Till The Clock Strikes Gone

23 | ignis aurum probat

"Your father is home most of the time. What does he do?" he asked. "I mean, I can guess what he will do in the future."

William's words grabbed Eliza's attention. They were lying on his bed. His head was resting on the headboard while she was lying on her stomach, facing him and reading 'Crime and Punishment'.

She had found herself being in love with his company and she didn't want to go home, not unless her father called her. He didn't know she was here; she had told him that she was going to James' house. She didn't even realize when James had gone from being her boyfriend to just a guy who texts her. He texted her in the morning asking whether she would go with him to Thomas's house for a game of cards. Eliza had ignored the message and tossed her phone on her bed. She was feeling lonely at home, so she had decided to meet William.

With James, she had drinks, drugs, and popularity but with William, she had meaningful conversations and stories and Eliza liked the latter more.

"He does research and sells them," she answered him, lifting her gaze from her book.

It amazed her that the mere sight of him sitting before her was enough to make her feel like she belonged here. They hadn't spoken much. When she got back, she gave him the medicine and he took it and lied down to get some rest while she picked up his book that was on the desk to pass her time. She had loved 'Frankenstein'; the story was so intriguing and for someone who wasn't much into books, it was a thrilling experience for her when she finished the book soon. William had nice recommendations and if he liked something then Eliza had started to feel that she would like it too.

Except his wife. She would always hate that woman.

"He must earn enough then," he commented, moving a little closer to her as he pulled his knees to his chest and crossed his arms around them, his eyes on her.

"He earns enough. He doesn't have to pay for me. My mother left me with enough fortune to spend my entire life in peace."

"I know," he said as he looked straight ahead.

Eliza closed the book and sat up. "How do you know?"

He was doing it more often — 'I know' and 'You never did that'; it's like he had known her for a long time.

"Nothing," he replied.

"What do you think he will do in the future?" she asked, curious.

"Probably have a hardware store to pass his time." William smirked.

"Papa doesn't have that much patience for customers and besides, there are lots of hardware shops in LunaVale," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Who said you will stay in LunaVale?" he contradicted. He propped himself on one of his elbows, resting his head on the palm of his hand, lying down on his left as he watched her stare at him in awe. His other hand reached forward and he took a strand of her hair between his fingers as he played with it.

"Why do you keep saying these weird things? It's creepy," she conveyed her thoughts and he laughed.

"What about you, William Ray?" she asked him. "You never say anything about your family."

A cloud passed over his face for a moment and Eliza regretted her question.

"I have none. My parents are dead and my wife is gone."

Eliza felt sorry. She could always count on herself to make people feel bad.

"I'm sorry."

He smiled at her. "It's okay. It sucks but it's not like I can do anything about it."