26 Do You Think I Am Pitiful?

"Do you think I am pitiful?" He asked in a soft voice.

A bit caught off guard by the question, Everly stared at him before slowly shaking her head.

"No, I don't think so." She replied with a soft smile on her face, and a slight frown emerged on Valerio's face.

"You're lying." He retaliated immediately.

"No! I am not! Why would I lie?" Everly inquired, with visible curiosity on her face.

"So you really don't think I am pitiful?" Valerie asked in an even softer tone.

Everly nodded her head at him and brushed his hair back with her fingers.

She leaned down and, shocking to Valerio, placed a soft kiss on his forehead, leaving it lingering there.

Valerio's eyes fluttered vigorously, and he parted his lips to speak, but a soft chuckle from Everly had him cease.

"Sir Avalanzo, I don't think you are pitiful at all. Do you know why?" She asked, and Valerio slightly shook his head at her.

"Because you are strong. You know, most people in your condition would have sucked and let everything in their life fall apart, but... you are different. I didn't even know you were blind until I met you. It's really commendable that you are still able to move on, regardless."

"I don't know how far the woman who hurt you wanted to go, but I don't think you are pitiful. Rather I admire you a lot, even though you're... horrible."

"Haha, sometimes the heart doesn't need to be mended, you know, it just needs to be replaced with a new one."

She cackled softly as she said the last word, and Valerio stared at her, not uttering a word.

"So, sir Avalanzo, please don't ever think you are pitiful. To me, you are perfect just the way you are. Terrible, really handsome, with really pretty eyes and heavy anger issues." She smiled widely as she said, and unbeknownst to Valerio, she abruptly grabbed his hands and placed soft kisses on both the backs of his hands.

"I hope you feel better." She said this while tying his hair. "Now why don't I go make you that cookie?" She smiled at him and got up from the bed.

Valerio flickered his eyes and with a very confused look on his face, he listened as Everly walked out of the room.

His eyes blinked furiously, and he slowly placed his hand on his chest.

He felt the beating rate of his heart, and a perplexed expression ensued on his face.

Why is his heart... racing so fast? He wondered. 

And hold on? Why does he think Everly is acting strangely compared to her usual behavior? He can't pin his finger on it, but there is something a bit different about her.

"Hmmm?" His eyes narrowed into a thin line as he pondered.

.....

Everly arrived downstairs and made her way into the kitchen.

She proceeded to make him the cookies, but all of a sudden, her phone rang.

She picked it up, and it turned out to be a call from the hospital.

Shit! She had forgotten about her test result.

She facepalmed herself and slipped the phone back into the pocket of her pants.

"Nehemiah, please inform Sir Avalanzo that I had an urgent matter to attend to. I won't take up too much time." She turned to Nehemiah, who was cleaning up the kitchen, and Nehemiah nodded at her.

She made her way out of the building, and once she stepped out of the compound onto the road, she flagged down a cab.

The driver took her straight to the hospital, and once she got down, she paid him and turned around to look at the huge hospital building.

A deep breath fled her nose, and she proceeded to walk up the stairs, however, feeling as though she was being watched, she glanced in each direction, looking for whoever it was.

"Hmm?" Her eyes narrowed into a thin line, and she strolled towards the glass door.

She pushed it open, stepped inside, and walked toward the office where the doctor stays.

She gave a light knock, and the doctor gave his permission.

"Come in." 

She strolled in and beamed once her eyes met the doctor's own.

"I thought you abandoned the test result at one point." The doctor shook his head at her.

She half smiled at him, and without speaking a word, she received the test results from him.

"Sign these." The doctor handed some documents to her, and she quickly signed them.

She turned around and sauntered out of the office and hospital buildings to return home.

She ambled down the stairs and stood, waiting for a taxi that she could flag down.

In the meantime, she pulled the test results out and glanced at them.

[ALL NEGATIVE] 

"Hmmm…" A disappointed look flashed in her eyes, as she had hoped to find something that would give her a clue as to what was wrong with her.

"Well, it's fine. I will still figure out what is wrong with my body lat-" She ceased talking the moment she felt those filthy presences again.

She has always smelt filthy scents since she was a child, and the terrifying thing is that those filthy scents have always come from humans just like her or so she thought.

But are people with those scents following her? If yes, why?

Well, they better not be following her, because she may not be magnanimous this time around.

Their scents irk her, and she hates it when they follow her as though she attracts them.

"Augh…" A deep sigh fled her nose as she stuffed her hands into the pocket of her jacket.

She turned around and began to walk a few blocks away from the hospital.

She stopped at one point and glanced at a house that looked like no one lived in it.

"Hmm, the scent is stronger here." She paused for a moment before pushing the small wooden gate open.

She stepped into the compound, and the gate shut behind her.

She looked around, and this feeling of vigilance filled her almost immediately.

"Huh? The scent has chang-" Before she could even complete her sentence, a hand suddenly grabbed her by the neck and covered her nose with a white drugged handkerchief.