Chapter 27.

“A voice called out to you

Strange how you can't turn away

You've got someone who's true

When the darkness becomes too great…” All my Heroes - Naeleck

March, 2137

Eveline

After a dull dinner I went back to the bedroom and called the girls to come to me, including the new girl, and sat at my desk to review some reports while I waited for them.

I was pretty focused on a paragraph when the three came in and announced they were there, so I closed my documents and gestured for them to sit down while I went to lock the door and came back so I could lean against my desk to watch the three of them, the redhead with a confused look and the other two eager for whatever I was going to ask.

“Goodnight girls, forgive me for calling you so late at night but tonight I need a hand from you and hope to count on you too Annabeth and your description if it’s possible,” I say and she nodded, her brown eyes gleaming against the half light in the room and I noticed she was nervous by the way her hands were moving in her lap "Well I will go straight to the point I need cover as I'm leaving the property tonight but first of all I need to know where my guard is, have you seen him? Or does Nolan know something about his whereabouts?” I asked as I rolled up the sleeve of the dress shirt I wore tucked into my high-rise black pants and looked at the three of them expectantly, the first to speak was Adela.

“I saw him this morning leaving in one of the patrol vehicles, he looked upset and quite annoyed, I just greeted him in the kitchen before he left and then I didn't see him anymore," She said and I nodded trying to think of how to find him and how to do it quickly but I heard someone clearing their throat and when I looked up Anne was looking at me anxiously.

“Do you know something Anne?" I said using the nickname and she nodded while frowning, extremely concentrated and I waited for her to speak.

"I saw them come back a little while ago, they must be in the locker room, some went to the infirmary because they got hurt, I didn't stay there, I just took their dinner trays and left but it's been a few minutes if you run you will be able to catch up with him” She said and I nodded feeling my chest tighten at the thought of Roman bruised and I looked at the other two and they nodded without my needing to say anything.

“We'll stay here until you get back and she won't say anything about the secret passages,” Eylsha said and Anne frowned and Adela muttered a quick explanation in her ear which made her widen her eyes to watch me and nod.

“Don't tell anyone, only the four of us and Roman know about them is the only thing I ask, and one more thing, if I don't get back make yourselves comfortable in the bed,” I said as I watched Anne and she nodded.

“Your secret is safe with me, Your Highness!" She said and I smiled back at her and looked at the other two and they smiled at me.

So I said goodbye to them, grabbed my car keys and my wallet in case I needed it and went into the closet while I put on a jacket and stuffed my belongings in its inner pockets and activated the secret passages in my closet and went in there getting a new flashlight before closing it completely and I walked to the main staircase from the hallways and looked at the drawings to find the closest exit to the locker room.

I descended as fast as I could trying not to slip on the damp stone steps until I reached the floor of the guard offices where I activated the passage but waited as I listened outside. I heard the sound of laughter and male voices and decided to wait little longer.

I hoped that Roman really was there because what I'll find out sooner was a matter of life and death and I needed to be one step ahead of them in whatever might come next. I had no idea but I needed to arm myself with what it was worth more than money these days.

Knowledge.

A few minutes passed until the hallway was silent and I came out of my hiding place, turned off the flashlight and closed the door behind me looking both sides of the hallways and seeing that the locker room light was still on and knowing his habits I knew he was always the last one out.

I then sneaked up there checking the cameras to make sure they didn't see me leave the passage and seeing that they were in the same position as before I walked to the door and walked in seeing the place was empty with only one person sitting on one of the benches.

I recognized him even from a distance, he was wearing a leather jacket and black pants as usual and his piercings were in place as he breathed wearily and painfully and squeezed the seat until his hands were with white knuckles and that made me realize he was really angry about something like the girls said.

I then walked over to him and sat beside him without saying anything and turned my face to face him but he had his eyes closed and I noticed that his lip and cheek were cut and slightly purple, he also had some marks on his neck as they drifted down and got lost under the dark fabric of his T-shirt, the silver chain he always wore was gleaming in the light in the room.

He looked beautiful and wild and made me want to paint him again.

I smiled at the thought and absorbed that image of him and kept it in my head to paint it in the future and let him calm down before I said anything, the two of us then sat in comfortable silence andjust stand there.

My hands were resting next to his and I just brushed my pinky lightly against the back of his hand and he shivered under my touch and laced his pinky against mine and it made me smile a little knowing he was still there with me despite everything and even with my eyes closed knowing it was me, and feeling his touch made me wanting one more kiss from him, which I knew I should avoid.

Because even if we wanted to, if we got caught my life could stay the same but his life would be turned upside down, and he needed the job because of his mother and sister, and I was trying to avoid that as much as possible given the latest threats from Nate and his latest dirty game.

I know that we kissed at this party last week and I loved every second of it just like him but we know that it was a dangerous move, the beautiful paint on my back said it to me every time I look at it in the mirror. But as long as I can be near him it’s what really matters.

The silence lasted a while longer but the first to speak was him, his green eyes opening and looking in my direction, that note of sadness always present but I also saw anger and despair and I approached him again leaving a small distance between us and stared at him.

“What brings you here so late at night?" He asked hoarsely and coughed a little and held the left side of his body and I knew he wasn't okay, but whoever looked at him couldn't tell if he was in pain or not because he hid it so well.

He was always good at hiding what hurt him, including from me, but if you wanted to know what it was, just look into his eyes, I learned to read him that way.

"I figured something out but we need to get out of here first so I can tell you what it is," I said and he looked at me worriedly and I put my hand over his and gave him a little squeeze to try to reassure him and he turned his hand over with his palm up and we intertwined our fingers and I laid my head on his shoulder and he planted a kiss on my forehead.

“Alright them, you drive?" He asked and I mumbled a soft yes before we got up, he then asked for a minute and removed his leather jacket and donned his armpit holster and fitted two pistols in there before putting his coat back on and indicating the exit.

After we left we walked through the garage silently until we came out to the front of the garage and walked side by side in silence to the greenhouse at the back of the property and as Roman walked I noticed he was breathing hard and I started to worry.

“Are you really okay?" I asked as we walked around the greenhouse to get to the car and he just said yes and continued walking and I just sighed. Fuck!

The day had not been an easy one for either of us.

When we got to the car I unlocked it and got in, Roman did the same while muttering profanities under his breath thinking I didn't notice, so I started it and checked to see if the car battery was still full and saw that it was half full, which was more than necessary for a short trip but I would have to charge it back because since fossil fuels ended at the end of the 21st century all cars have been adapted to battery charging, including Vintage models, which it was good for the environment that became a little less deteriorated and many biomes recovered, but in some places this did not happen.

I then headed to the same side gate that opened without problems last week and we took the main avenue again, noticing the almost extinct flow in the streets at that time.

We were silent for most of the trip, he was looking at the deserted streets and the lights in the center of Glory's and I continued to drive aimlessly thinking of a nice and quiet place to talk, I even thought about going to see my grandmother but I thought it was better don't involve her in this just yet because I had no idea who I was dealing with.

So, finally, I decided to go to that little overpass on the outskirts of town where we could see all of Waybrook from afar, no one would even pass by there at dawn and if we were caught I was the princess and I would try to fix it, but that conversation couldn't wait .

I drove for a good hour until we drove through town and past Havoc until we reached the high peak where I asked him if he had ever loved anyone and where I told him I was engaged, the events seeming to have taken place a long time ago when in the truth between now and that fateful day only mere weeks had passed.

Time was a funny thing and very relative, and this day with everything that had happened seemed to be lasting longer than twenty-four hours.

When I took the little shortcut to the peak ten minutes later I had parked the car and turned off the headlights, the only lights that let us see each other were the ones in the car's dashboard and those in the city far away in the meantime the district of Havoc looked like a black hole lost in a tangle of grass and twisted iron that reflected the moonlight in front of us.

I turned off the engine and we stood in total darkness listening to each other's breaths as the weight of the words that needed to be said settled between us, so I decided to get right to the point.

Because I didn't realize it yet, but I didn't have much time before everything went to shit.