▲▼ CHAPTER 26 // PLEASE STAY

RIHANNA - STAY (FIFTH HARMONY COVER)

         Daehyun shivered under his almost four layers of jacket and bodycon tee while he made his way through the bustling street, using his elbow as a weapon - shoving and bumping away the passerby's shoulder. His stomach was tied into a knot and he felt uneasy. The vivid images flashed right before his eyes again as he saw how lifeless her body was, dangling with a noose wrapped around her swollen neck which sent cold shivers down his spine. The cold shivers then turned to cold sweats that formed onto his forehead, signalling his legs to trudge faster. And so he did, shoving his hands deeper into his pocket as he lowered his hoodie to let the tears that fell down from the sky slide off his jacket. His mind was racing with different thoughts and scenarios that he expected would have happened, in which he was ready to face. For the first time in forever, he could feel the pits of his stomach turned sick and gave him the urge to puke as anxiety killed him. Daehyun's eyes lit open as he saw the similar pathway, taking his slender legs to barge into the door. When he managed to open the front door, his eyes scanned through the whole area right before him.

         He froze upon seeing a black figure huddling itself in the corner of the room, rocking itself back and forth. He then gently took one small step, making his way towards the figure when he saw a reflection of a shiny blade held by it's grip. The blade that was in it's grip raise to a certain height as it held out it's hand, turning it's wrists to be visible enough in attempt to slash it. Daehyun's reflex was fast enough as his eyes widened, his feet moving faster than usual and grabbed the blade before it was able to make any contact with the abused skin. Your puffy, red-looking eyes met his. He set the blade down onto the table and instead of lashing out a good lecture on you, he steadily took a seat right beside you while he took a deep breath. You sat there, stiffened in position and using the back of your palm to continuously pulling down the sleeves of your shirt to prevent him from seeing the slashes. The silence that crept in between the atmosphere made it eerie and your anxiousness kicked in, curious on knowing what he had in mind. Daehyun then reached out for your arm, which you were able to feel his warm palm onto your wrist.

         His fingers were warmly wrapped around your small wrist as you tried to tugged it away but his grip was strong enough. He pulled your wrist closer as he scrutinized the wounds, biting his lower lip with full concentration. Before anything, he stood up and took the blade in his grip. "Stay here." He commanded, his deep voice almost threatened you to stay in which you did. He left the living room, allowing you to give yourself some space while he dashed into the kitchen room to find some medical equipment. As soon as he was done with finding the equipments, he went to your aid in a flash. You bit your lower lip, hissing loudly and whimpering like a small toddler as soon as the hydrogel came into contact with your wounds.

         Daehyun's eyes were full of focus as he set them onto your wounds, cleaning them thoroughly. "Why?" He questioned. You stiffened, your mouth was shut closed and your body shook by itself. Nothing came out from your mouth and it burdened you as you felt the blazing yet anxious stare coming from Daehyun. You couldn't bring yourself to gain courage and tell him the real reason because he might be like any other people, not being able to relate whatever you would be informing him. Most importantly, you were terrified of being seen as a weak species right before his eyes. He was still waiting patiently as ever, interlacing his fingers amongst each other. "I'm sick and tired." You spoke shortly. The sadness came gushing into your emotions and you knew that if you were to continue, your house would soon be flooded with your own tears. "I know." Daehyun replied.

         Your sadness then turned into furiousness and his short reply infuriated you. The brims of your eyes that were holding onto your tears shook and it widened by itself. "No, you don't know. Don't come here, attempting to make me feel better and trying to say that you are able to relate to my feelings because ing hell, nobody knows what I've been going through!" Your voice shook, your hand slamming onto the cemented wall with full force.

         Daehyun's eyes widened and he was dumbfounded, not possibly knowing what he was supposed to do with your furious act. Before he was able to react, you screamed your lungs out and stood upon your two feet in a rush to the nearest couch. Your mind was at risk and you've had had enough of your own life taking control of you. You took anything that was near you in attempt to hurl it onto the wall. Porcelain vases, pillows from the couch, magazines, glasses of water that can possibly hurt you was hurled with no mercy and tears that uncontrollably rolled down your cheeks followed too. Daehyun scurriedly made his way to you, trying to stop your rash acts but you didn't heed his advice. Last but not least, he stood right behind you as you felt his arms wrapped warmly around your thin waist and pulling your arm down towards his grip.

         You whimpered and sobbed, crying out your miseries at the same time. "Shh, I'm here. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you." He whispered, rubbing the palm of your hand to soothe you down. Your cries softened as you felt his warm body against yours. Small hiccups were heard from your cries as you forcefully wiped the tears from your damped cheeks. "I can't.. I can't continue on living like this..." He set you down onto the disheveled couch, running back into the kitchen to grab a quick cup of water and passed it to you.

         "Then don't." He urged. The words were simple and short but yet it somehow gave an impact on you.

         You then shook your head vigorously, pulling away strands of hair that stuck onto your damped cheeks. "You don't get it, it's hard. I never asked for all of these s to happen and I don't think I'm able to handle it no more." Your palms held the crown of your head, massaging it and sniffing the cries quietly. Daehyun felt upset looking at how disconsolated you were and realising how hard it was for you till you were at your wits' end. Witnessing how you had a major breakdown broke him and he felt the need to protect you with all his heart. "Wouldn't it be nice if I should have just taken the easy way out?" You smirked, scoffing slightly and letting out a light chuckle to yourself. Daehyun shook his head in disagreement. "You can't let your life control you. And as long as I live, I wouldn't allow that to happen." He pressed onto his words, his gaze lowered and tone changed to a much serious one.

         You didn't dare to look at him in the eyes as he intimidated you by the way his voice changed to a much huskier tone, showing his annoyance. "Why? Why do you bother to do all these?" Your eyebrows furrowed, pulling a knot together to show the creases and wrinkles formed onto your shiny forehead that was full of perspiration.

         Daehyun clasped his clammy hands together as he looked up towards your face that was almost hidden by your thick hazelnut brown hair. "Same question goes to you. Why are you doing this to yourself?" He retaliated, his question immediately shut you up. Tears once again overwhelmed your eyes and you felt the need to let your feelings out. "Why are you allowing yourself to suffer?" Daehyun muttered under his breath as his eyes narrowed to your facial features. He cringed, the way you had your head hung low and your palms ruffling the roots of your head made you looked pitiful and it was as if he was looking to a reflection of himself. Your puffy eyes blinked numerous times, trying to get rid of the excess tears.

         It caught you red handed how this topic came about and you had nothing on your mind to retaliate Daehyun's words. You finally sighed, you felt restless and tired both mentally and physically. Trudging your way up the creaking stairs that immediately made you cringed, your legs were shaking and you felt yourself huddling on the way to your room. Daehyun followed you from behind, holding out his elongated arms to make sure you wouldn't miss a step. Your room was right before the stairs but the atmosphere felt heavy and the coldness pierced through your body, enabling you to feel uneasy. You shook your head, making your way into Anthea's room where the warmthness lingered around it.  Daehyun kept his mouth shut and just followed you into the room without having any doubts. As he entered the room, he saw you walking aimlessly to one corner till the other. You sighed, landing your bottom onto the soft matress as you then jolted back up - feeling as if something poked you in between the blankets. You scurriedly threw the blanket away, revealing a shattered piece of a photo frame that showed an older woman beautifully dressed in an ankle length floral dress followed by a young girl who had a wide grin plasted onto her face. Your eyes watered as soon as you saw the familiar eye smile and also cheekiness that the young girl had and the joyful expression the older womam expressed. Daehyun looked from afar, narrowing his eyes at the way your thumb rubbed the photo frame carressedly.

         The night settled in and you were already drained out after crying for a long time. "You need some rest, here's a cup of water if you need it in the middle of the night. Please, stay safe." Daehyun stood beside your bedside, shoving his hands into his pockets as he watched over you climbing into the deep covers of the thick woolen blanket. After witnessing that you had settled into bed, he decided to make a move back home. "Daehyun.." Your small and weak voice called out towards his direction. Daehyun halted to a stop as he tilted his whole body to your bed, humming a hmm and asking what was the matter. You bit your lower lip as you tightened the grip onto the photo frame right below the covers. "Please stay, I hate being alone." The small, defenseless voice that rang through Daehyun's ears immediately triggered him to protect you. You needed company and with all the help that he offered, you needed him to stay. There was something about him that you felt as if you could gain his trust again.

         He knew the right words - even bitter ones - to make you feel better, letting you realise about the real world. For now, you needed him the most after all the trouble that he had put himself to protect you. He shrugged slightly and nodded, "I will. Goodnight." He replied, closing the door before himself.

         Right after Daehyun left, the night wasn't what you had expected it to be. No nightmares had been haunting you, nothing came into sight and bothered you which made you anxious. For once, you were able to get ample amount of sleep that night maybe because you knew the fact that Daehyun was there to protect you. The next day, a small funeral was held for Anthea and as expected, not a lot of people turned up for it. Daehyun was standing right beside you the whole time the funeral was held as he kept a close eye on you, making sure you were alright. It was a heart wrenching moment to witness the whole burial process and you felt as if your heart was thorn into a million pieces.

         It was a feeling that you had never experienced before, your eyes bursting out endless tears knowing that she was gone forever. You bawled, almost couldn't believe that you wouldn't possibly be able to see her again. It hurted you the most knowing how your loved ones was taken away so easily in a flash. Daehyun had to hold you back before you were even able to hold the handle of the coffin, reaching in to hold Anthea in your arms again. The funeral ended in calm manner and you had to apologise to Daehyun for being a nuisance for the whole day.

         Right after her passing, problems after problems regarding her house arose. Since her recent house was the only house that she had currently stayed in, it was a tough job for you to claim it since it was still under Anthea's name. As it follows, Daehyun didn't allowed you to stay in the house even if you got it since he thought it wouldn't be convenient for you. You retaliated, raising your voice saying that you had the right to do so but it was because you did that out of anger. "I can't risk letting you stay alone with those men still on the hunt. Please, I know what's best." He begged, trying to calm you down from your anger. The long fingernails that was dugged deep into your skin after clenching your fist then relaxed, your gaze narrowing onto Daehyun's and you could see the sincere glint in his eyes. It was hard to coax you into finding a much smaller apartment since living in the house made you feel much connected to Anthea but then you also thought about your own safety. Even if Anthea was gone, the men were still on the hunt for you and you wouldn't want the risk of getting hurt.

         Thankfully, Youngjae was able to step in and help with the landlord problems in order for you to leave the house and find a new one without the name of Anthea under it. But then you hesitated, since you didn't have a home now, where are you suppose to live and make yourself useful for the time being? Daehyun offered his help, indicating that there was still a room available in his house and he was kind enough to let you occupy it for the meantime but you pushed away his offer. Eventhough you had lived in his house for a day before, you still feared on what he was capable of doing to you. "How can I trust you?" Your small voice croaked, doubting his sincere decisions.

         Daehyun had his teeth gritted amongst each other and the veins on his temples exerted an ample amount of pressure to be seen prominently while he ruffled his hair in frustration. "For goodness sake, I'm trying to help you here and the least you could do is just accept the god damn offer!" His voice echoed through the empty rooms and you could feel yourself shaking. The husky and demanding voice feared you, almost similar as Ilsung's. Your eyes bored into his soul and in an instant, he let out a quick sigh while he trembled. He held out his arm to hold your shoulders but you pushed him away with full force. With another finger ruffling through the tangled ends of his hair, he smacked his dry lips. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I know it's hard to accept the past that we had but I'm trying to become a better person so please, I want to help you."

         Living in Daehyun's apartment was not bad afterall and you had to admit that even if you hated the idea, you were really grateful deep down for his sincerity. You then trembled slightly, day after day you realised how the both of you had been spending much more time compared to before and how Daehyun wasn't complacent in taking care of you. Even in the slightest way of giving you food eventhough you had insisted which then struck you. He was confident with his promise and that he would do anything to help you in order to make up the horrifying past that he had created. He kept to his words and you sighed, sliding a finger through your hair knowing that you had to somehow give him a chance. He seemed so genuine in making sure everything was going alright for you and it was no doubt that you somewhat felt appreciated in a very long time. Soon, you felt yourself feeling enlightened by the heart and excited for the day which was really unusual. Never in your entire adult years have you ever experienced the genuine feeling of excitement and let alone the calmness of your heart.

         Ever since Daehyun had offered his help, he somehow stayed in your life permanently and he gave you hope to continue your life. As crazy as that sounded, he gave you endless encouragment and he was full of patience whenever you would throw a fit for no particular reason. The optimism that he had inside of him seemed to share the virus to you during bad times whereby he would sit beside you - with legs crossed - telling you all the possibilities in life in which you are able to achieve, mostly something called happiness. Because of the patience that he had, he never failed to stay by your side which attracted you the most because most of the people in your life never stayed for long.

         "I'll help you. I'm always here if you need me." He called out, his eyes glinting through the darkness and the end of his mouth was pulled into a small smile before closing in the door behind him. For now, you knew deep inside how much you wanted him to stay and that without him, you couldn't guarantee that you would taste the real feeling of happiness.

wee new chapter!

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