The Immortal Cure

12. Introductions

After our movie day -Seth as usual- took off to attend to 'business', leaving Riley and I alone in the late afternoon.
We hadn't seen or heard from Duke all day, Seth occasionally leaving during movies to check on him. Each time he would report back that he still hadn't moved from his statuesque position behind his desk.

By noon, our sixth movie ended. Groggily, we stood and stretched out, yawning as the day drew to an end.
I was nervous about tomorrow, having 3 new faces joining us. I stared out the window in the room, taking in the setting sun when my stomach began to rumble.

"I heard that" Riley caught as he headed for the door
"Any preferences?" He asked, lingering

"Just a sandwich would be good, but, can I come? I mean, is it safe for me to come down there?" I asked, wanting to leave the room we'd been cooped up inside for the entire day

"I guess so, but -" Riley was interrupted by a surprising knock at the door.
He stood motionless for a moment, ad then he yanked it open.
We both expected to see Seth standing there, instead - to both our surprise - stood Duke, he had both of his hands leaning on the door frame; just like the night he had ambushed me from my bathroom.

I wasn't sure just how I felt.
I was happy to see him, yet nervous about our last confrontation.
He looked exceptionally handsome today. His hair was splayed wildly over his head, like he'd had a rough night's sleep and hadn't bothered to comb it. He was wearing a simple navy V-neck shirt that clung to his figure, black jeans and boots.

Duke gave one look to Riley who just nodded
"I'll get that sandwich ready for you" He smiled, before leaving

Duke slowly stepped out of the doorway and shut the door behind him, careful of his steps towards me.

I watched him carefully from where I stood at the window, my arms folded in self defense

"I want you to know that you shouldn't feel guilty for Anna having left" He started, his expression soft and careful.
I wasn't used to this, I was more used to the arrogant, light switch personality.

I just nodded

"I also wanted to apologize for scaring you and pushing you into telling me about what had happened" He continued "It was out of line. I could feel you buckle, yet I persisted with my demands" He confessed formally as though he was apologizing to his boss after receiving a complaint from a customer

"Its fine" I mumbled
It was done, there was nothing he could say to take back what had happened.
All I could do was accept his apology and attempt to move forward.

"It's not" He quickly responded, taking a step towards me cautiously

"It's over and done with, I accept your apology, but it's going take awhile for me to get past that horrific look on your face"
It did remind me of something in a horror movie. Something fictional, only told in scary stories and shown on big screens at the cinema.

"I assume Seth has filled you in on what's happening tomorrow?"

I nodded "Yeah, he did, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you making yourself uncomfortable around your brother just because of me"

"It's not about how Darius and I. It's about protecting you. That's what's important" His eyes kept trained on mine as he spoke

"I'll do my best to remain open minded about all of these people risking their lives for me, but I have one condition" I sighed

"What's that?" A hint of curiosity in his voice

"You help Seth and Riley keep Grant away from me" I offered, easing the tension