Lena did not know what to do. She poked Kris on the shoulder and then slapped his back really hard.
"Hmm… he"s really dead." Lena was deciding if she should leave him here or drag him to her apartment. Since he was unconscious, she was sure he would not know that she moved him. She"ll make sure to tell him that James moved him instead.
Lena put her bag down and get into the position to drag Kris across the hallway to her door. She was somewhat enjoying doing this. It was like practicing dragging a dead body.
She got to the door and opened it with her keys. She dragged Kris just enough so she could close the door. She went to lock the door but suddenly something pulled her hand.
Kris slammed shut the door. With his left hand, he held down Lena"s right wrist. Kris pushed Lena against the door and choked her with his right hand.
"Kris…?" Lena cough. "KRIS!"
He was very strong. He was pus.h.i.+ng her weight higher off the floor. Lena stared straight into his eyes and saw nothing. It was like he was not even there. "Is he sleepwalking?"
Lena used her free hand and raised it to hold onto Kris"s hand that was chocking her. She scratched it deep with her nails but his eyes were still the same. It was blank. The pain was not affecting him at all.
Kris used more pressure on her and her entire legs went up in the air. Lena choked hard. She moved her legs to kick Kris and she abruptly put her left hand gently on his cheeks.
He felt that cold hand on his face. He blinked once to stare at Lena and twice to loosen the choke. Lena"s feet were back on the ground and she took several deep breaths. His hand was still on her neck and her hand on his cheek.
"Mom," Kris spoke softly. It was the most sincere and caring voice that Lena had heard. It was the voice a young child would call for when they woke up from a nightmare. She similarly has done that with James.
"Mom?" Lena replied back. She saw that his eyes were different. They were more alive and soft like a child. Lena swallowed. "Um… my son?"
"Mom." Kris suddenly stopped and went for a big hug. He picked Lena up from the floor. Her back was still against the door and he settled his head on her shoulder area.
"Oh..oh.." Lena was confused big time. She just stood quietly and made no movement, hoping that it will pa.s.s. After what felt like 10 minutes, they were still in the same position.
His arms were fully around her waist and he was embracing her completely with his head resting on her.
"Um.. son?" Lena spoke.
"Mhm.."
"You should go sleep on the bed."
"Ok."
Lena"s eyes lit up that it worked. However, Kris suddenly picked her up and carried her to the first bedroom, which was astonis.h.i.+ngly hers.
"Hey, hey. You"re a big boy now, you can sleep by yourself. Let mommy go." Lena shrieked.
This time Kris ignore that and lay her gently on the bed and cuddle in with her. It was like a mom and son cuddle, similar to the one before. Kris tightly had her waist in his arms and he rested his head on her shoulder pads.
"This is awkward… I should have left him in the hallway." Lena instantly regretted her decision and rolled her eyes. Each time she struggled to get out, he tightened his grip.
"Mom... Please don"t leave me again."
Lena"s hand were loose so she put them over her eyes. She remembered saying something similar to Gary. She got emotional and a smile formed on her lips. She wiped off a small tear and gave in. "I don"t know if I will kill him tomorrow or he will kill me before that."
She tilted her body towards Kris and hugged him back. "Mommy won"t."
Lena initially planned to wait out for Kris to fall asleep, but the funny thing was that she went to sleep first. After Kris was sure his "mom" was not leaving, he then finally slept soundlessly.
In the middle of the night, Lena released her short arms from Kris and turned her back facing him. Her hands tried to grab hold of a blanket but found nothing. Instead, she curled up into a ball from the cold. Kris"s body reacted and scooped up the escaping warmth back to his embrace. They both continued to sleep, unawaringly of their position.
James was up early the next morning as Lena had instructed him to. He was a few minutes early but he waited. He looked at the clock again and it was 10 past 6 a.m. James knew that Lena was not much of a late person.
He turned off the engine and walked inside the apartment building. He told the front desk to buzz Lena, but after a few times, James started to get worried. He went up.
When the elevator doors opened, he saw an unknown cell phone on the floor and Lena"s bag. James was alerted and pulled out his gun. He slowly went to the door, which was unlocked.
"Dammit." He silently swore. He gently pushed opened the door. He cleared the living room then the kitchen. Next was Lena"s room. With his gun ready, he quickly opened the door.
"Miss. Shen?" He walked in and his eyes went wide open. He relaxed his stance and quickly shut the door with a loud bang.