His Possession To Claim

"Do you live alone?"

"Yes, I do. Since freshman year in college," she reluctantly answered, her gaze flicking to him. That was when she noticed the t-shirt he'd pulled on, she hadn't paid attention to it when she came in. How had she missed it earlier? The sight unsettled her—he was doing things without her permission.

As she finished cleaning up, time felt oddly suspended, but surprisingly, it was oddly comfortable, knowing she was not alone.

Dinner was next on her agenda. She had learned to cook to save money—homemade meals were practically a ritual. But tonight, exhaustion weighed heavily on her, and her eyelids felt like lead. Instant noodles, she decided. Like its name, it was quick, easy, and a lot less effort.

While preparing the meal, she debated with herself. Should she stretch the conversation or maintain the cautious boundaries she'd set? Then again, he'd asked her a question earlier, so it wouldn't hurt to ask one back. Maybe she could finally get some answers—so long as she steered questions he didn't like.

"Uhm… What about you? Do you have a family?" she asked, curiosity softening her tone.

But silence stretched between them, long and pulsing. She tried reading his expression, but his face betrayed nothing. His gaze stayed locked on hers, unwavering.

Maybe she'd hit a nerve. Aria didn't know if she had hit a nerve she wasn't supposed to, because she couldn't read a word from his expression. It was really hard to get a thing from it.

"They were lovely," he said at last, his voice low and deliberate, "but you wouldn't call them family if you knew them. You'd call them nightmares. You know the old saying—'what you love the most ends up hurting you the most'? They were a leash. So I burned them off."

The words had her shuddering. Joking or not, there was something dark—sinister—lurking behind them. Aria turned pale, deciding against probing further. Whatever lay in his past, she didn't want to touch it. The stranger didn't seem like an ordinary person, as otherworldly as he may look, something dark loomed beneath, she could feel it in her bones.

"So," she said, switching topics with forced lightness, "what brought you to the farm yesterday?"

She knew she'd told herself not to press, but she needed to know the truth. It might help her decide whether to keep helping him… or turn him in. She hoped it wouldn't come to that—she'd already risked too much.

Still, no answer.

"Who were you hiding from? Were you the one those men were chasing?" Her frustration crept into her voice. His silence was maddening. She clenched her jaw, irritation bubbling up. She was trying to be like the good Samaritan and save a person, but he wasn't making being-a- good person easy. He was making it a chore, but she just couldn't give up.

"What did you do to make them go after you?" But it was still the same result

Fine. If he was not going to answer her questions in two days, she'd go to the station, revise her statement, and wash her hands of this mess. Afterall, curiosity killed the cat and she wasn't about to let it kill her too, even if it will complicate the matter.

She focused on her meal instead, though she could feel his eyes on her. His intense, unyielding gaze was impossible to ignore, after which, he reverted it to her dilapidated apartment.

It wasn't much to look at. Small, old, and cramped, it bore the weight of its age in creaking fans and peeling paint. Her living room had two worn sofas that had seen better days, but she kept them clean. In one word, the apartment was way too poor for someone who goes to a private college to inhabit in but she made it work.

When the noodles were ready, she plated them into two unequal halves. She placed the larger one on the table in front of him and sat with the smaller one.

"Come and eat," with that, she set the plates on the dining table, placing the bigger portion on the empty side of the table intended for her guest, then the smaller portion to herself.

But he didn't move. He just sat there, watching her every move.

With a shrug, she blessed the food and dug in. She took the first bite hungrily, then the next, she was really enjoying her meal. Just as she wanted to take another bite, he stood up moving towards the table as he took his seat. He looked between Aria and the noodles like a confused child, Aria couldn't help but flash him a smile which he obviously didn't reciprocate as he just took a stickful chewing on it.

Aria looked on with hope but no visible reaction. He was making it damn hard to communicate. He then again turned his focus on Aria, who didn't care anymore as she devoured her food unladylike without any care in the world.

When she finished, she glanced up—and there he was, still staring and she was not liking it one bit. If she was too beautiful,she would maybe think it was because she was too much to gaze upon, but she knew she was also far from ugly, definitely that would have helped explain something or did she suddenly grow too heads. She involuntarily picked up her plate staring at the vague reflection on it, but there was nothing to see except her awful looking hair and her eyebags, but that was all there is to it. Or hasn't he seen a lady in such a state?

Whatever. She yawned loudly, letting exhaustion take over,not caring about the daggers the other party was throwing, the next thing on her mind was a very sweet rest and that was not going to change because of a spoiled brat who wanted everyone to be at his beck and call. She had no energy left to deal with his brooding presence. Cleaning up quickly, she left him at the table and retreated to her room.

Once there, she made her bed and knelt to pray. On instinct, her eyes darted to the door to find his silhouette, she knew just then, she was never, ever, ever, going to get used to this stranger.

"Join me let's pray," she managed to offer before she could think better of it, maybe it would help his spoiled brat nature. But he didn't respond, to her surprise, he took steady steps towards her getting on his knees. She began her prayer as she tried focusing on the words, trying to block out the unsettling proximity of the stranger beside her. His sapphire eyes gleaming beneath the soft glow of the lamp, whilst Aria who was fully immersed in her prayers was oblivious to it.

Concluding the prayer with an "Amen", she looked up to find his face inches with his curious gaze, as if trying to study her, to find out something within her. It made her heart skip a bit, all at the same time, uncomfortable. She didn't have any other strength to deal with him, maybe the next day, but for now, she was off to dreamland. He would have to help himself to whatever he liked, after all there was nothing valuable to take from her apartment.

"Goodnight," she muttered, climbing into bed.

As her head hit the pillow, sleep claimed her almost instantly. The stranger remained, a silent figure in the dim light, leaving her at his mercy.