The next morning, Yve woke up clutching her chest.
For a moment, she stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what had happened the night before.
Then she noticed the clothes she was wearing and froze.
Fragments of memory came back to her.
She hadn’t been completely unconscious.
Her mind had drifted in and out throughout the night, instinct keeping her alert even after the near suffocation had left her exhausted.
She remembered Dylan carrying her, then carefully removing her wet clothes.
She remembered his casual remarks, followed by the awkward gulping and heavier breathing whenever he realized what he was doing.
Yve’s face turned bright with embarrassment.
She grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it.
“Ahhhhh!” She crushed the pillow against her face and kicked her legs against the mattress.
She remembered everything.
Well…
almost everything.
Yet beneath the embarrassment, she couldn’t deny that she was touched.
Dylan had been given every opportunity to take advantage of her while she was helpless, and he hadn’t.
Instead, he had taken care of her, dried her off, dressed her, and made sure she was warm.
Yve lowered the pillow and sighed.
“Seems like not all humans are lustful monsters after all…”
Then her thoughts drifted back to what had happened with Mark.
Her expression soured.
She rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, “I should’ve just pulled his tongue out and broken his hands.” She sat up, still muttering to herself.
“That would’ve solved the problem.”
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and was about to stand when the bedroom door suddenly swung open.
Dylan stood in the doorway.
His eyes widened when he saw her.
The boxers were much too large for Yve, and the shirt hung loosely around her, slipping off one shoulder and exposing it.
Dylan immediately looked away, unable to bring himself to stare for more than a second.
“Breakfast’s ready.
Just eat.”
He turned around before she could respond and quickly gathered his keys and whatever else he needed.
Yve could hear him moving around outside the room.
Then the apartment door opened.
A moment later, it closed.
Yve got out of bed and found a note on the table beside something covered with a cloth.
She lifted it and discovered a bowl of hot soup, fried eggs, bacon, and a few spoonfuls of rice.
On the counter sat a hundred-dollar bill with another note beside it.
Yve picked it up and stared at the writing.
She couldn’t read a single word.
After a moment, she simply folded the note and took the money with her.
She ate everything, washed the dishes, and then looked around the apartment.
It was already fairly clean.
Dylan wasn’t exactly a messy homeowner, but Yve had learned enough at the shelter to know what needed to be done.
She started with the bathroom.
By the time she finished, it looked almost newly built.
Her Siren strength made the work much easier than it would have been for an ordinary human, and within a few hours she had dusted, scrubbed, organized, and cleaned nearly every inch of the apartment.
She took care of Dylan’s laundry and cleaned his bedroom as well, leaving nothing untouched.
While dusting the last corner of his room, Yve paused and looked around.
The room was dark, with deep brown walls and very little decoration.
She studied it for a moment, but nothing caught her attention.
Satisfied, she left.
Yve took the hundred-dollar bill from her pocket and looked at it again.
“Why not spend it…”
Before leaving, she made one last stop in the bathroom.
She climbed into the bathtub and submerged herself completely, letting the water fill her lungs and restore what she had lost the night before.
Once she was done, she climbed out, dried herself off as best she could, and headed for the door.
She had no shoes or slippers, and all she had to wear was Dylan’s oversized shirt and the loose boxers.
She had tied the waistband with a rubber band to keep them from falling, leaving a small bulge at her side.
Yve looked down at herself.
She shrugged.
“Good enough.”
Then she walked out of the apartment.
Once she reached the street, she walked around freely, occasionally jumping as she went and swinging her arms while taking in everything around her.
A small convenience store caught her attention when she noticed people constantly walking in and out.
Curious, Yve followed them inside and looked around.
Shelves lined the walls, packed with all kinds of things she had never seen before.
Some of them were food.
Her eyes widened.
Yve wandered from shelf to shelf, picking up different items and examining them with growing excitement.
When she noticed a woman carrying a basket, she immediately grabbed one of her own and began filling it with whatever caught her attention.
She had no idea that any of it needed to be paid for.
With the basket full, Yve happily walked toward the exit.
“Miss…
Miss!”
She stopped and turned around, looking at the cashier innocently.
The cashier hurried out from behind the counter and grabbed her by the arms.
Yve’s expression immediately changed.
To her, someone grabbing her like that could only mean one thing.
She yanked her arms free, sending the cashier stumbling backward.
He hit the concrete hard, scraping and bruising his palms.
When he grabbed onto Yve’s legs in an attempt to stop her from leaving, she panicked again.
“Let go of me!”
Yve kicked him.
She hadn’t intended to hurt him that badly, but the kick sent him sprawling across the floor, knocking several teeth loose.
The store erupted into shouting.
Yve stood there, confused, still holding the basket.
A few minutes later, the police arrived and Yve was taken into custody.
Again.
~~~
At the police station, Yve sat across from the same officers who had dealt with her the day before.
The basket of food sat on the table beside her, still full of the things she had taken from the convenience store.
The officer stared at the basket.
Then at Yve.
Then back at the basket.
“Wow…” He rubbed the side of his neck and winced dramatically.
“Ahh…
my neck.
My neck hurts.”
His partner glanced at him.
The officer pushed himself out of his chair and pointed at Yve, looking like he was struggling to find the right words.
“I mean…
how could you…” He threw a hand into the air.
“Wahhh.” He took a breath and tried again.
“Are you perhaps mentally deranged?
Like, are you mentally challenged?
Or are you just really a thief and an assaulter?”
Yve raised an eyebrow.
“I am not a thief…”
The officer closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You took a basket full of store products without paying.
That’s theft.”
Yve stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding.
“Ah…
got it.
Noted.
It won’t happen again.”
The officer opened his eyes and stared at her.
He looked at his partner.
His partner stared back, equally baffled, his mouth slightly open.
Neither of them knew what to say.
Finally, the first officer pointed toward the files.
“Call her emergency contact.
That…
that Pierce guy, I think.”
He found the number listed under emergency contact, picked up the phone, and dialed Dylan.
At work, Dylan’s phone rang again.
He glanced at the number and immediately recognized it as the same one from the police station.
“What now…”
He answered, and the officer on the other end explained what had happened.
Dylan listened in silence, his expression becoming more irritated with every word.
“You’ve gotta be kiddin’…” He sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead.
“Lock her up.
Keep her there till I get off work.”
Before the officer could say anything else, Dylan disconnected the call.
Back at the station, the officers were left staring at the phone.
Neither of them looked particularly surprised anymore.
They took Yve back toward the cell, and one of the officers reached for her handcuffs.
Before he could remove them, Yve spotted someone familiar.
“Lara!”
She immediately ran toward her.
The sudden movement caught the officers off guard, and Yve accidentally snapped the cuffs apart.
The broken chain clattered onto the floor.
The officers froze.
Yve didn’t even notice.
She stood beside Lara, smiling and waving her hands excitedly.
“Hi!”
Lara looked at her.
Then she turned her head away in embarrassment.
Yve tilted her head, confused by the reaction.
Meanwhile, one of the officers crouched down and picked up the broken pieces of chain.
“Hey, hey, hey…
how did you…” He turned the broken metal over in his hands.
“How…?”
He looked at Yve, then at the broken cuffs again.
Finally, he gave up trying to understand and unlocked the remaining cuff from Yve’s wrist.
The officers locked the holding cell and stepped away, leaving Yve and Lara alone.
Lara kept her eyes down, clearly struggling to look at Yve after what she’d done.
Yve watched her for a moment before speaking.
“Hey…
it’s okay.
I forgive you.
I don’t really care much about money anyway.”
Lara finally looked up.
Her eyes were already filled with tears.
“I’m sorry…”
Yve stepped closer and wrapped her arms around her.
“It’s okay…”
Lara buried her face against Yve’s shoulder and began to sob.
Yve gently patted her back, waiting until she had calmed down enough to listen.
“Wanna hear some good news?”
Lara pulled back and looked at her through her tears.
Yve grinned.
“I broke Mark’s ribcage.
They said he’s gonna be in the hospital for a few weeks.”
Lara immediately tensed at the name.
“What…?
How did you…”
“He won’t touch you again.”
Lara’s expression crumpled, and she broke down again.
Yve held her close, continuing to pat her back.
“If he tries to do bad stuff to you again, tell me.
I’ll make sure he can’t use his precious hands again.”
Lara cried against her shoulder.
Yve stayed with her, listening as Lara finally began talking about everything she’d been keeping to herself.
They spoke for a long time, with Lara slowly opening up about what had been happening and why she had left.
Yve listened without judgment as Lara finally told her everything she’d been keeping to herself.