Macau
1050 Words
My eyes fluttered open. It was dark, with small streaks of light reflected from the illumination outside. My brows furrowed as I watched the sky through the slowly moving drapes. It was completely dark and probably around midnight.
I could vividly remember Florian tucking me in, his hand holding mine till I fell asleep. I turned. He wasn't in the room anymore.
I bit down on my lips, then slowly leaned up, the sheets falling off my body. I was now wrapped in a robe, my chest heaving as I tried to take in the room. It was dark, and I moved, pushing the sheets away from me.
My feet touched the cold mahogany floor, and I navigated my way to the door. The house was quiet, and I slowly walked downstairs. The house was fairly dark, and I wasn't even sure where I was going, but I just felt like I needed to go somewhere.
The living room was quiet too, and I slowly walked towards the open kitchen. I stopped, my eyes slightly widening.
Florian was in the kitchen, bent over the work table. He had blood all over the counter, and he seemed rather immobile.
"Florian?" My voice was low from fear, and I loved forward, my chest heaving. "Florian!"
He suddenly straightened, and his hand immediately went behind him, his eyes wide.
"You are awake."
"You... you are... there is blood... Florian. There is blood..."
"Hey," he said, immediately grabbing a kitchen towel to clean up the mess. "I was just trying to cup up something and..."
"Cut up what?" I asked, my voice shaky. I looked back to the counter, and sure enough, there was a large uncut piece of beef on the counter. He seemed to have started cutting it, however.
"I was trying to make dinner."
"It is midnight."
He nodded. "You didn't have anything to eat and..."
"Florian.."
"Stop, Rox. Just go up and rest, and I will take care of everything here. You will be fine. I am fine."
"Let me see your hand."
"No," he said, his voice firm, his tone final. "I am fine."
Something about him told me this was more than just a cut, and I wondered if he was hiding it from me because he didn't want me to worry or because he was hiding something else.
I blinked, then took a step back, my chest heaving. "I... I am sorry, I just..."
He smiled, then slowly covered the distance to me. He kissed my forehead and my cheek, then looked up to me again, his eyes slowly darting across both of mine.
"I am sorry, okay? You don't need to worry about anything."
I nodded slowly, feeling a bit calmer now. "How about letting me cook, then?"
He looked a little sceptical. "I don't believe I am that injured."
"I kmow, but just let me, will you? Please?"
He looked between me and the uncut meat, then slowly nodded. "My shirt is a little stained. Can I go change it and come back?"
I nodded, and he immediately walked away, leaving me standing close to the kitchen work table. I waited till he left, my eyes watching his broad back as he walked away.
Slowly, I walked closer to the steak, just as my eyes caught his phone. It was lit up, probably with a message, and I slowly walked to it, my brows furrowed. It went off before I could see it, and I started to walk away when it lit up again.
I turned to it, a message pop up on the screen against the background of his tattoo of my name.
"We have checked his whereabouts," the message said. "He will be going to Macau using the earliest flight on Thursday. Do you want a private plane adjusted to your schedule for..."
The rest was hidden, and I swallowed, my brows furrowing. Who was going to Macau, and why would Florian want to know to the extent of him checking his whereabouts through what seemed to be a means that excluded the other person's knowledge?
Why would he want a private plane to take him to what I presumed to be Macau because this person would be there?
I swallowed hard, then carried the phone and started to open it. It opened, and I pulled up the notifications and was about to read the message when I heard footsteps coming downstairs.
I immediately froze, then started to put the phone back. Once I turned, however, Florian was right behind me, his eyes holding mine, his face expressionless.
I gave a small yelp, causing the phone to fall to the floor in a clatter, my chest heaving.
He didn't say word, his eyes taking me in. I looked up, my hand coming to my chest, my body still trembling from the jumpscare.
"This is weird."
I bit down on my lips. "I was just... there was a message on your phone and..."
"Is it about my trip to Macau?"
My brows furrowed. Okay. He probably already had a trip there, but why was he asking about someone else?
"Y... yes. I... I guess."
He smiled gently, caressing my cheek. "Why do you look so scared?"
I shrugged. "I just... wasn't expecting you here. I was..."
"On my phone?" He smiled, then slowly bent to pick it up. "You can have my phone anytime, sweetheart."
I nodded, then slowly walked back to the meat. My eyes met his as I grabbed the knife, and I slowly bit down on my lips, my chest heaving.
"Can I... ask you something?"
He looked up to me from his phone. "Yes?"
"You are going on a trip to Macau?"
"Yes. I have to oversee a few businesses over there."
I nodded again. "Apart from that... is there anything else that you would be going there for?"
He shrugged. "I am assuming you read the text about the whereabouts?"
I bit down on my lips. "I was just... well, I was wondering why you would want to find out the whereabouts of..."
"It is Ronan," he said suddenly, leaning back, his eyes holding mine. "He plans to flee the coubtry after what happened to Damien."
"What?"
"Exactly," he said, his voice low. "He plans to go to Macau."
- Writer
