The Blue Eyes

The strange question Blue just asked left Kevin speechless. He stared intently at the expression on the girl's face that showed a fear he did not understand.

"Blue, are you hiding something from me?" Kevin finally asked in a tender voice, not wanting to make the young girl felt intimidated.

The timid girl then looked at the older man sadly. The man gave her a look full of warmth as if convincing her that everything would be alright, but that look full of warmth only made her felt even colder.

It seemed like someone just threw a bolder of ice to her already cold heart, freezing it mercilessly, making her body turn into an ice sculpture. Her body was still in the warm car, but her heart seemed to be cast away to the coldest part of Antarctica.

Blue was sad and wretched, she was sluggish and listless. She even continued to be haunted by dreams related to that incident. In her dreams, the five thugs chased her for revenge. They turned to zombies that looked enraged and full of wrath in her dreams.

She was petrified and felt remorseful. She shouldn't have killed those thugs and shouldn't have left them in the alley. And, why did she leave Rachel too? If she didn't leave Rachel, she wouldn't disappear with her family now.

Blue did feel sinful, she knew that should confess her sin, but she wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to see Kevin's disappointed expression. He probably would turn his back and left her. No, she didn't want to lose the older brother figure she found in Kevin. No, she wasn't ready at all.

"I'm not hiding anything, Brother," the girl finally decided to lie. She drew her gaze away and chose to gaze out the car window. "I just feel guilty that I couldn't help Rachel and her family. If only I could help them, they wouldn't need to run away from the debt collectors. I have my savings, it should've been able to lighten their burden even if just a little," she continued.

Seeing Blue's pathetic condition, Kevin sighed and stretched out his hand to caress the top of the young girl's head. "Don't blame yourself, Blue. Their family's happiness is not your responsibility. It was their choice to leave and run away, and it has nothing to do with you."

Blue felt like crying after hearing Kevin's words. How could it have nothing to do with her? Rachel and her family went missing right after the ominous day in the alley. She could not guess what made them leave, but she was sure that it had something to do with her.

Was Rachel so scared and traumatized so that she decided to leave? But, Rachel was a sole witness to her evil deeds in the alley. What if Rachel told someone about the incident? Or, what if she reported it to the police?

"Blue," Kevin called out to the young girl when he saw her body began to tremble weakly. "Are you really all right? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

Hospital. The hospital could do a comprehensive examination of her body, and she may get an answer about what happened a few days ago to her body, but once again she wasn't ready to accept reality. She was worried that the assessment's result would tell her that she was a monster instead of a human. She was not ready to accept that fact.

"I'm fine, Brother. Can you take me home? I'm not going to work today," Blue finally replied.

Kevin was still staring at the girl next to him with a look of concern. It seemed like he could sense that something was not right with the young girl, but he didn't say anything anymore. He just sighed and nodded his head.

The scientist was about to start the car engine, but the sound of a cell phone ringing interrupted his intentions. He reached into his pocket for the smart object, then read the name that was written on the screen.

His facial expression immediately changed completely, now he looked like someone who was holding back the urge to defecate. He glanced at Blue and motioned to the girl that he was going to answer the phone call for a moment.

"What's up?" He asked a little harshly to the caller.

Blue peeked at Kevin who was talking to the mysterious caller. The older man seemed cranky when he greeted the caller who she did not know.

"You blame me for hanging up the phone call unilaterally last night? It was your fault! Your joke was too much!"

More or less Blue was astonished to hear Kevin's slightly raised tone. She wondered, who exactly was the person that talking to the man beside her? Was that his girlfriend who called? Were they fighting? Wait, since when did Kevin have a girlfriend? Since when did Kevin start dating?

That young man never told her anything about dating. Moreover, Blue had never seen Kevin close to any girl before. She remembered how Kevin's friends kept teasing him about being single since birth. His friends often arranged blind dates for him, but he always refused. Now Blue suspected Kevin of having a secret relationship behind her back.

"Yes, I'll talk to her about that matter. Have you returned to the city?"

This time Blue felt even more astounded. Why did his tone change again, and now he was speaking as if he didn't raise his tone just a few seconds ago? Why did Kevin's voice sound so soft just now? And, why did Kevin seem like he was waiting for that person to arrive in the city?

"Okay, I'll call you back later."

And the phone call was cut off. Kevin smiled a little before he put his smartphone back into his pants pocket. The genius scientist then turned to Blue and said, "You know what? He said that he would bring me a miniature ship from the coast when he returns to the city."

Hearing that ambiguous sentence made Blue tilt her head in confusion. The innocent girl then asked, "Who is that?"

That was when Kevin realized that Blue had been observing his conversation with someone on the phone just now. The young scientist then rubbed the nape of his neck awkwardly and answered, "That was Kris."

That answer made Blue's blue eyes widened. So, the mysterious caller that made Kevin seemed to be out of character was Kris? It was not a woman but a man? It was not a girlfriend but a... boyfriend? Wait, that was not possible, maybe she was just overthinking.

"Kris?" She asked in surprise. "You mean, the tall, dark-skinned man who got a free ride from you a while ago?"

Blue's questions and reactions made Kevin giggle. "Hey, it's rude to call someone like that. His skin is dark because he works on the coast. If he hears you talk like that, he may feel offended and hurt," Kevin tried to advise the younger girl.

But Blue did not seem to care about Kevin's rebuke. From the beginning, she didn't like Kris, and she would always felt the same toward the latter until the end. If usually they used "love at the first sight" term, then for Blue's case it's "hate at the first sight."

Too bad that she couldn't explain how she really felt toward Kris to Kevin. If only she could describe her feelings well, then maybe Kevin would trust her.

"Oh, yes," Kevin spoke again. "Earlier, Kris asked about you, Blue. It reminds me that there are important things I have to discuss with you. It's still about Kris," he added.

Blue frowned at Kevin's words. The look on the man's expression suddenly turned serious. It seemed that the things to be discussed were also very serious, but somehow she had a bad feeling about it, a very bad feeling.

"Kris wants to adopt you."

And sure enough, it was as if she had just been struck by lightning after hearing Kevin's words.

"Did I hear correctly? Who wants to adopt me?" Blue asked, hoping that she had heard it wrong.

She was like having a nightmare after hearing Kevin's sudden announcement. This nightmare was even worse than the zombie's nightmare.

Blue's question made Kevin sigh. "I know you don't like Kris, but he's not a bad guy, Blue. Can't you try to trust him?" Kevin replied in a hopeful tone.

That hopeful tone made Blue shook her head in disbelief. "Why do you trust him so much, Brother? You just got to know him, but why don't you feel the least bit suspicious of him? You even allowed him to live in your house, and now you want to entrust me to him. Isn't that strange for you, Brother?" Blue asked with a hint of frustration tucked into her every word.

Blue's long questions made Kevin felt so stressed. He massaged his temples lightly before answering the girl's question, "Yes, I know this is all weird, but my intuitions tell me that Kris isn't a bad person. If you really can't trust Kris, then, can you trust me, Blue?"