Is this destiny?

Oni woke up in her bed with Sarah by her side.

"How are you feeling?", Sarah asked.

Oni opened her mouth to speak and grimaced. Her throat ached too much, probably from crying.

Sarah understood and helped Oni to sit up in the bed before giving her a glass of water.

"I treated your feet and other cuts. And put a clean pajama on you." Sarah said and gestured to a small container on the bedside table. "Apply this cream twice a day, it will help with healing and with pain as well."

Oni glanced at her feet, wrapped in gauze, which were sticking from under the blanket, and then at herself. She could see bandages on her arms and her cheek was stinging. Probably scratches from the bushes while she was running. Oni didn't recognize the pajama, but she guessed that it's Sarah's.

Oni knows about that cream, she used it before. It allows wounds to heal quickly without leaving scars. She wanted to ask if there is a healing cream for a broken heart because that is the part of her which is aching the most.

"How did you find me?", Oni asked in a hoarse voice after taking few sips of water.

"Security system alerted us that you left the property. And I found you with this…", Sarah gestured toward her eye, indicating that she used Eve-vision.

Oni lowered her head. "I am sorry for causing trouble."

"It's OK."

"You will not ask me why I ran barefoot in the middle of the night?", Oni asked in a small voice.

"No… But I will ask you if you feel well enough to go with Jesse on your mission tomorrow."

There is no need for Sarah to ask what happened, because Eve provided the security footage of Oni before she left the Chateau, and Sarah saw Jesse and Marija going toward Marija's room while Oni stood in the corner.

When they found out what happened, Sarah and Aiden took the car and went after Oni.

Sarah told Aiden to stay in the car, and she waited for Oni to cry it out while reminding herself not to approach her. If Oni wanted a company, she would not run away like that. Sarah guessed that Oni does not want anyone to see her in such a state, so she kept her distance while making sure that no one (and nothing) disturbs Oni.

Sarah hoped that Oni will return on her own, but when she saw that Oni passed out, they brought her back to the Chateau.

Based on Sarah's statement, Oni understood that Sarah knows what caused her to run away.

"What will happen if I don't go with him?", Oni asked after some time.

"Jesse can postpone this mission until you are well enough to go, or until someone else comes as your replacement, or go by himself. He will not back off because these missions are important to him."

Oni exhaled softly and murmured: "Important."

"I don't know if I will ever be well enough to go with him on a mission.", Oni admitted. "How can I look at him and ignore this piercing pain in my chest?"

Sarah nodded solemnly. This is one of the reasons why she is wary about relationships between kids.

Oni and Jesse were not in a relationship, but Oni didn't hide her feelings, and Jesse didn't push her away or discouraged her. So, Oni's feelings grew and now she is broken. They say that the first love has a strong impact on people, but so does the first heartbreak.

"Think about it until the morning. I know it's hard but try to rest.", Sarah advised.

Oni sighed.

"Do you want to talk about it?", Sarah offered.

Images of Jesse and Marija flashed in Oni's mind and their conversation from the kitchen replayed… their voices, giggles… and Oni's eyes swelled with tears again.

"Will it help?", Oni asked in a whisper.

"I don't know.", Sarah admitted. "I want to tell you that you are young, and that there are plenty of other guys out there, and that the time heals all wounds, and that if you really care about him, you should not give up… but I know that none of those will help. I just want to ask you to think before doing anything. Don't allow yourself to get swept in emotions and do something you will regret later."

Oni looked at Sarah and tried to suppress her chin from trembling. "Can I get a hug?"

"Of course…", Sarah said while scooting closer to Oni and pulling her into a hug.

Oni wrapped her arms around Sarah and dissolved into sobs.

Sarah patted Oni's back gently, just how Aiden does to her to get her to relax and repeated: "It's OK… let it out…"

…

Aiden is standing in the hallway, leaning on the wall next to the door of Oni's room. Sarah is inside for a while, but Aiden guessed that it will be like that. He wanted to enter more than once, but he reminded himself that inside is girl-time and that he should stay away.

Aiden cursed Jesse internally. It's bad enough that he got Oni upset, but what makes it several folds worse is that this whole situation will spoil Sarah's mood. This was supposed to be the beginning of their happy four-week-long vacation, and it started with Sarah worrying about Oni. And knowing Sarah, this will throw a shade on her mood for days. Days! Damnit!

Right on cue, while Aiden bubbled in rage, Jesse appeared behind the corner.

Jesse was about to go into his room, but he stopped when he saw Aiden's dark expression directed at him.

"Let's take a walk.", Aiden said and gestured down the hallway.

Aiden and Jesse went to the garden in silence.

It's after 4 AM and the sky is pitch dark, but Oni's cream slippers almost glowed on the shadowy path which stretched straight between manicured landscape which is dimly lit with lights at the intersections of the paths in the garden.

Aiden squatted and picked up from the ground Oni's slipper.

He looked up and Jesse and said in an icy tone. "It is time for you to decide about Oni."

"What do you mean?", Jesse didn't understand.

Aiden stood up and observed Jesse for few seconds before clarifying with a question: "What is her role in your life? A friend? Partner? Comrade? Lover? Pick one or few but draw the line from the others."

"Nothing ever happened between us.", Jesse responded.

Aiden snorted and continued walking.

"You are aware of her feelings for you.", Aiden said after few steps. "You are not pushing her away. Why? Are you saving her for later?"

"That is not what I am doing."

Aiden shot a side-glance at Jesse. "I've played that game more than once. You know very well what you are doing. You are keeping her close, giving her hope that she means something to you, yet you go and sleep with other women. That might be fine for a woman who is experienced, but for a sixteen-year-old who is having a first crush, this is torture."

Jesse felt that Aiden is overstepping his boundaries. "How is that any of your business?"

"You are old enough to be responsible for your own actions and what you do with your private life is none of my business. But when you impact others who live with us, I can't stay on the side. Maybe your heart is made out of stone, or maybe you lost it together with your Jesse, but Oni is a pure girl who truly admires you. You are acting greedy and selfish. If you have no intentions of having a serious relationship with her, let her go."

They reached the second slipper and Aiden picked it up.

By now Jesse guessed that this chat is not random. "Oni saw me with Marija?"

Aiden didn't want to respond with a simple 'yes' or a 'no'. "At least back home you go to the city on a pretense of a mission to screw around. I understand that you have needs, and if the other party is willing, why not? But… did you have to do it here, right in front of Oni's nose?"

"What did she see?", Jesse asked absentmindedly.

"She didn't peek into Marija's room if that is what you are thinking. But she didn't need to see inside in order to know what is going on."

Jesse's eyes darted aimlessly. "What did she say?"

Aiden remembered the sight of Oni curled up on the ground next to a tree with her pretty face scratched and smeared with dirt, snot and tears and his heart cracked a bit. He took a deep breath to compose himself before answering: "To me… nothing. Sometimes you can see a broken heart."

Aiden walked back into the Chateau, leaving unmoving Jesse behind.

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