Chapter 7: Chapter 7

"We need to change our looks again."

I nodded at Ethan's suggestion, and I followed his gaze to the kitchen. When he returned a few minutes later, he was holding scissors. I suddenly looked at my hair, which had stretched a bit. Ethan's hair is slowly falling back to its previous color. I swallowed the lump in my throat when he approached me and was about to cut my hair when I took a step away from him. Ethan was stunned and raised an eyebrow, wondering why I walked away from him. I took a deep breath and smiled bitterly.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not really used to cutting my hair. I feel like I'm ugly."

I know my reason is superficial, but I haven't cut it much in the few years. I'm still not used to just cutting my hair short. I feel like I am much more assured when it's long rather than short. I know I had a haircut before, but now that it's getting longer, I can't cut it again.

When I lifted my face up to look at Ethan, I caught him staring at me. He exhaled, and a smile slowly faded from his lips. He approached me and stroked my head. The way he looks at me is like you're going to thaw in your spot. My heartbeat accelerated when his eyes looked down at my lips, watching them closely.

"Baby, you're beautiful as always, no matter how long or short your hair is. Your face is cute and small makes me want to suck you."

Suddenly I slapped him on the arm and stared at him. He laughed and grabbed something from behind him. It was a hat, and he put it on my head. He fixed my hair and removed some dust that was left. His eye examines my whole face. It seems I am a diamond he needs to take care of.

"Don't ever think you are ugly, Natasha," he whispered before leaving a trail of kisses on my head. I smiled to myself. What he said somehow gave me the spirit to become confident about myself.

He moved away from me and took care of himself. I looked down at Bobby, who was focused on us, looking like he was planning to go along. Ethan and I agreed that the two of us would leave first and that Bobby would be left alone at home. The house is in the middle of the forest. Undoubtedly, there are no authorities out there who can enter inside it, so Bobby is safe alone. If anything ever happens, Ethan instructed him to stay in the upstairs room when we left.

"You can't go with us, Bobby. We're just going to go get some groceries." I told him, and he immediately understood. He stuck out his tongue and then ran away, probably rushing towards the room on the upper floors.

I took a breath and looked out into the middle of the woods. I'm just hoping that no police can chase us this time, and our plan to look for the remaining cursed humans to ask for answers will be prosperous. I couldn't afford to see their disappointed eyes on Ethan after suffering for many years with this. He deserves all the wonders in this world to have a healthy life.

He suddenly looked my way, and his eyes gleamed with pure bliss when he saw my face. I noticed he changed the cut of his hair. It wasn't long anymore, and he looked cleaner than before. It actually suits him, and it made him ten times more coquettish.

"Let's go," he said, and off we went.

Ethan locked all the doors and windows inside using the key we had found in the room upstairs. We told Bobby to keep quiet if an invader gets inside the house. Bobby understood the assignment, and we locked him inside the room but opened the windows for him to have some air to breathe. After organizing the place, we decided to step out of the porch and leave the mansion. I don't have a really great sense of direction, but Ethan told me he knows the route.

We walked for hours until we reached the highway. I roamed my eyes, spotting if there was a city or a town nearby, when Ethan suddenly pointed at something.

"There, up ahead."

I squinted my eyes, following his fingers where he was looking at. I actually didn't see anything, but Ethan was so sure of what he had seen since he suddenly transformed into his werewolf form and grabbed my body.

"Hold on."

Ethan didn't waste any more time as he fled away from the road and lurched towards the path he was taking. I wrapped my arms around his neck, scared for my dear life to fall from his grip. Ethan was so swift, as if everything from my vision was starting to fade, when something caught my eyes.

It's a town!

"Ethan stopped! You're gonna get seen here!"

He suddenly ceased on his tracks as if on cue, and dust particles swung all over. I coughed and waved my hand, trying to see in clear sight what had happened when Ethan yanked me closer to him. When I opened my eyes, I caught him looking down at me.

"Are you ready?"

I didn't answer him. Instead, I looked again at the town in front of us and saw people yelling, cars honking, and everyone was having their own business. You could tell this is a bustling town and populated. However, something is telling my guts that going out today wasn't a good idea. Or maybe, I am just scared that there might be someone out there that will chase us again.

I guess I have a new fear that is unlocked now.

I nodded, letting out a sigh.

"I am ready."

Suddenly, the heavy atmosphere surrounded us, and everything felt so phantasmagoric while walking on the busy side road. We heard screams of choler and regrets coming from the streets. Drivers were honking their cars excessively just to get in front. I couldn't bear to even watch the blustery in a group of kids that we passed by. This place is hellish but the closest town we could ever see.

"Are you okay?" I heard Ethan whisper and nod, tightening my grip around his arms. We just need to hurry and buy the things we need. I glanced at Ethan, who was observing the place carefully. His eyes were roaming around the citizens, scrutinizing them when we accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry." I was the one who said the apology and bowed my head a little. The man wearing a hoodie and long coat just accepted our mistakes and took off. I let out a shaky breath since it's been days since we hadn't encountered someone. When I looked up at Ethan, his eyes were trailing the guy we bumped into. He probably thinks he's weird since the man was covering his face, but when I yank Ethan, that's when he snaps back to reality.

"Ethan?" I called his name, and he shook his head.

"Maybe I am just overthinking the cops followed us here," he mumbled, then placed his arms above my shoulder.

"Do not engage with anyone. Our only motive is to look for a twin and buy our groceries. If we can not find any other twin here, we can look for another day." he mumbled, and I took it earnestly.

"But, how are we so sure, Ethan, that we only need to look for twins?" I asked, and that stopped the period. Ethan knitted his brows in a straight line before speaking.

"I just feel it." then he pulled me towards our destination. I didn't say anything as I just continued to look at Ethan's broad back that led me to where we were going. I just hope we wouldn't encounter someone here that will make us regret it in the first place.

We finally found a market. We were ordered to grab our shopping cart before stepping inside. It's good that Ethan manages to save some of his savings while running away.

The cold blow of air conditioning greeted us. I glanced around to see many people had gone out. The place was crowded, so Ethan decided to wrap his arms around my waist and pull me closer to him.

"We need to stay alert and let ourselves dive into the sea of people. If there are authorities wandering around, act like a normal person who isn't hiding from anyone," he whispers. I do get the idea of getting paranoid since we have moved from one place to another, and they still kept track of us. I just hope that we can end this misery once and for all to get back to our everyday lives. Ethan can go around the city like a free citizen.

Even though the police have not yet proven our real identities and how Natasha and I were connected to the werewolf they saw in the picture, our lives are still in the line. We can not sacrifice ourselves after everything we have been through. I sighed, then shook my head. I need to stop thinking about these and just enjoy for right now with Ethan.

Ethan stopped the pushcart and leaned on the aisle of vegetables. While inspecting, I suddenly shuddered. As if someone was looking in our way. I glanced around. No one was here in the aisle except Ethan and me. However, the heavy feeling hadn't subsided yet, so I shook my head until something caught my eyes.