10 Scarred

We are not supposed to fear death, only if there will be no one left behind.

But I don't fear death when it follows me because you will still have a way to continue your life without me.

I am afraid of death when it follows you. When you are gone, I can't stand seeing your face in my nightmares.

____First Person____

"Aish, what are they doing?" Julie asked Simon in astonishment when she saw Eula and Jayden having a drinking contest. The last to give up will be the winner.

"I have no idea also. Jayden has a high drinking tolerance. I am sure he will win. Besides all the food flowing in that body, it just disappears."

"You guys don't know Eula. She has her own bar, she just drinks beer like her own water" The two had a few glasses and Julie knew that she could not stop them. She’s not worried about who gets drunk on them first, she’s worried about Eula’s liver!

Although she is healthy because of her regular workout, Julie can not say that she will be immune against liver diseases. Like hell, Eula is fighting with an immortal guy. "Hey, Jayden. Cut off this trip, the girl needs to rest and so do we." it looks like Simon has read Julie's mind and the woman is thankful that he said that to Jayden. Jayden just smiled at them and pointed to the woman in front of him.

"Ask her. I’ll stop when she stops." Julie just sighed out of frustration without the two considering stopping this silly contest of theirs. "I will take you upstairs, Simon. I'll take care of these two." Simon just nodded at Julie and let her push his wheelchair.

Before they finally left, Julie heard the last remarks from Jayden.

"Tell me, Eula. Do I look familiar to you?"

"W-What are you saying?"Eula couldn't help but resist the deep stare Jayden was giving her. It was scary because she didn’t know what was on his mind.

"Do you see me in one of your great grandmother's journal?" The question was quite unexpected. She thought that he would be asking if she remembers him hanging out with her in the bar. She actually met a lot of guys and she couldn't even count how many guys she woke up seeing one of them lying beside her on her bed. She thought of Jayden's question.

Why would he ask about the journal and how did he know about her great grandmother?

"How did—"

"Before I answer your question, answer mine first."

Do you see me in one of your great grandmother's journal? Is that why Julie talked to me? But why would they need it?

Eula remembers her dream about Julie again and she can't think of how to connect everything.

"Come to think of it, I think I saw you before but I don't know where exactly." she uttered under her breath.

Eula was so lost in her thoughts when she heard Julie's footsteps going back to them. "I should get some rest. I didn't drink alcohol lately so yeah, I might need to sleep for a while."before Jayden could say anything, he walked over to Julie and smiled at her.

"I will talk to you after I get some rest, okay? I think there is something you want to tell me." And then she leaves those two.

For a few minutes, Jayden and Julie were surrounded by silence.

"She knows why you talked to her earlier." Julie looked up at Jayden when she started talking. "What? H-How did that happen?"

"I told her about the journal." Oh, why did she have to lie to her friend when he will tell about it in the end? Now, things are messed up.

"Why did you tell her?" Julie couldn't help but ask that man because why did he even lie to her at first? Her hands trembled because she was nervous about what Eula would think of her.

"I told her because she will surely think about what makes you tell lies to her or how I will be familiar to her when we didn't even met. Then when she found out the answer, we should find out about it too." Julie thought about what Jayden had said.

"So, Eula has the answer you are looking for in addition to the contents of the journal? You just used my lies to make her think about what is in the journal?"

"Bingo." Jayden sipped his wine again and just laid the bottle empty. "Do you want to hear a fact about me?" Jayden handed Julie a glass of juice and the woman stared at it before turning her gaze back to him.

"It's just water, lady." He chuckled. "So, do you want to hear it?" He turned to the woman and she just nodded. He did not know why he wanted to talk about it but he knew he had to entertain himself. He first lifted the bottle with only wine before shaking it.

"After what happened to me, I can't be drunk so alcohol doesn't affect my system."

"Hopefully all of that gained even just that ability." For the second time, Jayden laughed again.

"You don't seem scared of anything I said to you, huh?" Jayden was glad that someone made him feel that he was normal. He is considered part of the world.

"Well, maybe because I am kind of used to it? You know, I am fond of crazy stuff and my mom always tells me stories that were so — let's say, creative?" Julie looked into the man's eyes and their eyes met for a second.

"Or maybe you are just brave enough to hear my words. You say you are used to it but I will say that you're not. You fainted when you knew about me, right?" Julie's cheeks both warmed because of shame. Yeah, that definitely freaks me out.

"That's a different case, Jayden."

"Yeah, it surely is." Then silence surrounds them again. "Do you think I'm that brave?" Julie drank the juice from her glass again and she felt her throat become drier so she drank again. Only then did she realize that what she was drinking was strange.

"Of course, everyone is brave in their own way but not all brave enough to fight. As for you, I can tell that you are that someone who is brave enough."the woman smiled at what he said. Julie drank water again and she just dropped the glass when she felt dizzy.

"H-Hey, you didn't drink on that glass, right?" Julie couldn't answer the man's question because her vision keeps spinning around.

__________________

"I AM NOT DRUUUUUNK!" Julie struggled in Jayden's arm. The man immediately covered the woman's mouth before anyone could hear them. After getting upstairs, Jayden dropped Julie on the bed and quickly covered her with a blanket. Julie’s tolerance on wine is very far from the tolerance of Eula’s on hard drink!

"You only drink two glasses, woman. That's two glasses only!" He threw the pillow at Julie and it landed on the woman's face who groaned in pain.

"N-not all p-people can do that, Jayden..." the man turned to Julie as she began to whisper. He came a little closer to hear what she was saying. The woman is unusually drunk but still speaking. "You are so unusual, Julie." He pinched the bridge of her nose making Julie moved to hit his arm.

"I am t-tired toooo .... I s-sometimes thought of dying but I'm afraid that no one will have to take care of my m-mom."that made Jayden dumbfounded. Are all drunk people supposed to say their agony?

Jayden couldn't help but feel sorry for the woman especially when he found out Julie’s mother's condition.

"I used to be treated like a queen and now...n-nothing's left for me."Julie looks like a child throwing tantrums now but Jayden thinks it was different. It only shows how sad her life is that she only complains when she is not on her right self.

"You have Eula, woman. She is there for you." Jayden's hand moved spontaneously to wipe Julie's tears before tucking the loose strands of Julie’s hair behind her ear. Jayden waited for what she would say next but the next thing he heard was her weak snoring, an indication that she had fallen asleep due to drunkenness. Knockout.

He smiled and removed the sandals Julie was wearing. He adjusted the covering of the blanket over its body because even though the air conditioner was not turned on, the air was still cold.

Jayden always leaves his window open. At least, he will still be able to look at the moonlight then for a moment, he will be able to feel alive.

He turned to Julie again who was sound asleep. He stared at her face and he couldn't help but marvel at the innocence of its face. As if an angel came down from above. Julie's face is not that perfect but her façade can make a person feel at ease. If Jayden had not known what she was going through, he would not have thought that she was suffering because her face looks calming. Her dark circles are normal for an adult and the maturity of her face is just as fine compared to other people who are already stressed in their lives.

"Why did your God make you suffer?"he whispered. Julie moved and turned her back to him, making Jayden notice the large scar on her back. He moved a few strands of her hair and he was devastated by what he saw.

What the hell is this?

The scar is so big that you can notice immediately that it came from a large wound.

Julie's mother's condition returned to his mind. Could it possibly?

If Jayden's conclusion about where Julie got her scar was true, Julie’s life must be so rough. Jayden find himself thinking about it until he lost track of the time. No, this isn’t right.

He seems to have learned a lot about her in just a few days. Maybe he have to restrain himself before he could finally get close to Julie. He had enough of someone who’ll leave him in the end.