IF

His Final Task

Leo leaves early that morning. The usual shift for soul collecting happens every afternoon when Eyrin's class ends and he says he will be there by then.

Eyrin cannot actually make out what he's saying. It's freaking 5am when he wakes up to leave and her morning routine does not start until 6am. She will never bother waking up before alarms goes off for anything.

"I'll be back, okay?" Leo says in a whisper, refusing to make any loud noises. Eyrin just nods her head and goes back to sleep but her subconscious, she believes, is the reason why she has to squint her eyes open, face hiding underneath the cover.

"Hey," she calls as he's stepping out of the window. "Use the damn door." Leo chuckles and just continue to make his way out. As he closes the window down he notices she's still looking at him. He does not say a word and just waits for her to say what she wants to.

"Don't get caught by Rippers." Those are her last words before she goes back to sleep, burying herself underneath the covers. Before jumping off the ledge he smiles and replies, "I'll take care."

That's the first time Eyrin cared for a guy. That's also the first time she woke up at 5am and never got the chance to sleep again. That day will not turn up good.

Eyrin's just staring at her cup of coffee, feeling the warmth of its essence touch her face. She's slouching on the kitchen table, a hand under her chin, frowning because her eyes feel heavy, as she regrets waking up to hear him say goodbye. "Very smart." She mentally groans.

She hears footsteps from upstairs down and she knows who it might be. "Good morning, mom," she greets the moment the figure reveals from behind the wall. Amanda smiles back while drying her hair with a pink towel. "Good morning, honey."

"You want coffee?"

"Yeah but I'll do it thank you. Hotdogs?" The sound of a busy kitchen commences as Amanda moves around opening cabinets and the fridge and doing something in the sink.

"Okay," Eyrin responds and goes back to slouching.

"Are you doing alright?" Amanda asks as she catches her heaving a deep sigh.

Eyrin looks her way. "Yes, mom. This is just a morning mood. I woke up before alarm so."

Amanda smiles. "I can hear movements inside your room late at night. What's keeping you up in the past two weeks?"

"Homework," Eyrin replies casually but her mom just stares at her, smiling, waiting for something. "What?"

"Homework?" She goes back to heating the pan. "Okay."

Eyrin's face starts to heat up as she realizes what her mom is implying. "Oh my god, mom, you did not just want me to talk about guys."

Her mom laughs, amused. "So who is it?"

"Mom!" Eyrin throws the towel at her. "It's no one, I'm telling you."

"Really?" She's very persistent in uncovering the truth.

Eyrin sighs. "Didn't I tell you I would tell when I finally liked someone?" she says and that's what shuts her mother up. Finally.

"So is there someone you like?"

"Mom!"

- - -

"Checkmate."

Leo's catching his breath when he caught up with the soul collector of a German Shepherd they're trying to send over to the other side of the other side. He's still clueless about his situation and everything about it is still vague he can hardly fathom.