THE BAD BOY OF MANHATTAN
Chapters 20. Misery.

"Ah, Damn it (Sia lan)!" elric shouted as he took off his VR headset and threw it on the bed. "I can't believe they made Deviljho that strong," his grunts annoyed.

Michael who was sitting leaning his back on the sofa in the corner of the room, laughed. "Told ya (what's the factory)," he said while exhaling cigarette smoke.

While Ryan who was busy with his gadget beside Michael just smirked a little. He is more interested in the game gadjetnya than the game that Elric and Michael are talking about.

"Poison Ammo is the best ammunition to fight Deviljho, El," explained Michael.

Elric. "The problem is, it's very difficult to steal Rhenoplos eggs for the material." He breathed his irritated breath.

"Yeah, I know (i know)," said Michael.

Elric stroked his chin while walking to and fro inside Ryan's not-so-extensive room. His brain was busy figuring out how to defeat Rhenoplos so easily to retrieve his eggs, then make Ammo poison and defeat Deviljho with ease.

The sound of police sirens and ambulances from outside the seaborne building attracted the attention of the three young men. Elric approached the window and checked down.

"What's wrong?" ask Ryan.

"Eitherway. There's a lot of them in the building next door. Emma lives in, doesn't she?" Elric asked back.

"Ugh, Emma's your teacher, huh?" Ryan asked again, chuckling.

"Not anymore (not anymore)" Elric said. "Nathan Bradley replaced Emma with a dull old woman" he grumbled.

Michael and Ryan laugh at Elric's unfortunate fate. While the long-haired teenager again noticed what was going on down there, in front of the apartment building next door. From the tenth floor, he could see clearly that three police officers were pushing a stretcher containing the body of someone who had been covered in cloth and tied up, into the ambulance.

Elric's eyes rounded when he saw a girl crying hysterically and forced into the hearse. The two black middle-aged women who were holding the girl tightly hugged her.

"Emma?" Elric's lips spoke softly. The girl who was crying hysterically was Emma. Elric hurried out of the room.

"Where are you going?" ask Ryan.

"I want to check down" said Elric.

"At least just people in accidents or cases of domestic violence" Ryan chuckled.

"I'll be right back (i'll be right back)" Elric said, closing Ryan's bedroom door. He stepped out of the apartment and into the elevator to the lobby.

Arriving at the lobby Elric poured out of the building and broke through the crowd there. She saw Emma crying in the arms of a black woman. An ambulance carrying a corpse who knows who, has left the place.

"Emma, what happened (what happened )?" ask Elric about Emma. But the girl did not answer. He looked in shock and just cried in the woman's arms while closing his eyes.

"Jesus (o Lord)" said Elric no less shocked.

"Bring Emma in, son," the black woman once again ordered, letting go of her arms to Emma and handing the girl to Elric.

Emma who was still sobbing and closing her eyes seemed to not realize that the person she was hugging and taking her in the elevator to the second floor was Elric.

Elric opens the door and guides Emma into the woman's apartment. He looked for a comfortable place for the girl to lie down. Finally, he decided to bring Emma into one of the rooms whose door was slightly open.

"Nrank ...." Elric touched the arm of Emma who was now lying lethargic on the bed with blank eyes. "Are you okay (are you okay)?" ask her in a soft voice. But in his heart he cursed himself. Emma is not okay. His mother had just left for good, in a surprising way.

Elric pulled out a chair from under the dresser, placed it beside the bed and sat on it. She saw the beautiful face of Emma who was full of sorrow.

"I can't believe this, I hope it's just a dream (i can't believe this, I hope it's just a dream)." I heard Emma muttering. The girl curled up while covering her face with both palms.

Hesitating Elric grabbed Emma's palm and grasped it. The girl did not refuse. Elric then stroked her gently. "I'm so sorry, Emma (i'm sorry, Emma)," he said sincerely. But it made Emma's lips nosedive and the girl again escaped her crying.

"Hey, hey, Emma ...." Elric moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He pulled Emma's arm and carried the girl's body into his arms.

I don't know what Emma was thinking at the time, so she didn't refuse Elric's treatment of her. He buried his face in Elric's chest and sobbed there. Even his two arms coiled to the young man's back and hugged him tightly. Emma needs someone right now. Someone to lean on. I don't know who that was.

Elric tried to give Emma some reinforcement by gently stroking her back. So close to Emma, her face was warming up and her chest was filled with strange vibrations. It was the first time Elric had been this close to a woman. All this time no one had been able to attract his attention. The girls at school are nothing special. But Emma, ever since the girl landed a fist on her face that caused her nose to break, she has caught Elric's attention. Emma is fierce, annoying, chatty, and makes her always want to make trouble with the girl. But that's what's interesting about Emma. He is what he is and not fake.

Emma cried for a long time in her arms. Elric did not dare to disturb him. He only listened to the cry of the girl until it subsided by itself. And maybe because of tired of crying, Emma also let go of her embrace on Elric and returned to her body. Her thoughts were so heartbroken and so deep, and the shock of her mother's sudden death and the indications of suicide, that Emma did not seem very aware of who she was with at the moment. He just wanted to fall asleep and forget his pain. Wishing that when you wake up tomorrow, all this is just a dream.

"How is she (how is she doing)?" asked the woman from the door made Elric, who was looking at Emma's face, gasp.

"Owh, I think she's okay (i think it's okay)," replied Erlic who saw that Emma had fallen asleep.

Elric got up from his seat and stepped closer to the black woman with a slightly fat body. "You're Emma's boyfriend?" ask the woman.

"Owh, no, just an ordinary friend" said Elric, scratching his head. He seemed nervous about asking such questions.

The woman smiled. "My name is Lesedi. Just call Lessy. I'm Emma's neighbor. But, I've considered Emma like my own child. Poor that girl ...." Lessy breathed heavily.

Elric finally says goodbye to Lessy and returns to Ryan's apartment. Although he could not take his mind off Emma.

Emma and her misery.

***