Maybe, I

Ace arrived at his apartment a little after midnight and he couldn't help himself, he stalk Cheryl's door, being on edge. He could feel something was wrong and when the whole building started to shake, he almost barged in. But after a couple of seconds he started hearing crying. Something took over his body and he leaned over her door, touching the wood, wanting with every fiber of his being to hold her, to swallow her tears. And when she wailed, Ace's soul shattered to pieces.

Startled by his own emotions, he walked backwards untill he felt his own door on his back. Getting inside, he didn't hear Aishteru's winning. He wanted something to get rid of those feelings, anything. Drowning a glass of whiskey, he threw his hoodie on the ground and entered his bedroom, more like his studio. It was full on canvas, paintings of Imen, the only woman he ever loved. He stopped in front of the latest one, there she was, with her beautiful black as night hair, those piercing gray eyes and that damn one sided smirk. How he loved to bite those plump lips, to tease her until she was a begging mess at his feet. But it wasn't enough, nothing was ever enough for Imen. Touching the painting, he let his claws out, burning her face with venom that started dripping from his hand. Throwing the canvas on the ground, he took a blank one, and started to mix the colours on his palette. Lightning his joint he let his feelings out. What he felt neer Cheryl's door, the raw pain in his heart, bought him on the edge of insanity. He didn't want her, he didn't want to know her. It was only his job that was bringing him in her space. He kept repeating those word in his mind, splashing paint on the canvass.

Aishteru came neer him and stretched next to his leg, but Ace was so engrossed in his painting that he didn't felt her. After awhile he gave up on his pensule, and dipped his fingertips in red, adjusting the edges with his fingers.

Five hours later and two joints, he was done. Sweating, he gasped when he saw what he'd done. It was Cheryl, crouched on her apartment's living room, hugging herself, while she cried. Pleading him thru his painting with her eyes to come to her, and take her pain away.

"Fuck..."

He didn't need shitt like this in his life, and he sure didn't need to comfort someone who was a potential enemy. Ace needed to hunt her, not to comfort her.

"I can't deal with this shitt now." Leaving his bedroom with Aishteru at his foot, he almost crashed on the couch, when he stopped neer his door. Someone was there, but there wasn't any movement. Slithering, without as much as a sound, he looked thru his peephole and his brows furrowed when he saw her.

She was standing in front of his door with her hand outstretched like she wanted to knock, but didn't had the ball's to do so.

Cheryl was just in a pair of jeans, with a open shirt, that you could see her sports bra, and barefoot. Her hair was all over the place, like she pulled it countless times, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

Ace didn't made a move, he even forgot how to breathe, the anticipation was killing him, why she was at his door, when she didn't even wanted to touch him the last time he tried to. She was bitting her lower lip, deciding what to do. She almost gathered the courage to knock on his door when he saw Dante behind her. Of course, that damned half brother of his, always present to ruin everything.

"Stop, whatever was what you wanted to do Cheryl, and come back inside."

"But... He's your brother, Danny. Aren't you a little bit curious about him?" He heard her small voice almost pleading to let her do it.

"No, and neither should you. You need to stay away from his kind. He is going to hunt you, now that he knows what you are."

"But I didn't do anything wrong..."

"He won't care. Listen to me, and come inside."

"Fine...but I can't promise that I will leave this be."

Cheryl turned her back and got inside her own apartment, but Dante stayed behind, looking directly in his eyes. Warning him again to stay away from her.

The catch was, he wasn't sure he could do that if Cheryl wanted to get close.