They finished dinner and Seraph faced the woman on the bed, her heart clenched from the pain. This was exactly how her mother was, helpless. Sick and cold. All she could do was run errands and try to make her feel better. She looked away, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Seraph—" The woman called weakly, her voice trembling. Seraph turned to her, a bit surprised since this was the first time the woman spoke since she got here. "Ma'am?" She answered and the woman smiled at her. Her gaze warm and affectionate as she reached for Seraph's hand.
Seraph took her hand, saving her the stress of reaching for her. "No matter what decision you make, just know that I will be proud of you and respect It." She breathed and Seraph took in her lower lip. Why was this woman's words affecting her so much?
Seraph stared at her briefly and pulled away, walking out of the house, Sebastian saw her and followed her, silently.
She reached a small hill behind the house and slumped to the floor, gazing at the stars. The night breeze brushed against her skin gently, the grass felt moist beneath her fingers.
The woman's words rang in her head, her eyes became moist. She now knew why her words affected her so much, why her words melted her heart, it was because of her mother. That was exactly how her mother talked to her, her voice soft and tender, carrying all the sweetness in the world, but now...she was gone.
And that made Seraph break down in sobs, Sebastian reached for her, and placed his hands on her shoulders. She roughly wiped her tears and faced him. "Are you ready to go?" She asked, acting all tough as though she wasn't the one who was sobbing seconds ago.
He sat down beside her, his hands on her shoulders, his eyes carried a kind of peace, that made Seraph oddly calm. "You know you don't have to act all strong, you can cry." He said and she broke into a bitter laugh.
"Why do you say that? I wasn't crying." She dragged her words but he could clearly see through her walls, that there was a little girl, who just needed comfort but was hiding herself behind this facade.
He reached her chin and turned her face towards him, his cold fingers grazed her skin, sending shock waves down her spine. "My mother once told me that when someone holds in their pain, it's because they never had someone to pour it out on, someone who would listen to their sobs..." He explained, his eyes not leaving hers.
"And that's why I'm here...to listen to your problems, to watch you sob and console you the best way I can."
Seraph snapped his hands away and avoided his gaze. What did he mean by that? Even though she wanted to listen to him, to let him hold her as she sobbed but she couldn't...she couldn't let him see her breakdown.
"I just remembered my mother that's all...are you ready to go? We have an important mission at hand." She changed the topic, standing up but he pulled her back down, tightly gripping her wrist.
"What is wrong with you? Let me go!." She snapped, her voice coming off louder than she had expected.
He gazed at her. "Listen Seraph. You don't have to act all cold, you can let it all out—even if it's for a second, give yourself a chance to cry. To pour out your emotions. I know you want to."
"You know nothing about me." She shrugged, her hands trembling.
"I don't need to know you to see how broken you are.."
"I'm not broken."
"Yes you are!
"No I'm not!" She croaked, her voice cracked from the years of pain bottled up inside her. She didn't know when a stray tear rolled down her cheeks. She was about to wipe it away when Sebastian stopped her. "Don't. Let it out—"
She felt a lump in her throat, the cold bite of the wind as the tear drop slid down her face. Her lips parted itching for words for say but her mind had nothing to give.
She felt her walls—the walls she took years to build crumbling down because of this man. Tears poured down her face in despair. Pain. And somewhat anger.
She was mad at Sebastian for doing this to her but she was also mad at herself for holding it in for too long, the tears fell heavily and Sebastian hugged her in silence, his hand wrapped around her back and head as he stroked her hair softly, the moisture wetting his shirt but he didn't mind, he wanted her to let it all out.
He didn't know her or what she'd been through but he didn't know why he wanted to be there for her, to listen to her pain. "Why is she crying?" Boax—his demon asked and he sighed. "I don't know."
They stood still for minutes as Seraph sobbed loudly, the sound prickling his heart in ways he couldn't understand. The comforting silence wrapped around her like a blanket, giving her warmth in the cold.
She sniffed and looked up, breaking the hug. "Th...thank you." She stuttered. With that she stormed off, not sparing him a glance. He reached for her but she was already gone.
He stared at the sky for a while then walked back to the cottage where Aimee was already waiting for them. They entered the house and was immediately approached by Aimee.
"Where were you guys? I was looking every where for you." She said and when she saw Seraph's red and swollen eyes, she knew she must've been crying.
She reached for Seraph. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" She asked and Seraph remained silent.
"Did my brother do something to you?" She inquired and Seraph shook her head.
"I'm fine, something got into my eyes." She answered shortly, not wanting any more questions from Aimee and she read the signs and faced Sebastian. "I've packed your bags and the horse is in the back."
Sebastian nodded and grabbed the bag. Seraph trailed behind him, but was stopped by Aimee. She was about to say something when she dropped a necklace in her palm.
"What's this?" She furrowed her brows, eyeing the necklace.
"It's a necklace." She could clearly see that, she wasn't dumb. "You press the gemstone whenever you want to see me and I'll be right there." She said and although Seraph knew she wasn't going to use it. She took the necklace and followed Sebastian.
They reached the backyard and Sebastian mounted the horse while Seraph sat at the wooden cart at the back of the horse. Aimee flashed them warm smiles. "Good luck." She said shortly and Sebastian nodded, then hit the reigns, the horse galloping into the night.