The sound of gunshots was deafening in the middle of this cold and lonely night.

Apple felt that she was just a second away from crossing the river of afterlife and waited for the gunshot pain to mangle her soul, but after a while, instead of feeling pain herself; Apple heard the sound of someone groaning in pain followed by the sound of flesh hitting the floor.

Carefully, Apple opened her eyes to find the man, who had pointed the gun at her earlier, had fallen to the ground, lying motionless with blood splattered around his body.

While not far from her, and from behind the man's body, Apple could see Jayden standing. The gun in his hand still emitting a faint white smoke, as proof that the gunshots that Apple heard earlier were from the man's gun.

It was only after she realized she was fine and alive that Apple could breathe a sigh of relief and plopped down, sitting on the cold floor of the ship, while Jayden walked over to her.

There was something different about the way the man approached Apple, especially the expression on his face.

Jayden looked shocked, even a little scared. His hands were shaking and his breath was shallow, as if he had just woken up from an endless nightmare.

A ridiculous thought crossed Apple's mind ; maybe Jayden was scared because he had killed the man earlier.

She wanted to laugh in the midst of this tense situation. How could a man like Jayden be afraid of killing someone who was his enemy? He would have killed more than this if Apple remembered the stories her father had told her.

There must be something bothering Jayden for him to react this way, only, Apple didn't know what it was and didn't have a chance to ask, because the man had snapped at her harshly.

"DON'T EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!" he yelled furiously at Apple. "You're not going anywhere until I tell you otherwise and you won't act recklessly like before!"

The word 'thank you' that Apple was about to say to Jayden for saving her life, was swallowed again because of her shock at the way Jayden yelled at her.

Why was he angry? Even he himself could not handle his trauma well and looked scared when he saw these ships…

"You can die! And what am I supposed to say to Pyro when his only daughter dies because of her own stupid impulsiveness?!" Jayden shouted again, while several men came from behind him, stopping in their tracks, because they saw Jayden being furious at Apple. "You will only move when I say so, and you will stay put until I say otherwise!"

A moment of hush fell after Jayden let out all his anger and Apple just sat on the floor, with her head tilted, looking Jayden straight in the eye.

She didn't look scared at all, but it was nothing like Jayden had imagined either, because he thought Apple would snap back at him and scold him in return.

However, she didn't do so and when a few minutes had passed and she was sure there would no longer be anymore outbursts from Jayden, she spoke innocently.

"Are you done throwing your temper tantrum?" she asked. "If so, help me up." Apple reached out her hand, asking Jayden to pull herself up from this uncomfortable position.

Jayden was confused that Apple didn't react the way he had imagined, but he didn't wait long to pull the girl to her feet and steady herself.

"Are you hurt?" Jayden asked, with his voice lowered this time, as his eyes scanned the girl's body quickly and briefly.

"No," Apple answered quickly.

Jayden also saw that this girl wasn't hurt at all. At least, he wouldn't get into trouble with Pyro for sending his daughter back in a fully wounded condition.

"Good," Jayden said sullenly. He then tossed a car key to Apple, which she caught with ease. "Your turn to drive, I am sleepy. After all, you've slept the whole way here."

Apple scowled as she received the car keys and stared at Jayden's moving back, while several men had come toward her to help their friends and secure the man Jayden had shot.

Even from behind like this, Apple could see that Jayden wasn't doing well at all. His gait was a little wobbly and his shoulders slumped.

Without waiting long or dilly dallying until Jayden scolded her again, Apple immediately ran after him.

=======================

Several times, Apple turned to Jayden, who was resting his head against the window glass, with his eyes closed shut tightly.

His face looked a little pale as large beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home?" she asked. "You can meet my father tomorrow and talk to him."

Jayden insisted on seeing Pyro tonight and refused to go home, because he knew that he would be all alone at the Tordoff residence, because no one else lived there but him.

His parents chose to live on their favorite island six months back and it was uncertain when they would return.

Jayden didn't want to go back to his apartment either because he didn't want to be alone.

"No," Jayden replied curtly, without opening his eyes.

"You want me to take you to the hospital?" Apple asked again, because she knew what kind of trauma Jayden had gone through before.

"No," Jayden answered again in a firmer voice.

"Or…"

But, before Apple could finish her sentence, Jayden had cut her off. "Shut up and just drive."

Hearing that, Apple groaned in annoyance, but then she fell silent.

The ride tonight was long, especially when Apple had to drive this vehicle alone with no one to talk to.

Apple didn't know if Jayden was really asleep or not, but for sure when they finally got to her house, he wasn't awake at all.

"Jayden, we're here," Apple called. She stretched out her hand and was about to shake him, but Jayden suddenly opened his eyes and choked her.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like