WMMAP - [S2] Shelter You

[Revelation]: When The Dusk Broke Down

With a yellow folder and a handful of papers clutched to her bosom, Athanasia descended the steps slowly. She was having trouble lugging the heavy stack of papers by herself.

Being the independent woman — yet Lucas much preferred to call her Stubborn — she was, with the laptop bag slung over her shoulder, Athanasia was not going to make extra trip to the room to get it.

The sound of thundering paws and claws stamping and clawing the tile awaited her before she even reached the floor.

With an abrupt turn, the dog bolted up the stairs. All Athanasia could do was automatically dodge to the side, which threw her off balance and caused her to slip, falling sideways with her shoulder landing first. Everything happened too quickly for her to respond.

Documents flew to different places. With deliberate abandon, Athanasia threw away the pile of papers and clung desperately to her laptop. Even if it meant a few sprained ankles, she would undoubtedly want to defend the computer at all costs.

Her eyes clamped tight as she descended quickly, ready for the pain and collision. However, she was literally swept down the few stairs leading to the ground floor by an arm that wrapped around her waist.

Lucas had already walked passed Athanasia when she opened her eyes. No teasing. Absent a pickup line. However, a scowl was clearly visible on his face. His eyes followed where the dog was running, which was their room.

Athanasia quickly seized his wrist and Lucas snapped his gaze on her.

Athanasia was rendered speechless by his enraged appearance and the glowing iris hue of his eyes. She would forgotten how furious he could get for so long.

Her terrified expression caused Lucas to unfurl his eyebrows. He began to check her entire body for injuries.

"You alright?" His question came out as nearly terse. Even though it was quite unlike him, it proved that he was still, in fact, upset.

With a brief nod, Athanasia smiled at him. She ignored the pile of papers.

"What's for lunch? I'm starving, Lucas."

She tugged Lucas away from the steps with one hand still holding the bag and the other entwined in his.

There was a sigh from him. Yet he allowed her to lead him to the dinning hall, a room away from the kitchen.

"You're distracting me," he muttered. But his feet moved quickly enough to match Athanasia's.

Athanasia cast a quick peek behind her. "Is it working?"

"Yes? No? Maybe so?" he spoke wearily, still annoyed. 

Taking the bag from her, he tossed it over his shoulder, carrying it the way he had carried hers during their time in Arlanta.

They had not reached their objective yet, but it drew Athanasia to a halt. Lucas raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.

Lucas just raised Athanasia's bag higher as she attempted to reclaim it.

"My laptop is going to fall! Careful!"

This made Lucas click his tongue. "Do you know how stupid that was to choose a damn laptop over your safety?!" A mile above, his voice rose.

His voice caught her off guard, leaving Athanasia's mouth hanging wide. But instead of feeling intimidated by it, she roughly let go of his wrist, practically shoving him, and snapped back at him.

"Did you just call me stupid?! I have important files in there!!"

"I didn't stutter! You and your damn dog are the same! One was causing trouble and the other doesn't know that the fucking laptop can be fixed but not their broken bones!"

"I told you I have works to complete! Emails to send! It's important. And don't you Dare call Raven stupid!"

As she normally did, Athanasia lifted her arm and attempted to give Lucas a chest smack. But he caught her wrist, squeezing tight that it almost hurt.

"What so fucking important about that email that you rather choose to break your neck and die? Oh and, That Stupid Dog almost killed you for it."

"You're over exaggerated! I tripped by myself! Leave Raven out of this!"

"Oh really? Tripped? By yourself?! If only you had Arms to clutch on the rail, maybe you could have not trip!"

"You made it sound like you saved me when I never needed you in the first place!!"

Lucas' hand lost its firm strength. Taking advantage of the situation, Athanasia managed to break away from his hold. Jumping, she managed to snag her bag out of his grasp.

Lucas only gave her a blank stare. She grew more conscious of what she had said before the longer he looked at her. Her furrowed brows relaxed and her glare vanished.

"Lu—"

"Then so be it."

She felt her body being pushed to one side by his forceful shoulder-to-shoulder bump as he moved forward.

Athanasia watched Lucas leaving the room, walking to where the exit was. She wanted to run after him but her feet were root to the tile, paralyzed.

How did things turn out this bad when he was only concerned for—

Oh...

Tears began to streak her vision, but at last, she had the courage to toss her laptop onto the closest sofa, not caring if it broke or bounced off.

She hurried over to open the door. She had to use her hand to deflect a strong gust of chilly, heavy air from hitting her face.

She looked up, searching for some light source, but the sun was obscured by heavy clouds that seemed to go on forever. Her cheeks were freezing, and snowflakes covered her face. Her entire body began to shake.

It was warm an hour ago, she swore, when she was in the room with...

"Lucas..." She whispered.

From a distance, Athanasia heard the familiar sound of an engine roaring.

Between her fingers, she saw a man on a bike heading out of the main gate with her servants binding him a normal goodbye, thinking he would be back soon.

A whimper came from behind Athanasia. Turning around, she saw Raven by the door, wagging his tail slowly but the droopy ears said it all.

"Don't worry. Daddy only went out to buy you toys," she told her dog who was coming slowly toward her.

Sinking to her knees, Athanasia buried her face in Raven's fur.

"Do you think Daddy is mad at us, Raven?"

In response, the dog began tugging at her shirt and let out a whine.

"Alright... Let's go inside and wait for him... He'll come back for us..." She said between sobs, smiling at her dog. "Because Daddy agrees to take Mommy out today..."

Though her tears continued to pour, Athanasia got up. She just gave her dog a pat on the head and went back inside, doing nothing more to hold back the tears.

-

NFH: Bad news. I have to go back to work tomorrow. The vacation suddenly ended. I'm sad. So. You're going to be sad with me because of this Short and Sad Chapter. 😔