Chapter 3:
"Hey..hey you okay?"
"Uhhhh," The moan slipped from my lips as someone shook my shoulder frantically.
"Hey! Wake up already," The voice said again. It was obviously male but as far as I could tell, it didn't belong to Jeb. As he began to shake my shoulder again, I reached out to sloppily slap his hand away.
"S-stop." My voice slurred. The intense pounding in my head was unbelievable; it hurt more than the time Sam convinced me to go horseback riding with him which ending quite quickly on count to my horse throwing me. All I remembered of that moment was flying backward then blackness. Sam said something must have spooked the horse but all I knew was that horseback riding was a no-go from now on. I had a headache for days but this, this was mind splitting. How could hitting whatever I hit hurt worse than being thrown from a horse?!
"Snap out of it and I will."
"Ughhh my head."
"Easy there. Go slow," He cautioned as I pushed myself up into sitting position. Opening my eyes, which was about as easy as prying a metal folding chair apart with bare hands, I saw dark eyes peering down at me looking mildly concerned.
"W-who are you? What are you doing here any- Oh my God! You! Get away from-" Jumping over the couch in a way that would make any ninja jealous, I scrambled away from him and lunged for my phone.
"Chill out!" From his face, he obviously was trying to stay calm but his worried tone gave him away. He stood up and ran a hand through his shaggy, black hair, cursing under his breath. "Look, wait."
But like any sensible girl my fingers dialed 911.
"911 What's your emergency?"
Just as I opened my mouth to answer, the guy lunged at me grabbing my waist and pulled me down to the ground.
"Sorry uhh wrong number," He gruffly muttered into the receiver then quickly hit 'end call' and tossed the phone onto the rug where Pooca still slept. Top rate guard dog he is." What the hell?! I told you to-"
"Please…d- don't hurt me," I whispered, tears rimming my eyes. Don't cry! My head screamed to me. It will make you look even more weak than you already are you wimp! But my eyes betrayed me.
"What?!" His confusion actually looking genuinely real until he took in the situation. "Sorry.." He released my waist that he had pinned to the floor and scooted his body from mine. "Damn..Look I'm sorry..I.." He paused to glance over at me and grimaced as he saw my quivering lip, "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Please..don't cry." His hand slowly approached me and without thinking my hand, curled into ball, sloppily hit his nose making him yelp out in pain. "Oww! What the hell was that for?!"
"Get away from me!"
"Owww! You made me bleed!" His eyes accused me as he cupped his nose to capture the scarlet blood that ran from his nose. From the looks of all the oozing blood, I would have to say I must have hit him pretty hard heh heh hehh…
"You broke in!"
"That hardly counts as breaking in, besides you wouldn't let me in and it was pouring outside!" He managed. Blood strain his chin and I kind of felt guilty. Only kind of though.
"Let you in?! Why would I let you in?"
"It was raining," He spat, "I forgot my key and I knocked for about five minutes yet you still didn't let me in! I..opened the door the only other way I knew how."
"By breaking it?! And why would you have a key to this place?"
"I didn't break the door, I picked the lock idiot. Speaking of idiots, I work here you moron! Who the hell are you?!"
"W-wha?" Works here? Jeb said don't be creeped out if I saw a strange young man lurking about, he works for me my voice helpfully supplied. Clenching my eyes tight I sucked in a gulp of air, "You work here."
"Yes I work here. Now who are you before I call the cops on you." My eyes popped open and meet two angry black orbs. Well I just made my first enemy here, congrats Max.
"I'm Max…Jeb's daughter.."
"You're Jeb's daughter?"
"Yes I'm Jeb's-"
"Look whatever, I'm Nick. I'd go into detail but my nose is kind of bleeding thanks to you."
"I..I'm sorry..I thought.." Shifting foot to foot, I suddenly found my brightly painted toe nails very, very interesting. "Here," I dashed to the kitchen and snagged up a dish-towel and thrust it at him.
"Thanks, I guess." Putting it up to his nose, he took a seat in a nearby armchair making himself comfortable, too comfortable.
"Sooo what exactly do you do here?" Instead of paying attention to me, Nick leaned down and scratched Pooca's side making the dog's tail pound the floor and I grimaced. Thump thump thump. How could I ever live this down? I practically assaulted my father's worker.
"I do the upkeep. Jeb isn't around much so he hired me about a year or so back. What about you? What's your story? Jeb mention you would be coming but didn't say anything else on the matter."
"My mum..she wanted me to meet him," I lied.
"Oh…you like him?"
"He's..fine I guess."
"Just fine?"
"I've been with him for like an hour that is before he high-tailed and left me here all alone so I haven't really got a chance to..get to know him I guess."
"He's a good man, different but he has a good heart. Helped me through rough times in the past but I do have to warn you. This alone thing that you're so scared of? Get over it now. Jeb is rarely here and I doubt that's gonna change just because you're here."
'I'm not s-" I started to protest bit his eyes peeked up at me through dark, thick lashes and my words trailed off.
"Right. Of course you're not. How's your hand?" He asked nodding his head towards the hand I cradled.
"Fine," I lied again. With one last swipe to his nose, he got up and walked to the kitchen to come back again with a blood-free face and an icepack in hand.
"Give it here."
"No! I said I'm fin- Hey!"
"Shut up," He growled as he snatched my wrist and pulled my hand towards him. His touch was light and delicate as his fingers flew across my skin igniting it wherever his fingers gently trailed leaving me mesmerized. "Come closer," He murmured tugging me forward. He was so close, a meager breath away that I could see the faint stubble that dusted his strong jaw creating a dim shadow. Ohh my… Breathing in, I caught of whiff of pine needles and something spicy- cologne? Shampoo perhaps? No it couldn't be shampoo. His hair is drenched and smells like rain. Hmm..I tried to turn away, to avert my zealous gaze but my eyes clung to his rugged features.
I noticed his black hair, still wet and clinging to his face, brushed past his cheekbones laying in tangles on his olive skin. A thin, white scar ran the vertical length of his bottom lip leaving me desperately trying to suppress the urge to trace it with my quivering fingers. What is wrong with me? Max get a hold of yourself girl! But I couldn't. Everything about him was edgy yet intriguing, captivating. "Nothing is broken, just swollen," His gruff voice said startling me out of my daydream all too quick.
"Uhh..thank you," I breathed retracting my hand from his grasp. After a moment of silence he looked up, his charcoal eyes sparkling, "You didn't have to do that."
"Well aware sweetheart."
"…Right. Sooo umm why did you say you were here?"
"Didn't."
"Of course you didn't," I muttered under my breath and although he tried, Nick failed to hide his amused smirk, "Do you usually come here? Where do you live? How about your family, where are they?"
"Nosy one aren't you."
"Well if you just had some creepy guy break into your home, you'd be a little curious too!"
"You think I'm creepy." There was no question in his voice, it lingered in his dark, solid eyes. He leaned back into the armchair, his eyes steadily trained on solely me.
"I…I-"
"I intimated you. Interesting," He drawled in a smooth honey voice while studying me, eyeing me up and down with an unreadable mask. I couldn't help but wonder what he saw. Did he see his boss's daughter, a girl with brown hair and plain brown eyes? Or just a random girl sitting across from him, mildly attractive with sun-streaked brown hair and shimmering chocolate eyes? Maybe a really hot chick with high cheekbones and plump lips? Not likely. Perhaps just another pretty face with a tall figure and slim waist? A stuck-up brat? A cute bookworm? After his scrutinizing inspection was over, he leaned forward resting his forearms on his knees, "Look sorry about what happened tonight, I never meant for any of that to happen like it did. I'm sorry. Other than than..welcome? I hope you like it here?"
"Thanks?-"
"Whatever. Look I would really love to do this all night, chat and what not but I'm really tired so I'm hitting the sack. G'night." He stood and strode to the stairs as if this was something he had done many times before. Maybe it is..
"Excuse me?!" Without stopping or even looking over his shoulder he called back to me.
"You're excused sweetheart!"
XOXOXOXOXOXXOOOXXOXO
Later up in my new room, after five minutes of standing dumbfounded and gaping at the stairs which Nick climbed, I changed into my plaid pj shorts and favorite pink, lacy tank top. Yes I know, me in pink or even in lace for the matter is unprecedented, but his is the side of me that no one knows, the secret side and I'm not talking perverted secret life side. I too believe it or not have a girly side and I'll admit pink lace is indeed my downfall, not that anyone will live to witness it. Not even Sam knew about this secret pleasure and that's huge considering Sam knows nearly everything about me.
Why you ask is this such a big deal? Well..I was brought up to be the strong one. I was the girl who grew up without a dad, the girl who rarely had her mum around, who didn't have all that many friends because kids thought I was weird, I was even the girl who got bullied on occasion. Being stong and fearless was the only way I got through middle school thus my reputation was born. Max: Badass. Only thing was that was kinda all show. Truth: I did break a girl's nose freshman year for calling my best friend fat, I did hang out pretty menacing looking guys, I had more detentions accumulated than most burn-outs, and I had a tendency to back talk to whoever I wanted. Also truth: I loved chick-flicks and romance novels, I adored cute things, loved chocolate chip cookies, bubble baths, and pink lacy things. I had an enormous soft spot for small, fuzzy animals and always dreamt of finding "The One."More truth: I hate roller coasters because they're scary, I hate spiders because they too are scary, and I really hate being alone especially in the dark during thunderstorms because that is really, really scary. Fearless or not? That is the question.
Reaching for my phone I hit speed dial and waited for Same to pick up. Like always he picked up on the second ring.
"Hey babe."
"Sam!" I threw myself backward landing on my new queen four-posted bed with a smile. Whether it was from the comforting embraced of the bed or Sam's voice I'll never know but nonetheless I was happy.
"Everything okay? The phone died and yeah I was worried about you Max."
"Everything is fine. It was just this guy, he works for my dad and-"
"You're there with a guy?"
"Umm well I guess you could say that. He's somewhere-"
"What about us?"
"Us?" I asked dumbly, "I…I um didn't even know there was an 'us' Sam. You never really said anything and that's kind of key in a relationship."
"I thought you knew!"
"Knew what Sam?"
"I…I don't want you with that guy okay?"
"Oh my gosh," I was whole heartedly bemused, "You're jealous aren't you?"
"Max I'm serious. What do you know about this guy? Where's he at anyway?"
"No clue actually. I'm guessing a spare bedroom? I think he stays he often but that's only a guess and all I know is he works for Jeb."
"Nothing else? Max the guy could be a pervert! Why in the hell are you still in the same house with him?"
"Sam it's fine! I'm fine, really. Dad should be home soon anyway. Not like the guy is gonna kill me in my sleep or…"
"Max stop it, you'll give yourself nightmares." The comment stung but only because I knew he was right. He knew me all too well, I mean how couldn't he? He was there when I toilet papered my first house on Halloween which made me nearly pee my pants because I was almost caught, he saw me jump at lame scary movies, scream during cheesy haunted house walks, quiver in thunderstorms. It was pathetic really but that was me: The baby. Nick as right, I had to get over this.
"I'm going to bed. I'll call you in the morning or maybe in the evening. Give my love to the gang!"
"Max wait! Was it something I said? I-"
"Goodnight Sam," I groaned. Closing my eyes, I listened to the raindrops hitting the window in a soft melody and relief washed through me- no more scary thunderstorm. Suddenly my phone buzzed breaking the silence of the night. I hesitated before reaching for it, it's probability Sam again I thought, but when I opened the text it was from a number I didn't recongize.
So how's lover boy?
Who is this?
Your secret admirer.
Excuse me?
You're excused. So is lover boy really jealous of me, I'm curious.
Nick?! How did you get my number? You really are a creep!
Aww that hurts. I know how lover boy feels now.
What does that mean.
That you're pretty snappy.
I am not! Ugh what do you even want?!
To annoy you. And to tell you to not talk so loud, thin walls darlin', paper thin.
You're the next door over?
To the left of you. Feel free to visit anytime via window ;)
Pervert! Go away!
I'm hurt :( You like lover boy more than me.
Stop calling him that. His name is Sam…and I don't like him.
You sure about that?
No..I mean I thought I did. But I'm here now, I have a whole new life!
Which automatically makes him not apart of it? If you like the guy…
I don't.
Righttt
Why isn't Jeb home yet?
Nice change of subject. Road probably flooded, storms always do that to these crummy roads.
Does it storm often?
You afraid of that too?
No!..maybe..
How long you here for??
Idk. All summer and a little into the school year? Why?
You make a list of all the things you're afraid of and I guarantee you by the time you leave, you will be cured of all.
Oh really? You seem so confident. How do you purpose I will be 'cured'?
I'm the cure
You? Lol wow
Go ahead and laugh but I'm serious, I can help you. Let's bet on it. If I cure you of all your fears then I get whatever I want from you and vise versa. Deal?
Lol you're joking
Not at all
…Why not. What do I have to lose anyway, not like you can win this
We'll see
You're full of it
I know. Now go to bed.
You seriously think you can boss me around?
Goodnight Max…sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite….or the boogeyman.
I couldn't help but smile as I texted him a goodnight in return. Maybe Nick is just the person I need: A friend.
There ya be! Hope ya'll are liking it. If ya have any comments or suggestions feel free to leave them down below. Many Thanks -LoneRose :)