted to remove his eyeglasses for her to see his face more, but she stopped herself.

Vander unknowingly analyzed Reina’s face but failed. The only thing he could recognize was the color of her hair and her voice. Vander narrowed his eyes, trying his best to analyze Reina’s face. What is the color of her eyes? Why is it that everything seems unrecognizable to him?

“Suck this prosopagnosia!” Vander shouted in distress, tightening his grip on Reina’s wrist, making Reina flinch. “What on earth is your face?!” He exclaimed and pushed his head closer to Reina’s face, hoping he could analyze it. Vander lowered her gaze and fell on Reina’s thin, pinkish lips. “What’s with you that’s making me stick like gum?” He asked in a low voice.

Reina frowned and remembered Ryther’s words last night. Do not trust anyone. Reina twists her wrist for Vander to loosen his grip, but as soon as she does, Vander holds her shoulders and pushes her on the settee, making Reina gasp.

“Hey-oomph!”

Reina’s eyes almost popped out of her eyes when she felt Vander connect their lips together, making her heart pound. Reina gulped and shut her eyes when Vander deepened the kiss. She gasped when he bit her lower lips, but when Vander was about to sweep inside her mouth, she used all her might to push his chest away and bumped her forehead to Vander’s forehead, then kicked him, opening a way for her to stand up from the settee.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Reina fumed, and Vander’s eyes widened upon realizing what he had just done. His eyes trembled in fear. No, he cannot lose another friend.

Reina roughly wiped her lips and aimed to walk out of the break room swiftly, but Vander grabbed her free hand and pulled her to face him.

“D-Dr. Rein, I-I’m sorry. I-I’m really, really s-sorry.” Tears started to stream from Vander’s eyes as he stuttered. Reina tried to free herself, but Vander pushed her shoulders to the nearest wall. “P-Please… Please don’t be angry.” Vander pleaded as endless tears streamed down.

“Let me go,” Reina said firmly, but Vander shook his head. “Let me go.” She said again but with a warning tone. “For Pete’s sake, let me g-“

Reina stopped when Vander has suddenly pulled away from her and was tossed aside, staggering back and hitting the settee.

“She said to let her go.”

Reina’s eyes widened. “T-Thorn?” She whispered, and only then did Ryther look at her with sharp eyes. Reina’s eyes fell on Vander, who groaned on the floor, massaging his back that hit the sofa’s armrest. She felt her anger and guilt rise at the same time. “Hey!” Reina was shocked when Ryther grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room like a flash.

“What’s your problem with my wrist?!” She seethed inside her.

They speed walk from the breakroom to their private locker. Since Ryther was on the verge of bursting, every step he made was faster and broader than his usual steps, making Reina - whose hands Ryther was gripping, run to be able to follow him. Reina felt her heart thud. She never saw Ryther this mad, especially when Vander was around. As their senior, Ryther always respects Vander.

“T-Thorn- Ah!”

Reaching the locker room, Ryther pushed Reina to one of the lockers forcefully. Reina felt the locker on her back bent because of the impact. She groaned silently and bit her lower lip when he felt Ryther’s nails dig to her shoulders. Being wounded by the bullets and knives or needles was painful. But seeing Ryther like this hurts Reina more.

“W-What’s your problem?!” Reina managed to ask and felt her body slightly twist when Ryther squeezed her shoulders. He was unbelievably strong tonight compared to their sparring.

“Are you really naïve or a total fool?!” Ryther fumed, and Reina frowned deeply.

“What’s making you angry?”

“I told you not to trust anyone!” Ryther answered swiftly and pushed Reina to the locker one last time before releasing her and hissing loudly. “What would happen to you if I did not come? Men are men, I told you that!” He added without any plan to hide his fury. Reina remained silent as words left her tongue. Her eyes trembled, and she winced when Ryther punched his locker furiously.

“How come you allowed him to do that to you? You did not even fight back like you always do with me.” Ryther said in a low, cold voice. He crumpled his fist, and blood started to form from it. Reina remained flabbergasted. She felt her eyes moist and bit her lower lip. She knew deep down inside her that she intended to fight. But even she was shocked when her body weakened.

“I-I’m sorry….” She whispered with a cracked voice and crumpled her gown. “I-I tried… I fought back but-“

She stopped when she felt something warm cover her cheeks and wipe her eyes. Ryther’s gaze was still sharp, but it was softer than before. He bit his tongue angrily. Even he was not sure of the specific reason why he felt like that. He saw Vander kiss Reina, but he let him do it. He wanted to grab his head and slam it on the wall, but he also wanted to know what Reina would do in that situation. He warned her already. He is a man, and Reina is a beautiful woman.

“Don’t full yourself, Ryther. What you want to know is if Reina feels the same towards him." Ryther whispered to himself and wiped Reina’s tears that were about to betray her. Somehow, he felt guilty seeing her like this because of her.

“I felt weird….” Ryther whispered in a low voice, and Reina silently sniffed.

“What do you mean?”

Ryther stopped for a moment. Reina threw the right question.

“You’re right….” He whispered again. “What do I even mean?”

Ryther shook his head and pulled the long sleeves of Reina’s gown, and wiped it to her lips roughly, making her close her eyes tightly with a deep frown. Ryther sighed and let her sleeve go, then used his thumb to gently wipe her lips.

“Don’t let just anyone kiss you casually.” He uttered sheepishly, and Reina’s eyes widened for the nth time.

“He saw it?!” She exclaimed deep down inside of her.

She was about to rebut but swallowed her words when Ryther pressed his thumb to her lips and pressed his lips to his thumb. This time, Reina felt her heart skip a beat. It was a different feeling compared to what she felt towards Vander a while ago. Ryther pulled away and kissed Reina’s nose and forehead affectionately, making Reina feel something hot on her cheeks.

Seeing her reaction, Ryther chuckled as if nothing had happened a while ago.

“That excludes me.” He spat.

~ Not all people we trust are okay, and not all people we doubt are not okay. Be sharp. ~