Angel Face

You Saw It?

XXXII

"You couldn't have told me earlier that I needed to get ready to go to the funeral?" I snapped as I made my way to the car, jumping on one foot as I struggled to put my pumps on.

"Well, I tried but your phone was busy so I drove back home as fast as I could." He reasoned as he watched me before letting out a huff. "Give that to me." He said as he pulled my black pumps out of my hand and knelt down in front me. My heart thudded in my chest as I placed my hand on his suit clad shoulder when he picked my right foot up by my ankle before slipping my pump onto my foot with ease. Warmth bloomed in my chest with longing and unknown emotions when he rubbed the pad of his thumb over my ankle. Once done, he repeating the whole process with my other leg.

I gazed up at him with parted lips once he stood up. He smiled at me with a shine in his eyes as he caressed my face before withdrawing his hand. "Let's go." He walked to the car and opened the door for me. I smiled appreciative of the gesture before getting in. He closed the door and rounded the car while I buckled in.

It was silent in the car as we drove to the church where the funeral service was going to be held. "How is Clarissa?" I asked, breaking the silence. He let out a sigh at the reminder. "Not so good, I'm afraid. But she is good at keeping appearance, so most people wouldn't notice the wreck she is."

"Then how do you know?" I asked curiously. "If she is that good at pretending, how did you see through it?" He pursed his lips as he eyed the car that suddenly overtook our's. "I know her." He replied, absently. I frowned at that answer. What is that supposed to mean?

"You saw it?" Duncan suddenly asked, out of the blue. I glanced at him to see a stoic look on his face. "What do you mean?" I asked confused by his vague question. "In the library. My album, you saw it." It wasn't a question but a statement. A statement that made me panic, not to mention his emotionless face wasn't exactly reassuring.

"Wha- which album? I don't know what you're talking about." He sighed. "Evangeline," He strained out my name, making me gulp. "I know, you saw it. How do you explain that every single book on that particular shelf had fallen off, except that? Please, don't lie to me." I watched him as he kept his eyes on the road while a frown adorned his face.

Feeling trapped, I decided to admit it. "I'm sorry, I looked into it. It wasn't my place to intrude. I thought you would be angry if you came to know." I rushed out, only to gasp at the end when I realised what I did. I bit on my lip as I slowly turned to look at him. I mentally grimaced when I saw him completely tensed, with back straight, clenched teeth and death grip on the steering wheel.

Why do I always end up saying that forbidded word?

"Duncan?" I probed carefully when he didn't say anything. He pressed down hard, on the horn, making it blare out. I winced and covered my ears when I felt the noise sting my ears. The sound slowly faded but I could still feel my ears ringing. Once, they stopped ringing, I noticed that the car had stopped moving. I glanced at Duncan, to see him already staring at me with an unnerving look, which made me feel as if I wasn't there and he was looking right through me.

He closed his eyes and this time when he opened them, they were filled with hurt, disappointment and anger. "It doesn't upset me that you went through something personal to me, Eva. That house is yours as much as it is mine. So is everything within that house. I just asked because I didn't want you to go through it alone. Because I know it will only add questions to the long list of questions, that you already have in your mind, for me. What upsets me is that you're so worried about my reactions that you lie to me, even for the smallest things." He shook his head disappointed before looking away. "I'm not here to hurt you or torture you. I'm here to protect you from something which destroys everything it looks at. So, it's not me you should worry about. Now, get off. We're here." I eyed him with confusion as he unbuckled the seatbelt, still avoiding any eye contact.