Visit

When I went out of the cinema with Nicole, I checked my phone to see that Jimmy had messaged me. He was asking me if I would be attending another of his forum's session tomorrow, or perhaps, the proper word to use is 'clarifying.' I didn't even give it a second thought and just told him that I will be attending without another word.

I then ate dinner with Nicole, and she clung to my arms throughout the day while she was squirming her body around my skin, making me feel her robust and plump breast. I swear, I could feel myself slowly ascending to the high heavens just because of what she was doing.

I then pleaded with her to accompany her to her home, for it would really relieve me to see her enter her home safely. However, she refused my order, which I found odd, but I still pushed through what I wanted with a gentle smile. I was expecting that she would start agreeing more to my request, but what I got instead was dog-like howling from her, accompanied by a demon-like expression that I could have never expected from such a nice woman like Nicole.

"WHY ARE YOU FORCING YOURSELF SO BAD TO GO TO MY HOUSE, HUUUH!? I SAID NO, THE ANSWER WILL ALWAYS BE NO!"

She then covered her lips with both her hands while trembling slightly as I saw tears welling up in her eyes. Nicole started to apologize frantically as if she had just made a grave mistake as a woman, and now she feels like she has no face to show the world anymore. I reassured her that it was okay and that she did not really do anything wrong at all. I also added that that wouldn't be enough to faze me away from her since I know that Nicole is also as troubled as me. We both lost someone, and we both know what it feels like to hold that sort of fire within our hearts in our lonesome. I just told myself that she must be fighting other battles that I would never be able to understand.

When she heard me utter those words, Nicole smiled right away, and after walking somewhere near her house, we started to spit up, and then I just... went back home. I wanted to follow her, so I could find out where she's living, but that would just be outright creepy and downright stupid of me to do. I respect her enough to understand that she needs her space.

So...

I...

Must have...

Perhaps...

...

I dunno what I'm thinking anymore, really. I guess maybe I'm just tired. I went towards my apartment room right away after that little moment I had with Nicole. At that time, it was already dark outside, the starless sky was signaling the coming of what seemed like an endless downpour. I hurried my steps since I had no umbrella with me, and before long, I was already climbing the stairs towards my floor. I felt like using the elevator now after walking for so long would just ruin my momentum somehow... Well, I mean, I guess it was already ruined since I watched a movie with Nicole, but ehehe... Let's just consider that as another form of exercise since my heart wouldn't stop beating as I watched the film with her head on my shoulder.

When I finally got up to my floor, I realized a somewhat out of place figure standing in the middle of the hallway. It was a lady in black with long and untied black hair running on her back like some kind of waterfall that had escaped from the confines of the void. She was wearing a black leather jacket with some elegant gold metal chains around the shoulder area, shining so brilliantly that I could have sworn it was commissioned by the gods to make the other mortals know that she was their favorite. Beneath her luxurious-looking leather jacket is a black turtleneck that tightly highlighted her body, showcasing the roundness of her bosom, She paired this with a long, black skirt that stopped a few inches below her knees. Still, I noticed that the material used in her skirt was a tad bit translucent, making me see a peek of her delightfully pale and thick legs as well as her black velvet boots that stretched upward towards the area above her knees. From a distance, I could also vaguely see that she's wearing a pair of sunglasses.

Since she's standing at the very edge of the floor, I know which room exactly she's facing right now. I gulped as I walked towards her, and as I came towards her, I observed that she's not at all a stranger—I know this lady; I know her more than I had wanted to. She must have noticed that I was walking towards her because she slowly turned her body to my direction, revealing her heart-shaped sunglasses.

"What are you doing here, Veronica?" I uttered as I stood in front of her with my arms crossed.

She just looked at me through her sunglasses while chewing what seemed like bubblegum.

"Visiting." She said with her usual robust and unusually deep voice with her arms around her waist. "Aren't you going in?"

"Do I have to let you in?" I said while looking at her closed lips as she slowly chewed the bubblegum playing inside of her mouth. That was when I noticed the black lipstick around her lips.

"Depends on you." I then saw her slowly gulp the bubblegum inside of her mouth as she revealed a cheeky grin. "It's your room." She said while jerking her head towards my door.

I then shook my head as I swiftly opened my room. I let it open, signaling Veronica that I am allowing her to enter. I then opened my window, allowing the evening breeze to come through and freeze the damp air of my room.

"Not as messy as I hear. Not bad." I heard Veronica saying behind me as she closed the door.

"Did you lock it?" I said as I tried to see if there's anything I can offer in my cupboard.

"Of course," Veronica uttered as if it was the obvious thing to do. "I am no barbarian."

I looked at her with a condescendingly pointed gaze. I purposely didn't open the lights, hoping that it might be enough for her to trip since I know that she wouldn't be taking those boots off.

While I had those thoughts in mind, I saw the tea that Aunt Gela gave me, so I heated up some water and served the tea to Veronica. I saw that she had already taken the liberty to sit on a chair near my bed with her hands resting on the table. That was when I noticed that her nails have also been painted black.

"We only have tea. Don't like it, don't drink it." I said while putting the teacups on the table in a rather rude way, making some of the tea spills on the table.

Veronica saw this with a dumbfounded look on her face before chuckling. She then took the tea and sipped it, leaving a black kiss mark on the area where her lips had just touched. "How did you know that I like tea?"

"I don't." I then sat on a much shittier chair in front of her and sipped the tea. It's still just as good as I remembered before gazing at Veronica's countenance, which was now taking her glasses off. "You look awfully black."

Veronica then looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze. "That sounds awfully racist." She said, still with a slight smile plastered on her face, but I could see a hint of animosity on her gaze.

I scoffed as I looked away from her. "I don't care." I then took another sip of my tea, which gave me more courage somehow. "So how can I help you, Veronica?"

"I came here to welcome you to my family," Veronica said as she placed her right hand on her chest. "The Plural Heights family."

"Well, you already did what you wanna do. You can get out of here once you finish that cup." I said before yawning loudly, not caring about her presence at all.

"What's the rush, my new son?" Veronica uttered with a broad grin on her face as if she was saying those words to mock me. She then looked at the area beside the bed, and because of a square-shaped dust mark around that area, one could quickly determine that something must have been removed from that place, although it was already sitting at that spot for a long time. "So, I see that you removed your air-conditioner."

"What?" I said with a raised eyebrow, not knowing what she's talking about.

"That." She said while pointing at the square-shaped dust mark on the floor. "That must have been where your air-conditioner once stood."

"Not working anymore, so I junked it," I said, still not wanting her to see that I can be lured by her psycho mumbo-jumbo again.

"I see." She said while nodding with a smile that seemed to have indicated that she knows everything, and I mean, everything. "Do you know why I am so adamant at recruiting you to my humble group of soul-enthusiasts, my dear son?"

I scoffed after hearing her say that incest-sounding kink bullshit again. Nonetheless, I didn't want to prolong this conversation anymore, so I just said a word as a response, "Why?"

"Because I need men like you. Strong-willed men. The kind of people that wouldn't bow in the presence of authority, no matter how high that hurdle might be. I need a person who could manage to break through any sort of powers that would wish to muddle their head with brain damage." She then stopped to give herself some time to cross her legs, pointing the tip of her left boot at me. "I came here because I know that you are one such person."

Eh?

Weird ass bitch.

"So you need broken people? Losers? What? You go all over the country to recruit misfits?" I said with such an unrefined tone that one could only perceive as pure mockery.

However, this didn't faze Veronica.

She shook her head with the usual cheeky smile that she always has. "Leaders." She utters, reverberating throughout the atmosphere as the thunder suddenly roared down from the murky skies. "What I need are leaders like you."

And as I gazed at Veronica's bright expression with her hands extended towards me, the rain suddenly fell, filling the air with an unbearable coldness that filled me with nothing but sheer terror. Nonetheless, the dark lady in front of me is, ironically, the only thing that shines amid my darkened room.