Chapter 11: Eren Decker

Two hours. Two long hours it took to torture and kill the other six, by then, the blood on me had long since dried and left every exposed skin on my body with a deep red tint. It was 8:30 in the morning when I started to feel my energy slowly dwindling along with my patience. I growled low in annoyance as I walked towards their leader, he looked paler with shock and fear in his eyes.

He was strangely quiet throughout the whole ordeal but I could tell his resolve was decreasing steadily. He looked so spent, so broken, I dared say, felt a little pity for him. He was tired, we all were and desperately wanted to get this over with. I let my emotional side take over for a couple of seconds as I spoke to him calmly,

"Make this easier for all of us and answer our questions willingly, there is nothing for you to fear once you're out. I'll make sure of that." Both him and Thorn turned to stare at me, their eyes wide with shock. The man's eyes shone softly with a last glimmer of hope for his survival. I ignored Thorn as I approached the leader and pulled a nearby chair to face him.

He eyed me warily before sighing in defeat and finally relaxing into his seat. I smiled at him warmly and pulled my hair to block my left eye completely, changing my aura to one I use for my classroom. He was suspicious of the change in my behaviour, but he didn't dwell on it as he focused intently on my voice as I spoke

"Would you happen to have a name, honey?" I asked, adding the cute nickname to ease him a bit. He held his breath after I called him 'honey' and I heard Thorn growl so softly it was barely audible. The man continued to stare at me for a few moments and nodded shortly after,

"Eren. . ." He paused, glancing at me, his voice low and a bit hoarse, "Eren Decker"

I smiled again, delighted he actually said it. For some reason I felt his name and face would be important later so I kept it in my memory. I noticed his body was letting loose and he seemed to be comfortable in my presence already. That's good, it'll help it go along much smoother.

"Alright Eren, I'm Esphera and the dumbass behind me is Thorn, there will be no harm done to you as long as you cooperate and answer a couple of questions. Not so hard, now is it?" I kept my tone light, as if we were old friends. He nodded, little sign of stress showing on his face. Thorn moved forward a bit, but I stopped him before he came any further with a small hand signature.

"If I may ask, where did you meet such low lives like them?" I asked, gesturing at the small pile of bodies.

"I bumped into them not too long ago, it was right before the shooting at that school in the middle of the city. I was on my way to that school when I was stopped by a group of them offering me a spot in their clan. Well. . .they weren't necessarily asking, more like threatening. The only reason I was chosen as the leader was as a scapegoat, they thought I would be the one getting tortured and not them. I am more than happy to give you all the information I have on them, just please. . .let me go, I don't want to worry my. . .family."

His tone was sincere and filled with sadness and bitterness, namely for his Clan. What did leave me in shock was the fact that he wasn't scared of me anymore. There was no slight tremor in his voice, all his tense muscles were loose. He was talking to me with such comfort, it was astonishing. Suddenly, I didn't see him as a member of a rival clan, I saw him as Eren Decker the young man looking for an escape. Which I was certainly going to give.

I don't know why I was so trusting. First it was allowing Thorn do whatever he wanted around me and even with Boss Suwa. Now him, someone whom I only know their name, I was going to allow him to live and risk my life in the process. The chances of him just manipulating me is stupidly high, so much so, I want to slap myself. Maybe the only reason I'm not killing him now, is the fact that if he is fooling me, he'll suffer a worse death than his buddies.

I stared at him for a while, trying to find any hint of deceit in his expression. Finding none, I smiled again and nodded to myself.

"Well, it seems like you're telling the truth. You keep true to your word and I'll keep true to mine. Now tell me everything you know about that Clan." I rested my head on my palm as I listened to him talk, holding on to every word that came from his mouth. I was impressed with how he explained everything fluently and efficiently. He kept constant eye contact with me while keeping his voice leveled, and ridiculously calm.

It was 9:23 in the morning when he concluded everything neatly. The shear amount of information he got just by being around them was. . .almost impossible. He has got to be the most observant person I have ever seen, it was almost creepy. I glanced around me to find Thorn on the ground dying of boredom, I laughed lightly before getting up. I walked over to him and knelt down in front of him, he turned his head towards me weakly.

"Help, Rose, I'm dying. Make a cool funeral for me, not borin'. Tell Margaret I love her. . ." He groaned, then limped his head to the side. I rolled my eyes at the spectacle.

"Eren." I called to the man behind me, "Bring me a knife, there's a dead animal here needing skinning."

"I'm up! I'm up, damn woman, calm yerself!" He yelled, sitting up immediately. I heared Eren laugh with me somewhere in the room. Thorn, like the petty man-child he is, pulled me down and I fell onto his lap as he held down me tightly. I have no idea why I wasn't embarrassed by this, I guess I just didn't mind it.

"You smell like blood, ya brute. It's on yer hair too, want me to help ya wash when we get home?" He laughed, I could practically hear his grin. I sighed deeply before my lips curved into their own smile. This guy is something else, I swear.

"Yeah no, I would much rather you be ten feet away from me as I shower. Now get off me so I can help him, then we can go home." He growled low in his throat, but reluctantly let me go. I stood up and adjusted me attire before motioning Eren to follow me. I walked to the padded door, opening it to find, much to my surprise, half of the goddamn Clan in the hallway.

we stared at each other for a couple of seconds, when the silence was disturbed by movement in the crowd. In no time at all, Sarah managed to separate herself from the group to stand in front of me. She looked at my body, I was well prepared for her to look disgusted, but again to my surprise, she smiled with pride and happiness. A split second later half the Clan was on top of me, hugging and laughing. Something I thought only my father's family did with me. It felt nice.

The feeling didn't last long as it was soon replaced with anxiety, I had a difficult time breathing as I felt like I was being crushed. Thorn appeared to have sensed my distress since he was by my side in a second, both his hands on my shoulders, squeezing them reassuringly. I gave him a thankful smile as he made the crowd stand back. I've got to say, he might be annoying at times, but God is he a wonderful friend. Sarah stood in front of me again, practically jumping with happiness as she explained,

"Esphera! Oh my God! We're so proud of you! We were worried you might not like having blood on your hands, but it's obvious that you're more than fine with it. Congratulations, Es, you are officially a member of Moon Clan!" She bellowed, raising her arms into the air. The Clan clapped and cheered, full of acceptance. I think I'll get used to them rather quickly.

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(2 hours later)

That took a whole lot longer than I wanted it to take. It was rather easy to convince Boss Suwa to let Eren go, actually he didn't even argue, he even offered him a spot in the Clan! I was moved by his trust in me, but it also gave me a bit of fear. I really didn't want to break his trust, he's already managed to find a place in my heart for him, he was surprisingly endearing.

What took too long was getting the Clan off my back. They were clingy as all hell, even more than my father's family, which I have never thought it possible. Finally I was able to get Eren to his house which is surprisingly right next to my cousin Christine's house. Her house is a block away from my apartment so I guess I'll be seeing him around a lot. We installed cameras around his house, just to warn us if there was any suspicious activity anywhere near him.

Now the final stop, my home. I was so overrun with relief that I almost sobbed. I was tired, sticky from the dried blood, and just wanted to be anti social for a day or two. Right as I entered, I went straight for the shower and didn't come out for an hour. That was literally just to take off the blood from my body and to refresh my self, that's how long it took. I am never doing that again. . .I'm probably going to be covered in blood within the month, but let me live my moment.

I stepped out and found Thorn waiting for me right outside the door, he looked to be deep in thought but also alert to when I'd be out. He noticed me and stood up, standing directly in front of me. He didn't say anything just stare at me, his hand slowly lifted and he caressed my face with his hands. I couldn't understand what he was doing, he lowered his head until I could feel his warm breath on my face. That was when he turned his head to whisper in my ear,

"Rose, I promise you, I will never let anybody hurt you, I will be here to protect you. Trust in me, and you'll never hurt again." He said, surprising me when he spoke more fluently. My heart fluttered slightly when he said those words. I wanted to believe him, but that was impossible, one way or another, I would always get hurt by someone, wether they know it or not.

My throat was tight and I couldn't speak so I just nodded and leaned my forehead on his shoulder. He led me to the bed and layer me down, his arm was round my waist and he held me for a while. Finally I managed to ask something that's been on my mind for a while,

"Thorn, why were you so filled with rage when you killed the guy?" He stayed quiet for a couple of seconds before responding.

"Like I've said before, you're mine, I won't let anyone insult you, cause then, they would be insulting me." I laughed lightly at his response, I should correct him by saying I'm not owned by anyone, but right now I barely cared. He tightened his grip around my waist as I snuggled closer.

He was very warm, like a giant pillow, he's definitely one of my most over protective friends I've had. The way he looks at me though, it confuses me, why is it different? I might just be paranoid, I've never had any friends apart from my family, so I guess it's normal. Yeah, he's just looking at me with respect and friendship, that's all.

My mind was slowly getting dulled by the rhythmic pound of his heart, his breathing. The sounds and his warmth wrapped around me and stayed with me even in my dreams. . .for the first time, I felt something I've never felt before. It was new, it was exciting, it was scary, but what was it? Whatever it is, I don't think I want to find out, I have a feeling it'll just drag me down or hurt me even more.