𝐀𝐳𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥

𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢

"maybe the word forever was meant for memories, not the people"

☘︎

Elijah drove his grey Camaro with Matthew grumbling beside him. I sat in between Kieran and Verena. The sound of the engine humming was the only thing keeping the silence from swallowing us whole. I glanced over at Kieran, his face unreadable but he gave a tight smile when he saw me look.

In 15 minutes, we reached a two-storey house. Azrael's home sits on the nicer part of town, with gorgeous gate lamps on each side of the gate.

We got out of the car and Elijah pressed the doorbell. Soon, a petite woman with brown hair like Azrael's peeked out from the front door. Her eyes widened as she saw the guys.

"Hi, Mrs. Greyson," Elijah started, his voice steady but laced with an underlying tension. "We were wondering if we could come in for a bit?"

Mrs. Greyson hesitated, her gaze sweeping over the rest of us. She looked tired and her smile was strained. For a second, I thought she might say no, but then she nodded slowly, stepping aside to let us in.

"Of course... come in."

It was a cosy place, but an undeniable weight was hanging in the air. Kieran brushed past me as we entered the living room, his face still unreadable, while Verena squeezed my hand before letting go. Matthew trailed behind Elijah, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his jaw clenched tightly.

I knew Elijah, Kieran and Matthew were familiar with this place. They probably hung out a lot at each other's house. Mrs. Greyson served us some tea. Her curious gaze lingered on Verena and me for a moment before she settled into the armchair across from us.

"This is Odelia and Verena," Elijah introduced us. I nodded politely.

"Verena's my girlfriend," Matthew said proudly before narrowing his eyes slightly at me. "The girls are best friends."

"Oh... Wonderful... I was wondering who these two beautiful ladies could be..." Azrael's mother smiled gently, exhaustion etched on her face.

She then turned to me and smiled, "My boy used to talk about you."

The others looked between me and Mrs Greyson, astonished.

"He did...?" I echoed, my voice barely above a whisper. My heart skipped a beat, and I felt everyone's eyes on me, but I couldn't bring myself to meet them. Azrael talked about me? But it doesn't make any sense. Azrael and I barely interacted until... recently.

I don't even know if the dreams count as our interactions.

Mrs. Greyson nodded, her eyes softening as though recalling something distant yet fond. "He mentioned you a few times..." she continued, her gaze fixed on me before turning back to the others. "So... what brings all of you here?"

"Is it okay if we can go to his room to find something?" I mumbled.

Mrs. Greyson blinked, as though taken aback by my request. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her sweater before she gave a slow, hesitant nod. "I suppose... there's no harm in that," she murmured, her voice barely audible. "It's just as he left it."

She let us head to his room ourselves while she stayed downstairs since the guys knew the way around the house as if it were their own. We stopped at the closed door and Matthew opened it with hesitation. I went in and took my time to look around as the others did the same.

This was where Azrael stayed. The place where he had stayed for 16 years.

And he will always be 16.

I spotted a framed photo on the wall. It was of all four of them-Azrael, Matthew, Elijah, and Kieran-laughing in some unguarded moment, captured long before the weight of grief settled over them.

"That's cute," I pointed and said softly, hoping to ease the tension.

Verena came over and joked, "Oh my... they look like babies in this photo."

The three boys smiled, their expressions filled with bittersweetness. There was silence for a moment while we just looked at the four smiling faces.

Elijah spoke up, his voice low and thick with emotion. "I just wish we asked more... pushed him to open up."

I stayed silent as I forced myself to recall what Azrael had sent me here to do instead.