Seriously?
Raymond looked at the boy with glasses who was staring at him sharply on his first day of work and currently standing in front of him after leaving the shop. He had to refuse Martha's offers to drink tea while talking about the past several times before he left the shop and now he regretted his decision. Maybe he should have stayed with his sister if he did not forget the risk he was facing right now. He did not want to involve Martha in his problems. He watched that boy quietly. He did not expect that the friend Amanda was calling was Gerald, although he had to admit that the boy was a reliable type. Why, among all of her friends, Amanda chose Gerald Tan? He thought Amanda would contact Priskaーan athletic girl who was good at sports. Not that he meant to doubt Gerald's abilities, but Raymond felt that Gerald was not the right person to protect Amanda.
Shit…
If he knew this, he should have asked Amanda from the start to just contact Priska.
Like now. As soon as they walked out of the shop, that boy pulled Amanda away from Raymond, staring at him with a super fierce gaze. Seeing this over-protective attitude reminds Raymond of a mother who wanted to keep her child away from strangers who tried to get close to her child. Gerald was like a mother figure for Amanda. Deserved applause from him and 'The Best Mother of the Year' award.
Raymond glanced down the highway, to find that two cars were moving toward their place. Strange. How could these people know their whereabouts in this place? He took his smartphone, found that it had been fifteen minutes since they had left the cafe earlier. No wonder. Of course, they had also predicted the routes that Amanda would have taken, just like he did. It means, they were professional.
‘Okay. I’m sorry I can’t walk you home today, okay. I was busy with my club’s activities, and I know I was wrong. But I told you several times, right? If you encountered anything, contact me. Not following a stranger! What if he attacked you? Why do you believe his words easily!?’ Once again he listened to Gerald's nagging for the third time, pointing his finger at Raymond with a look in his eyes that clearly showed his dislike for the fact that Amanda depended on a stranger she met than her childhood friend. Gerald pinched Amanda's cheek until Amanda cried. Even the way of his nagging was like a mother. He caught a glimpse of Gerald's image wearing an apron while holding the spatula. He shook his head quickly, dispelling the image in an instant. But he could not help it himself. What Gerald said was not completely wrong, but the way he spoke was really rude. Did all teenagers nowadays behave like him?
‘Have you finished your nagging?’ Raymond immediately interrupted when Gerald was about to resume his scolding for the fourth time. His eardrums could break if he kept hearing that boy's never-ending scolding. ‘I don't have much timeー’
‘Silent, you outsider!'
Gerald's words managed to anger him. Mercilessly, Raymond threw a kick right at Gerald's leg until the boy fell onto the pavement. He shook his head in frustration. As he expected. Calling Gerald here was not the right choice. Even though he only used twenty percent of his strength when he kicked Gerald, that boy was already screaming in pain. Lousy.
‘That is for your harsh words, Jerk! Have you ever been taught by your mother how to speak with older people politely?’
‘It's not your business if my mother taught me or not!’
‘Repeat that words again, and the second kick will land smoothly on your other leg!’
Raymond ruffled his hair, frustrated with Gerald. His nose sniffed the scent of those who were stalking Amanda.
‘Oh, come on! I’m not afraid!’ This boy stood up and now even challenged him back.
That crazy kid. He better ignore it. He did not have time for Gerald's arguments.
‘There’s no time to explain it. Shut your fucking mouth, Gerald, and get out of here with Amanda. Now!’ Raymond emphasized his last words while staring at Gerald who was silent seeing him.‘Oi, how did you know my name!?’
‘It’s not important, They already came,’ Raymond was stretching his neck muscles, he stood in front of them to block the view of the people while handing Gerald the shopping bag containing the set of cups he had bought earlier. ‘I will leave my stuff with you. Amanda?’
‘Yes?’ A little scared, Amanda looked behind Gerald, wiping her tears. Her cheeks were still red from Gerald's pinch, making her cheeks look like peaches.
Seeing her body shivering, he took off his jacket he wore and put it on Amanda. ‘Use this. Well, get going. I'll follow you later.’
Gerald was about to protest again but gave up his mind as soon as he looked back and saw the men had gotten out of their car and headed toward them.
‘I understand.’
‘Good. And let me tell you one thing: I'm your brother's friend, Amanda.’
The look on Amanda's confused face at her words convinced her that Arnold had never appeared in front of this girl. This girl's parents must never have told about Arnold's whereabouts. He did not understand Arnold's old family situation as his friend rarely brought up personal matters. But he should be worrying about that later. Now he had to fix this problem. After confirming that those two had disappeared from before him, he turned around, facing the people.
‘Hurry after that girl!’ A man he had met at the teahouse earlier gave the signal to chase after Amanda. He shook his head, blocking them.
‘Not that fast, gentlemen,’ he peeked at the two women in the group. ‘And the beautiful sisters over there, of course.’
‘Get off, Young Man. If you want to be safe,’ The man touched his shoulder, about to push him away from them. His hand deftly turned to push the man until the man fell backwards in front of those people standing behind him.
‘But I have business with you. Who is the person who told you to follow that girl?’
‘I have no obligation to answer your questions, Young Man.’
He rolled his eyes as he readied a stance, giving the people the code to attack him. ‘I'll give you one more chance to answer my question.’
‘It’s none of your concern. Just leave us. Or maybe you wanna die?’
Raymond walked briskly toward the man until he was startled by it, kicking him in the stomach until he heard the sound of bones breaking from the kick. ‘So annoying.'
‘Y-you! How dareー’
‘What? Are you scared?’ His cold, flat voice as he said seemed to have succeeded in scaring off those people. His eyes glared at them as he clenched his fists, walked calmly toward those who were walking backwards to avoid him. Then, some of them decided to start attacking him from various sides which he could nimbly block. Using his legs as his asset every time he fought and gauging the level of fighting ability of those people below him, it felt like winning was not that difficult. It remains only to break each of their bones, for sure.
His eyes grew bigger as soon as he saw what was under their clothes. This was bad. He did not think about the possibility of guns. He just carried himself, a decision he regretted afterwards. If they brought the guns with them, it meant that the people he was dealing with were underground people.
Well, there was only one way. Finish this quickly and do not let them touch their guns. As if he did not feel threatened, he returned to launching kicks at the vital parts of those people until they heard the sound of bones breaking. It did not matter for him whether the opponents were men or women. He was not a cliché person with a principle of not fighting against women. That was ridiculous. Too dramatic. His hand moved quickly to take one of the weapons from a woman he managed to break her hand, shooting bullets at the people right in their hearts. As soon as the men were unable to move, he smiled with satisfaction, stepping on the gun he was carrying to pieces.
All done. Now—
Raymond turned his head, found one of the people—a woman with dark brown hair tied in a ponytail—moving with all her might, pointing the gun tucked in her belt straight towards Raymond’s heart. At the same time, his eyes caught the image of Martha coming out of her shop. Her eyes were shocked, and froze at her place. He immediately dodged the bullets that the woman fired quickly, following the direction of the gun. He managed to avoid the first three shots. But the fourth shot hit him directly in the stomach.
‘That's great,’ Raymond smirked as he managed to get close to the woman who now saw her full of fear that she shivered. Raymond choked the woman by the neck, knocking her down until her body hit the ground. ‘Now spill out the bean. Who told you to do it? '
‘Th... that ... ... Si ... mon … Cli...ve...’
‘Simon Clive? I will remember,’ Raymond took his hand away from the woman.
‘Lemme take care of this,’ said Martha who was now standing beside him. ‘Can you stand up?’
‘I guess…’
His gaze suddenly became blurred. The pain he felt from the shot that hit his left abdomen spread throughout his body. He did not know what happened next. Only Martha's voice seemed to be calling someone, and his eyes darkened at once.
***
Raymond opened his eyes. In front of him, he saw Hazel's figure with her long dark brown hair draped over her left ear, watching him from a very close distance. As soon as she saw him woken up, Hazel's worried face vanished, changing with relief. He looked around him. He only saw Hazel. Has Martha left? Or did Martha just call the ambulance and leave when the ambulance arrived to pick her up?‘How do you feel? Still hurts?’His body still felt weak from the effects of the anaesthetics. He looked around before his attention fell on Hazel who was sitting next to him. Since when has he been in the clinic? And why was Hazel here?‘Should I call a doctor?’‘No need. I’m fine,’ He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Slowly he tried to get up and sat back down with the pillow Hazel quickly put behind him to support his back. Very nice. This was much better than before. Looks like he successfully passed the critical pe
They arrived in front of Amanda Chloe's house. There was no activity in the house, indicating that the girl was at Gerald Tan's house. While continuing to hold onto Hazel's hand that he had not let go of since earlier, they walked past three houses before finally arriving at Gerald Tan's. Almost all the houses here had a similar design because they are located in a residential area, making people a little confused if this was their first time visiting this place and did not pay attention to other details that describe the profile of the owner of the house. For example, Amanda's house has a black gate, while the house in front of her has a white gate with a golden lion carving. Raymond took out his smartphone briefly before putting it back in his pocket to check the time.9 PM. It was still early. Those two should be still awake. A little hesitant, Raymond pressed the button for the bell near the fence.‘Who is that?’ Gerald's voice came from the voi
Raymond gazed at the morning view of the city that could be seen from the balcony of his apartment while enjoying the smell of cigarettes which he inhaled deeply to calm his mind. It looked like Hazel was sleeping in her room because he did not find Hazel when he woke up. Seeing the view of the city made him remember the history lessons he learned when he was in school.In the past, the world was faced with a difficult situation due to wars raging in several Middle Eastern countries, most of which were instigated by extremists. As a result, many residents of that country decided to leave their country, sacrificing their property and citizenship status. Looking for a much safer place for the safety of themselves and their families, they fled to European countries to get what they could not get in their home countries: security.At first, the European countries welcomed them with open arms out of sympathy, but over time, the number of refugee
Raymond sipped the chamomile tea that Hazel prepared for him slowly, along with toast, scrambled eggs, and carrots bacon, giving off a scent that should have whetted his appetite. Instead, he just stared at his plate with a spiritless look and took another sip of tea until there was little left.‘Is my cooking not good?’Raymond shook his head.‘Sorry. It must not be as delicious as yours…’‘That's not the problem…’The woman no longer responded. He looked at Hazel, busy enjoying her breakfast with her calm face.‘Don't take your medicine after drinking the tea. Not good.’Raymond nodded. Deep in his heart, he did not intend to take the pain reliever. It was better if he just let the pain remain, to remind him of the reason that had brought him to this city.‘Oops. I nearly forgot to tell you,’ Hazel wiped her lips, sipping the water from the glass on the
Raymond returned to his apartment, greeted with Hazel who glared at him, standing in front of the door. After he cried and felt a little better, he left the coffee shop ignoring Martha who insisted on driving him back to the apartment because of the heavy rain. He walked through the rain, ignoring his wet clothes.‘Come in,’ Hazel ran into her room, and came back with a towel in her hand, thrust it at him then turned back, facing him. ‘The porridge will be ready soon.'‘O-okay…’ Raymond replied reluctantly. He wanted to say that he did not get an appetite, but he gave up because he felt bad for Hazel, who must have worked so hard to make porridge for him. Hazel did not even ask why he left this morning, and he felt relieved because, honestly, he was not ready to tell Hazel everything. Not for now.‘Oh, I forgot,’ Hazel turned back to face him. ‘After you finish eating the porridge, can you eat the cake I just made? I'm experiment
Was he dreaming right now? Sleeping with the angel he had been aiming for two months? He means, with Hazel who was sleeping beside him with her angelic face? No, no. Hazel was not like an angel. She was definitely an angel...Raymond immediately covered his face with his hands. He could feel his face flushed from remembering what they had done last night.Remembered Hazel's sexy voice, half sighing as he called her name and marking her whole body with his kiss. Hazel's scent was sweet just as vanilla.Damn. Everything was still so clear and fresh in his memory.He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. His smartphone which he put on the nightstand beside his bed suddenly vibrated. His hand reached for his smartphone, opening the screen.Bad news.Call me when you're free.Raymond's ey
As soon as Raymond returned to the apartment, the sun was up. Hazel had already gone to work because he could not find her anywhere. Leaving the cooled porridge and some of the medicine he had to drink on the table, with a Post It on top of the bowl lid.
It has been two weeks since the assault incident occurred. His condition was getting better so there was no reason for him to stay at home. He got back to his usual. Worked at the cafe, while doing his new routine, working at Umberbridge’s mansion as Thyme’s confidant after his shift at the cafe was over. Running two jobs at once was