Unerasable

Reacting quickly to his distress, Leah helped him up to his feet, but instead of taking him to his room, she brought him to hers and led him to the bathroom. At Lucius' request, she helped him into the bathtub and turned on the faucet, the sound of running water filling the room as she adjusted the temperature to his liking.

"Ahh, shit," Lucius cursed in pain, his body contorting as he clutched his chest. "The water is not cold enough... Ahhh... I need something colder," he requested, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Something colder, something colder," Leah muttered, her eyes scanning the bathroom restlessly. "I'll be right back," she said, and hurriedly sprinted out of the bathroom.

She went straight to the kitchen to get two ice bags and quickly returned, finding Lucius attempting to rip his shirt off as if it was burning him. His face was twisted in agony, and sweat glistened on his forehead as he struggled to ease the pain. Leah quickly tore the bags and poured the ice blocks into the water.

Several minutes passed before Lucius began to slowly calm down, his breathing becoming steady. Leah sat on the ground beside the bathtub, observing him keenly to ensure that he was okay.

"You can go out if you want to," Lucius said calmly, his eyes now closed in a relaxed manner. "I'm more than fine now,"

His voice was smooth, giving no hint of the intense pain he had just experience.

Leah just stared at him without reacting or responding to his words. She was still curious about what had just happened to him. When he had mentioned that his restriction was reacting, she was completely lost. She didn't understand what he was restricted for or who had even given him such a restriction that had almost killed him just a moment ago.

"When you said your restriction was reacting, what did you mean by that?" Leah inquired, gazing at his still pale face.

A slight frown settled between Lucius' brows for just a split second before it cleared. He let out a soft sigh before slowly opening his eyes. His long, damp lashes fluttered softly, making him look breathtaking even in his current state.

"This," he brought up his right wrist, showing her the restrictive cuffs around it, "is a type of restraint used by the Council to suppress the vampiric characteristics of vampires found guilty of grievous crimes," Lucius explained before lowering his hand back into the water.

Leah had heard about the Council before, from Ami. They were sophisticated higher authorities who established rules and regulations to govern the behavior of every supernatural creature out there. Ami had told her that they were the reason why vampires no longer killed recklessly as they did in the old days.

"What crime did you commit?" Leah asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"I killed some white witches who were kidnapping young girls for rituals," Lucius replied as he closed his eyes again. "When the council found out what I did, they decided to investigate the matter, but they did not find any trace of black magic in those witches' bodies, or on the ground where I caught them performing the rituals. Everything was just clean," Lucius chuckled softly.

His voice sounded irritated, irritated by the council's incompetence to find proper evidence before convicting him. The higher-ups who detested him simply took what happened as an opportunity to restrain him.

"I'm really sorry about that," Leah said, her voice sounding sympathetic.

It's quite sad that he was going through this awful punishment for trying to do some good.

"Don't be," Lucius replied. "I pretty much deserved all of this. If I hadn't been so reckless and had actually listened to Alexander, I wouldn't have gotten restricted. And I was able to save one of the girls that night, so my efforts didn't go in vain," he added with a weak smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Leah quietly stared at him before slowly resting her head on the bathtub, her gaze not leaving his face. Even though Lucius sometimes acts irrationally, there was still some kindness in him - when he was in the mood to show it. Lucius had so many dimensions, Leah couldn't help but want to know the real Lucius behind all those layers he had around himself. It felt nice that he was actually showing her this aspect of himself, this part that actually cared for other people.

Leah sighed, remembering his little flirtation in the hallway with her. The man was really good at teasing her and getting her heart racing.

"Can you help me remove my shirt?" Lucius suddenly asked, snapping Leah out of her reverie.

"Pardon me?" Leah asked, a little lost as she hadn't heard his request.

"Since you've decided to just sit on the ground and stare dreamily at my face, I was wondering if you could assist me in taking off my shirt," Lucius said, causing Leah's eyes to widen slightly as she immediately raised her head.

As if noticing her reaction, the corner of Lucius' lips rose slightly in amusement, adding a touch of mischief to his handsome face. Teasing her was always refreshing; it was like savoring a sweet cup of tea with extra milk in the morning that brought nothing else but pur enjoyment, and relishing every sip of it.

"I-I would love to, um... help you with that, but my hands hurt so much from carrying those ice bags," Leah stuttered, bringing her palm up to examine them before squeezing them tightly.

Lucius' brow cringed a little before he opened his eyes, glancing at Leah. She looking more nervous than he had anticipated. Her level of nervousness seemed exaggerated, almost as if she was scared. He had expected her to get annoyed, not frightened, as if he was asking her to put her hands in the mouth of a crocodile. Slowly, he began to rise up from the bathtub, and Leah appeared startled by his movement.

It was a subtle reaction that one could easily miss, but Lucius' keen eyes noticed it. However, he chose not to comment on it.

"Since you're not going to help me out, I'll just help myself," Lucius said with a serious expression.

He then began to unbutton his shirt slowly, purposefully dragging out the movement.

Leah seeing what he was about to do immediately stood up and left the bathroom without a word.

Lucius simply stared at the closed door with a thoughtful look as he proceeded to discard his slightly ripped shirt and unbuttoned his pants, which were completely soaked. Carefully removing them, he discarded the garments on the bathroom floor. With his bare feet exposed, he stepped into the cold water, fully naked. A spider tattoo adorned his left chest, while a larger tattoo covered his back, the ink standing out against his skin.

The bed sank down as Leah slumped onto it, her hands slightly shaking. She had not intended to react that way in front of Lucius, but she couldn't help herself. There were some things that she had gone through when her family was still alive, and there were just some awful memories that were unerasable.