Angel Face

Why Not?

XXXV

The next morning when I woke up, Duncan was gone. So, getting out of bed I brushed my teeth before slowly trudging down the stairs to look for him. My feet carried me first to the kitchen since that was the first place where one could find him in the morning.

As expected, Duncan was moving around the kitchen as bacon sizzled on the frying pan. "Good morning." He greeted looking over his shoulder, when he heard the door slid open. "Morning." I greeted with a lazy smile before sitting down at the table and slumping on it lazily. This is the reason why I hate taking day offs, it's hard to get back into your work once the rhythm is broken.

"Ready to get back to work?" He asked as he slid me a plate full of food. "Do I have a choice?" I grumbled to which he chuckled. "You don't." He sat down opposite me with his own breakfast. "But if it is any help, I'm coming to work with you." He informed, nonchalantly.

"Don't you always?" I rolled my eyes. He drops me off every day. What's new in that? "No, this time's different. This time I actually have some official business with you. Which we need to discuss, in your office." I frowned at that information while he cut into his omelette. My eyes widened when I realized what he was talking about. The fire box. "Can't we talk about it right now? Why do you need to come to my office for that?"

He quirked an eyebrow before placing his cutlery down, and giving me his undivided attention. His aquamarine assessed me, turning my question over  in his mind before letting out a sigh. "First of all, I just don't want to talk and know about the box because believe me I've read too much about it already thanks to that damn parcel. Plus I asked Nickolas to give me a brief of the results that you got from all those tests. I'm coming along because I need to take a look at it to decide any further steps." He said before resuming his meal. "Also, I've information on that missing employee of yours. Debora, I believe?"

"What?!" I screeched, making Duncan wince at the sound. "You found her? Is she alive?" I asked, hopefully. I really hope she is safe and would be coming back soon. I never really talked to her but if she was one of us, then she is family. I watched as unease flitted through his eyes, making my smile drop. This can't be good. "Duncan?" I prompted when he refused to look up at me. "Duncan, is she alive?" I demanded.

He took in a sharp breath, closing his eyes. He breathed out before looking up at me with blank eyes. "Yes. She is alive." I let out a breath. "That's supposed to be good, right? Why are you being like this?" I asked with a soft smile.

"Because it's not a good thing." He retorted gruffly. The look on his face was now scaring me. He picked up his half eaten breakfast and dumped it in the trash can, before depositing the plate in the sink. "What do you mean, Duncan? Is she hurt?" I asked, worriedly.

At my question, he turned to look at me with an aggravated look. "Eva, did you even know that woman at a personal level?" He asked with slight frustration, but from his tone, I could already tell he knew the answer to it.

"No." I confessed in a timid voice. He turned back around and started fussing with the tap. "Then don't get attached to people you don't know. You'll only get hurt." I stared at his back with a mix of confusion, worry and anger, while he stood there trying to distract himself from whatever the matter was.What's with him? Why is he saying things like that? But whatever it was, it wasn't anything good. "Is she going to be fine though?" I dared myself to ask. He paused his fussing and instead placed both his palm on the granite top, with his head hung low.

"Please, lets not discuss this right now." He pleaded, his voice almost inaudible. I felt my stomach drop with dread. Something was really wrong, if he was trying to avoid the discussion like this. Why wouldn't he want to talk now, if we were going to talk about it later, anyway. I picked up my empty plate and walked towards him before placing the plate down in the sink. He didn't move while I stood next to him. I tilted my head to peek up at him, to see that he had his eyes closed. "Hey, you okay?" I asked slowly brushing my palm over his back, feeling the warmth of his skin through the thin cotton.