One

Four years later

Present day

"She says it's urgent, sir," the young woman repeats to her interlocutor, glancing at me carefully.

"How urgent?"

I smile sweetly at the woman. Her big, blue and innocent eyes blink at me with fear, and I almost feel bad.

Almost. Too bad she's working with the wrong people.

"If he doesn't believe how urgent it is, we can show you," I state as I lean against the counter, showing her my hidden weapons underneath my coat.

The receptionist swallows, her eyes widening. She turns slightly her head, looking at the floor as she takes the phone again.

"Clara?"

"Clara, huh?" I smile, hearing the voice on the other end of the phone that she can barely hold right now. She turns her head slightly towards me, nodding.

"Listen, honey, I don't have the whole night. So—"

"Tell your stupid boss we need to see him. Right now," Andrew interjects, and I snap my eyes towards him.

He ignores the cold look I give him and stares at the woman.

"Okay, okay, you—you can go," she stutters, her eyes widened with fear.

She unlocks the door for us, avoiding our eyes. I stare at her with doubt, wondering if she'll call the cops by stupidity.

Oh, right. She won't. They are the criminals.

"I told you to let me talk," I hiss to Andrew, my new partner since a month now.

The worst fucking month of my life.

"We're running out of time," he only replies as bitterly as me, taking off his fake glasses as I roll my eyes.

He removes a couple of blonde strands from his forehead and I scowl. Andrew is a smart guy and he knows it, which means he's always reminding it to every single person he meets.

Annoying smartass.

Gripping his arm before we move, I glare at him.

"Don't do anything stupid, Drake. I don't want to be responsible for that."

He returns my look, but he knows that I'm serious.

I really need to talk to Mr. Neil after this.

*

"What the hell were you thinking? If it wasn't for me saving your ass, you would already just be a memory!"

I cross my arms, waiting for what he has to say this time.

Andrew shakes his head, glaring at me. "Always so sweet, aren't you?"

I raise my eyebrows in shock, stepping towards him.

"That's it? I just saved your life, moron. You could just say something like... thank you?" I say dryly, exhausted by this.

"Enough!" Garry Neil, our boss and the founder of the North Agency exclaims loudly, getting our silence.

He looks at us from behind his square glasses, before he sighs and takes them off. His brown hair already turning grey is curling on the top, and his dark blue eyes hold enough authority to shut you up.

Garry, like I often call him but only when we're the two of us, crosses his big hands on his desk before looking at us.

"Nobody died and you both successively fulfilled the mission. That's all that matters."

He pauses and stares at Andrew.

"Agent Drake, I suggest you listen a little more to Miss Montgomery. She's in the field long enough to know what she's doing, so long that my hair turned grey."

I smile a little.

"As for you," he turns towards me and I lose my smile. "Do an effort. He's your partner."

I look down and grit my teeth.

"Now get some rest. You both deserve it," he concludes, putting his glasses back on.

"Thank you, sir." Andrew gives him a nod before he exits the room.

He still hasn't thanked me for saving his life.

"He doesn't need to, Sophia." I jump in surprise at Garry's words, wondering if I spoke out loud. "In this job, it's not about who saves the most time each other's life."

"Can I go alone on a mission, next time? I don't need a partner." I sigh, crossing my arms.

"You know that's not possible, Sophia," he just replies, like always.

This is his favorite sentence.

Mine is: I don't give a fuck.

But of course, I can't say that to the man who is my boss and treated me pretty much like his own daughter since the day he found me and brought me to the agency.

So, I hold back my thoughts and nod.

"I have to go. Thank you, Garry." I turn towards the door.

"Don't you prefer to get some rest before?"

I shake my head, tightening my grip on my keys. "I can't."

"Agent Montgomery," he calls me back again, and I glance at him. "Today is the day, isn't it?"

The lump in my throat gets bigger. I blink, raise my head up, shut down my feelings, forget about it.

"Yes," I answer calmly. "Today is one of the days that can't be forgotten."

Unfortunately.

"And I know you haven't forgotten either, Mr. Neil," I conclude, not needing his confirmation to my statement.

*

The grass cracks under my feet as I walk, my heartbeat weirdly remaining calm. The birds sing their song, the sun is still shining at this hour of the day. Rare are moments like these in my life.

When I stop in front of her, I'm afraid to look. For a moment, I'm afraid to feel.

As I look though, I realize how easier it is. And I don't know if this thought should scare me or make me feel better.

Clearing my throat, I raise my head. "Uh, hi."

I put down the flowers in front of her before I step back and look around me. After a moment, I let out a small chuckle.

"Wow. This is ridiculous. I don't even know what to tell you anymore." I bite my lip and shake my head. "Well, I guess I should start by apologizing. I didn't come last year, nor the year before."

I pause, shifting on my feet. "I don't even have excuses."

"That should be enough for you to be ashamed of me, right?" I laugh bitterly. "Your twenty-two-year-old daughter... time flies by, huh?"

After a long silence, I sit down right beside her tombstone. I run my hand across the grass, searching for something to say.

Mom.

I was eight years old when my mom was killed by my father.

How ironic is it that I witnessed the death of everyone that I loved?

And so, at the age of eight, I was found by Garry Neil at the side of the road, alone, my eyes red and swollen from crying, with just an old doll in my right hand.

Because oh, I could save my stupid doll. But not my mother.

Garry found me after I've just run away because that's what my mother last told me;

"Run, Sophia!" she screamed, her eyes filled with tears as she tried to get away from my father's hold.

And so that's what I did. I ran, I ran until her screams became just distant sounds, until I heard nothing else than my own cries and my own breathing and my own heart breaking and then nothing.

I was just a kid.

I think about earlier with Garry. Of course, he remembered. How could he forget the day he pretty much adopted me? Because that's the truth. The agency became the only family I have.

They never found my father. When I grew up and asked about it, Garry said they couldn't find any traces of him. And so, they declared he was probably just dead. I mean, with all the drugs he was taking, it was a possibility.

I didn't believe it though, and I still don't.

He isn't dead. That bastard is somewhere, hiding, and I will find him and get justice for her.

This is my own, personal mission.

And I will fulfill it, no matter what.

*

HEY. IT'S ME.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Destroying Love!

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