Chapter 14

"Here, use the red key, it's in the small pocket inside".

Abel nods towards his bag the best he can as carrying Sila takes up both of his arms. Linnea digs into it, brushing her thick hair and bangs aside in order to see better, and once she finds the key she opens the door to Sila's apartment. She steps inside and after looking around a little she clicks the light switch.

"Light, I summon thee". She jumps on the couch and laughs. Thomas sits down next to her, careful not to break anything.

"Tone it down, please", Abel asks as he walks towards the bedroom, "Don't wake her up". As a response he hears a low groan.

He lays Sila on her bed and after taking off his jacket he sits next to her, putting his fingertips together and resting his face on his hands. He leans forward and closes his eyes, and thoughts flood his mind again. He thinks about what might happen the next morning, if they get caught at the station or if his bosses find out what he did.

Sila breaks his concentration as she climbs up his shoulder and bites his ear. She lets out a sleepy giggle as he rises his head and frowns towards her.

"Good morning, sevgili, how long did I sleep?".

"Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty", he tells her as he checks his watch.

"I was dreaming about you...", she purrs, shifting closer to him. He moves farther and farther away until he reaches the edge of the bed.

She gets a commanding tone to her voice, "Sleep with me, Bel, I love you".

Abel stands up and walks to the door.

"I can't".

"You bastard, come back here right now!".

As he leaves the room he hears loud swear words in Turkish and the sound of a pillow hitting the door. He wipes his shirt the best he can with his hands as he notices some stains on the sleeve Sila was leaning on. He takes off his shirt to take a better look on the stains even though he already knows what they most likely are and a closer inspection confirms it. 'Blood', he thinks to himself, 'Not good'. The worst-case scenario pops into his mind as he throws the shirt on the floor. He runs to the bathroom and opens the door.

Inside the bathroom he finds more blood than he thought he'd find, most of it in the sink but some on the portable stairs that she keeps in her bathroom and on an opened first-aid kit. In the sink he also notices a sharp piece of glass stained with blood, though he can't find its source anywhere.

Linnea  comes behind him and before he can react she looks into the bathroom. She grows visibly pale, grabbing his undershirt to barely stay on her feet. She tears her eyes away from the sight and buries her face into the shirt.

"Wha-what is that?", she asks, her voice shaking, "What happened?".

Abel turns to her and hugs her tightly. "This here is a sign of you mother's inner demons. She isn't feeling very well and feels as if this is the only way to cope with it. The best thing you can do for her is to keep her happy, all right?".

Linnea nods.

"Good girl. I'll clean up this mess. Another thing, I don't think you should mention this to her, it can only bring her down again. And your brother too, unless you're sure he doesn't freak out or become depressed".

As she walks back to the living room Abel takes the cleaning equipment from under the sink and starts cleaning up the room the best he can.

Once he's ready he heads back to the living room, only to find the twins sleeping next to each other. He grabs a blanket from a nearby closet and lays on them, He then checks on Sila, who's sound asleep in her bed after the tantrum, and sets the alarm clock next to her bed to 6:30. He gets his jacket on himself and starts heading home. After he gets outside he checks his watch, which tells him it's 1:30, and begins running.