More Than Enough Time To Move On

"Don't you think you're drinking too much?"

With a glass of whiskey in her hand, Alora McLean simply smirks at the young man who looks at her with a hint of concern on his face. "It's been so long since I got to rest, Mason. Tonight, nothing will hold me back."

The young man named 'Mason Hyde' let out a heavy sigh when he hears her. "Why did I even bother to worry? It's not like you listen to others when you're not in a uniform." He is Alora's best friend and her only friend outside the military.

"That hurts, Mason Hyde," Alora McLean bluntly remarks. "Am I not the one who comes to this bar because I listen to you?" Her lazy gaze sweeps around the bar and she says, "I don't think this place suits a doctor like you. Shouldn't you be in a hospital right now?"

"This is why I always ask you to rest from time to time instead of working non-stop. You know nothing about the world outside your base and missions," Mason replies in an obviously disappointed tone. "Doctors are humans too, Alora. We don't work all the time, unlike you."

Hearing out her best friend, Alora flashes a playful smile. "Are you still angry at me for being too devoted to work? It seems like you won't miss any chance to lecture me."

Mason opens his mouth and shut it again as if he were hesitating to speak. After a few seconds of debating, he finally says, "Do you expect me to be fine with it while knowing the reason why you overwork yourself?"

Alora is about to take another sip of the alcoholic drink when Mason speaks but his words have her halt her movement with the glass lingering right below her lower lip. She remains that way for a while before she eventually brings the glass to her lips and gulps the whole drink down. She then put the glass on the table and looks at Mason when she says, "Don't bring up that. Let's just spend the night in peace."

"Alora -"

"Don't make things harder for me, Mason," Alora McLean interrupts but her voice is soft and pleading. "I know you're worried but you see, I'm holding out just fine."

This is one of the times when Alora hates herself. Putting aside her mother's passing, the departure of her first and only love to date from her life created a lasting scar and she even reaches the point where everyone worry about her.

She hates to be this weak.

At times, Alora still use to wonder about the truth behind Lucas's departure from her life. If she didn't miss that meeting, what would her life be like now?

Whenever she spends her time dwelling in the past, she use to wonder if that person would still remember her as she does. It's been 9 years after all.

There is more than enough time to move on, right? Not to mention that she doesn't hear anything from him or see him though he could still easily find her. But that isn't the case for her.

She has no idea of where he is, what he is doing, or if he is still alive.

Maybe he has already forgotten about her.

With many thoughts crossing her mind, Alora ends up having several glasses of the alcoholic drink while Mason Hyde keeps on staring at her with concern. Though she has a high tolerance, what she drank should already be enough to have her drunk but... she can't be drunk at all no matter how much she drinks!

Now that she is on a leave, she has so much free time to dwell on the past and she wants to distract herself from doing that by getting drunk but it seems like even the drinks betray her now!

"That's enough," Mason Hyde finally intervenes once again and takes the glass from Alora's hand. "I will take you home. It's getting late, Alora." He appears more concerned than ever but Alora McLean simply smiles.

"You ask me out to drink but it seems like you already regret it," she points out and guesses, "You have other plans? Hallie Moore?"

Mason Hyde sighs and leans back on the chair. "I'm not with Hallie anymore."

In an instant, Alora's eyes grow wide, confused and shocked at the same time. "What do you mean? Did you get dumped? Why do I know nothing?"

"First, it's just what you think. Second, she dumps me saying that I never have time for her." He briefly pauses and there is displeasure on his face when he concludes, "And for your third question, you are crazy about missions, Alora McLean. Do you ever have time to listen to my story since you join the army?"

As her best friend is pointing out the fact without sugar-coating anything, Alora McLean feels her throat running dry! "Fine. I will apologize, okay? My father is practically forcing me to take a break and I will have plenty of time. During that, I will pay attention to you and bother you nonstop."

"I don't want that," Mason Hyde simply turns her down, much to the annoyance of Alora. "It will be so boring for me. Do you plan to make my life a hell?"

"Hey! How could you say that while I'm trying to be nice?!"

"I'm only stating the fact." Mason's lips curve into a playful smile when he says, "Ask the members of your team. They all say that it's hell to be with you."

"You -"

"Oh! It won't help even if you ask," Mason Hyde interrupts. "They will be too scared to tell the truth."

Alora McLean opens her mouth but closes it again as if she changed her mind. She then finally let out a sigh. "Just be grateful that I'm feeling indebted to you right now. If not, that face you are too proud of will surely suffer."

He simply chuckles and she abruptly rises from her seat. "I'm going to the washroom. Wait here and we can leave once I come back."

The doctor still has an amusing smile on his face even as he nods and Alora shakes her head, helplessly. However, she still makes her way to the washroom without saying anything.

* * *

Standing before a bar that seems to be quite luxurious and crowded, there is a little frown on the face of Alessio who rarely shows any emotion. "Are you sure that this is the place?" He asks Loris who is standing a step behind him.

Apart from his right-hand man, there are also several men blending in with other people at a distance to ensure his safety. Wherever he goes, it is always like this.

Loris nods at his master's words. "Don Elio indeed mention this place, sir. It's room number 6. Do you want me to go and check?"

Alessio DeFazio dismissively waves his hand. "I will go and find him. He never stops bothering me." He walks inside and Loris follows him while the other men wait outside.

Around two minutes pass but the place is quite large than Alessio thought and he ends up struggling to find the room. Even to ask some workers there, the hallways are pretty quiet as most of the rooms were for VIP clients. Not to mention that it is his first time there and the same goes for Loris who is with him.

Another minute passes and his little patience grows thin. As such, he halts and takes out his phone to give his friend a call. He wants to tell him to come and find him as it seems like Elio is quite familiar with the place. After all, traveling is one of his best friend's hobbies.

Alessio presses the call button and put the phone next to his ear while impatiently waiting for his friend to answer the call. It is like that, until...

"Lucas Wilde."

His heart skips a beat when he hears the name that he had not heard for years. The name that once belonged to him.

Slowly putting down his phone, Alessio's mind is busy wondering who could possibly call him by that name after such a long time. However... no matter how much he thinks about it, only one person comes to his mind.

The voice belongs to a woman, right?

He turns around, finally yet reluctantly. Then he sees her standing a few steps away.

Before he left for Elentrus, he indeed wondered what would be the chance of him crossing paths with her again but... he did not know that meeting her again would be the first thing that occurs to him once he arrives.....