His Debt

27th Debt

Won't Leave

LEONEL SMITHSON'S HOUSE was a simple white bungalow building. Inside, its interior had a vintage design. The walls resembled bricks; in the center of the kitchen was a fireplace and right above it was a chimney; there were two rooms and one bathroom.

        She followed Leonel Smithson as he led the way into his room.

       He twisted the doorknob and went inside; his room, along with the design of his house, was simple. A bed occupied the center; beside it was the nightstand. On the edge of the room, there was a metallic door with an intricate design; its color was a camouflage to the wall.

        Devon realized it was a vault. She saw him type some sort of code on the LED keypad, which she had noticed just now.

        Afterwards, it finally opened. She stood behind him and craned her neck to peek at what's inside; there were arrays of boxes etched with undecipherable letters. She'd already seen detective movies and series, but it was actually her first time to see an actual and real vault from a legit detective; it wasn't extravagant, and it looked so simple that you wouldn't even think that it contained something valuable.

        He pulled out a brown leather box and placed it on the nightstand; there was some sort of keyhole on it. She wondered where its key was located.

        "This is it," Leonel Smithson said. Her inward question from moments ago was answered when he fished out a key case out of his pocket. He pulled out a golden vintage-looking key and handed it to her. "There's a diary and some documents inside, but I haven't read any of it in honor of your late mother."

        A sudden rush of adrenaline surged through her system. She was nervous and confused about what's inside. What if she won't like its contents? What if she'll change her view towards her mother and end up hating her after she read the aforementioned diary? She pushed all her fears aside. Whatever's inside may possibly have relevance to the mysterious organization called 'E.'

        Leonel Smithson picked up the leather box and handed it over to her; its weight wasn't really heavy.

        With trembling hands, she accepted it.

        It was the first time she'd ever possess something from her mother after her death.

• • •

NATHANIEL HAD been calling Devon countless of times, but he got no answer.

        After that heated talk with her stepmother, he went to her condominium, hoping that he could spend some time with her, but she wasn't there. He was getting worried; he hadn't heard anything from her today.

        He tried calling her again, hoping for Devon to pick up. Unfortunately, he didn't get what he hoped for.

        You're being clingy, she's probably busy or something, his mind berated. Maybe he was clingy. Lately, they'd been so attached to each other. There wouldn't be a day where they wouldn't call, text or meet each other despite their hectic schedules.

        After calling for the umpteenth time, he finally gave up.

        Nathaniel's guts told him that something was up with Devon, and if ever she'll decide to call him, he planned to ask her about it.

        They both swore that as much as possible, there wouldn't be any secrets between them.

• • •