Guilt & Friendship
Luna was surprised to see that Mal was not in his room as he'd been for the past few days.
She immediately turned around and prepared to inquire about his whereabouts, only to immediately find him standing behind her.
For a moment, only silence persisted between the two.
They hadn't actually spoken since that night at Morgan's house.
Luna was utterly unprepared for a confrontation of any kind today.
She knew what she wanted to say but would Mal be upset with her answer?
The fear that he would began to cause turmoil inside of her heart.
"It's good to see you, boss lady. " Mal suddenly said.
He wore his normal smile, but Luna could not help but feel hurt.
He'd returned to the way he addressed her before.
The one time he'd said her name was more than enough for her to never want to be called anything else.
She swallowed her disappointment and flashed him a polite smile of her own. "It's good to see you're up and walking around. You gave us quite the scare."
Luna, Aisha, Sei and Aubrey were the only ones who knew about Malachi's hospitalization.
As his sister and only next of kin, Aubrey was of course notified when Mal collapsed next to Melanie's bed.
She called Sei and Aisha in a panic, who in turn called Luna.
The four all dropped what they were doing and immediately came to see him.
Luna and Aisha immediately knew that Mal had overused his powers when they sensed his weak aura.
The girls guessed that he'd wake up in a day or two, which gave Sei and Aubrey the peace of mind they needed.
But on the third day, the girls began to panic.
They couldn't imagine how he could've possibly expended enough energy to keep him unconscious for four whole days.
"I'm sorry for the trouble." He scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
"Hmph, as long as you know how troublesome you are." She said.
"These are for you." Luna shyly handed him the flowers and balloons she'd brought.
Malachi graciously accepted, but in the next moment a question was posed that made his blood run cold.
"Now that you're awake, do you mind telling us how the hell you ended up with your ex?" Aubrey asked.
Suddenly, Luna and Sei both began to give Mal accusatory looks.
They knew he'd saved the girl from being abused but, they weren't sure how he ended up with her in the first place.
With a sigh, Malachi began telling the girls everything, starting with how he first saw Melanie's bruises.
-
"Brother.."
Aubrey wasn't alone, all three of the girls were currently giving Malachi sad looks.
The guilt contained in his story was palpable, so much so that they could almost see the aura of despair surrounding him.
"Mal… it's not your fault." Luna said gently.
"That's right honey.. you couldn't have known something so awful would happen." Sei comforted.
For the first time, the words of his loved ones fell on deaf ears.
In Mal's heart, he knew that he could not believe in the words of the girls.
The fact of the matter was that if he'd only bothered to stop Melanie earlier, or even checked on her just a moment sooner, things would not be the way they were now.
There was nothing the girls could say to lift this burden from his mind.
It would be another regret that he would carry with him for the rest of his life.
But he could not allow them to know that could he?
"Thanks girls, I feel better already. Let's get out of here, yea?" He said said with his usual cheerful smile.
Even though they could tell that his smile was slightly different from his usual one, they all elected not to press him too much.
The group soon left the room and as Malachi prepared to be discharged, he was hit with an unexpected question.
"Mr. Saint, will you be taking care of the bill for the three of you?" A nurse asked.
"Pardon?" He asked.
"Yourself, Miss Melanie, and her mother."
Malachi immediately felt like he was hit by a truck.
Melanie never spoke about her mother when they were together and because he did not want to make her uncomfortable, he never asked about her either.
He knew better than anyone what it meant if you were actively avoiding the subject of your parents.
"Yea, I'll take care of both of them." Mal said.
He didn't need to know the details of what was wrong with her, for now all he had to do was help.
He owed Melanie atleast this much.
The women behind him knew they could do little to change his mind so they did not stop him.
-
Currently, Mal and Luna were riding in the car together.
Mal absolutely did not want to go back home to laze around some more so he was going back to the guild to get in some training with Rose and Aisha.
Tired of the awkward silence, Luna finally decided to erase the tension between the two.
"I'm.. sorry for running out on you Malachi." She finally said.
Truth be told, Malachi was unprepared for this sudden apology.
Luna always seemed like a proud and regal woman who'd never apologize for anything.
'But then again, she never seemed like the kind of woman to make a face like the one I saw that night either.' Malachi thought inwardly.
Luna was proving to be full of surprises.
"It's cool but.. can I ask why you did it?"
"I'm just not good with things like this." Her bright pink eyes took on a faraway look. "I'll spare you the whole sob story but I'm just not the kind of person who has fulfilling relationships."
"Luna you-"
"Despite that.. for the first time in my life I want to try." She interrupted.
When her words sank in, Mal felt his head spin.
He thought for sure this was going in a completely different direction.
"But.. I need you to be a bit patient with me." She added. "These feelings are all very new a-and I just need some time to process them. So.. can we try just being friends first?"
This was the part she was worried about the most.
She didn't want him to think she was outright rejecting him or friendzoning him.
There was just so much she needed to sort out.
Her own feelings were just one thing, she still had to figure out how their relationship dynamic would work.
She was still technically his boss!
If things progressed further and their relationship was found out, people would say she seduced him to join their guild!
She could already imagine the headlines.
They'd make her look like some kind of predator!
"Please understand I just-"
"Okay." Mal said without much thought.
Luna was so surprised by his sudden answer she almost bent the steering wheel in her hands.
"You.. aren't upset?"
"Huh? Why would I be upset?" Mal asked in bewilderment. "I know this must be a lot for you because of our current relationship, so I don't mind being your friend until you decide whether to move forward or not."
"You don't mind waiting?"
"Nah, you're worth waiting for."
Those words filled Luna's heart with an indescribable joy.
She hadn't realized how fast her heart was beating during this entire exchange until she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you Mal.. truly."