The Abandoned and Terminally Ill Lady Married a Monster - Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

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I peeked at the boy. His eyes were puffy from crying, but I still had to offer him hospitality.

‘I have no idea who he is, though.’

“Do you live here alone?” he asked, referring to the house.

I was indeed the only resident of this particular building, though there were others on the grounds. I nodded glumly.

“Then… could you not tell anyone you saw me today?” This was the first thing he said after we’d both calmed down from our crying spell. Not an introduction, but a desperate plea for secrecy.

“Why?”

“Well, um… I ran away from home, and I’ll get in trouble if they find out.”

“You ran away from home?”

“Uh… yeah.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say to that. After all, I was practically in the same boat. I felt a pang of sympathy for him.

I offered him the single chair in the room and carefully took out a teacup. It was one the maids had left behind, declaring that even someone disliked as I should know how to make my own tea.

‘I never thought I’d use this again.’

After the first time I made tea for myself, the loneliness of this place had hit me so hard I hadn’t bothered since.

I started to wipe the dust off the cup with a cloth.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to… be hospitable.”

‘Oh dear. Is it this obvious that I’ve never had a guest before?’

I cowered, suddenly self-conscious.

“With a dusty cup like that?”

“It’s the only one I have…”

The boy’s fair eyebrows rose and fell. “Forget it. Just sit down. You don’t have to do anything for me. I barged in here.”

He’d offered me a seat, but unfortunately, there wasn’t one for me. Just the single chair. Everything here was solely for my use, so there were no extras. I stood awkwardly, still holding the teacup.

“It’s good to drink tea after crying,” I said.

I’d read it in a book: replenish your fluids after crying so you don’t faint or feel unwell. But my words seemed to irritate the boy.

“Who said I was crying?!”

He was clearly embarrassed about crying in front of a stranger. He looked thin and small, making it hard to guess his age, but he seemed older than Lane. My parents always said that people my age shouldn’t cry, so I understood his embarrassment. I glanced at him; his ears were red, despite his bluster.

Normally, I would have let it go, but after our shared crying session, I felt strangely emboldened. I mumbled, “You were. We were crying together.”

His eyes were still puffy, too.

Despite my quiet tone, he heard me perfectly. He crossed his arms, clearly annoyed. “I wasn’t crying.”

“Your eyes are still red.”

“That’s because I scratched them on a thorn while coming through that… dog hole.”

“There are tear tracks on your face, too.”

“That’s…” He trailed off, seemingly unable to come up with another excuse. I timidly glanced at him.

“Anyway, I wasn’t crying.”

“Really?” He insisted he hadn’t been crying. I giggled, finding his stubbornness amusing.

‘Wait a minute. I’m having a conversation with someone. How long has it been?’

“Why are you laughing like an idiot? Do you like fighting?” the boy asked, his voice laced with wounded pride. Worried I’d offended him, I blurted out, “No! I’m just… I’m having fun because this is the first time I’ve talked to anyone in ages!”

“What?”

I didn’t even notice his bewildered expression.

‘Maybe I could be friends with this boy. He doesn’t know I’m powerless.’

‘I can hide that.’

Besides, he’d said he ran away from home, too. A feeling of camaraderie washed over me. Was that why I felt so comfortable with him?

‘Maybe we could be good friends. We have so much in common!’

‘Oh my goodness. Did the gods give me a friend as a birthday present?’

“I like you. I think you’re kind of nice. Let’s be friends.”

“What? You can’t just say things like that so easily…” he muttered, his face flushing.

‘Oh no. I wanted to be friends, but I think I messed it up.’

I backtracked quickly, anxiously watching his face. He didn’t seem truly angry, thankfully.

“Should I not have said that? …Do you not like me? I, I’ll take it back.”

“Who said you should take it back?” he retorted, rolling his eyes.

‘So… does that mean it’s okay?’

“So… is it okay?”

“…Whatever.”

“So… are we friends?” I waited excitedly for his agreement, for him to tell me his name. Just then, I heard faint voices from outside.

“She’s so stupid, she didn’t even get any presents.”

“That’s right. It’s only natural.”

It was the twins. They only ever came here to taunt me. Now, footsteps accompanied their voices. They were definitely coming here.

‘What do I do?’

I frantically searched for a place to hide the boy, my body stiffening with panic. I looked back and forth between him and the door.

‘There’s nowhere to hide him. How, how can I…?’

The door burst open.

“Hey,” Lane called, entering the room. I froze, staring at Lane and Lizzy. Their sharp gazes pierced me, their upturned eyes making them look even more menacing.