Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Even then, Bella jumped towards the mirror and gave herself a look. She decided that she shouldn't have done that because she now realized how horrible she looked. Her hair was a mess from a whole night of being rubbed all over the bed and although her eyes weren't baggy, her left eye had become red for some reason.

'It's not even itching, so why the hell did it become red?' Bella wanted to curse, as she heard the footsteps coming closer.

Quickly, she grabbed a lodestone and conjured a stream of water to straighten up her hair and before she was about to wipe her hair with a towel, she gave herself a sniff. She didn't really smell anything, though she still decided to play it safe and ran to the bathroom. 

She threw all her clothes onto the floor, went in the tub and just gave herself a quick shower. It wouldn't really clean her completely, but it would have to do. She then hurriedly wiped her body with the towel and put on her clothes.

She then heard Evin knocking on her door. 

'I can't believe I made it!' she wanted to exclaim.

She then tip-toed next to her bed and made some noise on the bed to indicate she was on it. Then, as Evin knocked once more, she groaned audibly and walked to the door with deliberate footsteps. She didn't know why she was doing this.

Right before the door, she breathed out softly to clear her mind and opened it.

Evin was standing there, an awkward expression on his face. He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday and his eyebags looked a notch darker compared to yesterday. He smelled slightly of sweat, but Bella didn't dislike that smell. 

'Did he not sleep as well?' Bella found herself thinking. The thought made her oddly happy for whatever reason and Bella had to force down her urge to kiss him. They were still technically fighting, after all.

"Uh, good morning," Evin greeted, his voice cracking slightly.

'So stiff… and why does he sound so guilty?' Bella found herself thinking. 

"Hello?" she replied. "I thought you were going to your mother… Uh, did you… decide not to go?" 

She planned to ask him outright, but of course, she failed hallway through. How was one supposed to ask something like that in the first place? And shouldn't she be allowed some time to prepare herself?

But Evin quickly reassured her about his intentions. "I'm still going to meet my mother," he said, frantically waving his arms in front of himself.

"Oh," Bella replied, feeling slightly disappointed. "Well, I hope you travel safely."

She considered flipping out again, but decided against it. She was too happy to be angry again, even though she really wanted to spend the day with him. She was even preparing herself mentally for that too.

"Before I leave, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Evin quickly added.

"For what?"

"Uh, for always wanting to… you know, uh, push our relationship further?"

Bella immediately realized what she was talking about. Her cheeks felt hot, but through willpower, she managed to keep her face level. For whatever reason, her urge to kiss him was flaring up again.

"It's okay. I was also wrong. For saying those things to you. About your mother as well…"

"No-no," Evin started waving around his hands again. "I never knew that it was so complicated for you. I mean, I knew about it a little, but I never really knew the details about it, you know? So I just wanted to tell you that I'll never force you to do anything. I've just been thinking about things after I left yesterday."

Evin was speaking very quickly compared to normal. He seemed to notice it and slowed down. "I still like you a lot you know? And I just wanted to make that clear before I left."

'So he's still going to leave,' Bella thought once more. 'Well, of course, he's going to leave…'

Evin was too nice in Bella's opinion. Sure, he could be ruthless and annoying sometimes, but for things that mattered to him, he was too sincere. He was the type that would never break a promise to his close ones. Of course, his mother fell into that category, so Evin would definitely be with her. 

'Stop complaining,' Bella reprimanded herself. 'You fall into that category as well, so stop acting like a spoiled child. Isn't that why you like him so much in the first place?'

"I'm not really mad anymore," Bella said with a sigh. "And I told you, I was in the wrong as well…"

Evin didn't look very convinced, with how he was looking at her. A brief glint of determination flashed through his eyes, before he walked closer to her. Bella's heart skipped a beat as his hands grabbed hers. 

"Are you really alright?" he asked.

At this point, Bella couldn't take it anymore. She pulled Evin into a hug and sealed his lips with hers. She pulled him into her room and closed the door behind her. Usually, it was Evin who was proactive in the relationship, so he looked quite shocked.

They fell to the ground then and there, locked in each other's embrace. As Bella was passionately kissing Evin, a sense of euphoria came over her mind, as she felt indescribably happy. 

Only when her heart felt satisfied, she could let him go. He looked back at her, a smitten expression on his face. Bella grinned in what she could imagined as a maniac way, and kissed him again. 

She felt like she'd allow him anything at that moment, but she also felt like she wouldn't be able to let him go after that. 

But eventually, they broke off each other. 

"You can go to your mother now," Bella spoke. "You can also do it every week like you promised her and I won't complain, but you have to do this to me every morning you have to leave me behind… You have to do the same when you come back too."

She couldn't believe she said that with a straight face.

Evin looked at her in a stupefied way, before nodding and getting up to his feet. He went to the window and flew away.

"He didn't even say anything…" Bella sighed out as she saw his figure turning smaller and smaller.

She wasn't that disappointed. It felt like an Evin thing to do.

But just as he disappeared out of her sight, a dreadful feeling came over her heart. Her lavish room looked awfully wide with only her inside it and she suddenly found herself with nothing to do. The sudden emptiness felt terribly oppressive to her. How was she even going to survive the day now?

'Maybe I shouldn't have told Evin to do that, if I was going to feel like this every time he leaves me...'

*****