A new morning, the sun was shining bright and clear, the air is crisp and cold as we laid under the blankets, completely nude. Enjoying the warmth of the bed sheets, feeling the heat from the fire, snuggled together tightly while sleeping peacefully.
After spending god knows how long, I felt that we are growing closer with each passing day. And now we are both naked, together in the same bed, sharing the same blanket.
“Good morning my love,” Eve opened her eyes, smiling widely as she kissed me on the cheek, “it feels great to wake up next to you, Adam.” She wrapped herself around me, cuddling onto the other side of our bed.
I cannot believe we are here, in this moment, in this exact spot. Having sex is one thing but being in this position is quite a different matter altogether. Aside from the fact that we are not fully clothed in the comfort of our house, there is a sense of intimacy in this room.
“It is time to start our day,” I said, kissing her forehead, “let’s first dress up before we head into the kitchen, Clover must be distraught about you,” I added.
She nodded, sitting up and getting out of the covers, “alright, you sleepyhead,” Eve giggled, walking towards the bathroom.As soon as the door shut, I stood up with my back, brushing off the sweat from my face, “what was I thinking, having sex again?” I quietly whispered under my breath.
Sex is interesting, humans have an instinct to mate, but there is a line between lust and love. Eve and I were in a loving, intimate, romantic relationship. Yet, it troubles me of why I indulge in this again? Is it because of the recent death of a close colleague and friend? Or perhaps it is because of a woman’s charm to entice men to sleep with them?
I got out of bed and pick my clothes as I wore them, “but nothing shakes the feeling of having to experience something more than that,” it is a fact that I am uncomfortable of being intimate with someone, even though I wholly trust Eve.
Still, it feels both comfortable and uncomfortable to talking or dwelling with this act. Perhaps because it reminded of someone I once knew, but still, it is nothing but pure pleasure for us, no regrets, no hesitation, no remorse. It is simply two bodies enjoying the company of one another, nothing more and nothing less than that.
“Get your head out of the gutter, Adam.” I told myself, shaking away the thoughts of those memories in an old flame. The last thing I wanted to conceive was Lilith of places. She is the thing that drove me crazy. A beautiful female demon under human skin.
Even mentioning her gives me chills down my spine.
“Adam?” The voice of Eve had unexpectedly caused me to jump a little before I spun in motion, seeing a concerned and dressed lover. Her eyes then widened, noticing the state of mine.
“Are you okay? You look pale, did you get sick or something?” Eve asked with concern about my predicament by looking at me with worry.
“No…it is fine…” I lied, trying to conceal the truth from her.
Eve walked closer to me, placing both of her hands on my cheeks, staring deeply in my eyes, “you do not look alright to me, Adam. Tell me the truth…please?” The emotion and care carried from her was touching, and yet, she was unable to read the mind of the man standing in front of her, so how could she understand the emotions of his heart and soul?
I sighed, knowing that there was no point in lying to her anymore, “Eve, it is because of Lilith. You know about her, right?” I said with a bit of frustration and sadness in my tone of voice.
Eve frowned and pulled back a step, “what about her?” She replied with confusion and anger, almost like a vengeful fury.
Kneeling down in shame, I spoke the deepest parts of my insecurities, “nearly everyday, every moment, I had to experience the trauma of what she did to me when I was child. Every time we were together, it felt like it happened again.
The only difference is, this time, it was not a dream or illusion, it was real. And now, it has become worse, it is getting stronger and it is becoming impossible for me to fight it off or even resist it!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, not caring if Clover and Skoll had heard me as tears began to form in the corners of my eyes, “Lilith was the one who took the innocence out of me. The one who made it so that I was never able to feel happiness or joy in this world! Even if I try to pretend and forget about it, I cannot stop thinking about her! I hate this feeling of secretly wanting to be with her.
It makes it harder and harder to stay away from her and the longer I am with her, the more it hurts and the more angry and resentful of everything, I-“
A warm embrace suddenly surrounded me, pulling me into the arms of Eve herself. Her soft touch was comforting, calming, and soothing. With each second that passed, the strength of the feelings within my body faded and the tension in my muscles relaxed. A deep sigh escaped from between my lips and a sense of relief washed over me.
“I know…I know. You told me before about her, remember that you can always rely on me, right?” Her words brought a smile to my face.
“Thank you.”
Her fingers stroked through my hair, combing them in gentle waves. They ran across my scalp and gently tugged on the strands, “so please, don’t think about her. Instead, think about me when you feel down,” she whispered, “and trust me, you will get through this, okay? I am here for you, no matter what happens, alright?”
She leaned in and kissed the tip of my fore head and then stood back, wiping the tear from the corner of my eye, “I will never let her touch you again, ever. Do you understand? Never, do you hear me? If Lilith tries to come back, then I will kill her myself.”Kill…her? As much Lilith deserves for whatever comes to her, this evil woman was still the only mother I had ever known. She nurtured me, and protected me from the outside world before she shown her true colors. And because of that, there is part of me that cannot bring myself to wish for anything bad to happen to her.
“Alright, Eve. You win, ” I chuckled through my sobbing state, “but before we head downstairs, please do not freak out, okay?” With a curious expression on her face, she nodded in my direction.
“Why would not I be freaking out, Adam?”
I sighed and wiped the rest of the tears from my cheeks, “because I brought Skoll,” mentioning his name, Eve gasp in shock, her eyes was swirling with dozens of hidden mixed emotions, and then, they slowly turned red in anger.
It is rather interesting and happy for me to finally see Eve experience more emotions out of her usual stoic personality; although, it was saddening to see the color of hate and rage in her beautiful blue eyes from telling her about Skoll. It is quite obvious that she is furious with me for bringing this person home with us, who also had tried to kill both of us before.
Eve was glaring at me with a fierce glare, but it was not directed towards me but the floor. She was clearly trying to suppress a substantial amount of emotions in the form of pure rage, but the hatred was still there.
“Listen Eve,” I began to explain with assurance, “he is not a threat, not anymore that is. I manage to persuade him, you see? His with us, not against us,” I said, hoping it would ease the tension in the air.”You are right that he isn’t a threat, he is a brute who tries to kill you!” she shouted, and even though it came from a soft voice, it still echoed in the room.
I was in disbelief, I had never seen her this angry in years. I am glad it is only once in a while but it was still scary when a person who I love and care about suddenly snaps on me.
“I know, but…”, but what? There is no point in explaining myself, since it is pointless in continuing this conversation. Even if I wanted to persuade with my skills, which I am still capable of, I won’t. Because she means the world to me.
“Alright, I know you are angry with him. Just give him a chance, like how I gave you one.” Then her expression softened, and she looked away from me, “Fine, but if he makes a single wrong move, I will kill him with no hesitation,” Eve’s serious and stoic expression returned to normal, but it wasn’t the same as before.
She is still wary of him, but it is much better than being outright hostile to him.
“Thank you, Eve, for giving him a second chance,” I smiled, and then took a deep breath, “but there is something else that is important to talk about after we gather everyone in the kitchen,” I paused for a moment, and then continued, “you might think it is strange but there are some things that need to be discussed with the entire group; this is one of them, so please come with me to the kitchen?”
With that, I opened the door, leaving Eve in her own thoughts as I head downstairs, expecting them to be still in the kitchen. And to my surprise, the person cooking was not Clover, but Skoll stirring the boiling pot above the stove.
“What the hell?” I blurted out, and he turned around, looking surprised, but quickly hid it with a serious face, and then he went back to stir the soup, “what do you want?” Skoll impatiently asked.
“Are you cooking…for us?” I ask him, confused by the sight before my eyes. He did not reply immediately, instead, he kept on stirring the stew.
Rude, the guy is more stoic and serious than the first moment I met Eve. Although, I am more intrigued of seeing someone like him have other hobbies than going on killing spree.
“Why are you looking at me? You are hungry, aren’t you?” His tone was cold and indifferent, but there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but it was still a relief compared to his usual snarky attitude.
When I sat one of the dinner chairs, Clover appeared from the corner of the room, “good morning old chaps!” His Irish accent was evident in his greeting, “aye, Adam? How is Eve?” he asked, sounding more serious this time.
“Eve is fine. She is upstairs resting for now, ” I answered, feeling a bit annoyed with Clover for bringing up this subject in front of the others. It was obvious, he was worried for her and I am thankful for that.
“By the way lad, do you mind me washing your blood stained clothes?” Clover asks, his curiosity getting the best of him.
What is the worst thing to happen? Sure, why not?
“Ah, yeah, okay. Go ahead,” I answer, knowing that he will probably wash it anyway, how wrong I was when he approached me with a stupid grin of his.
Clover brought his arms and grabbed my shoulders, much to my confusion. When he did that, his hands glow blue as my clothes rapidly became clean and washed.
I was speechless, but I am glad to know that he was able to remove the bloody stains on my clothing and, in addition, make them feel washed and fresh again.
“Thanks…”
“Don’t mention it, arty.”
I nodded as Clover sat on his chair, Skoll then brought bowls of soup for everyone on the table, “here,” he nonchalantly said as he hand us the bowls, and he took his seat.
It was a simple meal of steaming hot beef stew and bread, and the aroma of the food filled the air. We were served the same dish, but the taste and texture of it varied, depending on the ingredients used.
Before we enjoy our prepared soap, the invisible presence of Eve heading downstairs is loud enough that everyone can hear it, even if it was not really heard by anyone else.She arrived in the kitchen, her eyes squinted towards Skoll, and she gritted her teeth.
Her lips were curled into a sneer, but no one knew if it was because of anger or something else, exempt me because I know how she is feeling right now.
Skoll on the other hand was grinning from ear to ear at her, sensing Eve’s hostile aura being directed towards himself, “if it isn’t the woman herself, ” he mockingly spoke, while placing his spoon in the bowl, “you have returned, and I can smell your hate towards me! Do you wish to solve this with…violence?”
He was eager, I can tell that much. Ignoring Clover’s shocked expression, Skoll was still the bloodthirsty mercenary he is and genuinely wants to piss her off so they have another round of fighting.
“Enough!” I shouted, gaining the attention of everyone around me, “put aside our differences for now, because there is more important matters at hand,” my voice was stern and commanding, which would make even an old veteran, and the soldiers become focused on me.
Eve returned to her stoic face before sitting next to me. Skoll looked more disappointing than ever but he was smart enough to keep quiet, and the rest of the group was silent.”We need to talk about those cultists responsible for bombing the hospital I had previous worked in…”
