[Seven-Minute Semblance] GENIUSFORSALE & VORSTELLUNGEN

VORSTELLUNGEN || Chapter 18 - Love You Goodbye

Arthur Ducere.

16. April.
Sunday, 7 p.m.
Somewhere.

I HAVE grown to love silence and to live my life, occupying as little space as possible.

But the silence inside Lance's car is agonising; it's suffocating, and I feel like I'm being squeezed tighter every passing minute.

I have gathered the courage to speak, but my dry mouth and the loud thumping of my heart in my chest have washed that courage away. I don't know what to say either. I don't know if I should explain myself, comfort Lance, tell him I love him, or tell him that he ran three red lights.

I don't know where he's taking me, and I'm not sure he knows either.

He has been silent and brooding for the past two hours. He's extra cautious and is ready to fight at any given moment. His eyes are cloudy, I know, like his thoughts.

Because to see what's on his mind, one only has to stare at his eyes-they tell everything and lie about nothing.

And he doesn't have to avoid my gaze twice just to tell me what he feels. I feel it too, love.

I feel it, too.

"I found a hotel we can stay in for the night," says Lance, ending the silent torture. "It's only a few kilometres away."

I nod. "Mm-hmm... Won't Vorstellungen see us there?"

"Vorstellungen is probably watching us right now. The only reason they're not attacking is because Siegfried gave us seven days."

"Will he kill us on the seventh day?"

Lance doesn't answer for a moment to think. "I doubt he will."

"Why give us a week?"

"He gave us seven days to prepare. He will reveal that you... killed..." He trails off.

I bite my lip and take a deep breath to calm my heart. Every beat feels like it's cleaving my heart away from my chest. "It's..." My voice comes in a tiny whisper. "It's not my fault..."

Lance keeps his eyes on the road and replies in a breathy, tired drawl, "It's always not your fault, right..."

And with that, my greatest fear shows its foot stepping out of the dark. All the days I've lived without this fear now feel like a luxury because of that one subtle hint of exhaustion from Lance. That tiny, concealed exasperation. That one step towards growing tired of putting up with me.

HE'S GETTINGHe loves me.TIRED OF YOU.

HE'S GOINGHe just needs some rest.TO LEAVE YOU.

I clutch my seatbelt. It stings.

"It's my fault," I correct myself. "I was envious of Balder and... and I thought I was just... playing... and NJ said he was the one who killed Balder and my father also... But now I know what I did, and I will do my best to... do what's right."