"I really want to say that I"m right but..." Darren looked at Xiu curling in a corner and said, "I feel like your theory makes much more sense."
Xiu gingerly looked at them under the dim lights that were penetrating through the windows. She tried to open the door of the car but it was locked and her heart felt uneasy. She curled herself in a far corner making her body shrink more and more. "Where are you taking me?" She asked with tears swimming in her eyes. She hugged her body in a protective stance as she asked, "Are you guys kidnapping me?"
Both Darren and Nora were speechlessly looking at her. At this point, both were leaning towards what Darren said, perhaps she really had hit her head too hard.
With her shaky finger, Xiu pointed at them and warned, "You! You can"t kidnap me like this!"
"Is there a special way to kidnap as well, Darren?" Nora looked at Darren inquiringly who gave a blank look in response.
Finding some courage from within, Xiu started again threatened, "Open this door or I"ll start shouting."
"If I opened the door, you"ll run. Am I an idiot? Xiu, sit tight and don"t make a scene." Nora berated her in a stern tone.
Xiu"s lips and chin trembled, she looked the epitome of pitifulness. One look could invoke anyone"s sympathy. "Wuwuwu! You"re a meanie! Why are you shouting at me? I"m such a good kid." Xiu"s exaggerated crying made Nora feel a headache while Darren had no words or opinions.
"See, I told you drunk Xiu is a mess!" Nora yelled at Darren while pointing at Xiu to show him what they were stuck with now.
"She seemed really like an angel before," Darren made his remark in defense.
"Wow! She"s certainly not a little angel anymore!" Nora was really infuriated. Her Latin self was at the verge of bursting out.
Xiu"s emotional senses were heightened at this point and her perception was at peak even though her mind was slow but she could clearly feel Nora"s anger and it scared her more. "Help! Help! Save Me! They are kidnapping me! Please, save me!" Xiu started shouting at the top of her lungs and that broke the last shred of Nora"s patience.
"Xiu, shut up! You"re gonna make us end up in a police station!"
Instead of stopping, Xiu"s voice got even louder. Darren unbuckled his seatbelt and alighted down the car. He opened the door of the backseat and slid in. He turned the car"s inner light on and looked at her calmly with no anger or impatience.
"Sweets, we"re taking you home. No one is kidnapping you." The rea.s.surance in his soothing voice made her feel relaxed. Her vigilance was slowly crumbling as she looked at Darren"s face. And the way he smiled. There was a particular charm in his smile. Definitely something was there; she felt like the bright sun had come down and made a home in his heart. Because that light was reflecting his alluring grey eyes.
Holding back her tears, Xiu tried to smile back as well. "If the kidnapper is as handsome as you are, I don"t mind being kidnapped." Her reply made them dumbstruck yet again. Xiu got a bit comfortable as put her feet down and said, "But let me warn you, I don"t have any money to give. Please, don"t sell my organs for money."
Darren chuckled and looked at Nora gesturing her to drive while he tried to placate Xiu like a kid. "You have some wild imagination, Sweets."
Xiu poked his head and asked, "Why do you call me Sweets? I have a name."
"I know." He replied. "But I call you Sweets because you"re the first person in my life who has offered me a cupcake."
"Really?" Xiu"s eyes widened in childlike wonder.
"Mhmm..." He answered with a humming sound.
Supporting her face on her hands, she kept staring at him in wonder and curiosity. "What are you looking at, Sweets?" He asked startling her a bit since she was too involved in her thoughts.
"I was wondering... Why did you become a kidnapper?" Darren"s nibbled on his bottom lip as he had no answer to that. "With your looks, you could topple down the entertainment industry." She added sincerely. But the light in her dimmed slowly as she said, "But don"t go to that industry."
"Why not?" He questioned.
"In the entertainment industry, monsters literally hide in your closet with a mask of angels. They will exploit you until they can and then they will besmirch you before extinguis.h.i.+ng the little fire in your soul." She replied in a sad and dispirited voice.
Before Darren could react, Nora announced, "We"re home." Xiu didn"t make a scene this time and followed them to the elevator. She was still lost in her own thoughts when they reached their apartment. "Thanks for the dinner, Darren. And sorry for all the trouble Xiu made for you." Nora"s voice jolted her awake and she looked at Darren who stood in front of his door.
Xiu ran to his side and held the sleeve of his jacket. "Xiu, come back here. Our home is this one." Nora beckoned her to come back but Xiu shook her head stubbornly.
"You"re mean to me. I don"t want to go with you." Xiu replied showing how much pitiful she was under her tyrannical personality. "This gentleman is very nice and handsome. I"ll follow him. You go away."
Nora facepalmed herself and pulled Xiu to her side. "Xiu, wake up! If you remember this night tomorrow, trust me, you"re gonna be in big trouble."
Xiu was still shaking her head while trying to free herself from Nora. Darren came to her side and she looked up into his eyes. He patted her head gently and said, "Sweets, aren"t you tired?" She nodded her head while pursing her lips. "Then go home with Nora. She won"t be mean to you anymore. If she"s still mean, you come to me and I"ll teach her a good lesson."
Xiu thought about it and nodded. "Good girl! Now, goodnight!" He rubbed her hair before unlocking his apartment and entering it. Xiu also entered her own apartment with a content smile.
It took Nora a while to understand that Xiu was this obedient because Darren had been treating her with patience and he cooed to her like she was a kid. And oddly, it worked on her. She finally understood the mystery of drunk Xiu; She was just a little girl looking for some affection that she had missed out on in life.
How did I take so long to understand that? Nora thought to herself.