The Protector (EarthMix AU)

Chapter 14

Phupha

"Wow, you are a really terrible driver." I said.

"What? No, I'm not," Tian responded in irritation.

"You're going 5 kilometers under the speed limit and I'm waiting for the hunchback to appear on your back any second now. And if you hold on to that steering wheel any tighter, they may need the jaws of life to pry it from your fingers." Tian snorted.

I'd been surprised when Tian agreed to let me go with him to work and didn't asked me why.

He'd done a lot of things that had surprised me since he'd shown up at the motel the day before. That, in itself had been a shock I still couldn't get over.

The idea of leaving Tian all together had made my chest hurt in a way I couldn't explain. So I'd resorted to my old habit of watching him from a far and I'd spent my days following him using the tracker I'd planted on his car.

On the few occasions, I'd actually managed to fall asleep, I kept hearing Tian's broken voice telling me not to come back.

That's when I'd gone in search of the alcohol.

It's the only thing that gave me any measure of peace. But I am too afraid that something would happen to Tian and I wouldn't be there to protect him.

Like I hadn't been able to protect New.

I'd felt shame when Tian spied the alcohol on my nightstand. Tian didn't know anything about my history with it. The only other time I'd relied on alcohol to numb me was in the weeks following New's death but I made further by combine it with the painkillers the doctors had prescribed after I was discharged.

First was the only one who'd seen me in that time and I suspected he'd notice that I am going the same path in the last several days.

My negative relationship with alcohol start from my alcoholic father. Which became worst the day my mother died giving birth to me and the aunt who'd raised me for the first few years of my life had been killed in a car accident.

His beating became numb and his rage turned into something else... Even the bruises had healed... the ones he'd inflicted on my soul hadn't.

"You okay?" Tian question knocked me out of the past.

"Yeah, why?" I asked as I glanced at him.

His eyes fell to my hands and I realized I'd reverted to my habit of tapping my fingers together.

"Yeah." I said as I separated my hands. "Just wishing I'd had time to grab some coffee." I said lamely.

He offered we can get some along the way, his voice sounding lighter than it had, since I'd shown up over a week ago.

The idea of being friends with Tian sounds foreign and absurd considering everything that had happened between us, but in the twelve hours since I'd moved back into the guest room, I'd seen a different side of Tian.

Sure, there was awkwardness when I joined him for dinner, but then he's starting talking to me about random things, and I'd felt myself relaxing once I realized he wasn't asking me about anything personal.

He's become so animated in telling me all about Detective Conan and his troubles,  that I'd ignored  what remained of my dinner and focus on his excited hand gestures as he spoke.

The awkwardness had returned after dinner was finished and there'd been a point while we were cleaning up the dishes that I'd caught Tian looking at the kitchen island almost longingly, as if remembering what we'd done against it just one short week ago, but the moment had passed quickly when he realized I was watching him.