Witness Protection ✔

Return Of The King

Nathalia sat in front of her bedroom window which faced the backyard. The sun was fiercely shining over the treeline beyond the fence, casting an ethereal glow. It looked positively enchanting, yet she couldn't bring herself to go outside to enjoy the rays herself.

She thought back on her conversation with Darius the day before, and how she'd have to wait another day for him to come back and make things normal again. Turning, she looked at the clock on the wall. Only 7 minutes had passed since the last time she'd checked. She really should stop checking so often, but she couldn't help it.

Looking back down at her little e-reader she continued looking for a book to read. There were tons of books available but she didn't feel like starting a new one. At the same time, she didn't feel like finishing the series she'd been reading previously. But she had to make up her mind or she'd die of boredom.

The shrill sound of the doorbell ringing made her jump.

Since she wasn't allowed to open the door herself she didn't bother getting up, but she did try to listen in. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't make out anything. She heard some murmurs in the hallway before the door closed. But the murmurs continued, which meant this person was now inside the house.

Curiosity won out as she dragged herself out of the small chair and down the stairs. She fully expected to find either one of her neighbors there, perhaps asking questions about the strange man walking around her house these past few days, but who she saw shocked her even more.

Darius.

He stood casually leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. In front of him was Chris, also with his arms crossed. They spoke in fast but hushed tones, neither of them seemed to be in a good mood. Darius stood slightly taller than Chris and she couldn't take her eyes off him. He seemed even more handsome than she'd remembered.

As she made her way further down the stairs their eyes suddenly snapped up to her, ending their conversation.

"Hey," she said awkwardly.

While Darius greeted her back with a small smile Chris just shoved past her to go up the stairs. She'd learned to ignore his behavior and instead focussed on Darius.

"I thought you were coming back tomorrow?"

It wasn't that she minded him coming back earlier, on the contrary, she felt relieved. But it was unexpected and she wondered if her conversation yesterday had anything to do with his early return.

"My flight was canceled, so I took an earlier one," he shrugged. Despite the fact his already very short vacation was made even shorter, it didn't seem to bother him at all.

Suddenly a big 'thud' was heard from upstairs, followed by some swearing.

The corner of Darius's mouth lifted ever so slightly before he said, "I'd better go check he didn't break anything."

A short giggle came out of Nathalia's mouth before she quickly covered it with her hands. Embarrassed, she nodded and turned away. She knew her face had become red as a beet but she refused to acknowledge it.

Walking into the kitchen, she decided to make him some coffee. Lucky for her, he always drank his coffee black so she didn't have to worry about finding out the right amount of sugar. She had no idea how he could drink the bitter and dark liquid without anything to sweeten it.

She heard some muffled sounds from upstairs, some shuffling, and two sets of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. She heard them talk before the front door opened, and closed again. Chris had apparently left and hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. She shouldn't have expected him to, as he hadn't said hi either. It even relieved her, since she wouldn't have to exchange pleasantries with a man who wasn't pleasant at all.