Colourless Skies

50. Falling

After a bland breakfast of messy eggs and crumbling toast, brought to her in bed by Aria, who gave her no more than a sympathetic eye, Leah stared blankly at the wall before her. Silence had engulfed the mansion completely as soon as she had ended her brief, yet shocking call with Jay. More was still to be discovered, but what had been revealed was not just mere information, it could cost Leah her life at attaining it.

Wiping the thoughts away from her mind, as if they were ink and her mind the whiteboard, she concentrated on something much more important, something she could finally do now that all she had was time to distract her.

Her powers, or more accurately her blood's power.

Seated on the edge of the bed, Leah tested herself. Vague memories of Jay and Alex talking all high and mighty about her blood took place in her head. Was it really this significant? Did it really hold the power they talked of?

She started with something basic, lifting a chair. Although in one corner of her mind, she knew this was an absurd choice, but if she was going to defend herself against manpower, the simplest way, was to start with a piece of wood.

She wondered as she stared intensely at the chair; would it just hover in thin air, would it ricochet out of the glass window, or would it explode into tiny splinters?
Much to her despair, no matter how hard she tried to focus on the chair, and will her blood to pinpoint its power onto the piece of furniture, it didn't move even by an inch.

In all concentration, her lack of awareness of her surroundings had led her to flinch badly when his sharp voice cut through the air.

"What... are you doing?" 
He was leaning in the doorway, the sleeves of his maroon shirt rolled up, arms crossed, and legs steadying him against the door way. His eyes gleamed starry blue as what Leah assumed was a smirk, was displayed on his face as he glared directly at her.

A sarcastic response sat at the tip of her tongue, but she bit it; her blood still sour from last night's events, forcing her not to say anything to him, not after what Jay had told her.

At the absence of Leah's reply, Alex was quick to read her mind and move inside the room swiftly. He sat right beside her on the body, flooding her with unexplainable emotions. While she avoided his gaze, he spoke clearly, "So, what did the chair ever do to you? You are looking at it as if you are about to murder it."

Leah sighed internally, and turned towards him to reply, only to see his face plastered with an amused expression. 'He knows already, this...'

"Nope. Swearing isn't good language Leah." Absolutely tired of his attitude, Leah simply gave him a what she believed was a menacing expression, and turned away.

He chuckled.
"It's a very peculiar way to put your powers to a test. Lifting a chair? I thought you were smarter than this."

Feeling slightly hurt, she looked down. Everyone suddenly had so many expectations from her, now that she was on a run from enemies, and her blood's secret was finally out. Although she was aware he had said it to lighten up her mood, but it had already hurt when she didn't meet her parents' expectations, and now she had to stand up to Alex too.

"I-I am n-not. Isn't i-it o-obvious?"

Her meek question brought her Alex's softened gaze. In his pretence of an arrogant attitude, he tended to forget how his words sometimes inflicted pain on  others more than his powers ever would. And after all, he had choked her yesterday too; he was slightly surprised she still found it in her to not push Alex off the bed or turn completely quite.

As an attempt at an apology, and a warning, Alex proposed a question, his eyes a modest purple.

"Did you take Math in your classes?"
Leah nodded once, still not meeting his eyes.
"Do you know that quadratic equation? It goes ax² + bx + c."
She nodded again, unaware of where the situation was heading.
"This equation... perfectly describes a man."
Leah cranked her neck to look at him, but this time, he was staring straight ahead, as if lost in his own world. When he didn't say anything further, she took it as a hint to ask.
"H-how s-so?", her voice whispered.
"It's simple, the 'a' represents the hidden feelings, the emotions one keeps bottled up in him."

" And the 'b' are the feelings you show, the emotions you open to the world, and 'c' is the man."

He grew quiet after that, his facial expressions taking a more saddened route, as if it killed him to say what he was about to say.

"W-what... is ' x' then?" Leah cautiously glanced at Alex, awaiting a response.
"That is trust, that you willingly put in people, in your mundane relationships, and in the world in general. When you shut up and remain quiet, 'a', the trust is there in double the amount since you keep it all in; and as soon as you open up, 'b', trust reduces to half its amount and keeps on decreasing as you start to depend on people. This results in 'c', a man, but a broken, torn apart one."

A tear slipped out of his now deep purple eyes and imprinted itself on his pale cheek. He was crying, and for the first time in her life, Leah could not register with it; everything he had done in front of her was so brave, was so courageous, his attitude was nothing but arrogant, it was such a good make-believe that Leah had completely forgotten he was a normal being too. Though a half-breed, at heart, he still felt all that a human could feel.

Immense love for him had welled up in her, seeing the vulnerable side of him that he had desperately tried to hide. She tried to push her rising emotions down, but to no avail. She was overcome, lost in their passion. Without thinking twice, she moved closer to Alex, thankfully remembering to be discreet about her bruises, and wrapped her small arms around him, careful enough not to let her wrist's bandages bump into him.

Alex's response was immediate, and at the same time, ever so slow. All his life, he had suffered through the trials of his father's enemies, gone through abandonment and loneliness for being the only one of his kind, and mourned for the ones he had lost and who died protecting him. Never once had he cried over any of it, rendering his emotions useless in the harsh world, and making constant misery his companion. Jay had been there, but he had come along as a best friend, who could provide comfort in only so many ways. Never had he stopped to realised he might have fallen in love, and that that might be his only salvation in his brutal life.

He quickly turned to face her, and tightened his arms around her small back, placing his head in the crook of her neck, and finally, after what felt like an eternity, just crying. Weeping for everything and everyone that broke him.

Never thought I would show such an emotional side of him, but a daily reminder, every single person has feelings, try to understand them before making a move.

Hope you guys enjoyed. 🖤