Far Cry | JJK x OC

Chapter 48 // Long time no see

Ella and Leah made an inventory of everything the clinic and Ella's lab had and prepared a list of what they would need to buy or collect to prepare enough medicine for the attack. It took them the whole day and Leah's experience was invaluable, as whenever Ella was called and had to attend to other matters, Leah would keep going, thus saving precious time.

Ella went to personally deliver the report to Daniel and run it down with him, leaving Leah to wrap up. Leah was confident that between the two of them, they could handle what needed to be done and Ella agreed but was still going to ask the community to help gather more plants. That would significantly increase their production capacity since she suspected no one could make medicine as diligently, fast, and perfectly as Leah could.

Leah finally finished putting everything in the cabinets with a sigh. That had been a long day, she was broken all over. Still, the feeling of a job well done made her smile while rubbing her back. It allowed her to keep her mind off so many things that would threaten to put her down and paralyze her, and she was thankful for no matter how many hours she could have away from all that, just feeling like a normal human being for once.

She stepped outside and locked the clinic, knowing that was what Ella would want. She was about to go home when she heard the commotion at Benjarong. She smirked, seeing that many people were agitatedly celebrating something with cheers and drinks. She passed them quietly, ready to fall asleep as soon as she hit her pillow.

"Leah!"

She snapped back in the voice's direction. Lamar was wearing all white, which contrasted with his tanned skin as he ran towards her with a pearl smile.

"Just the girl I wanted to see!"

She was surprised and happy at the same time. "Long time no see. Where have you been?"

Aaden was observing them from a distance as he drank his beer. Leah had become a puzzle of sorts, and he just couldn't figure her out. He saw her smile as Lamar filled their conversation with pleasantries. She looked innocent. She had been through so much, he wished she would stay beside Ella and be safe. Every time he saw her, she was drowning in misery, either covered in blood or tears. And yet, in his mind, she was possibly one of the strongest people there. She persevered, even under crippling conditions, she had always made it out. He wanted to protect her and have her by his side. Those were very different emotions for someone he barely knew.

Somsak followed his line of sight and scoffed, unsurprised. He turned to his best friend and asked in a low tone, "Have you figured her out yet?"

Aaden took the bottle to his lips again, sipping passively. "No."

Somsak sighed, "This doesn't make any sense. How could she know Noah? Unless he raped her or something," Aaden swallowed forcefully, feeling the beer scratch his throat, "and even then, why would he care enough to know her name or want her back."

Aaden was trying to think of things logically and yet, he knew he somehow couldn't. Leah was an enticing mystery to him and he couldn't feel detached.

He saw her accompanying Lamar in their direction to join the party. "I don't know, we can never know what goes through his ragged mind."

Somsak saw them approaching too and asked quickly, "Any intel on her?"

Aaden shook his head, noticing the bags under her eyes, her paleness, and overall discomfort. "Nothing, the low-lives have never heard her name."

Somsak frowned briefly until it faded when Lamar and Leah were right next to them.

"Guys, we need to fill her in on everything," Lamar said with a grin.