「 The Professor & I 」VOLUME II

(334) Sit Down

Charles' POV

It ripped my heart to shreds being repeatedly denied. The helplessness was raw, and more intolerable than it ever was before.

"You can't..." Lynn mentioned achingly and regardless of its context, the naked truth resonated through my mind on a recurring loop, possibly picking on my every wound.

Wretchedly, my insides were further wrenched, witnessing her horribly contorted limb. Despite the unscathed layer of protective leather, the whole of her left leg had evidently sustained serious damage being crushed under the aggregation of heavy rocks, but Lynn was typically headstrong.

Adamantly refusing my assistance, Lynn stubbornly neglected the gravity of her injury and handled herself as if the affliction was trivial. Her resilience, although kindly fuelled by her reluctance to tax my already inconvenienced situation, was starkly distasteful and it soon faltered like her wobbly stance, shattering my heart once again.

Her distressed yelp was piercing, stabbing every part of me simultaneously. Despite my awkward position, I scrambled to grasp her waist as she reeled forward in pain. The inherent momentum of her fall nearly capsized my chair but I hurriedly slammed down the tipped wheel, promptly stabilising it, as I glared at her furiously.

A harshly-executed reprimand mindlessly escaped my lips as I was taunted by the likes of my own misery but Lynn's face spontaneously flooded with panic, obviously reading my expression of annoyance wrongly.

Nevertheless, I was glad she finally conceded to my requests as she unsteadily landed onto my lap. Her absolutely guilty gaze was irrefutable testimony that she had been long aware and my inquisitive comment verbalised itself irresistibly as I brushed away the coat of dust from her cheeks.

The lack of attention on my side was honestly despicable but Lynn was always quicker to unleash a horde of superfluous apologies. Even when I carelessly inflicted her with avoidable agony, she was unconditionally generous in her reassurances, albeit they were not all too convincing.

She smiled, sheepishly but beautifully, as she giggled, resting her head wearily against my skull. Just as I was about to cuddle her adorable frame for a kiss, however, my intimate endeavour was prematurely hindered as she suddenly jerked away, clutching her earpiece, seemingly jolted by whatever transmission that was relaying through it.

"What's wrong?" I prodded seriously, readily observing the gloom that rapidly shrouded her features, as I gently combed my fingers over the back of her head.

"We have to go," Lynn replied grimly and a plague of pronounced dilemma stagnated on her face as the sliding doors smoothly swished open.

"The coast is clear," Kitty diligently reported and dashed over in a reckless flurry.

"Be careful with those, please," Lynn warned, heaving frenziedly, as her widened eyes agitatedly tracked the hazardous manipulation of her lethal weapons by the amateurish girl.

"Thank you, Kitty. I can take those," I asserted with a cordial smile and Kitty obligingly laid the unique pair of daggers in my hand.

One by one, I returned them neatly into their casings holstered around the back of Lynn's belt and she sighed in considerable relief. Although Lynn slouched lazily into my embrace as I duly erased the source of her worries, I apparently failed to alleviate the many more that lingered to torment her.

"Where's the jet?" I probed tenderly.

"On the roof," Lynn divulged in a dismal tone, still wearing that severely disturbed frown certainly incited by more than just her own physical discomforts.