Apprentices: New Moon

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“I’m in front of the gate,” Cyrus finally tells us a little past midnight. I breathe out in relief, but I don’t seem to be the only one, who’s relieved about it. Everyone is feeling better now that he’s back.

He’s the only member of the Elite, who’s gone out in the first round. The other four all stayed behind and were meant to change this shift, when it came back. It’s a good thing no one will have to do that at all now.

I head straight to the garage, with Bubba trailing behind me on the leash, leaving my phone right there on the desk and not giving a damn about it. I open the door, waiting to see the car drive back in.

Soon enough, the lights appear in the darkness, shining through the trees of the woods, and I realize that I’m holding my breath in anticipation. The Hummer soon drives towards me and I step away to give him space to park the car.

Once he turns it off, he doesn’t come out for a few moments. I stand there, wanting to give him space, while at the same time wanting to pull him out of that damn car. But I don’t. I patiently wait for him to finally open the door, then slowly climb out.

Only then, I rush over to his side and throw myself into his embrace. He hugs me so tightly, that I can barely breathe, but I couldn’t care less about it right now. He’s back here with me. He’s home.

In that moment, my cat meow beneath my feet, making Cyrus pull away a little, so he can look down. He smiles, but it’s not a proper smile. Not one of those that I’ve gotten used to. “Hey, girl, I’m glad to see you, too,” he tells her, then lowers his hand down.

My cat does something that she’s never done before, making my eyes feel like they’re going to bulge out. She stands up on her back paws, leaning her front ones onto Cyrus’s leg. Then, she rubs her head against his fingers, and purrs loudly.

He’s still holding one arm around me, and I’m still hugging him back. So, when my needy cat has enough, he straightens up again, then looks at me with a completely broken gaze. I don’t say anything. I simply cup his face and softly run my fingers up and down his cheeks.

“Don’t say anything,” I whisper, then slowly lean in. Our lips meet almost hesitantly, like we’re both afraid to touch each other. Like we’re both afraid we’re going to ruin something by only touching it.

As we pull apart, Cyrus lets out a long breath. “I suppose everyone’s waiting for me,” he sighs. I nod in confirmation, almost finding it surprising that no one came to look for us yet. At least they’re discreet and letting us have a moment, before we stride in there.

Once we do, we go hand in hand, and I feel much calmer now that we’re finally together again. Everyone surrounds us, almost trying to console Cyrus for how badly this mission went. But I know that he doesn’t want to talk about it. In fact, I have a feeling that it’s the last thing he wants to hear about right now.

“It’s been a long couple of days, you really need to get some rest,” I tell him in front of everyone, using a gentle tone that makes everyone empathize with him. Before I know it, they’re all backing off and telling Cyrus to finally get some sleep.

We say our goodbyes, then walk out of the Headquarters, in hopes that the other teams are going to make it back safely. We progress slowly and quietly, not even sharing three words as we head towards his office.

My cat walks beside us happily, seeming like a completely different pet, compared to the one that I spent the last two days with. She’s just as happy as me, about Cyrus returning to us, safe and sound.

Once I unlock the door and we enter the office, it’s like all masks fall. My boyfriend walks towards his desk and leans his hands onto the surface, shutting his eyes close. I don’t approach him immediately, because I’m busy with locking the door, then getting my impatient cat off her leash and everything.

But by the time I get to him, I realize that this hit him really badly. He’s still keeping his eyes closed, trying his best to calm himself down, but he’s breathing so heavily, like he just ran up three sets of stairs.

“Cyrus, please don’t blame yourself. You were only trying to do the right thing,” I murmur, placing my hand on his shoulder. He stiffens as he feels my touch, then continues breathing at the same rate as earlier.

He shakes his head. “No matter what I do, someone ends up hurt. I can take it anymore,” he admits, his voice so quiet it’s barely audible. I have to listen really hard to hear what he’s saying.

I run my hand up and down his back, knowing that I have to make him snap out of this. But not in a dismissive way. “You can’t control that. There are so many things, wrapped up into this mess, that you can’t predict the outcome. No matter what. Sooner or later, someone would wind up hurt,” I try to calm him down. “That’s exactly why I need to find a way to destroy soulthieves. It’s our only chance,” I then add.

My words make him freeze. His eyes bolt open, then, he slowly turns his head towards me. “You don’t know what you’re saying. I’ve told you. It’s impossible,” he tells me, but I shake my head immediately.

“Not if I continue where Amelia left off,” I suggest, making his eyes widen.