"Sorry man. I can't hire anymore help."

"Sorry, no."

"Sorry, we are full staffed."

Today was nothing but rejections but Henry had high hopes. He was willing to go towards the end to make sure he is hired but when the time hits four in the evening, he never felt more tired in his life.

He walked the sidewalks in aches all over his legs and he could feel his stomach grumbled in hunger but he couldn't find any appetite to eat except for the granola bar he had few hours back. He was ten blocks away from his home when he noticed a small woman tried to carry a box twice her size.

Just as Henry expected, the box almost toppled over her and she almost hit the ground if it wasn't for Henry held her small waist and grabbed the box in one arm while the other catching her from falling on the sidewalks.

"Are you alright? What are you thinking carrying the box twice your size?" Henry grunted placing the half heavy box back into the van and turned to see her gawking at him.

"Hello?" He asks since she didn't utter any words except her jaw falls and her manicured painted nails still gripped on Henry's arm.

"Thank you." She says with smiles and Henry nods at her. "Let me help you carry this inside." He offered and she nods before she held out her palm for him. "I'm Nora." Henry eyed her small palm shoved against his chest and Henry grabbed hers slowly.

"Henry."

.

Few boxes later, Henry already huffed in his breath and he could feel himself spinning in giddiness. His throat dries and Nora noticed how he struggled to keep himself steadied with his throat bobbing up and down.

"You okay?" She handed him a bottle of water and Henry immediately gulped in thirst before he answered her. "Y-Yeah. Just- what the hell is in those box?" He asks and Nora chuckled at him.

"Flour, sugars, it's a bakery shop. Do you think I smuggled drug or something?" She asks leaning herself against the metal table when she saw Henry's eyes lurked around the kitchen. He didn't noticed it was a bakery shop until she pointed at him the front of the store and it was close.

"Why don't you hired staff to help you with these?" He asks and Nora scoffed. "I have! But he cancelled on me last minute." She claimed.

"Did he does this a lot?" Henry asks taking another sip. "Come to think of it, every delivery day. Gosh! I was so stupid!" Nora banged on the table next to her in anger and it was Henry turned to smile. "Do you mind if I pitched something here?" Henry asks and she nods.

"I have been searching for jobs since morning. I could be useful. I can help you carried loads into the shop, I'm trustworthy, I'm punctual and I would never let you down." Henry tried to sell himself when he noticed the smile on her face.

"I don't know. You almost passed out for carrying four boxes, how could I trust you in helping with the shop without worrying you would bailed on me just like Trevor did." She asks and Henry scratched the back of his neck blushing.

"S-sorry. I haven't eaten since morning. I thought I would finally treat myself and find a nice meal when I secured a job." Henry kept his gaze lowered on the ground when he noticed Nora edging close and tried to grab his wrist causing him to flinch in fright.

"Sorry didn't mean to startle you. I shouldn't invade your privacy that way." She held out both palms when she noticed the shaky palm that Henry tried to hide under his crossed arm. His eyes travels around her except on her face when Nora noticed the familiarity in those behavior.

"Its okay Henry. You're safe. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- I shouldn't have touch you without your permission." She backs away from him when he noticed Henry's awkward stand before her.

"I-It's fine. I just don't like people touching me." Henry told her before lowering his arms down on his side. "Come with me." Nora told him and Henry follows her into the front store when she turned on the light and displayed the breads and pastries that was inside the glass compartment.

"Sit down." She instructed Henry to sit at the round table before she pulls a tray and starts filling with food before she placed it on the table.

"Enjoy. These are my best stuffs." She says and Henry shook his head at her. "No- Nora it's okay. I'm fine. I should get going anyway." Henry declined her offer and stood from the chair when she pointed her finger at him.

"Sit down if you want the job." She says and Henry was surprised by her words. "Wait, seriously?" He asks and she nods before walking behind the counter to turn on the hot water. "Tea?" She asks and Henry hummed in response.

She didn't realized when Henry already halfway through the croissant when she brought the tea over the table and he thanked her.

"This is delicious. You got it almost right." Henry says and it shocked her.

"What you mean almost? I nailed it." She says and Henry lifted his gaze at her.

"S-sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Sometimes I said stuffs I'm not supposed too." Henry apologized.

"No! Tell me what's wrong with it. So I can improved." She told him sternly. Henry inhaled sharply staring at the butter croissant in his hand before he spoke again. 

"Take it easy on the butter and the folds, you need to make it thinner so it would be crispier in each bites." Henry pinched the croissant in between his fingers holding it closer to Nora for her to listen.

"It's not crispy enough but you got the taste right." Henry told her and she was stunned silent. Henry contemplated earlier whether or not he should kept it to himself and now he regretted that he did.

"Nora I'm sorry. I know I wasn't a baker like you to tell you what you should do." Henry apologized again.

"Where did you learn to bake?" She asks him and he placed the croissant down on the plate. "My sister, Bea. She loves baking and my favorite is croissants. She went to study it with a French baker that my dad hired to teach her. She did good until-" Henry paused remembering how she gave up everything she loves after the drug and alcohol.

"What happened to her?" She asks sensing that there is more to the story.

"She passed." Henry said briefly not wanting to continue this conversation any further.

"Listen Henry. The job is not paying much but if you needed it, it's yours. You can help me carrying stuffs around, load the fresh baked. Cleaning stuffs up and the store. We're opened from ten till ten at night. I can teach you to make coffee." Nora tells him and he nodded frantic at her.

"Anything is good Nora. Thank you. I won't disappoint you." Henry says taking another bite of the croissant.

.

"Hey, whats up?" Nora answered her phone cheerfully as Henry listened. He was loading the flour into the cabinet and kept the rest in the storage unit. "Yeah, I hired someone. Stop stalking me idiots!" Nora half yelled in the phone that surprised Henry.

"Uhh no worries. We can plan dinner later. see you tomorrow morning then?" Nora continued as she writes her inventory while her phone pressed against her cheek. Henry noticed she looks worried at whoever is on the other line. "Yeah, you too. Bye." She ended the call with a smile on her face.

"You can go if you want. I can finish up here. I'm not gonna steal anything." Henry tries to convinced her but she laughs nervously.

"Ah, no. It wasn't that. It's just my best friend said he couldn't make it to dinner." She explained but smiles when she heard Henry's told her to go home. "We'll finished this up tonight and I'll send you home. Okay?" She offered just in time Henry finished loading the boxes in the storage unit.

"Uhh- don't worry. I live like ten blocks from here. I can walk home." He declined her politely which didn't convince her enough.

"I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow then boss." Henry says taking his jacket that he hanged by the chair and waved Nora goodbye. But before he left the store, he peaked his head back in and their eyes meet again, "Thank you for everything Nora. This means a lot to me." He says and Nora waved him off. "Don't thank me yet. You still need to prove yourself worthy or I'll fired you too."

Nora could see the drop on Henry's face as she said those words and regretted it but Henry only nods at her. "Gotcha. I won't disappoint." He says before running out of the store happily. Finally one thing that he had crossed in his list for today.

It was dark outside when Henry stepped out and walked back to his home. Halfway through the walk he felt the coldness grew sending shivers in his spine. There was not one soul on the sidewalks and the occasional car passing by him.

He passed by a dark alley when he noticed a few figures at the end. It was a dead end and Henry didn't want to get involved in whatever is going on between those men but failed when a cold small hands grasped his pulling him back from walking ahead.

Henry turned as he pasts the alley trying to avoid the men but obviously he was wrong. He turned around to see a black shoulder length girl aged almost as Bea stopping him.

"Help him." She whispered and Henry could feel her cold grasps on his arm tugging on his chest. He didn't feel the usual death gripped that he felt whenever the dead soul touching him so he couldn't figure out whether this is a real person or another dead souls that asked for his helped.

"Helped him. He's gonna get hurt." The girl told him again and Alex noticed the rumbles between those men got a little tense.

He sighed pulling himself away from her and headed into the dark alley regretting his life choice right now.

He edge closer to those men by hiding behind the dumpster in hope they won't see him. He didn't know which one of those men he needed to save and when he turned around to find the girl, she was no longer standing there. Henry figures she hides herself from getting herself captured.

Henry witnessed the tall men hovers over the other guy and slammed him against the wall. The other guy stood besides him with his hand on his back watching as the tall guy continued his assaults on the other guy.

Henry witnessed the guy tried to cover his face from being bashed by the tall guy but his assaults went to his stomach and he dropped on the ground on his knees.

"Hey! Stop it!" Henry didn't know where he got his courage in stopping this guys from assaulting the other man. But the moment he did, he regretted his action and he saw the tall guy turned his shoulder when he heard his voice.

Henry stood few feet away from the tall guy when he inched closer to him. He tried to back away from him but fails when his back hits the dumpster stopping him from moving backward.

Henry could see the tall man finally stepped out into the light revealing himself. Henry's heart dropped in his chest when he saw how devilish handsome that man is. He has curly hair that combed neatly on the side with his jaw covers with mild stubbles and his eyes, his dark brown eyes. Henry sworn he never seen a man with such eyelashes. It was a perfect combination only that his gaze is too frightening for Henry. 

"Mind your business blondie. Get lost." He growls at Henry but Henry stood himself fixed on the ground.

"No! Let him go!" Henry told him but the guy only had his eyes fixed at him. He stepped closer leaving only an inch between them and Henry could smell the cinnamon scent radiating from him. "Leave English. Or you'll be in his place instead." He growls again before he turned his back and headed back to the guy kneeling on the ground.

"Get the car. We'll finished this elsewhere." The tall guy told the other guy in same expensive suit they both wear and the other guy nods leaving the alley in a hurry.

"Don't hurt him!" Henry yelled again turning the tall guy shoulder back to him.

"You are really a pain in my ass blondie! Go home! Forget whatever you see here today. Or I'll make sure you'll never see the light of day again." His threats didn't scare Henry at all. He had been dealing with threats all his life and he needed to help whoever this guy is.

"No!" Henry pushed back stepping closer towards the tall guy. He noticed how their heights are barely different from each other. If he was to admit, the guy is only an inch taller than Henry does.

Henry saw him inching closer staring back at him with that murderous look on his face but Henry's gaze shifted to the other guy behind him stood from kneeling on the ground holding a knife in his hand. He raised his hand that gripped the knife high above his head behind the tall guy and Henry did the one thing he could think of at the time.

"Watch out!" Henry pulled the guy by his coat lapel and both stumbled into the ground dodging the guy's knife from hitting him or the tall guy.

Henry fell on the ground with the tall guy fell on top of him. Their gaze locked and Henry could see his eyes darkened as their bodies collided into each other. But he sensed that the guy behind him still trying to murder them when Henry eyes shifted so he rolled to the side dodging another hit and gave a kick over the guy's hip. 

"CASH!" He yelled and the guy that left to grab his car came running down the alley stopping the other guy from charging at both of them. Alex held out his long arms over Henry's chest when the guy tried to stab him again. He managed to dodge another aim by grabbing onto his wrist before twisting it behind dropping the knife on the ground.

"RUN!" He yelled at Henry causing him to scramble on his feet and ran off from the alley before he turned one last glance at the tall guy who had his death gripped over the guy.

Their eyes met in the dark, Henry saw the guy staring back at him in the dark before Henry ran off headed to his safe place.

Henry's heart still thumping by the time he reached his home. He almost slipped and fell down the steps as he run down the slippery stairs but managed his footing later before he opened the door hurriedly. He shut the door close and locked it before pulling the curtain closed and hide away in the bedroom hoping for the morning light to come.

.

"Should I tracked that boy?" Cash asks Alex as soon as they arrived at the empty warehouse. They strapped the previous guy on a chair to continue torturing him for answers.

"No. He's just a boy. Scared as he already is. He won't dare to go to the police to tell them about it. What source did he has to make it believable." Alex replied before tossing his jacket on the empty table and starts rolling his sleeves up to his elbow.

After he finished rolling his both sleeves, he grabbed the metal bat that Cash handed to him before resting it above his shoulder. He stood before the guy that strapped in the chair and lifted his chin with the other end of the bat.

"Wake up." Alex told him and he didn't even bother to open his eyes. So Alex didn't had any choice but to swing those bat across the guy's leg sending him into a high pitch screamed.

"There you go! Welcome back to the world of the living. I will send you back once I had my answer." Alex said rhetorically.

"Fuck you!" The guy spat at him and it didn't help with Alex's temper.

"Like I said, I don't have enough time. I need name and I heard you're the only one who knew!" Alex whispered pressing the bat deep into the guys stomach. The guy groaned in pain as Alex pressed deeper.

"He's dead. For years already. Your search is pointless." The guy told Alex but he didn't take that as an answer.

"Lies!" Alex teeth clenched as he pushed deeper hoping the pain would change the guy's mind.

"The clairvoyant you're looking for is called Henry Fox. His brother Phillip sent him to Broadmoor mental asylum ten years ago and last time I checked, the building shutdown in 2019. The hospital is no longer operating. So either the guy is dead or they killed him. Otherwise, it's pointless anyway." The guy laughs at Alex attempt to find the truth only to be shut down by him.

But he didn't know that it anger him more than disappointment. Alex pulled away the bat from his stomach before he swung it across the guy's face.

He hated how the guy laughs at him each time he swung the bat so the beating doesn't stop until he couldn't hear him laughs anymore. By the time he was done, the guy's neck has broken in pieces and his brain matter is scattered across the floor and the chair.

"What do we do now?" Cash asks as Alex tossed the bat down on the floor. The metal clanking on the floor sending echoed through the empty building.

"Pack our bags, we're going to Broadmoor."