212: All for his sake

All for his sake

There was nothing but silence in the car. Since Heaven, Bear, and Axel brought two cars with them, they had to drive separately. Heaven had no choice but to ride with Axel, since Bear had to help Moose with those rogues she beat up.  0

On their way home, there was nothing but silence. Axel would cast her side-eyes from time to time, but Heaven was oddly quiet. She was just looking out the window, making him wonder what was going on inside her mind. 

A shallow breath slipped past Axel's as he refocused his attention on the road ahead. Unlike Heaven, he was pretty much okay. He didn't fight those rogues. All he did was drive for a bit and then cower inside while she confronted them. 

'How embarrassing,' he told himself, sighing for the second time. 'Earlier… I almost couldn't recognize her.'

There were a myriad of questions Axel wanted to ask. After all, anyone who had witnessed what he witnessed would be curious. As far as he knew, Heaven was an actress. He could understand if she could intimidate them with her acting. However, she didn't just act.

Heaven fought them.

It wasn't a camera trick or was done by a stunt woman, just like in the movies. What happened was real; he couldn't mistake it.

"Sis," he called quietly, but because of the building silence, his voice sounded louder. "Are you free to talk?"

"Hmm?"

"I have some questions," he continued, eyes on the road. "You don't have to answer them right now. I mean, you don't need to have a conversation with me if you want to rest."

Heaven blinked ever so tenderly, staring at the side of the road. "Back then, I was into martial arts. If what you want to know is how did I fight those guys, then that's the answer."

"..." Axel bit his tongue, observing her from the corner of his eyes. 

Heaven was still relaxed in the passenger seat, and her voice had a tinge of exhaustion. But there wasn't the slightest bit of deception he detected. 

"Back when I was still active in the entertainment industry, I also went to lessons. I learned quite a few and although I'm not as active as I was back then, my body would never forget. It's like an instinct, you know," she continued, mixing Heaven and Hera's experience to make up a believable lie. Well, it wasn't all lies per se, but snippets of the truth.

"Hitting the gym for the past months helped a lot. Or else I would be panting after taking down one guy," she added indifferently, cupping her jaw with the bottom of her palm. "Let's make a stop somewhere. I need to change. Otherwise, your brother will be worried if he sees me in this state."

Axel pressed his lips, keeping his quiet while listening to her. He cast her a quick look just to confirm if her nonchalant tone matched her expression. 

"Sis, how can you be so calm?" he asked as he looked ahead once again. "Don't tell me this isn't your first time being in this sort of trouble."

"Do I have to be experienced to stay calm?" this time, Heaven cocked her head as her eyes fell on him. "Panicking right now will not help anyone. Things already happened, and it is only natural to think about the aftermath than lament on what just happened. Unless, of course, you're fine if your brother found out what you did."

"He's going to kill me." He scrunched his nose up. Just thinking about Dominic's reaction already scared Axel out of his wits. 

"Exactly." Heaven peeled her eyes from him. "Just drive and stay quiet. My head hurts a bit, so I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay…" Axel sighed and drove quietly, putting on some relaxing music to fill in the air. 

*

*

*

Axel stayed quiet to let his sister-in-law rest. He only woke her up when he pulled over to a gasoline station so she could change into the dress she wore previously. After that, they continued their journey home. It was pretty late, but Axel didn't speed up because he was trying to be careful. 

When they reached the parking space of the high-rise apartment building, neither of them spoke. Axel carried the paper bag containing her bloodstained clothes while she just stood in the lift as if nothing had happened. However, with the air between them, he couldn't help but feel something was off.

DING!

Axel snapped his eyes at the numbers above the door. He had reached his destination, turning his attention to her. 

"Go," said Heaven without looking. "Just go, Axel. Let's talk some other time. I need some time alone."

He closed his lips again, nodding quietly. "You're not angry at me, are you?"

"No." Heaven slowly locked eyes with him. "I'm not. I'm just tired." — of the voices in my head. 

Heaven kept the details to herself, tipping her head to the elevator's door. "Go."

"Okay." Axel lowered his gaze as he dragged his feet outside. As soon as he stepped out, he turned on his heel to look at her. "Sis."

"Thank you," he breathed out as the door slowly closed in. "Thank you for tonight and I'm sorry for everything I've said to you."

He forced a smile to his face, staring at her until the door blocked his view. His smile faded as soon as the door closed, sighing.

"You don't know how you saved me tonight," he whispered, standing still in his spot while recalling everything that Heaven did for him tonight. His eyes softened with shame and regret for how he acted toward her.

'No wonder,'he thought. 'That my brother and nephew accepted the leopard's unchanging spots.'

When Axel turned around, his eyes fell on the paper bag in his hand. He caught the red spots on the shirt she wore during the race. This was the proof of what happened tonight, happened. 

"I should burn these clothes," he whispered in case someone else would find them and misunderstand. Even though there was nothing to misunderstand because Heaven almost committed murder. 

All for his sake. 

pqdm.com