From that day on, Jack had taken to staying over at Aesop's house. The maids had hidden and locked away the knives and any sharp objects. The male would spend all day in his own room, coming out in the middle of the night just to sit in the kitchen alone, drinking straight from the wine bottles. Within a week he'd finished two bottles all by himself.
"Aesop stop drinking that shit."
Aesop stared up at him quizzically, but put down the bottle either way. He sighed and got up, leaving the kitchen without saying a word to Jack. The other simply followed him to the porch, where the rain was pouring. The rainy season really made everyone's mood go down. Aesop sat on the edge of the wooden platform, letting droplets of rain splash onto his cheeks.
"You have to stop this Aesop... Your parents are worried-sick..."
Aesop remained silent. Jack eventually gave in to his sleepiness and went back in. He lay on the couch and stared at the ceiling. A few minutes later he heard the glass door click shut and Aesop's footsteps heading up to his room. No doubt he would catch a cold later on that night. Jack shut his eyes and fell asleep, only to be woken up again hours later. Aesop was tugging at his sleeve, clutching a pillow in his hands. Jack was reminded of a small child, scared to sleep alone because of a nightmare.
"What's wrong Aesop? Are you feeling sick?"
Aesop didn't reply, sitting down next to Jack. He put the pillow on Jack's lap and lay down on the pillow. Within moments he was asleep again. The other male considered carrying him back up, but decided it was better to let him sleep here. He leaned back against the couch and drifted to sleep again.
--------------------------------------------
"Is there really no way I can help you guys?"
Joseph stared tearfully at the twins, at the stumps where their left or right arm should've been. Wu'Jiu shook his head.
"Not really. Look it's not your fault."
"It's not worth crying over Mr Desaulniers..."
Bi'An smiled a little as he took a sip from the water glass. Joseph had been released from hospital after one day. He'd gone back to the office building for a short while to look around. After that he returned to the hospital to visit the twins. Now he sat across them, tears pooling in his eyes. Wu'Jiu yawned.
"Stupid anaesthetics."
The two had already planned to find someone to make a substitute for their missing arms. They weren't sure what to do after that, but Bi'An suggested they looked for a new job, best under a new identity or somewhere they weren't too easily recognized.
Down the hallway, Naib knocked on a door slowly before pushing it open. Norton looked up at the door, a bright smile spreading on his face when he realised it was the mercenary.
"Naib! I was hoping to-"
Norton stared in shock as Naib fell to his knees, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Naib? Naib what's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere or?"
He tried to get up, but the pain in his sides prevented him from moving too fast. Gingerly he swung his feet off and went to Naib.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
"Naib what are you sorry for?.."
"I should've been there that day..."
Norton was stunned into silence. Surely Naib hadn't been blaming himself the whole time, has he? The sobbing figure before him told him otherwise. The mercenary had been feeling guilty the whole time for almost a whole week because of that. At least it felt like a week for Norton. He pulled the mercenary back up on his feet and hesitated for a moment before leaning in for a hug.
"Idiot, stop blaming yourself for everything."
This earned him a light punch, but he chuckled anyway. He kissed the top of Naib's head teasingly.
"Are you gonna let go of me or am I gonna stand here until I pass out?"
Naib grumbled and let go of him, wiping away his tears.
"I'm just glad you guys are safe..."
Norton chuckled and sat on the edge of his bed. For a good five minutes he was telling Naib all about the experience of being in the chamber. Naib seemed horrified, and angry. He suddenly noticed that Norton never mentioned Eli's name.
"What about that Mr Clark? Where is he then?"
Norton fell silent, and Naib felt the gloom swallowing him whole.
"No way he's... He can't be right?"
Norton shook his head.
"We're almost 100% sure he's gone Naib. Jack and Mr Carl saw the office blow up with their own eyes. It would be a blessing if Eli managed to survive the blow."
Naib was silent. It seemed unbelievable that Eli was dead, and he refused to believe it too. There was no way Eli would just let himself die like that.
"We should go check out the building at some point..."
"Hm?"
"Maybe we should go back to the building, y'know?"
"I mean, like, by all means go ahead. But take Joseph with you. I heard he wants to go too."
"Sure, why not. The more the merrier."
The nurse came to knock on the door. Naib got up to leave as Norton stretched. As he left the hospital, he put together a plan to ask Joseph. Hopefully the Abyss hadn't decided to go back to collect Eli's body.
