A Broken Act

Act XXI

Guys, writing this chapter has been a wild ride. I didn't expect that it would take the turn that it took. Needless to say,  all the questions that you have will be answered in this chapter. Hopefully, it was worth the wait.

Enjoy! :)

*****

"Eren, is something bothering you? This is our fourth take of the same scene. You seemed distracted," the director's baritone filled the otherwise silent room. Erwin's eyes were looking at Eren with worry, akin to the look in the others' eyes. We were all worried about him.

The following days didn't start off very well for Eren. Each day seemed to wear him down a little more, the bags under his eyes and slump of his shoulder more prominent. Every time he received a call, it was either he's gonna reject it or silence his phone so he could ignore it. If he chose to answer it, the fire in his voice was gone, replaced by a dead and defeated tone that plants another seed of worry in my chest.

"I'm fine, I'm sorry. I was a little distracted. I'll focus now," Eren said, trying to gain control over himself. He looked at Erwin pleadingly.

Erwin sighed and shook his head. He wasn't taking any of it. "No, Eren. You said the same thing earlier. I think it would be better if you'll take the day off and clear your mind."

Eren bristled, his protest ready on his tongue before Erwin cut him off. "Don't attempt to change my mind, young man. You need a breather. Besides, you wouldn't be much help in your distracted condition. You would only drag the shooting longer."

Eren snapped his mouth shut, eyes lowering to the floor. The fight in him gone. Instead he nodded, silently excusing himself from us before turning on his heel to leave. My eyes lingered on his retreating form until he turned at a corner, vanishing from my sight.

"Levi," Mikasa softly called me. I broke my gaze from where Eren went and turned to her, seeing worry cloud her eyes. "Do you have any idea about what's happening to him?"

"No," I admitted. "He wasn't telling me anything so I don't know shit about his situation," my eyebrows furrowed, now feeling some sort of confusion, "didn't he tell anything to you or Jean?"

Mikasa shook her head with a heavy sigh. "He didn't, though I wish he did. It's hard for us seeing him like that. Normally he wasn't so...secretive, so I'm really worried about him."

After she spoke, Erwin announced that we'll be taking another scene, one that didn't require Eren.  The crew started preparing, cutting off my conversation with Mikasa.

I placed my hand on her shoulder, lightly squeezing it. "He's going to be fine. If he told me anything, I'll let you know."

Reassured by what I said, she smiled at me. It was small, almost unnoticeable, but it was there. "Thanks, Levi. I'll do the same too."

*****

Right after we finished taping, I headed straight to our room. I was hoping to see Eren there so I could try making him open up, but it was crushed as soon as I opened the door.

It was empty, not a soul present in the room. There were clues that he was here minutes before I arrived; his bed slightly unmade, a little of his warmth still lingering on the sheets, but the person I was looking for wasn't here.

I sat down on my bed, staring at his bed with my eyes drawn into a frown. I didn't have any idea about his whereabouts. When we were younger, whenever he felt troubled, he always leave without any word until he cleared his mind. I guess that was one thing that didn't change.