Nemesis

XXXVIII - For Us

Nemesis

Chapter XXXVIII — For Us

[FabvL Ft. Sinewave Fox — Hurricane]

[03 December 2023]

[Laurent Residence]

[17:30]

Orla stood outside the door to Miranda's laboratory — the one she had not left since her conversation with Kane. And she understood why. It seemed that the feelings were mutual, but there was a door that stood between them and Miranda was the one who held the key. However, it seemed she was far too scared to use it. Orla had grown worried about her, despite the negative feelings she had towards Kane, which she was certain were mutual.

'Why do I fucking care so much after all the shit she did to me?!' Orla chastised herself for her worry, as if Miranda was not deserving of it just yet. However, another part of her wondered why she still held onto such memories, when she had arguably made it quite difficult for her in the past couple of months. Orla's anger wrestled with her compassion as she contemplated on whether or not she should say something.

With a groan of annoyance, Orla pressed the screen on the door before she spoke to it. "Miranda... I uh... want to talk to you." She said before she removed her finger from the screen, cringing at the words she had just uttered. They felt so awkward, given that they had never shared a happy atmosphere in such a long time. "'I want to talk to you'? Fuck my life..."

Shockingly enough, the door to the spacious laboratory slid open. It was void of bright color, composed of mostly grey, black and the occasional white across its area. Miranda was further within the lab, far from Orla's line of sight at the door. She walked in, noticing Miranda on the far end, busy with something she was clueless about. "What do you need?" Miranda asked, not even taking a second to look behind her, which caught Orla by surprise. Her tone was as lifeless as the laboratory, lacking the usual concern that it had whenever she was addressing the young woman. It felt scary almost, as if Miranda no longer cared about her.

Orla struggled with the question she had asked, her words running away from her as she attempted to explain. "If you don't wanna talk, then can you please leave? I'm busy here." Miranda said moments later and Orla groaned, frustration building, but she would not allow it to overcome her. She could not become what she had seen in Miranda, what Amari was afraid of. "Dammit, Miranda, I'm worried about you!" Orla exclaimed slightly louder than she had anticipated. It seemed her anger had spilled onto her compassion. Was that a good thing?

Miranda stopped her work — trying to extract information from the drone they had gotten from Amari — and turned around, looking Orla dead in the eyes, emotion filling them. "You what...?" Miranda asked, having never heard such words from Orla before. It felt as if she were in a dream, to know that she even cared about her existence after only showing her hatred for so long. She was finally coming around. Orla groaned, as if it pained her to say the words once again.

"I'm worried about you, Miranda. I don't trust that Kane guy, I don't think he likes me." She repeated the words, adding a bit more to avoid having to say them once more. Right there, Miranda's dream-like moment had come to an end. As soon as Kane was mentioned. She was plunged into the painful moment, where she could see that his heart was close to falling apart. However, he was still willing to wait for her. "No matter how long it takes." He said. How could such a man be untrustworthy?

"Just because you don't trust him, doesn't mean he's a bad guy." Miranda eventually replied, doing her best to hide the agony that such a name had revived. "He literally looked at me like I was someone he didn't like three fucking times, I'm not making this up!" Orla's voice rose once more and Miranda sighed. "Why would Kane suddenly dislike someone who he's only met twice?"