Rebecca opened her eyes and found herself covered under a blanket.
"..." She removed the blanket and stared at the ceiling with a confused look on her face.
"This is the best sleep I have had in months," she muttered.
She sat up and yawned while rubbing her eyes and uttered, "What's the time? Is Rudy back yet?"
She looked at the clock, and much to her shock, it was past 8 PM.
"...!" She immediately got up from the bed and rushed to the living room, only to find it filled with Joe's apartment stuff.
"Right. This was supposed to come today. Joe even called me in the morning to remind me about it…" Rebecca sighed and rubbed her hands on her face in frustration.
"Wait, if the stuff is here, then that means, Rudy is home too. Oh my god, I am already late for work and I have yet to make dinner!" Rebecca panicked. "Today has been a horrible day for me. Everything is messed up!"
She immediately rushed to the kitchen to cook something for Rudy before leaving for work, but she saw the stove was one, and she could smell the delicious aroma of the food.
"..."
Confused, she walked further in and removed the lid to see the butter chicken was being cooked. She couldn't help but take another sniff and fill her lungs with the aroma.
"Did Rudy make this?" Rebecca wondered. "But who taught him to cook like this? And how did he bring the ingredients?"
Rebecca was even more confused than before, so she decided to ask Rudy.
GASP!
'Wait, did he bring a girl with him?!'
She walked upstairs to check on Rudy and see if he really brought a girl with him, but much to her surprise, the room was empty.
"Huh? Where did he go?"
Rebecca went downstairs again and knocked on the bathroom door.
"Rudy, are you taking a bath?"
Rebecca waited for a few seconds for a reply, but she was met with silence.
"Could it be that he is not home yet?" Rebeca went to the front door to check if his shoes were there. "His shoes are here, and his sandals too. So where is he?"
Rebecca searched through the entire house, but she didn't find Rudy.
"Where did he go?!" Rebecca panicked.
She immediately rushed to her room to grab her phone, so she could call his phone, but she stopped when she saw a horned shadow in her room.
She stopped in her tracks and stood in silence as the shadow grew bigger, meaning it was coming closer to her.
Rebecca instinctively stepped backward as the shadow kept getting closer. But she bumped into something and jolted with a scream: "Eeek!"
"Whoa! Mom. What's wrong?" Rudy asked from behind Rebecca.
Rebecca turned around and hugged Rudy without saying anything.
'Her body is shaking!' Rudy hugged Rebecca back and stroked her back until she calmed down.
"What happened?" Rudy asked in a calm voice.
"Where were you?! I have been calling your name for ages!" Rebecca yelled with teary eyes.
"I was in the bathroom," Rudy replied calmly.
"Then why didn't you reply when I called you?!"
"I was wearing clothes, and I was holding the towel with my mouth. I came out as soon as possible," Rudy replied.
"..." Rebecca glared at Rudy without saying anything.
Rudy caressed Rebecca's face and asked in a gentle voice: "What's wrong. Did you have a nightmare or something?"
Rudy brought his face close and kissed Rebecca on the lips, leaving Rebecca speechless.
"...!"
Rebecca pushed Rudy back, and she suddenly opened her eyes.
"...."
She looked at the ceiling with a disappointed look on her face and muttered, "So it was a dream?"
Rebecca got up from her bed and left her room. But she stopped in her tracks after seeing Joe's stuff in the living room. She also smelled the same delicious aroma she smelled in the dream.
"..."
She hesitantly walked into the kitchen and checked the food, and it was indeed butter chicken.
Baffled, she turned around to look at her room, and sure enough, she saw a horned shadow there.
"...!"
She stepped back and bumped into Rudy.
"Whoa! Mom, what's wrong?" Rudy asked.
Rebecca skipped everything because she was too scared, and pointed her finger in her room and said, "I saw a shadow in my room."
As soon as Rudy heard that, the glass on the table shattered into pieces.
Rebecca turned to the kitchen and muttered, "What's going on?"
"Don't worry, mom, it was just wind."
After saying that, Rudy entered Rebecca's room and activated his see-through ability to inspect the room thoroughly. But no one was there.
'I was standing right behind mom, but I didn't see anything. I don't sense any presence either. Maybe she just saw her reflection or something? It's night and only a few lights are on. She was also sleeping a while ago, so there is a chance that she just…'
Rudy glanced back at Rebecca, who was still looking at the broken glass with a confused look on her face.
'I managed to keep my anger in control. But I guess that glass was weak, to begin with.'
Rudy walked back to Rebecca and said, "There is nothing, mom."
"But I saw a shadow," she said.
"Maybe you simply saw your shadow?" Rudy wondered and pointed his finger at his shadow that was falling in Rebecca's room. "See?"
"But it had horns! And it was getting bigger as I stepped back…" Rebecca stated with a troubled look on her face as though she was having second thoughts about what she saw.
'Horns? Now, that's not something one would see in a normal condition…' Rudy once again scanned the entire house, and he couldn't see anyone.
'Well, I have to calm her down, so let's act natural for now.' Rudy placed his hands on Rebecca's shoulders and said, "Let's eat dinner."
"I will take care of this broken glass first."
"There is no need. Let it be, I will take care of it later."
"But—"
"You are getting late for work, right?"
Rebecca reluctantly agreed and went to the kitchen with Rudy.
"I will serve—"
"There is no need." Rudy placed Rebecca on the chair and said, "Let me do it."
"..."
Rebecca was confused because Rudy was acting differently, but she didn't mind being treated with love.
Rudy served the food to Rebecca and sat beside her.
