Gabi was giving Siegfried the aforesaid poem and some photographs after he let his hand go.

"You're disgusting!" Siegfried exclaimed, blushing vividly, and refusing to take the photographs and the poem.

I guessed he was blushing because I was there, but pornos were something that didn't surprise me. It wasn't my business anyway. I took the poem and the photos out of curiosity.

"Besides, these photos have been photoshopped!" Siegfried complained as he got a glimpse of them briefly as I was passing them one by one through my hands.

In those photos, there were only Agape and Gabi in romantic scenarios, like going out and having fun together, but the bodies belonged to other people. Their faces had been glued on top of the real ones.

"Can you tell me what the hell you want to achieve with this nonsense?!" Siegfried asked frowning.

"Agape will feel so sorry for me that we'll have sex out of compassion," Gabi said with sadness and excitement at the same time.

"You're a manipulative idiot!" Siegfried felt no pity for him. And Agape would not fall into that stupid trap. She was the smartest woman I've ever known. "Aren't you ashamed?!"

"This is not gonna work on Agape, Gabi," I said rather neutrally.

"Well, some of us have to work harder to call the attention of a lady, you know," Gabi concluded in a much more sincere but mischievous tone of voice. He was staring directly at Siegfried with malevolence. "I'm not lucky enough to get a problem with my bike precisely when there's a beautiful girl who knows how to fix it at a few feet's distance!" he added with a smile full of naughtiness.

My cheeks became two ceramic stove cookers. So did Siegfried's.

"Gabi, you're a bastard!" Siegfried insulted him with his fists turning white due to squeezing them too hard. It was obvious he was refraining from grabbing Gabi by the collar of his shirt and shaking or hitting him, probably because the poor guy was already injured.

I looked at the time on my watch.

"Well, I should get going," I was feeling uncomfortable being there. Besides, I was supposed to be home by that time. My brother's candle ceremony would start soon.

"Okay," Siegfried said at once as he got up from the stool as I did. He needed some fresh air after what Gabi had said, badly, and so did I.

"Daphne, here. Take my alarm clock before you go," Gabi said in a much more serious tone of voice.

I took it from his hands. It was a classic, all-black, digital alarm clock with bright green numbers, displaying the wrong hour, and it went dead when I barely touched it.

"Gabi, we're not done yet!" Siegfried said threateningly, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "When I come back, you will hear from me!"

Siegfried accompanied me to the front door downstairs in silence.

Once I was out, I welcomed the cool night breeze from the Neon Sea into my lungs. It was a nice contrast for both of us, actually.

Siegfried was crossing the threshold of the front door when I realised I still hadn't done what I had in mind to do that night. I needed to apologise to him. I had almost forgotten about it. I remembered my remorse, painfully sharp like a needle, hurting me as if I had been shot in the heart.

"Come on, I'll take you home," he offered as he closed the door.

When he turned his head to me, he froze when he saw me staring at him with guilt written all over my face. He frowned.

His offer was nice. I wanted to take it, but could I risk my father seeing a guy drop me off home at night? That would be a big, fat nope.

"No need, thank you. I'm fine," I replied in a heartbeat. "I don't think my ribs are broken."

"Are you sure?" he added with a nice smile as he stuffed his hands in his jeans' pockets. It made his built arms stand out. That made me blush. "It'll be just a few minutes."

"I'm sure," I replied with a nice smile, too.

We were silent for a moment. I bit my lower lip. I had to be brave and say the words. I was nervous – and scared of his reaction. Apologising was hard for me. On top of that, I was in a hurry to leave because I was late. I felt like a Molotov cocktail about to explode.

"Listen," I said hesitating, "I had come to the Sports Palace tonight to apologise for my behaviour from yesterday. I was-"

"Stop," he replied dryly.

There was something wrong with him. He was smiling at me no more. The water between us was frozen once more.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you," I insisted trying to put on a brave face. I had to be the antifreeze in our relationship. "I acted like an arsehole. I was pissed, sad, and horrified by everything. I vented my frustration and you didn't deserve any of it. I'm sorry," I continued with determination and softness, but for some reason, he seemed as if I was making him angry again.

It started to rain. It was acid rain, as usual. How convenient!

An awkward silence ensued. It was hurting my soul.

"You're lying," he answered using that cold voice that turned the blood in my veins into liquid nitrogen.

His demeanour had a deadly aura. His eyes were two blocks of dark ice. His hair was getting soaking wet from the rain, displaying his well-built body. His pupils were two terrifying, small, black pits in hell. In the dim light of that badly-lit street, he was even more frightening.

"What?" I asked naively.

"You're lying. You're only apologising 'cos you feel you have to do it."

He had aimed at my goodwill and shot it down, mercilessly. I could not believe it. I was starting to get those angry flames inside me like the previous afternoon. But I couldn't let that fire consume me and explode on his face.

"Listen," I said trying to veil my anger to the best of my ability, "I'm not lying. I don't want you to be angry at me. And I guess you don't want that either. That's why I'm apologising. Can't you just accept my apologies and leave this behind us?"

"You don't feel it," he replied coldly.

"I really am sorry! Why don't you believe me?!" It felt as if I couldn't breathe. The offence I felt was threatening to overwhelm me.

He was right. I didn't feel it.

I was only sorry to have provoked a guy who seemed to be the most dedicated and cold mercenary of all. My apology sprang only from my fear towards him, not because I had got a different opinion on the subject of our argument. I didn't regret the content of our conversation.

Because I still believed that he was, in part, responsible for destroying my happiness. For taking Daniel away from me.

I had only delivered a rather generic apology, hoping it would get good results. He had noticed that.

As we stared at each other, we were getting wet all over due to the acid rain. Our clothes were clinging all over our bodies. He looked menacing but appealing. The acid in the water was starting to itch on my exposed skin.

"It seems as if meeting me and being forced to be responsible for me is something... you hate?" I dared to ask.

"You're far too proud, Daphne." He dodged my question in a low voice and said defiantly. "What you said yesterday is your truth. Hold on to it if you still believe in it. You don't have to apologise. Do you fear having hurt my feelings? We're not in an elementary school playground, you know."

My lips drew a thin line. I wasn't a little girl playing games.

Why was my relationship with him so two-sided? One minute, he was worried and charming; and the next, he was cold, distant, and insulting. Right then, he made me feel as if he wanted to be cold and mean to me by choice.

"Well, forgive me, but I wanted to calm things down considering I'll be around day in and day out. I am worried about having hurt your feelings, yes. They matter to me."

"This is the reason why you shouldn't be here," he went on after a heartfelt, brief sigh. "You care. For people, for hurting feelings, and that stuff. Besides, you're a pacifist. We're rebels here. We don't do apologies and feelings. You're unprepared for this.

"Agape offered you to leave. If she hadn't, I would've persuaded her to let you go. Why did you accept her test? Why did you pass it? Why stay with us? I don't get it. You're gonna get killed, and you know it. You're not fit for this group. You even look afraid of me right now."

I swallowed hard.

"What's happened at the Palace tonight is yet another example of why you shouldn't be a rebel. You were terrified. Of those cops, of their weapons, of Apollo and the extra check-ups.

"I'm not blaming you for this, because being afraid is a normal reaction. But we, rebels, aren't normal. If you die, it'll be on me. Do I want to carry that weight over my shoulders? No.

"So, do me a favour, Daphne. Go home and stay there. Call Agape and tell her you've changed your mind. She will understand. She won't be surprised if you do, considering what she told me yesterday."

"What did she say?" I whispered.

"That passing her test would be pretty easy. Surviving this war against the clones is a completely different thing. She told me she will give you unimportant missions to keep you busy and out of the way."

I felt insulted. Was I so insignificant? A part of me felt agitated and wanted to help out in any way. The other part of me felt relief. Maybe staying away would be the best for me. For everybody.

"It's best if you just reject her 'missions' and stay at home, Daphne. Defying Apollo and the clones is a huge mission you don't fully understand. We're in deep shit right now."

"Look, I know what we're going to do," I said in a bad mood. "I'd like to stay and help in any way I can. I understand your pain and your reasons to fight even though I disapprove of your violent methods. But I think staying will benefit you and your mission.

"That's why I wanted to make an effort to make amends with you. That's the decent thing to do. We should end it here. I don't want to argue anymore. It may not be what you expected to hear from me, but I don't care. If you don't like it, get stuffed. We can't have everything we want.

"Anyway, I've got more important things to do. I'm late for my brother's candle. Bye."

After that, I didn't want him to take me home on his bike.

Everything was going from bad to worse in my life lately, and after losing my brother I had a black hole inside me. If Siegfried had been the first to fall into it, it was not my problem. We had probably met at the wrong time and the wrong place.

He only stood there, under the acid rain, in silence and with that bloody cold face, unimpressed by my words.

I sighed, turned, and began to walk home. Disappointment and anger rained freely inside my brain.

"Wait," Siegfried said all of a sudden. He seemed to be sorry.

"Boy, aren't you the king of idiots," Gabi's voice startled us from the open window of their bedroom, right above us.

He had been spying on us all along. I could see him over my shoulder, but I didn't stop walking. I heard Siegfried muttering something.

"You almost had her at your feet, idiota," Gabi said using his trademark naughty voice. "If you had let her talk, and if you had accepted her apology and held your tongue, you would already have her lips on yours. Bearing in mind that she's protected you from that evil cop at the Palace, maybe you should've-"

"How the hell do you know about what's happened at the Palace?!" Siegfried interrupted him angrily.

"Momo's told me. Seen it all. Boy, she is pissed!"

I had no interest in listening to them. I quickened my pace down the promenade although my ribs were hurting with the movement.

Siegfried hurried to get on his motorbike, start it, and catch me. I sped up, getting angrier, while he just put the bike in neutral as he kept by my side.

I knew that if we exchanged more words, things would get worse. I needed to take a deep breath, sleep, and take a crash course on how to swallow my pride and be more polite and empathic. And so did he.

"Will you come tomorrow?" he asked, keeping a prudent distance, realising that I was walking faster because I was angrier even though my ribs were killing me. He noticed. "To fix my bike? At ten?"

"K," I answered reluctantly, not looking at him or stopping.

"K," he added defiantly. "And now, stop it, will you? My offer to take you home still stands. Come on." His voice was warmer by the end.

I found that weird. I stopped and stared at him.

He seemed remorseful. I sighed briefly and got behind him on the bike without saying a word. He didn't say anything further either.

I felt the muscles in his torso tense as I hugged him from behind. He felt ice cold due to the rain. Even through my jacket I could feel it. He then sped down the promenade.

A few minutes later, after following my directions, we were at the corner of my street. Despite the rain, he had driven the bike like crazy, but we hadn't skidded even once. He had an incredibly good command of the machine.

I had made him stop on the corner because I didn't want my father to see us. Luckily, we were alone. But if anyone had been there, I didn't think they would've seen us. The streets of the Dam were even worse lit than any other neighbourhood.

My street, Spoon Street, was one of the worst lit at night. It had that name because it was a dead-end street that made a slight curve to the right, and it was wider by the end. My home was on the left sidewalk, halfway down the street.

"Don't get upset, but I don't want my father to see you," I said as I got off.

I was staring at him. The old, orangey street lights illuminated his silhouette from behind, highlighting his biceps and the rest of his flawless, well-built outline.

It was still raining, and the tiny droplets that were on him seemed like little orange diamonds on the skin of his exposed arms, with his hands still on the handlebars. God, did he look beautiful!

"I'm not upset. I was counting on it," he whispered, his voice gentler than before. "The fewer people know me, the better."

I could barely read the expression on his face due to the dim lights cast behind him.

"I have to insist. I'm sorry. I don't want to see you mad at me," I said with all the goodwill I could muster. "I have to leave now. I'm late."

Right when I was about to turn, he said, "It's your brother's candle tonight, right?"

"Yes," I replied sadly.

"I'm sorry. For everything," he whispered to me carefully. "There's no reason to apologise to me, Daphne. It should be me the one who does it."

He sighed. His hands tightened around the handlebars. He seemed to have something stuck down his throat.

"Of all the people I've met in my life, no one has..." He hesitated for a moment, then he continued with a shocking mixture of melancholy, worry, and softness, "Take care, Daphne. Your hand and ribs... Er... See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," I whispered.

Then, I walked down the street towards my home. When I opened the front door, I saw that everyone was already there, inside, waiting.

"Daphne!" My father exclaimed anxiously, running to me. "You're soaking wet! Come on in! Chloé has already told me what's happened at the Palace! Are you okay?!"

"Yes, yes... I'm fine, sort of."

As my father hugged me under the threshold of our open front door, I chanced to look back, at the corner. I saw a dark, well-built figure on a motorbike, its outline glowing in bright orange hues, turning around under a hellish, burning rain, and leaving the scene.

Hello, my sugar cubes!

So, what do you think as regards Daphne and Sigi's relationship and her apology?

*Note on foreign words: 'idiota' means 'idiot' in Spanish.

Stay tuned to know more! 😊

XOXO

MS