The Contract

Chapter 12

I sat on my bed when Shin came back after a little while, dripping wet and still in the same clothes as before. He sat down on his mattress and didn't look at me, instead he stared at the door as if he knew he had done something seriously stupid.„I hope you know Dante would kill you if he knew", I said. He turned around to look at me with a gaze that tore something inside me apart; his icy blue eyes shone with sorrow agony and loneliness and he bit on his lower lip. Shin looked so sad I almost forgot that he was somehow stupid.„Well, you asked me if I wanted to come along. And I wanted", he said. His voice was so different from his eyes; tough, defiant and somehow husky like he seemed to act strong while he was actually really sad and hurt. I didn't answer him but I waited for him to apologize or at least explain why exactly he had wanted to „come along."„Say", Shin said. „Why do you let Reiji drink your blood?" I didn't expect this question. What was that all of a sudden?„I did, that's true. It was his reward for saving me because I do know he only wants my blood from me", I said very honestly for once. „I won't do it again, I think."„I doubt you will be able not to let him drink your blood. He's something special", Shin said. Somehow, envy was in his voice, and a sharp pain layered beneath it.„No, I don't think he's special. Just some vampire helping me for some reason I don't know", I said.„You really don't think he's extraordinarily strong or hot?", he asked. I snorted.„Why should I? Even if he is strong, that doesn't make him special for me. But, well, I don't think anyone is special, maybe it's that", I told him and lay down, my arms crossed under my head. For a while, no one said anything and it was silent.„Dante's special to you, isn't he?", Shin asked. I had to think about that. In a way he was, indeed, but only because of the contract I had signed. Was he special in any other way?„In some ways, yes. He's the only one caring about me", I said and almost didn't believe how bitter my voice sounded.„And do you care about him?" That hit the mark. Did I, really? What a question. Why was I even telling him all this?„Why do you ask all this?", I asked back, ignoring his last question. A shadow rushed over his face, covering his shiny blue eyes.„So you do care about him", he muttered, turning away from me. I didn't know how to answer since I couldn't tell whether he was right or wrong. I just sat there and looked at Shin who seemed so hurt because of me. What was with him?„I sure hope she doesn't", a familiar voice said from the window. And just as I had predicted, Shayde sat on the window sill, grinning as usual and looking at me with his creepy red eyes.„And you sure are scary, showing up wherever and whenever you like", I said. Shayde laughed his almost cute, but still horrifying laughter. Shin looked at Shayde, surprised and confused about a fallen – er, banned – angel turning up just like that in the mansion of his brother.„That's Shayde. He's a bit weird", I introduced him to Shin. Then, Shin's eyes flew over to me. His scared gaze worried me somehow.„Why exactly do you know a fallen angel?", he asked, closing his eyes for a few seconds. Did he really want me to explain?„That's a pretty strange, long story", I said and turned back to Shayde. „So, what do you want from me?"Shayde stood up and stretched his legs. Then, he came closer and closer until he almost pushed me onto the bed.„Where's your pathetic demon?", he asked and smirked in a way that immediately told me he was up to something bad.„And what exactly will you do if I tell you?", I asked him and his fingers found my hair. My heart started racing as an image of my father doing the exact same thing ran through my head.„Who knows? Maybe I'll stay", he whispered and gave me his most irresistible look but I was busy trying not to panic. My hand moved to my scythe on its own and I pushed him back, releasing me and my scythe at once. I pointed my scythe at his neck, but my hands were trembling and I had trouble just holding it. My breath went too fast.„Oh, so that's something. You're hiding your trauma, aren't you? I could show you something really, really great, y'know", he murmured in my ear. I held my breath and noticed my legs were shaking like hell, so I tried to stay calm. He was not my father. But he still was much stronger and I wasn't sure he wouldn't ... damn, I didn't even want to think that word. I'm sure you understand, anyway.„Men don't always have to hurt you. And I won't. But if you should be interested...", he said, stroking my arm with his cold hands and sending shivers through my spine.„I'm not", I said and ignored my cracked voice. Then I felt him turning away, to Shin.„You are not in love with her, are you? I can tell. So... what do you intend to do when all this is over?", Shayde asked him. Shin just looked at him, confused and a little bit shocked.„You know it, don't you?", he asked back. Shayde just smiled and flashed his most charming smile at me. His red eyes sparkled as he said „Remember what I told you, sweetheart" and vanished into thin air.Shin and I stood there for a while, looking at each other and not saying anything. We were just too confused to speak – how did Shayde know so much about any of us? And what did he know about Dante?At least, I picked up my phone and scrolled through my messages from Dante.How are you two doing?Yuki? You all right?Why don't you answer?Yuki, if you won't answer soon, I will get back to you and beat the fuck out of Shin because I will just assume the worst.You alive??I sighed. Dante was so melodramatic when it came to me that I almost wanted to laugh. Like, really? Shaking my head in disbelief, I called him – that was way easier and besides, he surely wanted to hear my voice to check if Iy sounded alive. What I didn't, but well.„Yuki?! Why the hell didn't you answer?!", he asked immediately, without greetings or anything.„We just had a visitor, and he... somehow distracted me", I answered and looked at Shin who was grinning goofy.„...What? Who? How distracted? I don't understand", he said, suddenly pretty quiet. He sounded almost jealous.„Shayde paid me a visit, but it was nothing important", I said and stretched out on my bed.„Shayde? You mean that fallen angel? What did he want?", Dante asked confusedly.„I don't know. Maybe just say strange things and disappear to confuse me", I guessed. When I thought about it, I really had no idea why exactly Shayde had visited me. But, well.„Did you find out something?", I asked him. Silence.„No, not yet", he said, obviously hesitating. What was wrong? Did he lie?„Okay, then, I gotta hang up. Be sure to find something, you moron", I said and hung up. If he had nothing new to tell me it was no use to keep talking, so I stood up and made my way to the big, luxurious kitchen because my stomach really felt empty. Shin followed my every step like he was some stray dog craving food. Maybe he actually was craving my blood.„Forget it", I said, opening and closing all the drawers to find something edible. Finally, I found some rice and chicken and started cooking.„Forget what?", Shin asked. I didn't have to look at him to figure out he really didn't know what I was talking about, so I just kept silent to not remind him of wanting to bite me. I had let Reiji suck my blood, but that was just because I had knew Reiji would have taken it from me. Shin wasn't like that, was he? I didn't know.The rice and chicken tasted good for my pathetic cooking skills. At least, it was edible. Shin and I sat at the table, both of us not saying anything while I ate my portion of whatever this dish was. Simply cooked rice with chicken and some peach and curry sauce (it tasted better than it sounds!). I wanted to say something to Shin, anything, but all that came to my mind was „Why are you and Reiji like this?" - a question I couldn't possibly ask. When I had finished eating, I washed the dishes and turned to Shin.„This mansion is pretty boring. Is there anything to do here?", I asked. Shin got up and giggled.„Of course it's boring since it's barely used. And no, there isn't anything interesting around here", he answered and looked at his finger nails. Somehow, Shin looked more attractive than before, with messy hair and his clothes only recently dried. And he seemed much more openhearted for some reason. Like I had gotten to know him better, but I knew that wasn't the case. He looked so broken, standing there and staring at the ground that I couldn't help but touch his shoulder. A gesture I had longed for when I had been broken and fallen apart and I had given up. Something I had never gotten but I could still give to someone broken. I didn't know why I sympathized with Shin since I should have been angry with him or shouldn't have cared at all, but fact was that I did.He looked at me with sad, sorrowful eyes, but then put on a smile.„It's okay. You don't have to care", he said. Something stung inside my chest and somehow made me hug him. I only barely realized I did and Shin was as shocked as I was. But then he hugged me back so tightly I thought my ribs would break and squeezed all of my breath out of my lungs. And after a few seconds of staying like this, I started crying, pressing all of the pain I had endured the whole time out of me and leaning against Shin's shoulder. Maybe he was crying, too, only in the way vampires cried. Quietly and without tears, just holding onto what they think might be there for them, and for some reason, that was me.