The Black Swan Behind

86 Not That Annoying

Emma shook her head quickly, “Ow.. that’s not necessary, Nancy. Actually, I always cook for myself. I live with my aunt’s family and not very close to them.” Of course he was lying.

“I see.. Ow Emma.. I know what it’s like to live in a place we’re not comfortable with. I believe you can hang on, Darling.” She said with a sad face. No wonder, although staying at her house all day, Emma didn’t think about informing her family at all. It must be because the people she lived with did not consider her as family. “I’m sorry for asking this, but, where are your parents?”

“My father lives in another city quite far from this city. Meanwhile, my mother died when I was little,”

“Oh.. I’m so sorry, Emma. So I guess you’re not a native of Handway City, are you?”

Emma nodded, “That’s right. I’m a newcomer. I’ve only been continuing my education at Jardin University for a few months. That’s because there is a ballet class there.”

“Oh my.. It looks that you are not only independent but also an amazing lady who dares to pursue your dreams.” She praised.

“I’m done eating,” Levi said, then, walked away.

“Thanks for the food,” Lukas went with his brother.

“Gosh.. I think we’ve been talking for too long. Sorry to interrupt your meal, Emma.” Nancy said with a laugh.

.....

Emma shook her head with a warm smile, “Never mind, Nancy.”

On the other hand..

Levi and Lukas walked alone into the house’s backyard to smoke. It had been a very long time since they had seen their mother talk that much. Actually, they also felt sorry for the old woman who looked lonely. But home was the safest place for the mother.

“Jardin University, huh?” Lukas muttered.

Levi glanced nonchalantly at the man standing beside him before lighting his cigarette with a gaslighter, “She said, she’s only been in this city for a few months. There are hundreds of students there.”

“Hmm.” Lukas nodded.

Levi smiled faintly and patted his brother’s shoulder once, “Relax your shoulders a little, Lukas. This is nothing. You don’t need to worry.”

“I hope so. But don’t underestimate it. You know why we’re here.” He replied without seeing Levi’s face at all as he took a deep sip of his cigarette and exhaled its thick smoke into the air. It snowed heavily that night.

“I see. Now.. just get a sleep. Maybe Mama will trouble me a little because of that girl. Ugh.. Pixy, that damn cat. She always brings me trouble. If it wasn’t Mama’s favourite, I might have skinned her a long time ago.” Levi clicked.

“Watch your mouth, Levi. Don’t make Mama fall sick again.” Luke warned him.

“Yeah.. Yeah.. I know,” Levi replied lazily.

***

“Thanks for the dinner and shelter, Nancy,” Emma said by hugging the woman warmly.

“I should be the one thanking you, Emma. I’m so glad to have known you. You know, my house will always be open to you. I hope we can meet again.” Nancy replied as she returned Emma’s hug. Uncontrollably, her face gave a sad expression.

“Perhaps I’ll drop by when my current business is done.” Emma nodded.

“Sure. I’m waiting for that day to come.” She answered.

“Hurry up. I don’t have time for this,” Levi exclaimed from inside the car.

Emma rolled her eyes sarcastically at the man. Then, she hugged Nancy again before getting into the car. As soon as Emma got into the passenger seat, Levi immediately started the car engine.

“What is your address?” Asked him.

“Take me to the 97th mile Rose Street,” Emma answered flatly, without getting a reply.

After that, silence dominated the atmosphere in the car. Emma didn’t like this situation at all. She didn’t know where they were now. She didn’t know the way they were on. Apparently, Nancy’s house was quite far from her house.

“Is it still far?” Emma asked after clearing her throat.

Levi raised his eyebrows, “Yeah. Maybe an hour and a half to two hours. The roads are slippery.”

“Okay,” answered Emma. Then, she pointed at the tape in front of her, “You really don’t like listening to music or the radio, do you?”

Levi glanced at Emma briefly, then refocused forward, “I don’t like noise.”

“Oh...” Emma nodded. Then, silence fell over them again.

“My mother. That’s just how she is. Hope you can understand her. I don’t like it when people think badly of her.” Levi said suddenly. It made Emma look up at him.

The girl smiled, “I don’t mind. If I may tell you a little, she has a somewhat similar nature to my passed mother. To be honest, I kind of miss being treated like that.”

“I know it’s hard,” Levi said meaningfully.

“You know what? As a pretty annoying person, you have a very nice mother.” Emma laughed to evaporate the sadness that arose in her heart from remembering her mother. She knew her words were rude. But Emma wouldn’t hesitate to offend people who have misbehaved with her. Yes, that’s how she was. It could be said that Emma had a vengeful heart.

Even though Emma’s words were rude, for some reason it made Levi laugh, “Besides, I never intended to be a good person.”

“You who love your mother so much is enough to prove how your heart is,” Emma said.

“You’ll never want to know,” Levi answered.

“Oh, anyways.. Your house turned out to be very far from the location of the river yesterday, isn’t it? Why did you go all the way there?” Emma was curious.

“It’s near my workplace.” He answered shortly.

“Oh...” Emma nodded. That meant Levi’s workplace was very far from where he lived. It must be very tiring if you have to go back and forth on such a long journey.

“What do you think of Jardin University?” Levi asked before glancing at Emma briefly.

“Oh.. Of course, you know that famous campus. Hem.. the building and facilities are good. I also got a lot of surprises there,” Emma chuckled to herself.

Levi’s brows furrowed, “Surprise?” he repeated.

Emma moved to adjust her seat, “I made lots of good friends in my ballet class. And the food in the cafeteria was delicious. For me, it was a surprise.”

“Oh..” Levi sighed quietly by returning his thoughts to focus on the road.

“I’m sorry, Levi. If I may ask, what happened to Nancy?” Emma asked in a small voice.

“It was a car accident,” Levi answered with a straight face. He already knew, sooner or later, the girl would ask about her mother’s scars, just like everyone else.

Emma nodded in understanding, “Nevertheless, Nancy’s spirit is still very fired.” she said, “To be honest, I do feel envious of Nancy. Despite going through a lot, she still has that bright smile. Not like her, even the slightest trouble has been messing with my mind and heart for days.” she continued.

“Problems will always make us think, right? How is it possible to find a solution if you don’t think about it?” Levi said flatly. According to him, the girl named Emma was too complicated in living her life. Were all women like that? He didn’t know and didn’t willing to find out.

“I know it,” Emma answered with a snort. Apparently, Levi was the type of person who dealt with every problem logically. Emma narrowed her eyes and looked at the man driving beside her, “Can I bother you a little?” she asked.

“Even if I said ‘No’, you would still do it, right?” Levi replied as if he had known Emma for a long time.

“You’re really ‘to the point’ guy, aren’t you?” She grimaced in disbelief. Then, she cleared her throat, “What do you think if the problem is.. you can’t choose to stay away from a problem or approach a problem?”

Levi immediately looked sarcastically at Emma, ??”What kind of stupid question is that?”

“I know this sounds stupid. But I’m really confused about this matter. I’m confused about which one to choose..”

“Depends on your strength and the result. If you’re strong enough to face the problems you talking about, then you shouldn’t have any doubts. And if the result is worth fighting for, why not?” Levi quickly cut her.

“The result, huh? That.. is actually something my heart really wants..” Emma muttered with a blank stare down.

“In that case, now it’s up to your strength to decide what you should choose.” Levi continued. He did not expect to be able to talk that long with a woman, even to the point of providing input on her problem, ‘What the hell am I doing with this crazy girl?’ he clicked in his heart.

“You’re right, Levi. Now I understand. Thank you!” Emma said while clenching her right hand to hit on her left palm.

Levi only glanced at her briefly, then, returned his focus to the road before shaking his head lazily.

A navy blue car pulled up beside the bus stop which was empty without a single person. A girl came out of the passenger door and a man followed from the driver’s door.

“Thanks for the ride,” Emma smiled.

“You know what? I told my mother I was taking you home. You asked me to drop you off here yourself.” Levi looked at Emma blankly.

Emma smiled faintly, “I know. And what happens to me later is none of your business.” she raised her eyebrows.

Levi smiled disbelievingly as he shook his head, “Your thought is too positive, you know that?”

“Oh.. Then, what do you think I’m talking about?” Emma replied with a triumphant smile.

Levi couldn’t reply to her anymore. It turned out that women were that good at arguing. Levi felt lucky that he had never dealt with them.

“Goodbye, Levi! Nice to meet you..” Emma waved her hand as she walked away.

The two grey irises were still watching the brown-haired girl’s back until she disappeared around the corner. After that, he just got into his car and drove away.

***

Emma entered the house with a tired face. The pile of snow in front of her house had piled up as high as a mountain because had been left just for one day. Emma had to clean it in the middle of the night so that tomorrow she could get her car out easily when she wanted to go to campus.

After taking off her coat and hanging it on the wooden hanging shelf near the door, Emma sat down on her comfortable soft turquoise sofa and pulled her new cell phone out of her bag.