Chapter 6: Granny's Saviour

By the time we were done, I wished I had accepted Granny's lunch offer. It was three in the afternoon, and I felt both dehydrated and starved, my stomach grumbling for any sustenance.

Today had been a sort of theoretical briefing thankfully. I would hate to be dressed like a lost runaway model for target practice or basic combat classes. My mind was weirdly at ease when it came to fighting which I assumed was probably because I hadn't tasted real combat. You can't be scared of an encounter you can't picture, right?

On the way back home, I stopped by a mall to get a couple of cheap plain shirts and trousers that I hoped wouldn't tear too easily. Fewer drinks at the Tavern for me, but I would survive.

Arriving home, I was somewhat surprised to find the door locked. Granny didn't mention anything about stepping out earlier.

"Perhaps she forgot to mention it." I shrugged, reaching for the spare key in my pocket.

Making sure the door was locked, I climbed upstairs for a relaxing shower, and a change of clothes. I dried my hair and lay lazily in bed, wondering what to do with my free time.

My thoughts drifted to the violin, but I don't recall knowing how to play a musical instrument, so I quickly dumped the idea. Then, I recalled my nightmare from the previous night. Could it have been the glimpse of a memory?

There was barely anything to work from it other than the explosion and collapse, but who knows when, where, or if at all it was nothing more than a mere nightmare to begin with.

My train of thought was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and light conversation coming from downstairs. Granny was back, and she brought company.

Still feeling slightly exhausted, I closed my eyes hoping to catch a bit of sleep before dinner, but I couldn't get a wink of it

"Would be impolite not to say hi." I thought, eventually pushing myself off the bed after a couple of minutes.

"Oh, it seems he's home." I heard Granny say as I descended the stairs.

My first glimpse was of a hand holding onto the milk jar, pouring some into two cups of freshly made hot chocolate. Granny knew I didn't take milk with mine, but that hand didn't look like Granny's.

As I walked fully into the kitchen, I saw the arm connected to an individual with brown hair and those unmistakable hazel eyes.

"Theron!!"

"Stranger!!"

A frown settled on my face, and my next set of words stumbled as the word "stranger" slammed me right in the face. It took me a minute to realise what the two occasions we had spoken, I hadn't introduced myself.

"You two have met?" Granny asked, her eyes darting between us.

"I should be the one asking you that." I exclaimed. "How did you two meet?"

"Eiran, I already told you last night, and we still spoke about it this morning." Granny sighed.

"We spoke....Wait, he's your saviour?!" I exclaimed.

"He is." Granny nodded, as I turned my gaze to Theron.

The corner of his lips ascended as a smirk crept onto his face, enjoying my surprise a little more than he should have.

"I need to grab something upstairs, you two get to know each other." Granny announced before exiting the kitchen.

"Eiran, so that's your name." He mused.

"Thanks for saving, Granny." I said, taming my expression.

"I couldn't have just walked past her now, could I?" He shrugged.

"Hot chocolate?" He offered.

"Not right now." I kindly refused. " Granny says you are here for an apartment. Have you found one?"

"Yeah, the agent got me a place just around the corner." He nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

"Cool, how soon are you moving in?" I inquired.

"Someone's a little excited." He chuckled.

"You wish." I scoffed. " I just want to offer you a helping hand, it's the least I could do to repay you for saving Granny."

"Don't worry, I am more than capable of lifting my own weight. Besides, it's not like my last job left me with a lot of things." He replied, his eyes turning distant as he spoke.

"Doesn't seem like you are having it any easier at your current job." I pointed out.

"Don't assume to know what's going on at my place of work." He stated coldly.

"Look, if it's not working out for you there, just quit." I advised, unsure if my words had struck a nerve.

"As if it were that easy." He sighed, setting down his mug so he could take off the coat.

"You should be careful where you forget things, especially something of value such as this." He stated, stretching the coat over the counter.

"If something is going on with your workplace, I could help you." I offered, grabbing hold of his hand along with the coat.

"No offence, you can't help me with this. Especially, when you don't even have a job." He replied, forcefully jerkin his hand free from my grip.

Without saying another word, he walked past me to the door, leaving without even saying goodbye to Granny. She was probably going to think I had somehow offended him, which I technically did, but not intentionally.

I threw the coat over my shoulder, turning to go return it upstairs when my nose caught a scent coming from the coat. It smelt almost like petrichor and something minty.

Poking my nose into the coat, I couldn't help but wonder what cologne Theron used and I couldn't exactly walk after him to ask.

"I will wait till later tonight." I muttered as my eyes caught a glimpse of the sticky note that had a number on it, pasted on the kitchen counter.

"Has Theron left already?" Granny asked as I encountered her on the stairs.

"Yeah, he had to hurry out for some reason." I replied, hoping my face didn't give anything away.

"That's sad." She sighed. " I would have loved for him to stay for some biscuit. He seems to have had a particularly stressful day."

"Maybe some other day." I soothed her.

"Alright then, we should begin dinner." She suggested.

"Yeah, just give me a moment." I nodded, my mind drifting back to the scent coming from the coat.