Awakening Domination System: But I'm a Slave?-Chapter 274: Caleb Duskwood [2]

"Hey."

A soft voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He turned his head to see a girl approaching. Hazel eyes that caught the fading light. Chestnut brown hair falling past her shoulders in gentle waves. She wore a simple dress, nothing fancy, with a small basket over her arm.

She sat beside him without waiting for permission, settling onto the bench with comfortable familiarity.

"Sorry I took so long today," she said, her voice apologetic. "Had some issues with my roommates. Drama about borrowed books or something equally ridiculous."

Caleb shook his head. "It's fine." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

She reached into her basket and pulled out a wrapped sandwich, homemade, the kind gesture she'd repeated for weeks now. Ever since they'd started meeting here.

"Here." She held it out. "You looked like you'd forgotten to eat again."

He took it with a quiet thanks and unwrapped it.

For a few minutes, they sat in silence. Caleb ate mechanically, his mind still elsewhere. She simply sat beside him, hands folded in her lap, watching the shadows lengthen across the grounds.

It was comfortable. Peaceful. The kind of quiet that didn't demand conversation.

Finally, Caleb swallowed the last bite and looked at her.

"Serena?"

She turned her head, hazel eyes meeting his. "Yeah?"

"You're very quiet today."

A small smile touched her lips.

"I could say the same about you. But then again, you're always quiet."

"Not like this." His blue eyes studied her face. "Usually you talk. Tell me about your day. Complain about professors or roommates or whatever. Today you're just... sitting."

"Maybe I'm tired."

"Maybe." But his tone suggested he didn't quite believe that.

Serena's smile faded slightly. She looked away, back at the darkening campus. "Or maybe I'm just giving you space. You look like you've had a rough day."

Caleb's jaw tightened fractionally. "What makes you say that?"

"Your knuckles are burned. Your sleeve is scorched. And you're sitting here alone instead of being with your sister like you usually are at this time." She glanced at him. "So. Rough day."

He didn't respond immediately, just stared at his hands, the evidence of the fight he'd just been in.

"Got into it with someone," he said finally. "Two someones, actually."

"Anyone I know?"

"Probably not."

"Ah." She nodded slowly. "Was it worth it? The fight?"

"Don't know yet." His voice was flat. "Maybe. Maybe not."

Serena was quiet for a moment. Then, gently, "Does this have to do with your sister?"

Caleb's expression hardened immediately. "Why would you—"

"Because everything you do has to do with your sister." There was no judgment in her tone. Just observation. "You're here instead of with her, which means either she's safe and you needed space, or something happened that you can't tell her about."

He looked at her sharply. "You're too perceptive."

"So I've been told." She shifted slightly, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. "I'm not trying to pry. You don't have to tell me anything. I just... wanted you to know that if you need to talk, I'm here."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you keep doing this?" Caleb gestured between them. "Meeting me here. Bringing me food. Listening to my problems without asking for anything in return. What do you get out of it?"

Serena tilted her head, considering the question. "Does there have to be a reason? Can't I just... care?"

"In my experience, everyone wants something."

"Then maybe your experience has been with the wrong people." She looked at him directly. "I don't want anything from you, Caleb. I just think you deserve to have someone who gives a damn without ulterior motives."

He studied her face, searching for deception, for hidden agendas. Found nothing but sincerity.

It made him suspicious.

"You barely know me."

"I know enough." She rested her chin on her knees. "I know you're protective of your sister to the point of self-destruction. I know you fight instead of talking because you think words are useless. I know you carry guilt about something that probably wasn't even your fault."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I?" Her voice remained gentle. "Caleb, I see you. The way you watch every shadow like it's a threat. The way you can't relax even when there's nothing to fight. Whatever happened to your sister and to you, it changed something fundamental. And you've been trying to handle it alone ever since."

Caleb's hands clenched into fists. "Stop."

"I'm not trying to—"

"I said stop." His voice was quiet but edged with warning. "You don't know anything about what happened. About what I failed to do. So don't pretend you understand."

Serena was silent for a long moment. Then she sighed softly and stood.

"You're right. I don't know the specifics. And you don't have to tell me." She picked up her basket. "But Caleb? Punishing yourself won't change the past. And isolating yourself won't protect your sister from future harm. At some point, you have to let someone help you carry the weight."

She turned to leave, then paused.

"I'll be here tomorrow. Same time. If you want to talk or just sit in silence, I'll be here."

"Why?" The question came out rougher than intended. "Why do you even care?"

Serena looked back at him, her hazel eyes soft but serious.

"Because everyone deserves at least one person who sees them. Really sees them. Not what they've done or failed to do. Just... them." She smiled faintly. "And I see you, Caleb Duskwood. Whether you want me to or not."

She walked away, leaving him alone under the oak tree.

Caleb sat in the gathering darkness, her words echoing in his mind.

Everyone deserves at least one person who sees them.

He didn't know if he believed that.

But part of him, a small, exhausted part he'd been trying to ignore, wanted to.

Wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe, someone could see him and not just see failure.

He looked down at his burned hands, at the evidence of tonight's violence.

And wondered if redemption was even possible for someone like him.

Or if he was too far gone to deserve it.

The darkness deepened.

And Caleb sat alone, wrestling with questions that had no easy answers.