Witness Protection ✔

lights out

They reached the neighbor's house with 3 minutes to spare.

After her shower, Nathalia had put her hair in a ponytail to save some time and rushed down the stairs, almost killing herself when she'd missed the last step. Lucky for her, however, Darius wasn't in the hallway to witness her clumsiness as she managed to steady herself at the very last moment.

Making her way around the house in search of Darius she found him in the kitchen. As always. They hadn't used the living room much. To Nathalia, it just didn't feel like her own home. Maybe it was the decor, or maybe it was the situation she found herself in. But either way, she didn't like the general vibe of the living room. And she wondered if he felt the same.

His head was slightly turned as he looked out the window at their backyard, but he turned around when he heard her approach.

"I'm not gonna lie," he started, "I didn't expect you to be this quick,"

Nathalia felt a weird sense of pride, but she wasn't sure it had been a compliment. Perhaps it had been an insult she didn't get. So she decided to ignore it.

"Yeah, I just needed a quick shower. But I'm ready to go now," she replied as she tried her best not to pant from her run down the stairs.

"Alright let's go then," he said as he walked towards the front door, holding it open for her.

She awkwardly scuffled past him, but as she did he put his hand on the small of her back before following her out the door.

As summer approached the days were getting longer, yet the sun was already setting. The disappearing sun left behind a beautiful yellowish pink sky, making the world around them seem surreal.

The walk to the neighbor's house was a longer one than one would expect because of the length of the front yards. Taking a shortcut through the garden would significantly shorten their travel time, but it was sure to raise some eyebrows. So they took the long way around.

As they stood at the front door the feelings Nathalia had managed to repress for a little while came up again. Self-doubt. Nervousness. Anxiety. Would she be able to recite her cover? What if they'd ask something that wasn't in the file, would she be able to improvise? Above all, would it be convincing enough?

She wished she could be like Darius, the man practically oozed confidence. He never seemed to doubt himself at anything he did. But then again, what would an attractive person like Darius need to doubt? She saw it in other peoples' eyes, when he spoke he had them hang on his lips. She wasn't any different. He spoke so little, but every word uttered had her savoring them. She'd repeat it in her head until his voice didn't sound like his anymore.

"Relax, you'll do fine," he whispered. She didn't know if her feelings were that obvious, or if he was just really good at picking these kinds of things up. But in any case, the words helped her. She forced her shoulders to relax and took a deep breath. She just had to believe in herself. And in him. She reached forward to press the doorbell.

The melodic chime was soon replaced by the muffled, but unmistakable sound of a couple bickering.

"Hank, there are people at the door."

"Yes dear, I've heard."

"I'm cooking the food I can't open it."

"Well, I'm on the toilet so I can't open it either."

After a few more muffled words the door swung open, revealing their neighbor Gertrude in a pink apron, holding her oven mitts in one hand and gesturing for them to come in with the other.

"Oh, I'm so glad the two of you could make it. Come in, come in, dinner's almost ready."

"Thank you for having us, ma'am," Darius smoothly replied as they followed Gertrude into the living room.