Kim was getting anxious, "Was he taken away?" She pondered. Just by the fruit and vegetables aisle, she saw him standing with his head lowered. After observing him for a while she knew something must have gone wrong. Slowly, she made her way to him."Carl," she called out. He did not respond to her. "Carl!" She called out to him again but still no response. He was lost in thoughts obviously. She strode forward before tapping his shoulders. Raising his head, he sighed, "Stallone Blackwood."
"Huh?" She asked. "My name." He responded, running his hands through his hair. He wondered when last he went for a haircut, not until now did he notice his hair has grown considerably.
"What?" Kim inquired.
"My name is Stallone Blackwood." He stated. He placed his hands down before adding, "My name is not Carl.." taking a pause he reasoned, "Well officially, my name is not Carl, it"s just a name my parents call me in order not to be reminded of my mother."
"What"s wrong?" Ignoring the new information, she asked. He was acting weird. "Did something happen to you?"
"No." He said, shaking his head. "Did they do anything to you?" He asked examining her, there was no bruise on her body and she appeared just fine.She simply shook her head. "That"s good then. If you"re done let"s go home." Taking her hands he said.
"Where is the trolley?"
"Oh!" He exclaimed, looking around for it. "Just up ahead, he said pointing at the trolley.
"You"re acting strange, Carl." She commented, her hands clenching his. "My name is Stallone." He replied not mind her a.s.sertion.
"Sorry, I"m just used to Carl." As she lowered her eyes, she tried pulling away her hand but he held onto her hand. She felt insecure and nervous. She was frightened by the situation and he did not make it better. She did not know how else to react to everything other than distancing herself from the situation.
"You promised never to pull away." She heard him say. "You"re acting stiff, I feel uncomfortable." She muttered, almost nagging.
"I"m sorry, I just don"t feel right but your presence makes it better so don"t run away."
"What"s wrong?" She questioned again.
"I"ll tell you at home, let"s check out first." He said, pulling her towards the trolley.
The ride home was silent, and cold. It was not as warm and comfortable as it earlier was. She felt too uncomfortable to speak in fear of ticking him off. She had never seen him angry before. But the aura he was emitting was cold and lonely. The silence was almost driving her insane. On getting to the garage she was glad to alight the car.
Taking the elevator she rushed in, leaving him behind. He strode in with the groceries after a few minutes. Set them on the table in the kitchen, he opened the fridge, took out a bottle of water, Kim silently watched him.
"We are home now." She broke the silence. He walked to the couch before dropping besides Kim.
"I met someone today and he reminded me of things I want to forget." He began. After speaking up, he drew her closer to cuddle. Kim placed her head on his chest embracing him.
"If you don"t want to talk about it, then don"t." She said, holding him tight.
"Have you thought about signing up for a self-defense cla.s.s?" He conveniently changed the topic.
"I have."
"And?"
Closing her eyes, she reminisced, "Today I felt helpless, I knew I couldn"t escape from those men, if they really wanted to harm me, I would not be able to fight them off. I was reminded of your advice, I"m ready to train now."
"I"ll take you with me tomorrow." He said, patting her hair, he got up.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"I just want to use the bathroom." Getting into the bathroom, he sat on the tub before taking out his phone, he dialed Allan"s line. "h.e.l.lo, boss?" Allan"s firm voice came from the phone. "I need you to look for a house for me, preferably in the upper province and close to the State University." Carl issued his instruction. He had thought about it, whether or not she agreed it was time to move out. The security in the red district was already in tatters, now there were people threatening his life. He could not afford to be complacent about their well-being.
"Requirements?" Allan politely asked.
"Three bedrooms, a huge bas.e.m.e.nt, the price isn"t important." He stated. As a man of few words, this was his standard.
"Bungalow or duplex?" He inquired.
"Duplex. Good security, good soundproof." Carl added.
"Any other requirements?" Allan questioned.
"Not for now but find a trustworthy person to clean the house bi-weekly."
"Twice a week or every two weeks?" Allan did not like the word "bi-weekly" it was rather confusing. How is anyone supposed to know if it"s twice a week or every two weeks? Same goes with bi-monthly.
"I"ll be moving in, obviously twice a week." Carl said almost face-palming.
"Interior decoration?" It crossed his mind most people like to decorate their houses themselves.
"I"ll think of that later." He would let Kim do the decor if she wasn"t satisfied with the house. He had no problem whatsoever with the interior.
"Yes boss. Time limit?" Allan inquired one last time.
"Before this time next week." He wanted to move in before any more trouble crops up in the red district. The only thing left was convincing Kim to move in with him.