208 Unwelcome Visitor (11)

In the end, the vet didn't allow for Lucy to be moved. He said that it was important for him to stay in the clinic, in constant view of qualified professionals. There was a chance of complications, and if they weren't dealt with right away, the cat's life might still be lost.

Iris saw how unwilling to leave Lucy Kyro was, but he still agreed. After he paid for everything, they left and went to the police station.

On the drive there, Iris tried to get herself to accept the fact that she'd have to be alone in the car for a time. Such a simple thing that never bothered her before suddenly seemed like a challenge she wasn't certain she was capable of facing.

'When did I become such a coward?'

It was a question that didn't require much of an answer. When one realizes that they've been kidnapped from home, and then the very next day encounter a burglar, it is not that surprising that they might become a touch unwilling to be alone any longer.

"Are you okay with staying here for a few minutes?" Kyro asked when he stopped the car in the parking lot.

For a moment, Iris wanted to shake her head, but then she nodded. Kyro had just as many problems, if not more, as she. There was no need to trouble him with this. It was just staying in the car for some ten-fifteen minutes. How bad could it possibly be?

"Thanks."

With those words, Kyro left, and Iris realized that it was way worse than she had expected. Every sound was a warning of danger, and each passing shadow an enemy. Shivering, she jumped off the front seat and went under it.

There was little space there, but she squeezed in and closed her eyes. If she didn't see or hear anything, then it was going to be fine. All of this was just her own fear creating monsters out of shadows. Nothing could possibly happen to her while next to the police station.

Telling that to oneself again and again was an exhausting task. By the time Kyro returned after an hour, Iris was close to breaking. She had overestimated her own abilities. She wasn't fine with staying alone in the least.

"Did anything happen?" Kyro asked upon sitting down, his face dark and closed off.

Iris shook her head and jumped onto the seat as if nothing was the matter. With him around, the shadows returned to being shadows, and the noise became the constant voice of the city instead of a horror movie track.

Once they returned home, Iris ran to the study and turned the computer on. She then asked for Kyro to bring her clothes since she would try to change back. He gave her a calculating look, but didn't say anything and just did as asked before closing the door behind himself.

Alone in the room, Iris looked around to make sure that nothing was sneaking behind her. A sense of paranoia had sprouted in her soul, and every dark corner seemed to house a horror.

'I'm fine,' she murmured to herself and found the movie she had watched the last time. Ten minutes later, even if she knew the plot, her heart began to beat like crazy and she changed. Her senses were so heightened, there was no need even for a jump scare. The mere tension in the air was enough to frighten her to the point she began to shiver.

Upon regaining her human form, Iris first turned off the movie then dressed up. As a human, she felt a bit better. This way, she couldn't be confided into that small box. The burglar wouldn't have attacked her, either, had she been human. Most likely, anyway.

When she left the room, Kyro was sitting on the sofa, looking into the empty wall. He didn't turn when he heard her.

She sat down on the other side, her hands wrapped around herself. For some reason, the apartment felt much colder than before. "I'm sorry for what happened," she said in a soft voice, her head lowered.

At this, Kyro did shift his gaze to her. "What did happen? How did Lucy end up like that?"

There was no accusation in his voice, and Iris looked up. Didn't he blame her for what happened? It was because of her that Lucy came out and fought an opponent he couldn't possibly defeat.

"Some five minutes after you left, I heard the door being unlocked. I thought you forgot something and came back, so I didn't pay any attention, but then I realized that it wasn't you. My mind blanked out, and all I can remember is being too terrified to move when I heard the footsteps coming closer."

Iris' gaze went down once again, and she stared at the sofa as she recalled what had happened next. It wasn't a good memory. "I changed then, and upon entering, the man, he, he reached for me. I don't know if I made a sound or Lucy was just around and saw, but the next moment he ran in and attacked the man. He did it to protect me…"

Tears welled up in Iris' eyes once more. The reason that Lucy ended up on the verge of death was because she was a coward. Later, she had clearly evaded the man, but back then, when he just came in, she had sat still, frozen in her spot.

Kyro looked at her for a long while, then shook his head. "It's not your fault. Gregor is the one who did it, and he's going to pay for it. I'll make sure of that."

The rest of the evening passed in silence. They ate at one point, but it was a cold business. Neither of them uttered a word, both lost in their own worlds. Iris was thankful that Kyro didn't blame her, but she couldn't do the same. It was her fault. If not for her, Lucy would be napping on the sofa's backrest instead of lying drugged in a pet clinic.

When evening came, Kyro was the first to stand up and leave. Iris sat for a few minutes longer, not wishing to return to her room. Could she even sleep there?

It had to be done, though. It was her place, her bed.

Once she changed and brushed her teeth, she couldn't help but stop in the doorway of her room. Before her was her simple bed. There were little to no signs of the scuttle that had taken place in the room, besides a few red stains by the wall, but Iris felt her bile rise.

She dashed away and returned to the living room. There was no way she could spend a moment back there. Throughout the room, she could see the disgusting man, the way he smirked when he first saw her, then how he flung Lucy away, and hear the crack that followed after.

Her feet took her to the closed door of Kyro's bedroom. She raised her hand to knock, but then hesitated. Was this all right? Could she really do it? They've stayed together before so…

While she deliberated upon the possible outcomes of knocking, the door opened. "How long are you going to stand there?" Kyro asked with an eyebrow raised. There was tiredness on his face, but the little amusement betrayed that there was still a spark of life beneath.

"N-nothing!" Caught like this, Iris instantly backpedaled, deciding that the sofa sounded perfectly fine.

Kyro grabbed hold of her hand, keeping her from running away. "You've been standing there for five minutes," he told her in an almost serious voice. It would have worked if not for the smile on his lips.

A light pink colored Iris' cheeks, and she looked away. "I-I just thought, maybe…"

Why had she never received a pamphlet on how relationships were supposed to work? Or even a lecture would have been fine. How did other people end up sleeping together? Was it always for that other thing, or was there some kind of rule that governed it?

"You know, you can just come in."

The smile remained on Kyro's face, but he didn't pull her in. Without saying anything else, he released her hand and went back into the room, having left the door open.

He was giving Iris the choice to decide for herself.

It was a small matter, and one whose end result both of them already knew, but Iris' heart still warmed up from the consideration on his part. At the moment, a show of force was the last thing she needed.

With a whisper of a "Thank you" on her lips, she stepped past the doorway.