DARKSIDE

18 | Accusations & Truth

"He is a murderer," her dad repeated it again. This time, in a lower voice.

Nova didn't know what to do or say. This was definitely a shocker. Then again, Derek had obviously killed someone, it was a part of his job, it shouldn't make much of a difference when she knew his field of work all along. But it did because the way her father said it wasn't one to be taken lightly. He seemed hurt and he seemed to hate Derek. Very much so. And so, Nova had to know.

"What is that supposed to mean? Of course he has killed people, it's a part of his job," she tried to reason.

Murderer.

Something about that word unsettled her. People who are supposed to kill other people aren't called that. Because they kill bad people, people who deserve it. And it didn't matter at that time that Nova always thought no one deserved death because she didn't want to believe anything. She wanted to know.

"Ms Newton, we should get going," said Derek. His tone as though he was suppressing some emotion. As if he didn't want to -

"Yes, Nova, you should get going. I am obviously going to give you some time to get to know things. He hasn't killed you yet, and he definitely won't kill you now because you are a part of an important organisation but don't trust him. That is all I can say," and saying that, his father went ahead for the door.

With no smile, no hug, no kiss on the forehead. Nothing.

Was it all true then? What her father just told her?

She didn't say anything. She didn't when Tim was out the door as well. Or when Derek sighed beside her and took her hand to lead her out of that room. She wanted to take her hand out of his grasp but she couldn't even do that. Because she was thinking.

When they arrived at the floor where the party was still going on, Derek left her side and went to look for Mark - Officer Penton. Was he an officer at all? Was any of them?

When he came back, he took her hand again and they went for the car in the dark sky. The weather didn't seem to be well because there wasn't a star to be seen. What was all this filmy stuff that was suddenly happening to her? Her life was anything but before all this happened. She was a popular girl who never let popularity get into her head. She knew everyone at school and at college and she treated everyone well. She didn't have much haters - especially not the ones who wanted to 'dethrone' her. There wasn't a throne to begin with, and even if any such thing existed, she never owned it. All the things that people seemed to be stuck on such as status and social hierarchy, never really existed for her.

But now those things didn't matter because there were things bigger than all that happening in her life. She was an agent. She was a spy. She suddenly had a neighbour who was her boss. Her boss was allegedly a murderer, and not in a way that didn't mean anything. Her parents hated her because they hated him. Her parents aso hated her because she didn't do as they said. She didn't do as they said.

She wanted to laugh. Nova wanted to laugh like crazy. She was always so composed, she always knew everything. She knew how to act, how to behave, what to say, what not to say. She always tried to be perfect and all of that for what? For some out of a movie thing to be happening to her? And now this thing that messed with her head. Nova doubted for a while if this was one of Derek's infamous 'tests' but she somehow knew it wasn't. This was something bigger, and she couldn't decide if she wanted to know at all.

The car ride was silent, as quiet as it could be. The silence wasn't even deafening, it was just, too silent. Nova had dealt with things before, she had dealt with many things but never anything like what she was going through right now. It seemed so unrealistic, so out of the blue and appeared at such a random, such a wrong time that she just didn't know how to even approach this in a manner that wasn't as twisted as this whole situation was.