thirteen || a flicker in the dark

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AN: The song for this chapter is "Devil Like Me" by Rainbow Kitten Surprise


Tate


     I heard some shouting when Abel went downstairs. It was hard to hear what they were saying, so I got up from the bed and made my way to the door, just as I opened it though, I was met by Abel, causing me to jump back a little bit.

  I could tell it startled him as well, as he placed his hand on his chest and let out a breathy chuckle.

    "Sorry," I winced.

"It's okay, I'm sorry if the yelling disturbed you," he apologized, walking into the room with his laptop tucked under one of his arms.

   I followed him and we resumed our earlier position on the bed, and he opened his laptop and began typing some things.

"What were you guys yelling about?" I asked, watching as his fingers typed at an impressive speed.

"Don't worry about it. They were just pissing me off," he answered, and I could tell by his tone that he didn't want to get into it, and since he was being so nice to me, I didn't push it. 

   "How many people are in this house?"

"Five, including you. It's Harry, me, and then Will and Niall, who you obviously haven't met yet," he answered, and I watched his screen as various tabs opened and closed.

"Are they nice? Are they like you?" I asked, and the hope was evident in my voice.

He cocked his head, thinking about it.

"I mean, as odd as it sounds, they're all like brothers to me. We are pretty much the only family each other has. Niall is pretty nice, he is like me, and mainly does behind the scene stuff. Will and Harry are the hands on guys. Will can be a dick sometimes, and he doesn't know when to shut up. Harry...well, he's Harry. I know he seems like an absolute ass, and a lot of the time, he is, but there's another side to him. I'm probably closest with him. I'm a bit younger than the rest of the guys, and while they all look out for me, Harry does the most."

    The shock must have been clear on my face, as Abel took one look at me and started to laugh.

"Yeah right. We must be thinking about two different people then," I chuckled.

"I'm serious! I mean I know the guy doesn't exactly seem like he has a lot of things going for him right now, considering that he kidnapped you and probably has been a complete dickhead since you met him, but that's just how he is when he's working. He doesn't crack, you know? In this line of work, it honestly is a very helpful way to be, sometimes I wish I could be more like him, and not let people see my emotions, but I guess I'm just different," he sighed, looking a little discouraged.

   I grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze, and he looked up at me through his glasses. 

"You don't need to change, Abel. You have empathy, you care for people. That's a good thing. I don't know how you got into this line of work, but honestly, I'm glad you did. I don't know how I would be holding up right now if I hadn't met you," I smiled, and he was beaming back at me.

  "Thank you, Tate," he replied sheepishly. 

    "Of course."

"Okay, so, let's get started on figuring this thing out. We need to figure out why your last name is associated with the software, so let's start brainstorming ideas," he spoke, looking back at me.

    "Um, could you maybe ask me some questions that you think would help? I don't really know how these things work," I asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

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