Chapter Text
Her stomach was rumbling again.
For as long as she has lived, hunger was far from foreign to her. In fact, it was in contact with her so often she’d even called it a friend. It accompanied her when she went to sleep at night while her parents were out busy making ends meet, and in return she’d soothe its cries whenever she got the chance to eat.
Being home alone was scary, but it was scarier to think of a life without her only friend.
Hunger reminded her of many things. It reminded her that she was alive, but she also knew that living was expensive. Living cost money- money her parents didn’t have.
Often, it made her think why they decided to have her when life would surely be easier without her existence.
No matter how many times they said they loved her, she knew that in reality she was nothing but a burden.
How could she not notice? How could she not see? It was so obvious with the way her parents gave her the bigger portion of food whenever they ate. She hated that. They clearly needed more than her yet they always fed her the most. Would it kill them to eat a little more than her? She’s confident she could go with less- it was unfortunate her parents didn’t see it that way.
They said they wanted her to eat so that she wouldn’t get sick, but what about them? Why didn't they apply such rules to themselves? Didn’t they know that they were scaring her with the possibility of suddenly falling sick? The only worse pain than the hunger was the thought of her parents dying and leaving her. Then she’d truly be alone in this world- and she’d have no one to depend on anymore.
That’s why she often thought to herself, how convenient it would be if she died first.
…
“Do you love the company children?”
Hanging onto every word, she and the other children avidly nodded.
“Yes, Mrs. Dearil.” They chorused together in perfect harmony. “We love the company, and are grateful for everything it has done for us.”
“That’s wonderful children.” Mrs Dearil smiled as her eyes gazed on all the children before her. “I’m so pleased to hear that. The company will be pleased to hear that. I’m sure you’ll all grow into wonderful workers when you grow up. After all-”
“-that’s what we should strive to be, useful members of society~” The children sung back.
“Very good. You all sing so well together, and I’m especially proud of you Victoria- you remembered!”
“Uh- it was nothing! The song is really short, so I was bound to remember some of the lyrics sooner or later…”
She blushed in embarrassment over the unexpected praise, and tried to hide deeper in the crowd of other kids surrounding her.
Not that it was working. Everyone was staring at her anyway.
“You’re still so new here, yet blending with us all swimmingly.” Mrs. Dearil instead went on, and proceeded to pat Victoria on her head. “Keep this up and we will be the jolliest family of all!”
“Yes Mrs. Dearil, of course.” She timidly replied. “I’d do anything for the company. For our family.”
“That’s the spirit!” Mrs. Dearil smiled, and all the children followed. “Looks like I’ve taught you well indeed.”
…
Victoria woke up to darkness.
At first, she panicked as she wondered where she was, blind to the world and everything there. Luckily for her, she ended up grabbing something small and solid, and before she knew it, there was light.
Her phone was a life saver really.
Using its light to guide her, Victoria turned on her night lamp. There she saw how she was merely in her room, comfortably tucked in bed in her pyjamas, and how it was early in the morning.
Around 4 am to be exact.
That was weird. Why did she wake up now of all times? And why was she sweating? Was the air conditioning not working? It still felt cold, so that didn't make any sense.
Victoria rubbed her eyes as she processed what she had just dreamt. The old memories from when she was younger suddenly popping up was weird, but she quickly dismissed it as whatever. Dreams were weird in general. They didn't make sense. She should stop thinking about it. She had much more important matters to think about after all.
She hoped Nem was okay. Each day felt like an eternity as she awaited Tessa’s call. Was there something terribly wrong with him? Or was it something else?
The waiting was killing her.
When would she receive Tessa’s call?
Should she… call Tessa herself?
How could she do that when she couldn’t even bring herself to text? It was ridiculous she knew, but Victoria couldn’t help the anxiety eating away from her at the thought.
Maybe she should text. Just a short little thing before she tried to go back to sleep.
Hey Tessa, I know it hasn't been very long, but is Nem alright?
And send.
There, she did it! She, Victoria, actually managed to message someone successfully at 4am in the morning!
Wait, she did it around 4am in the morning.
Curses! What an odd time to text someone! Especially for information like this.
And what if she had said something wrong? What if she was disturbing something important? Was Tessa even awake to do anything by this hour? What if it was nothing and Victoria was only making herself look overbearing over a boy she had recently met? What would that say about her? Did it make her look desperate? Did it make her look weird? What if-
Ring! Ring!
Victoria jumped at the sudden chime of her phone, and realized someone was calling her.
Quickly, she grabbed her phone and almost dropped it several times in the process due to a synergy of clumsiness and nerves.
It was Tessa.
Victoria didn’t hesitate to pick up the call.
“H-hello? This is Tessa, right?” She asked, just in case it was the wrong number. Saying something embarrassing to a stranger who had accidentally called her was a nightmare of hers she never wanted to live out.
“I think I’m the one who should be asking that considering who’s calling.” The other voice on line chuckled. “But you’re right. It’s me, the one and only, Tessa!”
It was relieving to hear that confirmation, and Victoria’s anxiety calmed down slightly. Tessa was such an eccentric woman. Her demeanour kind of reminded Victoria of her own mom.
“How are ya, Victoria?” She asked. “Doing alright? Sorry for calling out of nowhere, so I hope I'm not bothering you now.”
“You're not bothering me at all!” Victoria immediately replied as relief washed over her. “In fact, I… I'm glad you did. Um, if you don't mind answering, how's Nem? Is he alright? I really hope nothing's wrong with him.”
Typically, Victoria would be much more shy when talking with other people or letting them know how she was feeling, but the worry and concern she felt for her friend was far stronger than her anxiety ever could be.
Illnesses were frightening. Despite how small or innocuous some of them seemed, it was actually scarily easy for them to take away the ones you love, or render them into a helpless state.
Not to mention how easy they could lead you to debt with all the medical bills you couldn't afford, muchess pay…
…having financial security truly was a godsend on this cruel and unforgiving earth.
“Don't worry about him dear, Nem’s doing perfectly fine.” Tessa assured. “He's not sick in the slightest!”
“He is? That's great!” Delight was not able to fully capture Victoria's joy at hearing her friend be okay. “What's wrong with him?”
“Ah, nothing serious really. Nothing for you to be worried about.”
“That may be, but I'd still like to know the specifics so I can know what's going on with him if it happens again, and how to help.” She said, not thinking by how pushy she may have come off. By other people's standards anyway. “Just in case.”
The thought of it happening again and her being unable to help terrified her. What was the use of her being there if she couldn't help her one and only friend when he needed it?
“That's very kind of you, but this is something for Nem to share, not me.” The woman said, and Victoria couldn't help but deflate a little at that answer. “I wouldn't want to tell you if he wasn't ready to do so himself.”
“Oh.” Being disappointed for not being told what it was immediately was so, so, selfish of her. “So it's personal.”
“Exactly! I'm glad you understand- Nem is so lucky to have a friend like you.” Tessa said, her words further digging into Victoria’s guilty self. “Kind and understanding.”
“You praise me too much Tessa!” And that was the truth really. “I was just worried about him and doing whatever any friend would do for him!”
“Oh don't put yourself down like that Victoria! Nem hasn't had a lot of good people in his life, so I'm so happy that he's gotten more.” Tessa replied with genuine enthusiasm. “Well, I should probably stop bothering you. It's like, what, 4am in the morning? Sorry for that, you can go back to sleep now.”
“Believe me, you weren't bothering me in the slightest Tessa!” The girl insisted. Honestly this phone call was going way better than she thought it would. “I was just surprised that you were awake.”
“I could say the same for you! Y'know I was thinking about texting or calling you straight away in the morning when you were hopefully not busy, but after receiving your text I was like, “Hey, Victoria's awake! Sweet, might as well call her now. Hopefully she'll be aware enough to digest the happy news now.” and you are!”
“Hehe… that's… I just randomly woke up. And for some reason decided to text you now of all times.” Victoria sheepishly replied. “I'm sorry if I'm bothering you now.”
“Nonsense! I'm the one who called, remember? Plus, I was just busy thinking about stuff I needed to do for the kids. Nothing serious really.”
“Oh that's a relief.” The girl sighed. “I would have hated to have disturbed you with anything.”
“Nah, the only one disturbing people here is me really.” Tessa assured. “I should really end this call now so that you can go back to sleep. G’night Victoria! Or is it g’day? Cause it's morning?”
Victoria couldn't help but giggle at hearing the woman's response. She was so funny- she had a feeling Tessa and her mom would get along swimmingly.
“Y'know what I'll just say both for good measure.” Tessa concluded. “G’night and g’day Victoria! This random lady will now stop calling you.”
Beep.
Well. That went far better than she thought.
Victoria half expected to be scolded for randomly texting Tessa at this hour, but the woman was astonishingly warm and spirited. It was nice… now she was starting to wonder what she was so worried about.
Based on her brief interactions with Nem’s mom, that was just typical Tessa behavior. And wasn't that just lovely?
“I wonder what I was so worried about.” Victoria said to herself as she put her phone away. “Tessa's always been nice- thinking her to be anything else is so… so mean!”
After that, she tried to go back to sleep, feeling significantly lighter than before, however her mind just wouldn't quiet down.
What was up with Nem? Was she sick? Did he develop an illness? Tessa said it was nothing serious, so perhaps not that… and that it was more of a personal thing, so what could it have possibly been?
Well, she supposed there was no use in worrying about it now. Victoria was getting no progress with that. She could always ask Nem the next time she saw him again.
…
“Hey Nem, how do you feel about meeting Victoria again?” Tessa suggested out of the blue not too long after she gave Uzi and him The Talk- a conversation the demon never should have ever been present to. “Don't you wanna see her and tell her that you're okay?”
“You're right Tessa!” Nem brightened at the reminder. “She was really worried about me the last time, it would feel wrong to just leave her in the dark and let her think I'm not okay.”
“What? You meet her and then what? Confess your hormonal driven ‘love’ for her? Blah! What blasphemy!” Uzi gagged, and it was tricky to determine whether the demon was exaggerating her repugnance or not. “I shan't allow it! Not on my watch!”
“Aww, how sweet of you Uzi. It's nice to know how much you care about these kinds of things.” Tessa replied in a proud manner, clasping her hands together in delight. “But I think there's no need to worry, we know Nem, and there's no way he would say or do something like that. We both know that the love he has is nothing but genuine and pure.”
“What?” The demon's eyes widened in confusion before her eyebrows furrowed in a frustrated understanding. “What could you have possibly derived from my words to come up with that conclusion?!!”
“You were concerned that Nem’s crush on Victoria came from a bad place, but we all know that's far from true.” Tessa explained, oblivious as always to her daughter's rage.
“No, no, of course it comes from a bad place! These feelings that he possesses towards her are nothing but a culmination of lust taking form! My servant was repressed for so long that now he has contact with those he and his primitive mind finds appealing; he can't help but submit to his carnal desires just like any other mortal!” Uzi explained. “I want to say I expected better from him, to not fall for a pretty face and long for it so easily, but he is only human and I have been well aware of how weak they are for far too long.”
“So you understand that Nem's feelings are normal and almost all people might develop them?” Tessa questioned after hearing her daughter's rant. “You're mistaken about the lust part though, there are plenty of reasons for why someone might like another person other than… wanting them that way, and in Nem's case, you've already presented a perfect reason why.”
“Nem has been neglected and abused for so long, it was only natural that once he left that life he'd start to act like any normal person would once achieving freedom.” Tessa said as she patted Nem, effectively catching him off guard. “Plus he's a teenager in puberty, him liking someone that way isn't something wild or out of the ordinary.”
Tessa turned her gaze to her son who had been keeping silent throughout her and Uzi's rebuttals towards each other, meeting his eyes.
“I've taught you that, haven't I Nem?” She questioned as he looked back at her nervously. “It's normal that you like Victoria like that. Utterly and completely normal.”
“So what if it's normal?” Uzi spat. “Him being taken by her was not a part of my plans!”
“What plans Uzi?” Tessa questioned. “Won’t this just make Nem better at playing the role of Victoria's pretend boyfriend?”
“You are missing the point you damned mortal.” Uzi replied, rubbing her temples in exasperation. “I initially agreed to such a plan believing we could fool that girl into my trap, only to end up having my one and only servant genuinely fall for her??? Who does she think she is to seduce my servant like that??!!! She's a true and utter weakling, not some night time temptress! That mortal is pathetic- she shouldn't have been able to seduce a man even if she tried!!!”
“Nem is a boy, not a man, so I guess you're right.” Tessa said. “Teenagers shouldn't be trying to seduce adults either.”
“So you're worried Uzi?” Tessa asked curiously while her brain worked to process what her daughter could possibly be implying here. “Worried that Victoria will take Nem away from you?”
“Of course I am! It would be especially insulting if she succeeded considering how hideous she is!” Uzi said as she walked towards Tessa and her servant. “I am assured that I would have a much more facile time doing it myself.”
“Okay, now I'm certain that you're just jealous at the idea of having another girl steal Nem away from you.”
“He is my servant, therefore nobody, absolutely nobody should be able to take him away from me in the first place!” The demon confirmed fiercely as she pulled her servant away from Tessa and clutched his hand strongly. “Nemesism is mine and only mine, and it will remain that way forever!!!”
“The foolish ones who dares tear us apart shall face my perpetual wrath, no matter if they're mortal or not!” Uzi continued before gazing sharply towards him, and pulling him down to her level. “Remember Nemesism, you are my servant and belong to me and only me!!! Understood?”
“Of course My Lady!” He replied earnestly, face inches away from his master's. “No one shall ever stop me from endlessly devoting my entire being to you and only you like the loyal servant I am.”
“Good servant.” Uzi smiled, pleased with his submission and patted her servant's head like the good follower he was. “It better stay that way, for I am undaunted to retaliate in return!”
“Hmm… it looks like I'll have to hurry up with my therapist hunting.” Tessa muttered to herself upon witnessing her children's display of… adherence for each other. “...that can't be healthy.”
Truly, her children's words disturbed her, and Tessa knew she had to do something before it could get worse.
Hanging out with people other than themselves would be a start, and thankfully for Nem, he already has. It clearly wasn't the same for Uzi though…
“Look Uzi, I know you're worried about being alone, but don't worry because I promise I will always be there for you.” Tessa said.
“You never fail to misunderstand, huh you moron of a mortal?” Uzi said. “For I do not fear loneliness, I merely refuse to have my one and only servant stolen away from me!”
“Yes, but does that mean you're going to never let Nem meet Victoria again in order to prevent that?”
“Nothing hurts lonely and pathetic mortals like her more than avoidance from those whom she cares about, so indeed!” Uzi said as if Tessa was a moron who for once understood how the world worked. “You have figured out my very obvious plan.”
“So you're just gonna abandon your old one now?”
“Huh?”
“I was pretty sure you had some ‘evil’ plans to do that involved Nem getting close with Victoria.” Tessa reminded. “I guess you're finally giving up on that huh? That's great! I'm grateful that you're finally moving on from that Uzi!”
“Give up..? Uzi The Unrivalled never gives up!” The demon retorted with an invigorated rage. “How dare you say such a thing! I haven't given up! I merely- I merely had a slight change of plans!”
“Oh? How?”
“My servant shall definitely see that wench again, and he will not be swayed by her as a test to prove his utmost loyalty to me!” Uzi declared. “Then we shall follow my plans of heartbreak as usual, and succeed- just as I originally intended.”
“You hear that, my servant?” Uzi questioned after she turned towards Nem. “There shall be no changes towards my plans other than you suppressing your desires towards her. Understood?”
“Of course My Lady!” Nem instantly replied. “I understand you completely!”
“Good!” Uzi smiled smugly before turning towards Tessa. “Now hurry and plan another meeting for the two so I can continue to carry out my wicked revenge, mortal! Time waits for no one after all!”
“Sure Uzi, I'm on it!” The woman replied, happy with this development. She didn't expect that to work that well, but she would take it.
…
Today Uzi The Unrivalled was going to prove her servant's loyalty to her and only her to Tessa.
And show her how Uzi The Unrivalled did not simply give up on her brilliantly evil schemes.
So here she was with Tessa, hiding in some bushes once more as they followed Victoria and her servant interact.
It was a boresome and tedious endeavor, but the demon was more than fine to go on with it if it meant proving Tessa wrong.
“It's so nice to see you again, Nem!” Victoria said merrily, evidently eager to meet her friend again after the less than ideal way they last saw each other. It felt like ages since then. Mere days were akin to months in passing. Excitedly, she clasped her hands onto his and held them tightly together. “Tessa told me that you were alright so I was glad, but then she asked me if I wanted to go out with you again and that made me even more glad because I finally get to check on you myself!”
“I-is that so?” Nem nervously replied as his eyes shifted focus from Victoria's face to how she held their hands. “I'm so sorry for worrying you like that Vic.”
“It's no problem! I'm just grateful that nothing bad has happened to you.” The girl smiled widely, the widest he'd ever seen. And it was directed towards him of all people. “And that's more than enough for me.”
“Oh.” Nem couldn't help but blush a little at the sight. “That… that's so kind of you to say… I cannot say I expected that, nor all your care for me…”
“Why not?” Victoria asked, nonplussed by his reply. All of a sudden her gaze grew a little more intense- it was as if she had put on a different pair of glasses to study him with. “We're friends, of course I'd be worried!”
“Maybe it's because I'm not used to it.” He hesitantly admitted. “You and Tessa can be so alike…”
“Ah… I see.” She understandingly replied and immediately apologized and let go of his hands and returned them towards her sides. Victoria glanced left and right nervously for a while before turning her focus towards him again. “Since you're alright now, is there any place you want to go?”
“I'm not sure.” Nem replied. “Do you have any suggestions?”
“Well, if you want we could always go to the…”
Meanwhile, at a not so overly obvious hiding spot…
“Aww, my poor baby!” Tessa cried from the bushes, more than ready to full on bawl over her youngest child. “He's so unused to love and attention that he can't help but feel odd about it! Not to mention how he considers it weird that we worry about him!!!”
“Oh hush mortal, this is merely the start of the test, yet you are breaking apart already.” Uzi whispered from beside her, annoyed by how things were going already.
“I just can't help it, Uzi!” Tessa continued with her hysterics. “Nem is my precious baby boy, and the knowledge that he used to be hurt so badly haunts me! It haunts me!”
Uzi The Unrivalled didn't bother to hold in her sigh.
As she studied her servant and their target from afar, she also didn't bother to conceal her mutter of, “Something tells me that today is going to be a long and arduous day…”
…
Uzi The Unrivalled had always been a determined individual, consistently hell-bent on achieving her goals no matter the cost.
However, that didn't mean she didn't get bored.
Indeed the great and powerful demon was immune to many things, unfortunately boredom wasn't one of them.
Which was why she was stuck here out of her mind as she hid in this ice cream shop with Tessa after spying- observing her servant all day in order to see if he would pass her test.
“The ice cream here is great, don't you think Uzi?” Tessa said as she ate from her own cup and savoured the flavours she had chosen, ever so casual with her enjoyment considering they had worn their typical trench coats and hats as a disguise. “Who knew taro and gula melaka could taste so rad?”
Uzi was frankly unfamiliar with such flavors. All she knew was that taro was purple while gula melaka was a very light brown in ice cream form. They were a plant and type of sugar respectively, but the demon couldn't give a damn.
“The ghost chilli flavor is clearly superior.” Uzi replied as she devoured her own scoops while stalking the young couple. “Not that a mortal like you would understand or be capable of taking the heat.”
Victoria had brought her servant to multiple places today such as a bookstore where the girl purchased several cooking and sewing books for him. Then did it again when she purchased him some headphones from a music store, paid for his lunch at some Spanish restaurant for lunch, and proceeded to top it all off by treating him to ice cream for dessert.
If that wasn't treating her servant like some sort of trust fund baby in order to win him over, then Uzi The Unrivalled had no idea what else was.
And each and every time her servant seemed to slip. Ever so closely.
Who did this mortal think she was??? Her servant's sugar mommy?
It was like the mortal knew exactly of Uzi's plans and brought all that extra cash precisely to challenge her. The demon was growing increasingly worried at first, but thankfully this would be their last activity before her servant's curfew and needed to go home.
…
“I'm so glad that I decided to bring you to this ice cream shop.” Victoria said as she and Nem sat together at the cosy corner of the store they were currently in. “I’m happy that you're enjoying the flavors too.”
“Strawberry may be simple, but it is still delightful.” Nem replied after feeding himself another scoop, avoid meeting his gaze with the girl before him entirely. “Though more uncommon flavors like lilac are welcome as well.”
“This place has the second best black sesame ice cream I've ever had.” Victoria replied as she enjoyed her grey coloured delicacy. Ice cream was nice, but it tended to taste even better with the people you cared for joining you. “First best is still that Japanese restaurant I went to with my parents before- I should totally bring you next time!”
“N-next time?”
“Yeah, like we always do.” Victoria replied casually. “When you go out with me again.”
“Ah…” Nem stared far too thoughtfully into his ice cream and brought up something that had come to mind. “...but you said you only wanted to go on these dates to prepare ourselves before you bring me to your parents. How… how many more are you planning on going on with me before you decide to do that?”
“Huh?” She replied before her eyes widened in realization. “...I completely forgot about that.”
“Forgot about what?”
“The fact that I planned to show you to my parents…” She mumbled.
“And why's that?”
“I guess I was just having so much fun together that I forgot that I planned to do that…” She shyly admitted. “I’m… I'm sorry for wasting your time like this Nem. Especially when I told you it would be a temporary thing!”
“It's alright Victoria… I understand…” He replied as his cheeks grew pink slightly. “I… I had fun hanging out with you too…”
“In that case, I'm glad.” Victoria smiled while her mind wondered. “Sometimes I thought you weren't because of how you seemed so… uneasy around me at times, and I was wondering if anything was wrong.”
There was it. The question she'd been meaning to ask all day on the tip of her tongue, ready to be unleashed into the world and to the very person it concerned about.
She thought it would be rude to ask considering Nem hadn't told her already, but his behavior today was far too odd to ignore. She really didn't want it to end up with him getting or being hurt again just because he was too afraid to tell her.
“Wrong? What are you talking about? Nothing's wrong! Nope-seri, everything's fine! I'm fine! I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about!”
Yep, he was definitely afraid.
Or at least worried…
“Please Nem, you can be honest with me.” Victoria pleaded. “Just tell me what's wrong, I promise I won't freak out or anything.”
“It's nothing really.” The boy insisted as he continued to avoid her gaze. “I swear.”
“But you’ve been so off-”
“It's nothing for you to be concerned about!”
“But you're my friend!” She said before inching closer towards him, shifting her seat so she could be besides him. “How could I not be concerned about you?”
Nem’s face was officially blazing with her proximity, and before he knew it, his words came flying out.
“I'm sorry it's just that I've been trying really hard all day to stop thinking about how I have a crush on you, but I can't help but think about it when you're right in front of me!”
Victoria froze.
“W-what..?” The girl sputtered while her eyes turned into spinning saucers. “You- you do??!!!”
Nem winced.
“I'm sorry!” He cried as he backed away from her and glued himself to the store's walls. “I know I shouldn't for so many reasons, but I do! And I'm so sorry!”
“Please don't feel bad cause I have a crush on you too!”
“You do??!!!”
“She does?!!” Tessa and Uzi cried in unison. It was a miracle the demon hadn't spat out her ice cream.
“I do! I didn't expect to, but somehow I did!” Victoria explained, her face practically on fire. “And I felt really bad cause I never intended to ever actually like you, but it just… happened…”
“Oh…” Nem uttered in understanding. “I think… I think it was the same here…”
Ring! Ring!
The two jumped out of their seats at the it of the blue ringing of an alarm.
Specifically, Nem’s new phone alarm.
“H-hello???” The boy answered after hastily picking it up and almost dropping in the process.
“You return home right this instant Nemesism! How dare you fail me and fall for that mortal’s pathetic tricks???” The very angry caller raged into his ear. He didn't check who the caller was, but the sound of that voice was more than enough for him to identify it. “You failed me, and for that you shall be punish-”
“-what Uzi means is we'll talk about this when you get home!” Another voice interjected. This one was much calmer and sounded less likely to tear Nem’s ears off. “I'm so sorry for Uzi disturbing you two like this, but-”
“-but nothing! I trusted you! I trusted you as my one and only servant and you failed me!” The first voice returned to wail. “How could you humiliate me like this Nemesism? How could disappoint your master so egregiously-”
“-don't worry about Uzi, I'll deal with her.” The second voice assured. “Feel free to finish your ice cream before you get up and go! It would be awfully rude to just leave Victoria like that after all-”
“-I demand you return to me this instant you failure! If you do, then perhaps there's a chance I'll consider forgiving you-”
“I'M SORRY VICTORIA BUT I'VE GOT TO GO NOW!” Nem declared, slamming his hands on the table, abandoning his unfinished ice cream before taking his leave. “It's- it's an emergency- so, uh, bye bye!”
“What? An emergency??!!!” Victoria cried in fret and stood up onto her feet. “Nem, what's wrong? Do you need help-”
“Just a family thing! It's… nothing for you to get concerned about, don't worry!” He said as he ran away from her like his life depended on it. It probably did. “Sorry about this Victoria, but bye!!!”