"Are you angry?"
After applying a last bandage to Melanie's feet, he remained silent and moved quietly to put the medications back in the first aid kit box. As the nervousness within her slowly faded, Melanie finally mustered the courage to ask the big question that had been lingering in her mind since he had suddenly appeared.
"Sort of," he replied, still quite briefly. He then walked over to Melanie, handing her a glass of water. "Mixed with scared, anxious, and also confused."
"Why?"
"Why?" The man lowered his voice as he sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of Melanie who was sitting on her bed. "With a little bad luck, you could have been in the ICU right now! And those drunken bastards! They still have their freedom, still roaming around, potentially crashing into more innocent people."
Melanie could only stare silently at the plain black cap in her line of sight. She didn't even know what to say, although she was fully aware that she should be thanking him for everything he had done for her injury. However, Melanie remained silent, allowing him to leisurely fold his arms over her thighs and rest his chin on them.
"Wait, you said 'drunken bastard'?" Melanie asked, gripping his solid shoulder. "How could you know?"
"Plate number," he answered curtly while resting his head on Melanie's lap. "Today was not his first."
After saying that, silence enveloped both of them. In truth, that would only pique more her curiosity and also raised even more questions in Melanie's mind. He noticed it too. But after all, Melanie guessed that those questions wouldn't be answered much for now. So she thought it would be pointless to ask.
"I wonder ... which side are you standing for? The bad one? The good one?"
Slowly, he moved his head that was resting on Melanie's lap. A low laugh escaped his mouth, making Melanie lower her gaze immediately with a frown.
"Your side, of course. No need to ask."
"Ugh, cheesy. Pass." Melanie rolled her eyes, regretting having asked that. She then nudged him away. "Now, off you go. Thanks for your care. I'll manage it myself from here on out."
"Eh ...."
He reluctantly pulled away from Melanie. However, she ignored his pleas and casually stretched her legs out on the bed while her back rested against the headboard. Seeing that, he shrugged in resignation before turning to head for the exit.
"Okay. You rest. Take care of yourself. Watch your step carefully when walking. Do not create more mess so you do not stumble. You hear me, Melanie?"
"Yes, Mom, yes." Melanie waved both hands above her head, shooing him to leave. "Go. Just go."
"I am getting out now," he said as he began to close the door from outside. "Do not regret it! Love you, Pumpkin!"
~𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵~
"Green! Thanks for the catch up! We almost lost him again."
The tall young man entered the room while waving at several people who greeted his arrival with wide smiles. He took off his baseball cap and flopped down in his chair with a long sigh. He stared at the large computer screen in front of him for a moment before feeling a pat land on his shoulder.
"You look ... like a mess. You alright there?"
"I'm good. For now," Green replied to the red-haired man standing beside him. Seeing the doubt on his face, Green sigh. "What about that shit anyway? Already in custody?"
"Well, there's interesting news you must know," Green turned his chair to face him who had purposely left his statement hanging. "When our team tried to catch him, he ... uhm, accidentally slipped and crashed into the bridge railing, which made his car fall into the lake. Drowned."
Green hummed for a long time, staring at the red-haired without blinking. "How? Is he that wasted or ...?"
"Unfunctional brakes, we suspect," explained the red-haired while operating his tablet before showing it to Green. "In the end, with Gregory Stanford died caused by drowning, his case was closed. That's the final claimed from upstairs."
With no expression, Green shrugged and appeared to type something on his computer while speaking in a sarcastic tone, "That's the so-called 'karma served him better', Amber. Direct punishment from heaven."
Amber sigh. Both of his hands patted Green's shoulders while his mouth mumbled indistinctly.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Mr. Raven is looking for you when you got out." Hearing that name mentioned, Green stopped his fingers from moving on the keyboard. "He said it's just a trivial matter, but I think you should meet him ASAP."
After giving Green a strong pat on the back, Amber walked away, leaving the dark-haired guy lost in thought. A split second later, he clicked his tongue and got up from his seat with an uneasy movement. His steps echoed as he approached the wide-open lift, then he pressed the top button firmly until the tip of his finger turned white.
"Mr. Green, Mr. Raven is expecting you–"
"I know."
Green interrupted the greeting from the secretary standing in front of his superior's office. Avoiding Green's piercing glare, the secretary slightly bowed while gesturing for Green to enter the room in front.
"I suppose you've heard the news already?"
Without bothering to glance at the owner of the voice, Green flopped down on one of the sofas although he hadn't heard the person invite him to sit. As if to heat up the room even more, Green crossed his long legs, leaned his back against the sofa with both hands resting on the comfortable armrests. And then finally, his eyes intensely shots on the man with a stern face and dark eyes sitting behind the imposing desk.
"Yes."
"So," The man stood from his throne while adjusting the position of his tie, then glanced at his watch. "Where have you been half an hour ago?"
"Doing fieldwork," Green replied shortly. "Isn't that obvious? My work isn't only about files and watching records from the screen. How odd. As the higher-up, you should know what your employees are working on, Sir. Without exception."
Green held back a smirk as he saw the man clench his fists on the desk. It was still a small victory to see him consumed by the spark of anger he had ignited. However, Green restrained himself as this was still not the climax.
"Mind elaborating for me then?" The man spoke again after a moment of silence. This time, he staring at his computer screen. "Why GH National University?"
"If you cannot remember, Sir, I sent Gregory Standford's last known location when he almost hit a person who is a college student."
Green glared sharply when he heard a hum escape the man's mouth. With a neutral expression, he closely observed every movement that man made. When those hawk-like eyes locked onto Green, accompanied by a slight smirk on his face, Green struggled hard not to stand up and smash that face with the porcelain vase at the corner of the room.
"You helped the victim out of concern? How kind of you. You even took them back safely to the dormitory, I see. But, it isn't like yourself at all, is it?"
Rising from his seat, Green glared at the man in front of him with both hands itching to act. "I think we're done here, Sir. I suppose I should return to my desk right now. Excuse me."
Just as his hand reached for the glass door handle made by shiny metal pipes, the voice behind him made his jaw clench.
"Thaddeus Raven, I'm not done yet."
"I'm not Raven anymore! I'm not you!" Green snapped as he turned around and quickly closed the distance with the long table that separated him from the man in front of him. "I am my mother's son. You aren't contributed on anything. Get your nose out at my own private business. Mind your own health instead. You're getting older and weaker by the years."
After saying that, Green immediately yanked open the glass door in front of him with a single grip. However, before he left, his sharp ears could still hear the restrained growl of the room's owner responding to his words, "But without me, you would become more than nothing, kid. Admit that."
Watching his departure as if swept by a storm, the secretary almost let out a scream when Green nearly bumped into his frail body. However, Green, already overwhelmed with anger, felt no need to apologize as his footsteps carried him back into the lift.
"You don't even know how furious I am with myself for admitting this dirty blood of mine comes from you in the very beginning."
Green punched the elevator button for the bottom floor with his fist. One hand gripped the iron railing on the side of the lift while his back leaned against the wall. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly.
He lifted one of his hands, pressing a tiny device that he had recently always been plugging into his ear. As he took a deep breath, he focused on hearing the voice he desperately wanted to hear from there.