Androphobia

xxv. as i am

"Keep me updated on the situation. No one's going home until we find out who's behind this," said Synn sternly and the other man nodded. For a moment, it looked like he wanted to say more: there was a swirling of his eyes and a slight twitch of his hand and he raised it briefly, only for his hand to drop and return as a fist by his side. He exhaled. Hastily, Synn turned and leaned down in front of me. He began lifting me to my feet. "I've got you, little baby. You're safe."

Before I could stand fully, my eyes zoned in on the silver card I'd dropped to the street. It glowed a strange pink for a moment before my fingers were quickly curling around it.

I stumbled like a newborn fawn but Synn's strong hold on my forearm steadied me on my feet. When I looked back at where Carmelos stood, my anxiety grew when I saw he was no longer there, having disappeared into the club, but it was the man beside me who drew me back to reality by the startling pace in his steps as he hastened away from the building with his hands over my shoulders.

Unstably, I tottered and tried to keep up with him. "Wh-Where are we going?" I asked, eyes darting about as he pushed us down another dark alley.

"I'm taking you home."

"No... No, no. You can't."

"Thea, you'll be safe at home. No one can hurt you there."

"I came here to talk to you. You can't just send me home after I came all the way here!"

"I can and I will. You almost got hurt tonight, all because of your foolish decision to come here on your own. Do you have any idea what could have happened if I hadn't come outside?" he gritted, looking down to hold my fierce gaze. His words stirred something inside me, something similar to when I was faced with Mama. I tried not to wince at the thought of what could have happened, at how close I was to getting a bullet in my head - just like before - but my heart was on fire and I had too much to say to back down now. He couldn't make me.

We reached one of the roads and our footsteps echoed briskly down the empty street. "I don't care," I said and shook my head, hair falling about my face. "I'm not going home, not until we talk."

"I'm not doing this with you."

"Yes, you are, whether you like it or not!"

The tall, beautiful man came to a stop in the middle of the street. All of a sudden, his eyes became smokey and dark. Swallowing, I channelled everything inside me to keep meeting his gaze, no matter how much I wanted to cower away from him, but the more I looked up at him, the less I was so certain of myself. The street was dark, like someone had spitefully drawn blackout curtains to the moon and what glimmers were left of the stars. Synn stared at me for a long moment. His chain dangled from his neck and rested along his exposed, tattooed collarbone.

"I'm lenient with you, Thea," he started and took a small step towards me, "But don't think you can speak to me like that and get away with it."

Nervously, I swallowed in search of words. He exhaled through his lips, eyes falling shut for a brief moment, then opened them once more. Synn's smouldering gaze returned to mine.

"Fine. We're having it your way."

With that, he was turning and tugging me forward by the arm. Reliefswept over me and I patted my pockets for the silver card, making sure it was still there. I knew my stubbornness would come in handy someday.

A few minutes later, we came to a halt and my eyes widened at what was beside us. It was a motorcycle, or perhaps it was a monster: a pure black construction of metal and it reflected menacingly in the lamplight. Pulling my lower lip between my teeth, Synn lifted the seat and pulled out a huge, black helmet. He turned to me and held it out.