The Curse of Once Upon a Time

Chapter XV: Family History

Eryx wasn't surprised when he saw Salvadore at the bakery the next day. Things had been a mess, but somehow, Serenity was in a worse state. He wasn't sure how it was possible or how she had managed it, but all the chaos going on, she made her circumstances the worst.

He didn't know the full story of what had happened. Serenity had been asking for help thinking that her family might hurt her. He'd thought that she was insane. Why in the world would her family hurt her? It wasn't just that they were her family, they were Wioax. A Wioax would never risk anything that could hurt their reputation.

He'd thought that she was out of her mind until he'd run into her not even an hour later. She had been a frantic mess and, worst of all, she had a cut on her arm. Eryx felt as though he had no choice but to help her. It was just the right thing to do. If everything tumbled to the ground, it would be her fall, not his.

He wanted to help her get away, but he hadn't just said no because he didn't think that her plan would work. He'd said no because he thought that it would have been a better option for her to stay until she knew that she couldn't. He hadn't really expected that her family would try to hurt her. He thought that had been a stupid fear.

Serenity had only been guessing that her family would hurt her. She had been in a panic of it, but she hadn't known what was going to happen for sure. He thought that it was insane that anybody in her family would ever hurt her. If she went back, things might not have been better, but she wouldn't be on her own. But he had been wrong, they had hurt her. She wouldn't say how.

Despite not knowing what had happened, there was no way in hell that Eryx was just going to give away where Serenity was. He was guessing that Salvadore would only ever go out of his way to talk to Eryx if it was something about Serenity.

"What do you want?" Eryx asked as he walked up to the front counter.

Salvadore sighed, shaking his head. He knew that showing up in front of Eryx hadn't been much of a good idea, but he didn't have any other ideas. He wanted to find Serenity. He was guessing that there were two people Serenity trusted. Lani and Eryx. Eryx would have been her first option.

"I know that we don't get along very well, but this is for the sake of my sister." Salvadore said. "Do you know where she is? Please?"

Eryx could tell that Salvadore was being honest. He was worried about where Serenity was, but he knew that he couldn't tell Salvadore. If Serenity had wanted to talk to him or talk to her family, she might have gone back with him.

One of the biggest problems about Eryx leaving was that he couldn't just leave his father. For as long as Eryx could remember, he and his father had been a pair and a team. His mother had left and there was no way that he was going to leave the same way that she had.

He could help Serenity out, but he wasn't going to leave his father for her. They'd made an agreement in the morning. Serenity had known that she wasn't going to be able to pay for a hotel for that long, and she didn't want to force Eryx to staying with her in worry that she didn't have money or that she wouldn't make it.

She couldn't afford to stay at the hotel, but one thing she did have was the car. According to her, living out of a car wouldn't be too bad. Eryx was hesitant about leaving a 15-year-old with just a driver's permit to drive a car on her own, but he didn't think that he had much of a choice. He couldn't stay with her and she couldn't go back.

"I haven't seen her."

Salvadore grunted. "I bet you're lying right now, but please." Salvadore begged. "Serenity could be in danger if we don't find her."

Eryx pressed his lips together. Danger from what? Aoiski was small. There wasn't much crime. He knew that she was in danger around her family, but what else could put her in danger? "Please just tell me if she's here. You won't understand if I try to explain it." Salvadore said. "She could be in a lot of trouble. We need to know where she is."