6

Reverend Apocalysis: Reality Surpassed Fiction

Capítulo 6 – Something Unexpected

An hour ago.

"I'm leaving, Mom. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Come back soon, Emma. I'll prepare a very special dinner." Emma's mother replied from the living room while watching TV.

Emma, an eighteen-year-old high school senior, is in the same grade as Anton, her boyfriend. They recently argued over nothing in particular, a trivial matter upon reflection, but she still couldn't find the words to apologize.

As she left home, she headed to a nearby supermarket where she usually buys groceries. Her mother had recently fallen ill, and the expenses for her medicine were so high that they could barely afford to eat. Emma needed to work to at least cover her school expenses.

Perhaps that's why their relationship had stalled. Although Emma sees it that way, she knows that such insignificant things don't matter much to Anton. They had maintained a stable relationship for the past two years, but recent problems with her mother had destabilized her life, as she couldn't handle two things at once. Perhaps it was this stress that led her to argue with him when she heard that Anton wanted to join the army if his plan to go to college didn't work out.

As Emma descended in the residential building elevator, the faint reflection of the metal door revealed her charming face. Her hair was dark brown, thin eyebrows, and eyes of the same color that matched her hair. Her height wasn't too tall, which made her look good.

But for Emma, this was insignificant because being pretty for others is all she has. No one could understand her as well as Anton, and that's why they became a couple. Still, the world for her is too irritating; she is angered by the fact that she has to strive to be a good person when others who have an easy life are complete jerks.

Throughout her life, she didn't have a good childhood with the death of her father, her mother's deterioration over the years because she was the only one fighting to get ahead was evident, and it devastated her. The expenses were so high that Emma had even thought about dropping out of school, but she knew that if she did, there wasn't much future for the two of them alone.

If, for some reason, she got sick, her mother would have to take care of her, and then she wouldn't be able to work. Expenses like paying rent, utilities, and many other things, including her mother's medicine, would be severely limited. Emma cried silently every night; she had no one else until she met Anton, who saved her from a man who wanted to harm her.

As the months passed, they discovered that they attended the same school, so their relationship became even closer. She doesn't know when it happened, but she became very dependent on Anton to relieve her frustration, just as he depended on her to get out of the house a bit.

Both had reached the point where even if they were just dating, there wouldn't be much difference. Beyond the emotional connection, they spent most of their time together. Just when Emma thought everything was improving in her life, her mother fell seriously ill last week.

"Should I call him?" Emma turned on her old cellphone and dialed Anton's number, but after it rang, a voice saying her balance was depleted reached her ears, making her frown and curse silently.

Right now, she couldn't afford to spend money on trivial things like data for her phone, let alone try to pay to make calls, especially since her mother's medicines had recently run out, so they had to buy more.

"Well, I'll see if there are some discounted items before going for the vegetables..." Emma crouched a moment after entering the supermarket. Her indifferent face gave her a unique allure that captivated many men, but in her eyes, they were all just lying idiots who only cared about the physical.

Needless to say, some of her old friends had been deceived after having intimate relationships with their partners. That was all many men sought in pretty girls. Although that wasn't the majority of cases, it was evident that having a relationship at a young age was always subject to risks.

A youthful affair meant that both the man and the woman were not mature enough to understand what each was willing to offer to the other. To make this work, one needs to know perfectly what their value is; otherwise, the relationship would only last a few years, if not less.

"These seem to be reasonably priced, fits my budget..." Emma reached out and took some pasta bags, but at that moment, she felt a piercing gaze that made her frown.

Right behind her, a man who seemed to be checking the TVs was actually staring at her shamelessly. It's not that this hadn't happened before, but now it seemed different because this thirty-year-old man appeared to be drunk, and there were obvious signs that he was also on drugs.

"To think the only thing I was missing was an idiot like you..." Emma was furious but decided not to make a scene and continued her shopping. However, wherever she went, this intoxicated man followed her without exception.

Several minutes had passed, and Emma was losing her patience. When she turned her head, the man's steps had increased in speed, so she grabbed a glass bottle ready to defend herself.

"Hey, asshole, I was ignoring you, but it's very obvious you've been following me for the last ten minutes, so stop or I'll call the police." Emma's voice was filled with coldness, without any fear of confronting the man in front of her.

"Darling, I'm going the same way. Who do you think you are to talk to me like that, you damn bitch?" the man asked, looking at Emma menacingly. By his tattoos and bandanas in his hands, it was obvious he belonged to a gang.

"Just go to hell and don't follow me." Emma turned around with her shopping cart while feeling increasingly worried, but still, the only way to get rid of a stalker like this was to go to a crowded place.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, so listen when I do."

“Go to hell, I told you to stop following me!” Just as Emma was about to throw the bottle at her harasser and run, a voice she was very familiar with sounded behind her.

"Anton..." Emma let out those words as the figure of her boyfriend advanced towards the man with malicious intentions. She knew her boyfriend better than anyone, he had a bad temper with people who sought trouble, and he had fought several times at school, so if she let him advance, things could happen that were better to avoid.

"Is there a problem, friend?" Anton looked at the man with tattoos on his face coldly.

"You idiot kid, if I want trouble, you don't have the guts to solve it." When the man said this, he lifted part of his shirt, and the grip of a gun showed above his underwear.

Anton smiled and said, "If you show a gun, you better know how to use it. Is a drunkard like you faster than me?"

When the man heard those words, he saw a gun in Anton's hands and frowned, but knowing that the other party was also armed, he said, "Screw both of you, I'm out of this stupid place."

"Shouldn't you apologize? Damn gangster..."

"Screw you!"

Anton was about to unleash his anger on this guy who had harassed his girlfriend when suddenly a slender hand held his arm.

"That's enough, Anton, let's get out of here," Emma said as she looked him in the eyes. She wanted to end this as soon as possible since seeking more trouble was something she didn't want.

"Did that idiot do something to you?" Anton asked as his hand touched Emma's cheek. His eyes showed a brutality that was normally hidden under a friendly smile or indifference towards others.

Emma shook her head and said, "I'm fine, Anton, he was just following me since I entered the supermarket, but it's nothing serious."

"You should have called security or me immediately. Why do you always try to handle everything on your own? It could have been dangerous. What if I weren't here?" Anton asked, slightly annoyed by Emma's actions but more annoyed by that idiot from a moment ago.

"I'm fine, that's what matters." Emma hugged Anton without saying anything more. She had seen the gun he had, but she didn't say anything. In this country where anyone could carry one, her boyfriend's father had told him to carry one wherever he went just as a precaution.

While Emma hugged Anton, he stroked her back while trying to hide his furious expression. He had remembered the training his father had given him, how he should react in a dangerous situation, return pain with more pain, and eliminate the threat if it becomes a headache. After his mother's death, his father had taken care of him as best as he could, so the training that a child wouldn't normally have, Anton had experienced.

But when Emma hugged him, his desire to tear apart that damn gangster slowly faded, and he whispered, "You've always known how to calm me. Why didn't you call me earlier? About the last time, are you still mad?"

Emma looked up and shook her head. "I don't have money to buy data. My mother's medicines are very expensive, and we barely have enough money to eat. Isn't that lamentable? I guess I should double my working hours. The pension has been delayed in recent months, so it's really tough."

"Do you need my help, Emma?" Anton had never helped Emma without her request. The last time he did, she got the wrong idea that he felt sorry for her. But beyond that, he possibly believed that he would have the wrong idea about whether she was being his girlfriend for money or something else.

Although she didn't need money due to the credit card her father always left her, Anton had never known if her economic situation was stable or not. The last time he had mentioned getting a part-time job to his father, he ended up giving him a credit card permanently, so he really didn't know. What he did know was that she never lacked money, no matter how much of it she used.

Emma smiled and said, "You know my answer. Come on, we have to keep shopping."

Yes, she definitely doesn't want to be a supposed burden to him, but Anton always ignored that and bought everything she needed generously so she wouldn't feel bad.