Wild Bonds

Who's there?

" Hey, you hungry?" Jinx raised her brows to ask before Iris could press any further, leaving the latter batting her eyelids severally in confusion.

" Uh... yes?" After a short lost while in daze, Iris answered with a slow nod of her head. Though still unsure as to why she had a feeling that something was off about her best friend with the way she acted just now, Iris didn't linger too much on the matter.

She shot a glance towards the kitchen in the side instead and suggested, " We could just place an order for Pizza." Iris was famished after all that running through the rain, and she knew that Jinx must be the same.

Since Jinx always did the cooking, Iris felt for her and couldn't bring herself to make her go through the stress. Not after what they'd been through tonight.

However, Jinx just stared at her with an incredulous expression for a long while. She eventually pointed up seeing how clueless Iris was," It's raining?"

Jinx couldn't help but throw her hands up, shaking her head at Iris disappointedly.

The latter could only express an "oh" face in response, her face full of innocence and charming naivety.

Jinx didn't linger around, however. She left Iris in her dumbfounded state and calmly sauntered behind the small kitchen island. She was used to Iris's clueless nature.

The open-kitchen was relatively small and compact. It seemed a bit messy, as the sink was full of pots and dishes left undone. Jinx didn't seem bothered by the sight of this as she just moved to the small refrigerator in the side.

' We still have some beef left, but what to make with it?' Jinx muttered to herself while checking in the refrigerator.

" Homemade tacos?" She said out loud seeing the buns and cheese. Jinx planned to improvise.

" Hah! Whatever..." Iris sighed in defeat, having not the option to decline. "Honestly, I hate this job. Can't we just get a better one?" Iris slumped in the sofa and complained. They were always home late and empty every other night.

Hearing this, Jinx paused on her reach to grab a fry pan in the top cabinet and turned to stare intently at Iris for a second, " You mean a job offer we get to take the night off when it's another full moon? I doubt it." She didn't pester on and just continued to grab the fry pan to start making tacos. She grabbed a board and a knife on her way to the stove.

Working at a nightclub isn't an ideal job. That too serving rounds at tables and bartending. The only boon was the free drinks and tips. There wasn't really any time to eat or relax on the job. And Iris was always tired after having had to work every other shift.

It isn't that Jinx didn't know this. No! She knew this all too well.. And It's not like she was fine with it regardless. It's just that they didn't have a choice!

' If only you knew just what it had cost to get that job...' She thought to herself with a frown, just dicing the onions on the wooden board first while anxiously trying to appear busy and not wanting to think of what she's had to do in the past.

The truth is, Jinx and Iris had nowhere to go when they had first arrived in Paxton's heights after having eloped their hometown. They needed a place to stay back then, and a job to sustain themselves. And in that circumstance, Jinx has had to make a certain sacrifice that her friend had not the slightest knowing of.

Her heart weighed at the thought that she had yet another secret that she kept away from Iris...

Overwhelmed by guilt, Jinx paused on what she was doing for a second. She glanced up with a heavy expression on her dimly outlined face at Iris who slumped in the sofa with her back to her. Despite all the grumbling, the latter still seemed detached from every concern.

Not a sole care in the world given. Not a single burden on her soul.

' How nice it must feel to be her right now... Is it really okay for her to trust her back to me like this...?' Jinx hung her head and shoulders at this thought, feeling perplexed inside as she stared blankly at the board before her with smooth dices of onions spread across.

Without even realizing it, she became remorseful.

Every of her being was drenched in sorrow as she suffered conflicting thoughts.

It wasn't after a while that Jinx finally managed to shake herself out of her remorseful daze and said," You know we should be thankful, Iris. I never thought we'd live to make it this far," her voice was wistful and in resonance with the wry smile on her face.

It was obvious she was giving herself false hope that it was only for the best that she kept these secrets from Iris.

Iris sighed hearing Jinx and looked up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in a reminiscent moment of loss.

Ever since she and Jinx had ran away from their hometown, she'd had to bear a lot. But she was truly fine with everything so long as they were together. Despite the fact that she still wouldn't stop complaining about the job they had.

If only Iris knew that at this point, Jinx was starting to wonder if that was all that really mattered? Whether she wasn't becoming someone entirely different from whom Iris knew her to be and saw her as?

Jinx was afraid, scared of her own truth...

What would Iris think of her once she finds out? What would become of their friendship?

' Hah!... It doesn't matter, so long as I can find a way to face my truth. She never has to find out' Jinx heaved a deep sigh a while later, giving a thought to the option of returning back to their hometown while she moved the onions aside and sliced the tomatoes with the sharp edge of the kitchen knife on the board.

All that remained afterwards was a soft thud every now and then, which resounded in a legato chop.

Suddenly, A bright flash of lightning struck. And the bright lightings in the room rescinded, leaving everything in darkness in the wake of a power outage.

But just as they were left confused in the sudden darkness, a knock was heard!

Knock! Knock!

However, the two golden-ringed eyes that shimmered and quivered in the darkness of the room weren't focused in the direction of the door!

Rather, they were focused at the balcony!