BABYLON //a.f.i//

• N O G O I N G B A C K•

•••Cora•••
________________________________

"I'll do it."

He smiled. "Thank you, Cora."

"Why're you thanking me?"

"I'm concerned about my friend. I have quite a few enemies in this city—"

"Enemies?" I cut him off. "What do you mean enemies? Why would you have enemies?"

Ashton sighed. "We all have secrets Cora, you just as much as I."

"So you're not going to tell me, then?"

"As you've only pointed out quite a few times, we're strangers. Maybe one day we'll reach a point where we can share our deepest darkest memories with eachother. But right now is not that moment. Right now I need you to trust me. You ask a lot of questions Cora, and while I admire that at points, I'm afraid I can't answer all of them. Atleast not all at once." He spoke in a darkened tone that let me know he was serious. Whatever was going on with his friend clearly was negatively affecting him. And while it's true that I had so many more questions, I decided to hold off for a minute.

We sat in silence for a minute or two before I spoke again. "What's his name? Your friend?"

Ashton didn't respond at first. "You know Cora," he said after a moment, "I'm beginning to feel like you know much more about me at this point than I know you."

The statement surprised me for a second. "I thought we weren't telling eachother our deepest darkest secrets yet?"

"I didn't ask for those. Just tell me something about yourself, love."

I looked down, chewing on my lip. "Trust me, there's nothing noteworthy."

"I don't believe that. Cora. Even your name invokes mystery. Tell me about that, then. Tell me about your name."

And for a second I saw the memories. I saw the memories and I smiled. I saw the memories and for a second I could feel the joy in my veins and the sunshine in my blood. "Cora..." I whispered my own name to myself before looking back up at Ashton. My smile faded as I remembered how those memories ended. The warmth receded from my body, and the darkness enclosed me once more.

He didn't say anything, Ashton's eyes never left me, and I looked down, embarrassed he had seen one of my rare moments of pure vulnerability.

"Im sorry..." I whispered.

"Well isn't that something." Ashton leaned across the table and took my face in one of his hands, his thumb tracing an outline under my eye. "Your eyes, they say much more than your lips." His amber eyes were completely focused on mine, studying me, analyzing me, reading me. It felt intimate in such a fashion that made me uncomfortable, as I don't allow people in like this. I haven't for quite some time.

I turned my head away from Ashton's grasp. "When did your friend go missing?" I avoided eye contact completely now, mindlessly tracing invisible circles on the table.

"Three days ago." His tone sounded cold now, the words piercing the air with their sincerity. "Six days and nothing. Not a text, not a phone call, nothing. It's like we all woke up one day and he was just... gone."

"So where do we start?"

"With a man named Jimmy Belanova. He's what you would call an ex business associate of mine. Can't say we parted on good terms. We visit him tonight."

I nodded slowly, thoughts racing through my mind. "You're dangerous, aren't you?" I still had my gaze fixated on the table, tracing incomprehensible geometric shapes just to keep myself grounded.