Death Frost | Deathsworn #2

Chapter 65 ❆ Hurt

Flustered, I pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket and tapped his cheeks dry. I felt a sudden surge of guilt wringing in my heart as I tried looking for the reason why this kid was crying.

"Can you tell me what's wrong, at least?" I softened my voice, my brows knitting.

He harrumphed and turned his back to me, sniffing. It seemed like this was his way of telling me, 'You didn't even know what you did wrong!' or something.

Helpless, I sighed. A sudden headache pounded in my temples and I leaned back thoughtfully as I filed through my memory about my fault.

I thought back to when he was last upset and remembered that I promised to talk with him last night but...forgot about it in its entirety and fell asleep.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I don't know how to make it up to you. Why don't you tell me so I know what to do, at least? I'll be better."

He turned around to face me and raised his hands, probably about to start talking. However, just as he threw in the first sign, somebody barged out to the living room. A silhouette I recognized jumped in front of me and pierced the delicate tension in the room with a loud declaration of arrival.

"Evy! Finally 'ere?"

I looked up quizzically. Eren's red hair had been dyed a dull black, the only thing similar would be her green eyes. Her hair had been cut short already so I didn't have trouble recognizing her, but if I was seeing her in this form for the first time, I'd be sure to wonder if I was meeting the same person.

"Eren?" I whispered. "You look...different."

"'Twas Mistriss Kora 'o did et," she said.

"Tha—where'd that accent come from?" I asked.

"'Tis part of meh idintity. My name is Lorin. I'm a farmir boy who grew up down south! 'Ave to get in charactir. Only way to do thit is to be hem all da teym."

"Not the most intelligible accent, but I think I get what you're saying," I said, nodding my head, impressed. "You say your name now is Lorin?"

"Now it's Lorin. With an e."

"Loren, okay. I'm cool with that."

I chuckled at Eren's antics. I then remembered that I was supposed to be talking sincerely with Maun. Sweat dropped down my spine and the smile on my face was frozen. I looked back and found that Maun's expression got eerily cold. However, contrary to my expectations, the previous indignation was replaced by unsettling calmness.

Eren seemed to feel it too. That aura...was menacing.

"Rayt. Em goin' to da kitchin."

Eren was gone as fast as she came.

Once she was gone, some tense silence fell over the room. I didn't know what was going on inside Maun's head, but I had a feeling it wasn't good.

"I'm sorry for that rude interruption," I said, clapping my hand. "This can't be about last night, right? I'm sorry for breaking my promises. We can make up for it another time, but you have to tell me honestly how you feel and we can work out the knots."

Maun hung his head. "It's okay," he signed tiredly. "I know I'm unreasonable...I'm not the only friend you have. You have Eren and...that guy."

"You have to reach out to other people too," I said, signing as I spoke. "So that you can have friends yourself. Maun, you should know I won't always be reliable. It won't just be me and Eren all the time, and we may not be around all the time too."

"I don't want anyone else," he told me. "They're not all good people. What if they're bad?"

"And what if they're good?" I asked. "Some people can give you different things, Maun. It may be that one person to introduce you to your next favorite meal, or your next favorite game. Maybe give you the best memory you ever had. Those people may not stay in your life, and they can hurt you too. But they help you grow into the person you're going to be. The trickiest thing will be to let them in to do that, and in case you do, you should always be prepared to have your heart broken. Trusting another person is always a risk." I ruffled his silver-violet hair.