Her Soul

30. crying doesn't make you weak

"I know you still have many doubts but let's take it one step at a time." Dash and Jayden had gone to the other room, leaving Aviana alone with Riaan, who had moved closer to her now.

"Your parents, are they special too?" The minute she asked the question, she knew it was the wrong one. Now that she thought about it, there were no pictures of his parents at all. While she was searching the house for him, she had stumbled into two rooms. One was Jayden's and it had his family pictures. The other one which was Riaan's was bare of photo frames. The guest room was the only room she had not checked.

"Come on I will give a tour." He got up, avoiding her question about his parents. She guessed it was not a topic he liked to talk about. They went around the house, there was not much to see. Although the house was quite big, the number of rooms were few. At last, they ended up in his room.

She gazed around his room, taking in the details. Everything about the room screamed grey, the bed, the curtains, the furniture, everything. The curtains were closed, making the room look dark. Beside the bed was a lamp, giving a mild glow. She walked to the window and opened up the curtains, letting the place bright up. Riaan closed his eyes due to the sudden illumination but did not protest. The view outside was beautiful and greenish.

He had moved and was now standing behind her. She could feel his eyes on her, igniting sensations. "They were exiled."

"What?" She turned to face him. The sunlight made his blue eyes appear lighter. His long lashes were casting down a shadow.

"My parents, they were exiled." He looked lost trying to recollect something. With the pang, she realized there was a pain in his voice and she hated it with all her life. She hated how his always confident voice was sounding shaky.

"About a year ago something happened. It was said that my dad did a foul play. There was a particular case that was sealed by D-Room but my dad prevented it from reaching the traveler units. And hence the offender was never killed. It was only later, after two months that others came to know about this. By then it was very late, the traveler units could only stop a murder from happening for the first two months after the death. After that, it is just a lost cause."

She had no idea what he was talking about. She was still new to all this. The only thing she got was, his father had let someone escape.

"The offender that my father saved, turned out to be a woman and it was said that my father was having an affair with her...I always thought he loved mom."

She felt an overwhelming urge to hug and comfort him. At that very moment, all she wanted, was to take away his pain. "What about your mom?"

"When someone gets exiled, their partner should accompany them. That's one of the crappy rules." He was biting his lips and looking outside. She knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to hide away his emotions, trying to bring back his stoic face. And was failing miserably at it.

"Accepting that it hurts is not a sin. Emotions are not something to be ashamed of Riaan." She said in a soft voice.

He brought his gaze to hers. She could hear his heart, beating with a slow rhythm. "The hardest thing I have ever done is hold back my tears that day, the day the news came."

An image of that day formed in front of her eyes and she felt an inhuman impulse to be there for him. "Crying doesn't make you weak or any less amazing than you are."

There was something about the way he was looking at her. It was intimate in a way she could not explain. He moved closer and she did not back away or looked down. And when he touched the tips of her fingers it felt like she had known him forever. His lips were parted and he was looking down at hers. Her heart was racing, even faster than the day she was chased in the forest. She closed her eyes, as he bent down.

"Judy!" The door snapped open and the dog came running to Riaan, followed by the twins. Dash and Kenya stopped at the door, taking in the scene before them. Kenya's eyes were blinking at how close they were standing.

Riaan backed away from her, dropping his hands. Aviana looked down, adjusting her hair. Dash had on a surprised, idiotic look. And Kenya was looking extremely pale.

"Oh my...I am sorry for interrupting." Dash was looking ecstatic, unlike Kenya whose lips were now shaking. Dash called Judy out and was about to close the door. "Feel free to continue."

Aviana could feel her face heat up. "I am coming down with you." Both Riaan and Aviana said at the same time, making Dash laugh out aloud.

"We are coming down with you." Riaan moved out, passing a grinning Dash. After which Aviana followed but stopped by the door when her phone beeped. She checked her phone, while also noticing that Kenya had disappeared.

"It's my mum, I need to go home." she put the phone back in and went down. Dash closed the door and came behind her. Judy was trying to lick her feet but was unable to do so, as she kept moving.

"He likes you," Dash commented from the back, which made Aviana stop moving. Judy took it as its cue and started with the licking.

"What?" She asked, turning around, eyes wide.

"Judy, he likes you." He pointed at the dog, with a raised eyebrow. She felt like an idiot to have thought he meant someone else. "Who did you think?" His grin was back.

"No one...it's just...I thought Judy is a she." She came up with a lame excuse. Ok, not exactly lane. At first, she did think it was a girl. Anyone would think so hearing its name.

"Oh yeah? If you say so." Dash's grin was evolving wider, making it apparent he did not believe her. But she did not stand there further and look at his goofy grin. She returned to her home quickly.
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"Mom."

She went in calling for her mother. Mrs. Chase came from the kitchen, it appeared like she was cooking. The smell of spaghetti sauce was drifting in the air. "Aviana, come join us."

Us?

On the dining table, stuffing the spaghetti into his mouth was the gorgeous Ash.

"Aviana this our new neighbor, Ash. You should hear his college stories, they are super funny. He is such a wonderful boy." Mrs.Chase brought out a plate for Aviana.

"Your mother makes the best spaghetti." Ash looked at her. Again, she felt like he was very familiar. Where have I seen him?
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