CHAPTER 42: WHO I AM

Aaliyah has never been in a car before. So waking up in a moving car, strapped to the driver’s seat in tape with the doors locked and heading straight for a cliff was not a good experience for a first-timer like her.

Her head was hurting, and so was her belly where she had been knocked out. There was dried blood on her forehead and her lips, and her vision had been blurry until she had sighted the cliff ahead and the pain she had been feeling was replaced by adrenaline.

This was not a dream.

The tapes were Strong, enough to hold even the strongest of humans down but Aaliyah was not like any human. She pulled and pulled, seething in pain until the tape tore around her, and she immediately freed herself.

Next, her elbow came crashing into the window and the solid glass shattered into pieces. She stared ahead, a horrifying scream leaving her lips just as the car left solid ground and fell into the cliff.

There was a figure of a man hanging from the cliff. He wasn’t exactly hanging but was squatting by the very edge and had gripped the underside of the car, stopping its fall. His strength alone had stopped the car in midair from falling, and with a closer look, he was dripping with blood.

Starting from his long dark hair that was soaked to blood dripping from his lashes. He looked inhumane, with a monstrous gaze in his eyes as they looked through the window of the car.

When he couldn’t find her in the car, his gaze spontaneously drifted to his right.

And there was the person he had come for. It seems she had jumped out of the broken window just in time, and had jumped off. She had landed and somehow gripped the face of the cliff and was now climbing back up.

Seeing that the car had paused on its own, she had seen the figure of a man holding it from falling with just his arm. Aaliyah could hardly believe what she was seeing, and everything happened so fast that she thought she might have been hallucinating because the car was now falling and the person seemed to have disappeared.

The car fell with a loud crash, going deeper and deeper down the cliff. The thought of being inside the car as it kept crashing had Aaliyah sweating.

Gathering her thoughts, she focused on climbing till she rolled off the face, finding herself at the top again. She just laid there staring at the sky, unable to get that unreal view out of her mind.

No way. That cannot be real. No human can hold the weight of a car.

"I’m seeing things this time," She muttered to herself, breathing hard, "Maybe it was just the shadow of something. Then...why was the car suspended for like two seconds?" She kept asking herself in awe, then she would quickly try to convince herself again, "I was probably just seeing this. It’s all part of the trauma. I’m seeing things. End of that!"

’ Were you also seeing things while you encountered those creatures inside the Copse?’ Her subconsciousness questioned her hard.

Aaliyah could not decide again. What the hell was all this?!

She stood up and dragged herself away from the cliff, looking around to see if she would catch the sight of that figure.

Too confused and flabbergasted to keep looking, she moved her legs and left the vicinity till she came across a busy road. It had been a long walk from the cliff to the road, but at least she now had a chance on getting home.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, seeing so many cars zooming past her. It was reminding her of her dreadful experience about thirty minutes ago, and the blurriness in her eyes had her slipping, unable to get a good footing on the ground.

Strong arms stopped her fall and scooped her up. Aaliyah felt the cocoon of familiarity, but she still wanted to see him clearly. His hair was tied behind, although some locks had fallen over his face. She subconsciously drew in a huge breath to see if he had the scent of blood on him this time, but the only smell that filled her lungs was the intoxicating earthly scent of him.

"Alastair?" She mumbled.

"Yes, Little Siren?"

"You won’t believe what happened to me,"

He was quiet for a few seconds, "You can tell me all about it when we get back to the mansion,"

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.

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"And they call me the bad guy," Theodore uttered. He had just stepped out of his room after taking a long shower and was putting on a black shirt that clung to his chest, revealing the masculinity of his chest while his pants were hanging around his waist.

He walked into the living room and saw Alastair sitting there just staring ahead.

"Are you killing her or you’re saving her? Which one is it?" Theodore took a seat opposite Alastair and crossed his legs.

"Keep your mouth shut," Alastair glared at him

"Your actions are not straightforward, Alastair. You would have avoided the whole thing, and yet..., Are you the Good guy or the bad guy?"

"Theodore," Alastair warned.

"It’s stupid seeing you trying to kill your only chance out of this misery. You know I will always say something whenever you make a dumb move or throw her under the bus," Theodore folded his arms, "It makes me wonder what exactly you want, and what drives you to do this because it sure as hell has nothing to do with your emotions,"

Alastair kept his eyes in the same spot. Aaliyah had Fallen asleep after he caught her and was now sleeping soundly upstairs in her room. He was very deep in thought.

"Two more days," Alastair said to himself, "And I’ll be free again,"

"Is she still of Pureblood?" Asked Kekoa from where she stood, hanging around her door.

"Well, she’s asking you. Have you done the deed yet? Or you’re still taking your sweet time with her?" Theodore asked in a hysterical tone, gaining him a harsh glare from Alastair. The man’s eyes could melt walls and knock people out, "I’m guessing that is a Big no. Taking your sweet time," Theodore added, with mischief in his eyes, none of the murderous glares from Alastair bothered him at all.

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.

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Aaliyah was awake again at night, with him cuddling on her body. She stroked his hair in the darkness, a faint smile in her eyes.

"Thank you for today. I don’t know how I would have gotten home without you," She uttered softly.

"Tell me all that happened," He said.

"I fainted and woke up in a moving car that was about to fly over a cliff. I was able to get out just in time, but I think... someone came to save me," Her thoughts drifted to the blood-dripping man she saw holding the car with the strength of his arm alone, "I saw a man in the dark. He was... holding the car up. Does that make any sense?"

"Of... course not,"

"Right," She tried to convince herself again that it was just her head playing tricks on her, but the image was too real to be fake, "It’s clear someone out there wants me dead. Do you know about them? Is that why you don’t let me wander too far away from the mansion?"

She took that as a yes when he remained silent.

"Then, why did you suddenly go in and lock the door, leaving me outside? Did you know they were coming and tried to protect yourself? Is that the kind of person you’re?" Now that the topic had been said, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him off her body.

She was shaking with anger, seeking answers from him.

"I asked you questions, Alastair. What made you lock me outside?"

She could see his bland eyes through the darkness, and his drawn silence hurt her even more.

"You really threw me out there? If you don’t explain yourself that is what I’ll keep believing so say something!" She gripped his shirt and pulled on it hard, "Talk to me, Alastair. What was the meaning behind your action?!"

A flicker ran past his eyes, "If you want to know so badly...I don’t care,"

"What do you mean you don’t care? You better stop giving me those lame replies and tell me something I can understand. ’ I don’t know’ ’ I don’t care’...those are not answers. You’re supposed to know, and if you don’t care you’re supposed to give a reason. I will not take them for an answer anymore!"

"Alright then, Brace yourself," He replied immediately.

When he took off his shirt, her heartbeat increased. She had waited a long time for this moment when he would give her something meaningful about himself. Something she could reason with.

He took her hand and led it to his chest. Placing it over his heart, Aaliyah waited for a few seconds. She was confused, not comprehending what he was trying to pass to her... until it hit her.

She had to take off her hand quickly and place an ear over his chest to confirm her suspicion, and it remained the same. What was the meaning of this?!

"Why...," Sweat rolled down her back as she looked up at him, "Isn’t your heart beating?"

Astoundingly, he used his fingers and did something unbelievable. He opened up his chest like it was a small compartment, like a locker. Aaliyah was shrouded in shock, seeing as there was not even a drop of blood... wondering if this was magic.

She could see his ribcage, and her eyes could not take the sight much longer.

Why...was his heart missing?

"I’m Heartless, Aaliyah," He confessed, his deep voice making her toes curl and hurt, "And that is why I am who I am,"

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