𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 (on hold)

| 𝟏𝟑 |

I didn't sleep very well that night. My dreams were haunted by the face of a little girl. Her features drifted between my own, and the ones that I imagined for Lauren.

I let myself cry when I was safe in bed. It tore me apart how she must have thought she was safe—finally away from that monster— only for her life to be cut short.

I saw the ghosts in Matthias' eyes. I had a feeling that he was there when she died, but I knew I would never ask. There would never be a right time to push it.

I expected to be broken by Matthias' words. I hoped that he would scare me enough that I would not be able to spend anymore time with him. I wanted to see him as a monster.

Instead, I was comforted by the thought of him getting revenge for those who cannot. It had given me a newfound respect for him.

I still didn't sleep though. My dreams were haunted by little girls with no one to protect them.

——-

I still had no new information by mid-afternoon. I sat in my kitchen, reading a book and eating a fruit salad. My phone, sat on the table in front of me, pinged.

niamh: meet me at leona's in thirty? x

I sighed, checking the time

june: can't— got a date, sorry x

niamh: you?? getting action?? have fun! xx

june: I doubt there'll be any action :(

niamh: don't tell me he's a priest

june: not a priest, don't worry— might be a weirdo though

niamh: call me if anything goes wrong

june: I will, love you xx

The line went quiet after that, and I silently cursed Matthias for ruining what could have been a good afternoon.

Five o'clock rolled around very quickly, and I decided on another shower. I knew it was cold out, so I refused to have a cold shower.

I turned the temperature up until it was almost scalding, and quickly washed my whole body. I towelled my hair off carefully when I got out, running through it with a fine comb.

I slipped on lacy underwear and a silk bathrobe, and then headed back to my room. My hair didn't take too long to do. I put in some basic products and dried it with a hair dryer. Then, I moved onto makeup.

I didn't know what dress Matthias planned to bring for me, so I settled for a basic make up look that went with anything.

At exactly six o'clock, I was lounging on my sofa in makeup, underwear and a robe, with my hair perfectly done. I expected Matthias to be on time, and I wasn't wrong.

I would have been worried if he was late— he was ex-government, of course, so I was sure he was used to being perfectly on time.

I let him in through the door and he thanked me. Matthias was just wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and black trousers. The sleeves on his shirt were folded back, showing his forearms.

He glanced at the silver watch on his wrist when I stared for too long,
"Come on now, we don't have all day."

He picked up a large box and handed it to me,
"Get changed. I'll wait here."