I'm scared

Steve then dropped Alina before he went back to his home.

Tonight, Steve gently wrapped an arm around Alina's shoulders as the two headed out. The two walked in silence for a few minutes when Alina whispered, so silently that Steve wasn't sure he had heard her correctly, "Steve, I'm scared."

He smiled and asked, "Scared? I'm curious to know what on this earth can scare the great Alina Swan?" His words had been playful and lips curved into a smile, which vanished when Alina turned her face up towards him and he saw tears shining in her eyes. "Alina? What's wrong?" he asked, stopping in his tracks and grabbing her wrist when she continued to walk forward.

He heard Alina take in a huge breath as though she was about to speak, but she didn't say anything. "Alina?" he tried again, his voice even more gentler now, "Is it Alex?"

Alina made no reply, but Steve was very worried when she full on broke down crying, wailing, and tears streaming down her cheeks. "Oh Alina . . . . " he said, wrapping his arms around the crying girl and hugging her close to his chest.

The two stood like that for quite some time. Steve held her close and Alina cried and cried until she had no more tears left to cry. Once she was done, Alina wiped her eyes and said, "Sorry." "Alina!!" Steve sighed, exasperated, which led to her letting out a half-sob and a half-laugh as she said, "Thank you."

"Much better." Steve said, "Now do you want to talk about it?"

Alina pursued her lips and shook her head. Just as Steve was about to press further, she said, "I don't think I have the energy today. Some other day?" "Tomorrow." Steve replied and asked, "Something else?"

Alina shrugged and Steve rubbed her face with a smile. "Come on." he said, grabbing hold of her hand, "I think a good night's sleep will do you much good." Alina smiled as she let herself be led along by him back home. She was always the responsible one, the once everyone came to for advice, the one who was always ordering people about. But it felt nice to be the one ordered about once in a while.

This was the reason Alina had always liked Steve so much. He didn't butt heads with her when she became stubborn over something and let her have her way. But on the other hand, he always seemed to somehow know whenever Alina didn't want to make the decisions. At these times, he made them for her, and made sure she followed through.

Alina rather liked someone making decisions for her and taking care of her once in a while. She was a kid who had grown up a little too fast, the one who was always too mature for her age. Their father had left very long ago, before either one of them had been born. And Alex was always chasing that mirage that was their father, first by asking their mother everything she knew about him, then training to become just like him, and eventually, leaving, just like him.

Between her mother's disease and her broken heart, Alina had somewhere grown to be the caretaker and not the other way around, even she wasn't sure when or how.