Black Equation - The Gifted Ones

Number Seventeen

“When love is real, it defies all reason. When love is true, it ignores all pain. When love is great, it waits, it persists and it lingers forever.”

 

 

Number Seventeen

 

What the hell just came out of his mouth?

“I – I’m…” Arashi whispered, his insides shriveling at the horror of what he said. Glancing at the rearview mirror, he saw her biting her lips, eyes wide with unshed tears. He scrambled for words, panicking, “Sorry. I’m so sorry, Dee. I didn’t mean it. I’m not mad at you. Don’t cry, please?”

She was trying hard for his benefit, but it was obvious that it was a losing battle. Her face was like an open book; all he could see was raw pain. She looked away from him, hiding her face from his view.

Abcidee hated him now, and he deserved it.

He winced, regretting his angry outburst. She didn’t deserve to be treated this way. It was not her fault. Nothing here was her fault. He wanted to reach out to her, but something told him that touching her would be a bad, bad idea.

This was not how he envisioned their reunion. He imagined her running into his arms, kissing the daylights out of him, smiling that pretty smiles of hers. She should be happy and relieved because she was safe with him, because they were going back to her father.

He tried to control the rage of emotions inside him. Usually, he had no trouble keeping them in check. But for the past several days, things hadn’t been pleasant and his nerves were seriously frayed. His girlfriend was reported dead; how does he react to that? He barely scraped a couple of hours’ sleep every day. He refused to eat anything more than a bite of crackers because food always reminded him of her cooking. Master Kreuz seemed to be dealing better than him – he was already back on his feet and out ordering and arranging the units against the Light. At least the Master had a distraction. Arashi couldn’t even cope.

He didn’t have the Master’s strength or Ivan’s resilience. He was literally lost, finding it hard to imagine a world without Abcidee in it. He blamed himself for not being good enough a bodyguard. All his life, he had been assigned to kill someone. He wasn’t used to keeping anyone alive aside from himself. Twice he attempted, yet he fucked up both.

A failure, that’s what he is.

Ivan had to kick his ass out of the HQ and drag him to do fieldwork to stop what the older man deemed an ‘extremely destructive behavior’. He was right though; Arashi was about to self-detonate in self-loathing.

Then, when he had just come around the terms of her death, when he had finally accepted that he would have to avenge her, he received a call from Rael Ruiz – a call saying that Abcidee was alive and she needed his help.

And then, he explained what exactly happened.

Arashi was scared. No, he was terrified. Knowing that Krad was back in the picture, he couldn’t help but feel the need to whisk her off to an isolated island, just the two of them. Abcidee might not remember who Krad is, but once she heard their past, she would surely dump him for sure.

Krad was her best friend. He was her protector. He was her first love. He was the man she threw her life away for. He had known her since they were children. He could offer her the stories that she craved so much. As much as it hurt him to admit, Krad was what she needed.

But for now, she was his. As long as she wanted him, he would be at her beck and call. Maybe, just maybe, he would have a fighting chance. No matter what happened, he would fight for a stake in her heart.