Chapter 195: Take Care of Her
Ring~! Ring~! Ring~!
Jason blinked in surprise and turned away from the system tab to look at the bags that he kept at the side. The bags contained all the things that hadn’t burned down in their house earlier, so there were clothes, shoes, and some utensils in there. But Jason was able to immediately recognize the ringtone that was playing.
’Gina’s phone.’
Jason stood up and walked over to the bag to grab the ringing phone. He looked at the caller ID and immediately felt a hollow feeling in his chest when he saw the name ’mum’ with a heart blinking on the phone. Jason had known Gina’s parents for a long time since both families lived close together since Jason and Gina were kids. His family and theirs had been close friends for as long as Jason could remember, and it was only after Gina’s parents moved to a remote farm outside the city that they lost contact. But Jason could still remember Gina’s mother as a kind woman who had taken care of him and his siblings whenever his parents were busy with the shop, along with Gina’s stern father who always gave them some money to go to the candy store so they wouldn’t bother him. Jason didn’t know if he could talk to them right now.
Jason went back to sit against the wall, and he watched the phone ring for a few seconds before he finally picked it up.
[Hello, Gina. Gina, baby, are you there?]
"Hello."
Jason spoke up calmly, and the person on the other end of the line immediately exclaimed.
[Oh, it’s you, Jason! How are you? Where is Gina?]
Jason scratched the back of his head and released a silent sigh before he answered.
"She’s resting. It was a long day for her."
[Oh, yeah! I heard about the accident at your house and saw the news! They are saying it was some gas pipe explosion! Please, tell me everything is okay. Are either of you hurt?]
Jason began to nod, but he stopped when he realised that they couldn’t see him. He hummed before he said that they were both fine.
"We’re okay, ma’am. Gina just got really tired, so she’s sleeping."
Gina’s mother released a sigh of relief once she heard this and finally said,
[Okay, just tell Gina that I called to say hello and tell her to call me the moment she wakes up, okay?]
[Honey, is that Gina? Gina, is there a dragon in your apartment?]
[Oh, keep quiet, you old coot. You’re going to wake her up. Jason, just take care of yourself now, son. I’ve always been so happy that you’re there to look after our Gina. She’s a bit reckless and immature, but you’ve always looked after her for us, so we never had to worry. Please make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble, son. Thank you so much.]
Jason covered his face with his hand to try and stop his guilt from consuming him, and he made sure his voice was as calm as possible as he spoke.
"Yeah, you’re welcome, ma’am. I’ll look after her. I promise."
Gina’s mother smiled on the other side of the phone and was about to speak up again, but she was suddenly cut off by her husband.
[Is that a marriage proposal, Jason!? I’ve always said you were too good for that girl. If you want to marry her, she’s all yours, but make sure you actually want it! She was already a handful as a child, so she must be ten times worse now that she’s older!]
[Oh, hush! Whose side are you on here? Our daughter will make a great wife! Jason, darling, thank you again for taking care of her. We’ll talk to you later. Bye-bye.]
The phone beeped off as they ended the call, and Jason let out a tired breath. He turned to the side calmly and he blinked in surprise as he saw Riyala standing there. She was wearing a short gown that barely reached down to her knees, and there was water dripping from her hair to show that she had just gotten out of the bathroom. She was standing by the door, watching him with a sad look on her face, and once she was sure that he was done with his call, she spoke up.
"Are you okay?"
Riyala’s voice was filled with emotion, and Jason huffed as he leaned back and hit his head on the wall. Was he okay? What a pointless question. Wasn’t it obvious?
"I’m going to be busy for a while. I’m going to raid a Gate tonight and another one tomorrow, so in the meantime, you need to stay here."
Riyala’s eyes widened, and she immediately took steps closer to Jason. Her bare feet left wet marks on the floor, and Jason felt his eyes widen when he looked up and saw the way the wet gown folded around her breasts. Was she not wearing any underwear? Jason turned away and threw his head back into the wall again. He wasn’t interested enough to care about Riyala’s modesty.
Riyala came closer until she was standing in front of Jason, and she knelt to the ground and spoke in a serious tone.
"I want to come with you, Jason."
"Why?"
’Because I care about you and I want to be with you.’
This thought passed through Riyala’s mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She paused for a moment before she finally spoke.
"I—I can watch your back. And I’m good with healing magic."
"I don’t need anyone to watch my back, and I don’t need your healing magic."
Jason’s voice was emotionless, and there was a sharp bite present in it that made Riyala’s heart squeeze painfully! It was almost like Jason was trying to tell Riyala that she was useless to him, but Riyala knew that she was judging Jason wrongly. This was the same man who had helped her when no one was willing to, so she knew that Jason was a good person. This version of Jason had been created by the pain of losing Gina. At that moment, Jason sounded like he didn’t care about anything in the world; he was so empty. Riyala was sure that this wasn’t what Gina would have wanted for Jason. She wouldn’t want Jason to lose himself like this.
Riyala reached out and took Jason’s hands off his face, and Jason was finally forced to look at her. She stared at Jason with a kind gaze and spoke softly.
"Jason, I’ve made a lot of mistakes since I came to Earth, and it’s cost you a lot already. I can’t think of what I would do if you went out there and hurt yourself, and I wasn’t there to help you. I know I’m nothing compared to your power, but at least I can help you if you get injured. Please, let me just do something to help you. Let me do something to try and pay you back."
Riyala’s plea was something that came straight from her heart. There was a strange desire inside her, and it was telling her to stay with Jason and make sure that he was okay. She had to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. Protecting Jason was all that mattered to her at that moment. She looked into Jason’s empty eyes and bit her lips softly when she didn’t get an answer for a few seconds. Was he really not going to accept her help? Jason had every right to tell her not to come because she knew that he was strong enough to not need her help, but she would feel really bad if she couldn’t even be there for him after everything that he had done for her!
Jason finally sighed and pulled his hand back from Riyala’s. He stood up and ran a hand through his hair while talking.
"You need to put on some underwear. I can see everything."
Riyala’s head shot down quickly and her cheeks blew up in a blush when she saw that her nipples were showing through her nightgown! She quickly put a hand over her chest and ducked her head in embarassment!