The Devil's 5'5

Chapter 35 - I'm Here

March 27th, 11:05 PM - Moonshine Club, Chicago, IL Preston's POV

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He had been running for a while, and still, someone had managed to catch him. A voice yelled for him, forcing him to a slow down.

"Preston! Where are you going?"

His lungs had finally started to burn in protest from the sudden exertion, the outcome of his sprint evident as he heaved deep breathes that left him in huffs.

"Preston, look at me? What happened?"

He had been doing so well. So well. He had promised to never cry over that woman again, but right now, the child he had locked away in his mind screamed to come out. He was close to taking over as tears were now threatening to fall.

"Preston?" They were closer to him now, yet still out of arm's length.

His mind wasn't thinking clearly. Unable to process that it was Azura and not the crazy woman he had just seen, his pre-programmed reflexes made him flinch when her hand reached out to touch him. His nerves were firing warning signals at rapid-fire, as it tried to process all that was happening. The unfortunate meeting mere minutes ago being the only thing that played over in his head.

"No, no, no!" he screamed into the cold air.

Flashes of bedtime stories, happy memories at the beach, morphed into foggy images of the faces of his father's tear-streaked one and that wretched woman's. But the reeling thoughts came to a standstill when two arms tightly wrapped themselves from behind him. The shock from the gesture allowed for the words being said to register finally.

"Breathe in, Preston. Deep breathes in and count to three before you let it out. Come on, deep breaths."

Forcing himself to inhale deeply, he mentally counted for the duration before he let out a ragged breath. 

"Good, one more time." The familiar scent of strawberries and vanilla soothed him as she held onto him tightly. She guided him through a few more rounds, and eventually, Preston's shoulder sagged, his entire body going lax. When she attempted to remove her arms, he stopped her. 

"Just...a little longer." 

Without missing a beat, the familiar warmth encompassed him again, offering comfort. 

They stood there for a while, and in an odd sense, Preston wanted to freeze this moment forever. The raging storm inside him had slowly calmed down, and he had to give his thanks to Azura. To think that she would be the one to get this close to him during his time of need. 

"I saw her. I saw...my mother," he whispered to her, as she silently listened. 

"I didn't recognize her at first, but she recognized me. She talked to me like I was a regular customer until she used my name. She spewed out all this nonsense about loving me and how proud she was of who I have become." 

He took in a sharp breath as he felt the familiar chaos stir within. Right on cue, Azura gave him a light squeeze, quietly promoting him to continue. 

"It's been almost 10 years...10 years. And she claims to have thought about me each day. How, Azura...how can she say all that when she left me so easily." 

The dam broke, and tears flowed freely with no restrain. Yet never once did the warm embrace around him dissipate. The voice coaxed him softly, to release all the pent up emotions he had buried since that day. And he did just that. Standing there, he cried out all he had felt when he saw her face when he recalled his unfortunate past.