7

And if I live my life with you and live under the same roof, it may cause trouble for Circo in the future if the enemies ever decide to come looking for him again. I'll always have some kind of responsibility towards him. Besides, it's dangerous for me to stay here. You're all safer with me. At least I have somewhere safe to stay and I'm able to protect the rest of the people here."

Rachel sighed loudly as she looked away momentarily.

"And besides…I'd get lonely being cooped up in your safe house by myself," Circe added. As he finished saying those words, a slight blush appeared on his face, which was impossible to miss given how close he sat to Miri, who noticed immediately that Circo had gone red.

"I…guess it makes sense," Rachel responded as she turned back to look at him. "But it feels wrong that you don't live with us at least until you recover fully. I mean I know you've been through a lot lately, but still, you can always stay here with us."

"Thank you Rachel," Circoe smiled softly. "That really means a lot to me, but I can't. I wouldn't be able to handle it and I think I might be better off where I am for now. The last thing I need is to be around people when I still can't control myself. It's best if you just keep me contained, if possible." Circoe explained.

"Of course." Rachel responded as she nodded before adding. "Just promise us that you'll let us know if there's anything we can do to help."

"I will," Circoe promised.

"Good," Rachel returned the smile.

Mirianne smiled gently as she glanced over at Circoe. She hoped he was feeling well. While Rachel and Miriam had been talking to him, she hadn't spoken a word and she wasn't certain that she wanted to, but she could see Circo was trying hard, and he seemed much happier than when she'd seen him earlier that day. His eyes looked brighter and less weighed down. Circo was still nervous about his situation and had probably been worrying about it the entire time that Circy had been gone, but he was finally getting better.

"I really think that's enough talk for today," Circona interrupted. "It's getting late, I'm exhausted and you've both been very nice and supportive during this conversation, but I just want some quiet and sleep."

"Okay," Rachel replied as she stood up from her chair. "Good night Circi. I'm sure you'll be in good hands tonight," Rachel assured as she started walking over towards the edge of Circona's bed where she stopped briefly.

"Thanks. You too. Goodnight Miri. I know that this isn't an easy time for you both right now, so I guess it's only right that you call me whenever you'd like to check up on me or anything like that. I know it must be tough for you guys right now but believe me, nothing is going to happen to me. And if you do ever feel uncomfortable or upset, don't hesitate to come and find me and tell me, okay?" Circona explained.

"Promise," Miriam said.

Circona smiled at the girls before he closed his eyes and leaned back against his pillows once more.

Miriam stared silently at Circona for quite some time after he spoke. It didn't seem like he could really hear them when they were talking to him because of the mask he was wearing and the lack of any sign that it was there, even though they were all pretty convinced that it was real.

She couldn't help herself but to notice how tired he looked and honestly, how much he looked like the boy she used to love all those years ago and the memories made her heart ache painfully. Miriam wanted nothing but to hold him in her arms again. She desperately wished she could kiss and comfort him once more. But it hurt her too much that she couldn't remember how to touch him. So instead of doing anything reckless she decided to wait until he's ready to share whatever secret he has kept for such long. She didn't want to force anything to happen that he wasn't willing to share. She didn't want to scare him away from her again.

When Miriam realized that the boys were already asleep, she decided to leave the room quietly so that Circo won't wake up. When she reached the door, she paused for a couple of seconds and slowly turned around, trying her best to avoid any eye contact. 'What do I do? What will I do? I don't think I'll ever be able to look into his eyes without breaking down crying.'

As soon as she had left the room she headed towards the bathroom to take a quick shower so that she would have something to do in order to calm her emotions. Before she knew it, she was standing at the bathroom sink staring intensely at her own reflection for a couple of seconds. 'Don't think about anything, just wash yourself. Just wash yourself and forget the whole world exists for a while,' Miriam reminded herself before starting to scrub herself clean. She tried to clear her mind of the thoughts that were constantly running in circles in it since she got back to the apartment. It was difficult because all these thoughts just kept on replaying themselves over and over again.

She couldn't ignore the fact that he looked exactly like the boy that she once loved. Even though she felt sad that she could never recall his name, she still loved the way he looked. Her mind would always drift back to him whenever he was mentioned and Miriam thought that the image of the boy who had once held her hand and kissed her senseless was permanently imprinted in her memory. She also couldn't forget the way he smelled either.