04

"What's in the letter?" I heard someone say. I whirled around in shock before remembering that Aelia was visiting for the weekend.

"What's in it?" She asked again, gesturing towards the paper I was holding.

For no absolute reason, my heart decided to jump into my throat.

Okay there was a reason. Why would a possible villain send a letter to me?

Aelia stared at me suspiciously and snatched the paper before I could react.

She stared at it for a while and turned it to the back.

"Just as I'd suspected." I heard her whisper and I froze.

How mature Rio. You couldn't even hide it from her.

I pushed away the thoughts swirling around in my head as she smiled down at me.

"You're lucky. The people who normally get letters like these always end up hypnotized. I'd advice you to tear it. I saw Vero today tear a letter like this and the hypnosis stopped."

She patted me on the back and handed the letter back to me.

I turned it to the back and found the little floral drawing on it. Suddenly, it seemed to jump out from the paper and unto my shirt.

I tried to swat it away but I couldn't move. It felt weird. Suddenly I heard Aelia call me as she placed the items from the paper bag into the fridge.

Turns out it had been the things I'd bought.

When I didn't respond, she turned and snatched the letter from me, tearing it up into pieces just as the flower was about to crawl into my mouth.

"I told you to tear it up." She frowned at me.

I shrugged, wondering if that had been how others had been hypnotized.

If so, I thought. Then this Apatia must be really powerful. 

I sighed and grabbed a pot from a cabinet. I was hungry and I couldn't just buy food outside. I didn't like that much grease.

I was filling the pot with water when another train of thought came to me.

"Aelia?" I called. She seemed to have somehow disappeared into her room.

There was no reply.

"Aelia!" I called louder and she groaned.

"Can't a woman relax in peace?" I heard her yell back at me "It's my off-week you know!"

I rolled my eyes.

"It's mine too, now get your arse off the bed and come here. I'm not cooking for you."

It wasn't what I'd wanted to say but I figured it would drag her out of her relaxation.

Once Aelia began her rest, she moved like a slug. Unless there was food involved.

Like magic, she appeared almost immediately as I placed the pot on the electric stove.

"What are you cooking?" I raised an eyebrow and my ladle and she held a hand up.

"Ok, what are we cooking?" She laughed and I sent her a playful glare.

"Grab the other pot Aelia, and the can on the counter please" I asked, turning my back to her so I could cut the tomatoes I held in my hand.

"So what was written in the letter?" Aelia beat me to asking first.

I turned my body slightly so I could turn my head to stare at her.

Turns out the pot needed washing and it was exactly what she was doing.

She was so focused on a particular stain I didn't know my pot had that she didn't catch the look I'd given her.

"You didn't see anything written on it?" I asked, just to be sure it was what I had in mind.

"Nope. Just that floral design. I think it's only the person it's addressed to that can see what's inside it."

I kept quiet, mulling it over.

If whatever that flower thing was had crawled into my body, I'd have been hypnotized, but what could Apatia have made me do.

I couldn't be matched straight to jail for a crime I didn't commit. I wasn't guilty of breaking Hailway City's laws or the country's.

What exactly did Apatia want from me?

A soap lathered hand snapped itself right before my eyes.

"What the fuck was that?" Aelia flicked my forehead.

"I should be asking you that." I let out through gritted teeth as I rubbed my head.

That thing always hurt like a-

"You were about to cut your finger you moron!" She cried, gesturing to the finger that would have become sauce ingredient.

"OH" was all I replied. Dropping the knife.

She stared at me then pushed me aside wordlessly, going to cook the remaining of the sauce I'd placed into the pot.

"Get some rest Rio. You're clearly stressed." She sighed and turned to fully face the pot.

I almost listened to her.

"No." I blurted out.

She turned to me confused.

"What?"

"I can't let you. You're my guest." I declared and snatched the ladle from her. Her eyes narrowed to slits.

"Are you crazy?" She yelled "You were almost hypnotized by some villain and only the universe knows what they really want! Don't think I don't know about people getting hypnotized in this city, Lior told me all about it!" She heaved after scolding me.

But she clearly wasn't done because she loosened up and stared at me, about to scold me when I did something dumb.

"Also, you're very stupid. I am your friend since childhood, we're adults now. We basically grew up together and you want to treat me like a guest? I'll only excuse you because you just got hit by a villain"

She stared at me like she was waiting for an answer.

This woman!

" Then you're also very stupid. You think I would forget that a Bionic being almost killed you today! And how you looked when you walked into the house!" I stared up at her as her face changed.

Gosh why's she so tall?

Then she giggled.

What the hell?

" I know you love me Rio and don't want to eat my cooking but I'd rather not have burnt sauce for my pasta. " The smug smile on her face told me everything I needed to know.

" Shit! " I cursed and quickly removed the pot from the stove.

I could hear Aelia's laughter from behind me as I tried not to let the smoke alert the fire alarms.

I managed to salvage something from the sauce and we ate, albeit not peacefully. It was quite loud as we argued over our favorite football teams.

We behaved like children when we were together but we brought out happiness in each other.

I loved Aelia more than she could imagine but I wasn't sure she felt the same way so I never told her. After all, I valued over friendship more than anything.

We sat together on a couch to rewatch our favorite kid show when my phone buzzed.

Unknown number

|2:30 am.

Abandoned site.

Don't be late.

(⁠^⁠^⁠) Apatia.|

I sighed and glanced at Aelia who was too engrossed in the show to notice anything then at my phone.

Sighing again, I replied.

|Noted.|

What ever this villain wanted, I'd find out tonight.