7

Reverend Apocalysis: Reality Surpassed Fiction

Chapter 7 – It's not pity, this is love

As they walked away from the place where the argument had taken place, Anton spoke to the flustered Emma, who was trying to hide it, and said, "I had a dream, both you and I. We were on a trip with your mother while singing your favorite song. It was such a touching moment that I even woke up crying."

"You never cry..." Emma smiled at the lies Anton was inventing to make her happy. She always figured it out, and his difficulty in lying made her understand what he really felt when he approached her.

"I cried when you said you wanted to be my girlfriend, also when my favorite football team lost the cup... Anyway, I cry for simple things."

"Also, I was about to call you, but then I remembered you'd kill me if I woke you up, so I held back, I swear," Anton said with a calm smile, as if just a moment ago, he didn't want to kill the guy who had harassed his beloved girlfriend.

Emma saw all the things Anton was putting in his cart and asked, "Hasn't your father come back home? You must be taking advantage of him being away to eat all that junk food. You shouldn't overindulge in eating such food, or you'll end up in bad shape..."

"Are you so bad that you'd leave me just for gaining a few kilos?" As Anton said this, he discreetly threw some boxes of dry food, mixed sweets, and chocolate.

"I'm worried about your health..."

"When I'm old, the last thing I'll worry about is my physical condition. Don't be so careless; when you come to my house, at least I'll have something to feed you with. You're the first to finish my precious ice creams." Anton smiled as he lightly pushed Emma, but his eyes were scanning around for the idiot who had left a moment ago.

Emma felt much calmer, but it was obvious she was being boring. She felt very sad, and there really was nothing more she could do about it. This was one of the reasons she wanted to distance herself from Anton, but she was selfish because she felt peaceful by his side.

"Will you buy anything else?" Anton asked after seeing Emma so quiet. Normally, he's the one who is silent, but he understood that she might be worried about money. "My father said that if the problem is about money, it's not really a problem. Your mother will stabilize with the new medicines; she might feel bad because it will take a little while to stabilize her condition."

"I hope so..." Emma murmured as they reached the checkout to pay for all the things they had bought. After passing through the line and having their items scanned, Anton walked to an ATM while Emma paid for her things.

When inserting the card, she put the amount she wanted to withdraw. Although Emma would be angry this time, he would help her, and he wouldn't accept a no as an answer. "My father will understand; he also paid for my mom's school when they were both young."

Withdrawing no more than two thousand dollars, which were more than enough to pay for the rent of the apartment where Emma lived, Anton, who had arranged all his things in two carts, walked towards the exit.

"I ordered a ride; it shouldn't take long to arrive, so let's go together." Anton said as he looked at a large car stopping right in front of them. He walked towards the driver's window and said, "I ran into my girlfriend; would it be a problem if you take a detour to her house?"

The man in his thirties looked at the extra money in Anton's hands and shook his head. "As long as you pay the extra fee, I can give you a ride across the city. Let me help you load these things."

Emma, who was helping Anton load all the groceries, asked, "Why are you buying so much food?"

"My father should be back in a few days, so I have to fill the shelves and his refrigerator with beer. He'd hit me if I don't." Anton said, smiling slightly.

"You shouldn't have stayed out all these days we didn't see each other. I should go help you clean the house before your dad returns." Emma entered the car followed by Anton, but from the corner of her eye, she saw a black car parked not far from their location. There were at least four people waiting inside the car, and this made her frown.

Are they following us?

That was certain; they are gang members, so they probably want a little confrontation to stir up trouble. Especially if they are drunk and drugged, they are a damn time bomb that no one wants to mess with.

"Now that classes are about to start, we'll have more time to see each other and talk about what we've done these last few days... By the way, at my new job, the pay is much better, and the elderly couple who are my bosses are a beautiful pair." Emma had changed completely eventually after being with Anton, something she didn't even notice herself.

But this time, Anton was serious when he realized that he was being followed by some people, so after hesitating, he took out his phone and sent a message to his uncle.

"[Uncle Antonio, I know it's a bother, but I need your help because some gang members are following me to my girlfriend's house. I wouldn't ask for this if it were just about me, but I fear my girlfriend might get hurt when I'm not around.]"

In a few seconds, his uncle responded: "[It's never a bother, nephew. Send me the location; I'll be there in a few minutes.]"

Emma, noticing Anton's silence, asked, "Anton, is something wrong?"

Showing a calm smile, Anton took her hand and said, "It's nothing, just that my father sent me a message with a huge file yesterday morning. I received a notification that it finished downloading, so I'm just a bit nervous that it might be a virus."

"You should have downloaded it on an old computer. My mother's cellphone got damaged after a stupid ad telling her she won $10,000 appeared on the page where she watches her Thai dramas. Since that day, I take good care of her devices with antivirus that blocks those pages." The usual Emma had returned, which reassured Anton, but he was certainly nervous about what those people would do.

"I fell for those ads, damn bastards. Instead of winning money, I got a notification that I had won a car. Luckily, I didn't finish entering my credit card; they would have stolen everything I had." The driver joined the conversation, sharing his tragic experience.

Emma was glad they weren't the only ones affected by that and said, "Right, do you also like foreign soap operas?"

The driver, who was taken aback, coughed dryly and said, "Something like that. My friend is from Brazil, so he tells me a lot about it..."

Anton, who was listening as the driver made up a response, immediately thought that the pages he visited were for adults. So, after realizing they were close, he said, "By the way, I'll help you unload the things since they are too heavy for you to carry up to your apartment."

Emma shook her head and said, "You shouldn't waste more time; the longer you stay here, the more money you'll spend. I can bring the things up myself; I work part-time."

"The gentleman will wait; there won't be any problem." When Anton said these words, the driver parked on the side of the building where Emma lived, and both of them got out. "Wait a minute; I'll talk to the driver while you bring the things down."

"Yeah, whatever..." Emma stopped refusing since she knew Anton's stubbornness was significant.

When Anton approached the driver, he said, "You can take a drive around the building after we enter; wait for me here after that. You can also have this money; will there be any problem?"

The man looked down and smiled, "Of course not, but take this; you don't want to have a baby at your age. They're grape-flavored, but they're the best; recommended by an expert."

Anton looked at what the man gave him and smiled; he had never seen grape-flavored condoms before, but it's always good to learn something good, so he simply thanked the driver. After helping with most of the bags, he and Emma entered the building.

Once inside the building, they headed to the elevator, and fortunately, there was no one. Emma remained silent, looked at Anton, and said, "It wasn't really necessary for you to do that, but you know it makes me happy."

"Mmm, what did you say?" Anton looked at Emma as if he hadn't heard what she had said, but this was just one of his jokes.

"The elevator is already open; we need to get out, or we'll stay inside." Emma blushed a bit as she exited the elevator; Anton teased her from time to time, especially with embarrassing things.

When they arrived at the apartment, Emma opened the door, and Anton, who was standing at the door, decided not to enter. He walked a few steps and left the bags near the entrance, so when Emma returned, she was a bit surprised and asked, "Don't you want to come in this time? Since you're here, you should come in and greet my mother; she asks about you a lot."

"Yes, but they're waiting for me downstairs. Just give me a hug, and I'll leave this place." Anton said as he opened his arms, waiting for Emma to approach.

Emma approached Anton and whispered, "Sorry for earlier; things haven't been going well lately, so it's difficult for me..."

Anton, who embraced his little girlfriend, slipped the money he had withdrawn from the ATM and said, "There's nothing to worry about. I'm a very indifferent man, and I wouldn't get angry with someone as beautiful as you... Well, see you at school."

Moving away, Anton kissed Emma's forehead, and after saying goodbye to her, he walked to the end of the hallway, where he stopped. "Alright, I'll need to deal with these lazy drunks."