Hands In The Stars

40. Exhausted

The door closed and Emilio's feet slipped forcefully out of his shoes as soon as he found himself in the warmth of his home. Though, the warmth right now, usually so lively and welcoming, felt damp and forced. The hallway he had just stepped into was pitch black, completely void of any light, movement or sigh of life. The man slapped the switch without even looking, and the lamps gradually blinked themselves awake. For a second he found it odd, the unusual stillness, then he sighed at his own stupidity as he realized the time was almost four in the morning. He had just came back from one of his missions. It had been one of the quick and quiet kinds, get in, hit the target, make sure they were actually dead, then drop back out again. Just in and out, though that was just one of all the still piling jobs he had completed the past few weeks. The tall man hung his heavy, black jacket up on one of the hooks, bending down a bit as they were placed rather low, for his wife to be able to reach as well. He made his way to the kitchen, footsteps echoing through their spacious home, and opened up the fridge to grab onto one of the many beers. An exhausted exhale danced around the room, joined by the metallic cracking and fizzing of the can as it opened. Emilio gave the beer a glare as it echoed through the silence. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally let his late arrival wake his most certainly sleeping wife. Sipping on the alcohol, he ran it all over again. The scenario which had been bothering him so. The events which rolled through his head over and over, twisting and turning. His heavy body leaned against the kitchen counter, but he was already in another world.

It was morning. As usual, Rosa and Zen both woke up before him. Zen took care of Jin's morning routine. She got him changed, fed him, read a chapter from his book and played a bit. Rosa made lunch, Emilio woke up to greet her in the kitchen. Rosa packed the lunch into Zen's school bag and slipped in some extra money, as she insisted on. Zen gave Jin a kiss, had a small breakfast, then ran off to school. She never came back. It had been weeks, but the memories were fresh as ever. He could almost smell the scent of Rosa's cooking that morning. Almost see the strands of Zen's hair fly in the air as she hurried away. Emilio groaned, rubbing his face a bit then put the beer down onto the counter besides him to put his hair up into a ponytail, eager to get it out of his face. Zen's disappearance had taken an enormous toll on the couple, most of all Rosa. The stress his wife experienced pierced the entire house. There was always a heavy sadness lingering over her lately, a big empty hole missing, and Emilio didn't know what to do to fix it. It made him feel terrible.

*

Rosa's head shot up from the soft pillow and her eyes locked intensely at the bedroom door, slightly ajar. She covered her mouth to keep her breathing from disturbing her hearing. The front door slowly creaked open, then closed again. The heavy footsteps echoed through the air and she felt her heartbeat race up in her chest as she looked at the clock on her side table. Three forty-eight. With a deep breathe she forced herself to steady up and listen to the footsteps like a feline awaiting its pray. Slowly, Rosa sneaked up from the bed, sliding her feet into the soft slippers placed on the floor. Roaming through the closet without making a single sound was a challenge, but a challenge she had trained on many times. She was used to it. It only took a few seconds to pull out what she was looking for. With a pre-loaded gun in hand and a peach coloured robe wrapped around her, Rosa waited for a few seconds, then slowly made her way out of the master bedroom and down the staircase. Following the heavy footsteps with her ears was easy. The woman had spent countless years in the same house, she knew nearly every creaking plank, every textured sound. She hurried over to the exit door, making sure it was locked before continuing on her hunt. As she walked over to the open archway leading into the kitchen, she peaked inside and let out a sigh of relief. Relaxing, Rosa lowered her gun again and greeted her husband with a small smile as she came around the corner. 

"Rosa." Emilio whispered as soon as he noticed his wife. A half sluggish smile crept across his face and he set the beer can down. 
"Why you're home early." Rosa mumbled in a slightly tired, sarcastic tone. She walked up to Emilio and wrapped her arms around his waist, putting the gun down on the counter behind him as they hugged. "Did you have a hard day? You look exhausted, you need to rest more." She commented. Her eyes grazed him up and down, from his slightly soil-coated pants to the bags under his eyes. Her small hand caressed his cheek. "Stop taking on so much work?" 
"Mmh, yeah well someone has to do it." Emilio rejected her request and leaned down to give her a soft peck on the forehead as he held her close. "I don't dare relying on anyone else to actually finish these without much risk, besides for you, and I do not want you back out there yet. You shouldn't even be holding a gun in this state, you need to let your mind calm down. You're going through something very harsh." Emilio sighed, turning his head around to grab the gun from the counter. He unloaded the revolver and put it into one of the empty spots in his heavy belt.