Dathan's POV
"Breathe." I told Emily as we walked through the dark corridors in the palace.
"I'm trying to." She replied, chuckling nervously.
"Alright." I said.
I didn't want to embarrass her, or make her too self conscious.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Emily asked.
We were already approaching the elevator at the end of the corridor. At that point, if Damon opened his door, I'd have been caught in the most unexplainable of situations.
Hand in hand with his Luna, in the dim lit corridor, heading for an elevator to shoot us all the way up.
Thankfully, he didn't, and in no time, we were on our way up to the top of the palace.
"Ever been in an elevator before?" I asked Emily.
"No." She replied. I could tell from how unsteady she was.
We were defying gravity, and the feeling could make a first timer sick in the stomach.
"It's no big deal, really. You'll get used to it." I put her at ease.
Emily and I stood side by side, she was too scared to move an inch, for fear that she'd topple because the elevator was still moving.
Our hands kept brushing each other, matter of far, she tried to grab mine, but my dirty mind couldn't bear that physical touch in addition to what I'd been imagining.
"We're almost there." I broke the silence, as the light on the elevator indicated that we had gotten to the twelfth floor…
"I don't think I can take it anymore." Emily said, her voice was shaky.
"How can I help?" I asked her, worried that if she ended up feeling sick, it'd ruin our night together.
She sank to the floor, clenching her stomach.
I squatted beside her and put an arm over her bent shoulders.
In answer to my prayers, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.
The relief on her face was almost instant. She got out immediately and took a very deep gulp of fresh air.
"I'm sorry. I just could not take it anymore." Emily apologized.
"You don't have to be. It's not your fault. It's like drugs. The more you use, the better you cope." I smiled.
"Is that why you take them?" Emily asked.
"Take what?" I asked, playing dumb.
"Come on, Dathan." She chuckled. "I've seen you."
"It's more than just to cope." I replied finally.
"Why?" She asked again.
"Why are you so concerned about me?" I asked her. I liked whatever it is that Emily and I had, but it still wasn't reason enough for her to question how I lived my life.
"Cause maybe it's a human thing to do?" Emily asked sarcastically.
"I think I'm fine, Human." I replied in her tone. "You take care of yourself." I said, before I could think of anything better to say.
"Alright." She replied.
I was getting a bit riled up, so I decided to get away from her.
The rooftop of the Damon palace was as majestic as one could imagine.
Clean, undiluted breeze blew against my bare chest.
The sweet hum of the city left out all the unnecessary details like the blares of car horns, the sound of loud music, the voices of drunk passers-by, the sound of cursing and fighting, just everything I didn't want to hear.
The twinkling lights, skyscrapers and tiny vehicles that plied the narrow streets looked something like an organised chaos.
There were concrete pavements installed, for adventurers like me to sit whenever I graced the rooftop with my presence.
I didn't exactly like the way I replied to Emily, but really, I just wasn't at the point in my life where I wanted external opinions.
After wandering for a few minutes, I swallowed my pride and looked back, for Emily.
She sat, with her face in her palm.
The breeze blew lightly against her gown, carrying the loose parts around.
She didn't even flinch.
I watched her for a while, shamelessly ogling at what Damon had snatched away from me before I even had a chance.
I reclused my dirty thoughts to the back of my mind, and found myself heading towards her, considering the best words to use in my apology.
"Forgive my manners." I apologised as I sat beside her.
Emily didn't reply. She sat still.
I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to touch her, I knew that'd be a downward slope. One I was ready for, but wasn't ready at the same time.
I'd hate to put her in a worse situation than she is.
While I told myself that my chance with Emily might not be over yet, I didn't want to jeopardise whatever it is we were having.
"What did I do wrong?" She asked.
Her cracked voice betrayed the fact that she'd been crying for a while.
"Sometimes, I wish I just remained at the orphanage. At least, things were black and white there. I knew who liked me and who didn't." She added, still not looking up.
"Emily, it's not you, it's me." I said. "What I said and did was wrong, and I'm sorry."
She finally looked up, straight at me, then stared past me..
The moment was bittersweet. It was tense, but I hadn't been that close to her since forever, better still, she was vulnerable.
"I feel sick." She said,
"Please, Emily." I begged, almost dropping on my knees. "You don't have to be away from me. Please, I'm really not that way."
"That's not it. What you did, or said, or didn't do, or didn't say cannot tear me apart." She said, "I just want to be on my own."
"I can excuse you then. Please don't pass up an opportunity to be in this beautiful space because of me. I'd leave." I volunteered.
She still didn't say anything, just kept staring straight ahead.
She then looked back sharply at her hand in front of her, rolled her wedding ring around her finger a few times, and then let it be.
"I hope I didn't bother you with Zyna earlier?" She asked. "I'm sorry you had to keep her company for so long."
"You never bother me, Emily. She was great company too, we talked about you." I confessed.
"Wow." She said, flustered. Emily chuckled a bit l, looked at me and looked away.
Her blue eyes were so pretty, so innocent. A piece of my heart broke off every time I tell myself it's impossible to be closer to her than I already was.
"Well, Zyna would definitely have said too much." She said, unprompted.
"I like it too much." I snickered and she laughed hard, finally.
That made my night. But it wasn't over yet. She leaned back and clasped her arms on her thigh. She wasn't ready to go, and so was I.