>>Seraphina
His eyes focused on my chest and it made me feel embarrassed.
When I tried to cover myself, he grabbed my wrists and pulled them away, hanging them up in the air.
!!!
The only piece of clothing that left me a little covered was my bra and I wasn't expecting he would dig his finger in the middle joint and bring it down, "This scar..." He looked at my face with his eyes wide open.
!!!
He saw something very private.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?" I yelled as I struggled. It got my wrist to slip out of his grasp and I didn't waste any time to slap him right across the face, making him look the other way in shock. In the impact of the moment, he let my other wrist go as well.
I took the opportunity to grab my shirt and took a step back while he stared in the other direction, his eyes wide open in surprise.
"I told you, I will not be giving my body to anyone." I let out a shaky voice
He moved his face and turned to look at me in surprise. That's when we heard the doorknob rattling. I noticed it wasn't the main door, so it meant it was the bedroom room. I didn't want to turn around to see what was going on though.
"This-" He let out a sigh, "It's not like that,"
"Sera!!" Eris came running out of the room. We both looked at her as she came to me with a stick in her hands. She came over and stood in front of me with the stick pointing towards Azef.
She didn't say anything. She was glaring at first, then she noticed how Azef's cheek was red. She seemed a little confused, so then she turned to look at me and noticed that I wasn't hurt anywhere.
She then looked at Azef again, and let out a sigh of relief, letting go of the stick in her hand.
It took me a second to realize what she did, but when I did, I relaxed a little. She came running over thinking that I was getting attacked or something.
"I'm alright Eris," I patted her head and she looked back at me.
"Your shirt,"
"It's fine," I told her, "It got caught in a branch and tore, I'll change it." I made that excuse so she wouldn't worry but she wasn't convinced. She held my pants tightly, refusing to leave me alone while she turned to glare at Azef again.
"Okay," She was suspecting him and he noticed that too, "Let's go change," She started dragging me with her and we went to the bedroom together.
I closed the door behind us and sighed. Eris finally let me go and I walked over to the closet to get another shirt.
Azef tore my shirt pretty violently...
I took it off and stared at it.
Then I looked down at myself and stared at the place where he was staring.
A scar between the valley of my breasts.
It's ugly and I hate looking at it myself.
"Sera?" Eris looked at me with a concerned gaze, so I immediately took out another shirt and wore it.
"It's okay," I turned towards her with a smile, "Go to sleep, it's late." I laid her down on the bed, "I'll talk to the boss and see what he needs." I tucked her in but as I was about to get up she grabbed my shirt.
"You'll come back?"
I stared at her for a second before I got it, "I will," I patted her hand, "I'm only going to talk," I wonder if it's because she only has me that she thinks I'll leave her too.
But I'll never leave her.
She's my whole world.
"Okay," She was already sleepy. So it didn't take me a lot of time to make sure she was out. I took her hand, placed it on her chest and patted her to sleep. After she was snoozing quietly, I got up and left the room.
The lounge had a single light on but it was bright enough to see everything.
Azef sat on the couch that had its back to the bedroom door. He didn't turn around to see me but I'm sure he must have heard the door open and close because he started speaking.
"The scar," He didn't look back at me even as he spoke, "When did you get it?" He also seemed like he had a lot on his mind
"Why are you curious about something on my body?" I didn't move to go closer to him but still tried to get a glimpse of his face.
"Did you get it when you were a kid?"
!!!
How did he get that right?
"I did..." I answered. There was no need to lie about it. But I didn't understand why he was so fascinated about my scar. Did he find it too ugly to ignore? Enough to stay and wait till I came out again?
"Did you fall off a play hill-" He paused, "Did someone push you off the hill as a kid?"
!!!
I immediately got goosebumps. How is he getting these things right?
"Yes," I finally began to step towards him. I went around the couch to go and sit on the single seater sofa diagonal to the couch he was sitting on, "Why are you so curious about it?" I sat down as I kept my eyes on him.
The lights were dim but his gray eyes seemed bright.
"Tell me," His mind seemed elsewhere, "How did it happen?"
"Why should I-"
"Tell me," He cut me off and repeated his words in a firmer tone, "I need to hear it."
I had a feeling there was something behind his questions. So I chose to answer him. Maybe if I did, he wouldn't fire me.
***
As a kid, I remember the crisp sunny day. It was the initial time when my family had just started to fall apart but to try and make things better, I was brought to the park to play.
I was wandering through the area, my imagination running wild, when I spotted him—a lonely boy perched atop a hill, playing all by himself. Something about his solitary figure tugged at my heartstrings, urging me to reach out and befriend him.
With innocent curiosity I made my way up the gentle slope towards him.
"Hey!" I tapped on his boney shoulder and he turned to look at me. But the moment my presence registered in his eyes, something changed. His expression twisted into one of sheer terror, as if he'd glimpsed a ghost from his worst nightmares.
He jumped up from his crouched position with a loud gasp. Confusion clouded my mind as I tried to comprehend his sudden fear. Before I could utter a word, he reacted, pushing me away with unexpected force. The world spun around me as I tumbled down the hillside, gravity pulling me towards the earth with unforgiving speed.
Somewhere in between a sharp big rock cut my chest open when I landed on it and it slid the injury bigger as I went further down.
I landed with a thud, the impact stealing the breath from my lungs. Pain blossomed in my chest, sharp and insistent. I reached instinctively to clutch at the source, feeling the warmth seep through my fingers.
Something red and wet dyed my clothes and body in pain.
As I lay there, stunned and hurting, I couldn't help understand what had happened. My mind was going blank and my vision got all foggy because of the tears.
I lay upside down on the grass and through the inverted vision I saw that boy looking down at me in horror. I blinked. And the next moment he was dragged away by a woman.
***
As soon as I finished my story, the corners of Azef's lips curled up.
Hmm?
His reaction didn't sit well with me but he didn't care about my feelings as he started snickering.
What the hell...
It made me feel uncomfortable.
Why the hell is he laughing out of nowhere?
"What's so funny about it?" It also made me angry
Listening to my question made him laugh louder, which in turn only confused me. He was laughing weirdly and it made no sense.
He took his time letting out his feelings, till the point his eyes watered.
It annoyed me and it hurt my feelings.
I just told him how I ended up with a scar that never fades and he chose to laugh at me?
"Uh," He finally quieted down, "Don't get angry," He wiped the water from the corner of his eyes, "I'm not laughing at you."
"Oh really?" I scoffed, "Then what's so funny?" I was very curious to know what caused his laughing fit, if it wasn't me, then what was it? An invisible clown?
I pursed my lower lip as I glared at him.
He let out a short jolly sigh and looked at me, "What's so funny?" He finally looked at me, "It's the fact that the kid who pushed you off that hill," He pointed at me with his index finger, "Was me." Then he pointed at himself.
...
"What?"