The Graveyard

Hearts Without Chains

Corbin's eyes fluttered open slowly before narrowing a little once light reached him. He blinked a few times, groaning and turning over while pulling the covers over his head, burying his face in the pillow.

Only a few seconds passed before he shot up in his bed, his mind processing the events of last night, hands reaching for his shoulder to pull his shirt down and gaze at his clear, intact skin with wide eyes. Where did his wound go?

It should've been there, but it wasn't, no trace of it whatsoever was apparent to his eyes, and the hurt, the pain he's felt last night was as if never has been, and it was then that something else dawned at him while his eyes aimlessly looked around in thought.

This wasn't his room.

He looked down, hands gripping the white sheets of the bed he was in, nothing much to see as he carefully examined where he was, just plain white paint covering the wall, a small window not far from the bed, a desk in the corner and a counter nearby with a glass of water on top of it, which stimulated his drying throat, making him reach for it and swallow it down in one go.

He climbed off the bed and headed for the door, the faint, recognizable sound of his sister's childish laughter reached his ears, stopping him in place and making him turn around to look at the window where he heard it come from.

He walked towards it, turning the lock and opening the pane, shivering once the cold breeze hit him. He wasn't really wearing anything but a simple black shirt and dark slacks.

Looking down, he spotted Chloe twisting around herself, giggling and reaching for the air. Ignoring the odd behavior, he whistled, making her jerk up her head to look at him. Releasing a short gasp, she jumped up and down while holding her blue earmuffs, her dark hair dancing around her.

"Corbin!" she chirped "You're finally awake, sleepy head! Come down and play with us!"

He smiled widely, her childishness enhancing his mood wholly. "Who're us?" he questioned, taking in the fact she was jumping around all alone in the front yard.

"Me and Jupiter and Lissete!" she said, first pointing her finger to her empty side and then to the house's front porch, where his blue eyes met the chocolate brown ones of the girl that has emerged from beneath the pergola to stand next to his sister. She gave him a warm beam, waving lightly. "Hey, Corbin."

He retuned her smile, giving a small wave of his own. "Hey, Lissete."

"Won't you come down? We'll catch up."

All he did was nod faintly as he scanned the house's exterior, he didn't have to look twice, this was definitely Estle's place.

He went back inside and closed the window, but as he turned around to leave, his foot bumped into a few bags which lay at the bed's end. His head went to the side a bit as he examined them, kneeling down and opening one, he found it only contained some of his clothes.

He dug through the things until he took out a dark blue long-sleeved shirt and pulled it over his head, and once he was outside his room and in the hallway, warmth started slowly radiating into him, if the house was this warm, then how come the room was cold?

He shrugged the matter off and headed towards the stairs, stopping midway to turn around and lock his gaze with the door at the end of the hall. Was Eli there? The thought alone made his heart thump and his breath heave, but not only for the reasons known, it was past his attraction this time.

Eli knew, of course, he knew everything, how come that thought has never crossed his mind before? How did he overlook that fact so stupidly? He surely suspected it, last time he was here, he asked him how his family died, but let the question pass unanswered for the sake of not pressuring Eli into reliving memories he distasted. He could've persisted like his stubborn self would usually do until he finally got to the bottom of it, but it would have been awkward.