An Unexpected Rescue

Ever since Aiden's sudden leave at the shop, I was still left in a state of confusion and curiosity. What exactly had he meant by 'do you remember' and why would he suddenly look so anxious at the mention of my mother?

I had been meaning to ask him that, but I have not seen him around town for the next few days. Whenever I went to the shop, the grocery store, the bakery, the park and even my secret pomegranate tree, I would keep my eyes open for any sight of his dark hair or his pale face, but my efforts would be pointless. It was as though he had just disappeared from town without a trace.

Now, I felt bad, because I might have been the reason he had disappeared. But then again, I felt annoyed, because who in the world just does that without a real reason?

Feeling the annoyance rise up in me again, I shut my laptop – which I had been using to stupidly find advice on how apologize to guys – and got my lazy butt of the desk chair to make my way downstairs into the kitchen to get myself some of the apple cobbler I had made yesterday, because my stomach was already starting to growl in demand for it.

But when I walked out of my room, something from the corner of my eye caught my attention. The door to my mother's room at the end of the hallway was open, and she was standing in front of her dresser mirror, putting on some make-up as she was dressed in a long-sleeved orange chiffon dress that went to her knees.

"Well, don't you look gorgeous?" I commented with a smile as I entered her room, watching her reflection brushing light rouge powder over her pretty cheekbones. I was immediately blinded slightly by the brightness her room had from the amount of vases of colourful flowers placed on strategic corners of her room, which contrasted with the whiteness of the room walls and the bright sunlight that was streaming through.

Mom smiled brightly at the compliment. "Thank you, dear. It's good to know that you think it's lovely."

"Where are you going?" I asked as I took a seat on the edge of her bed, watching as she proceeded to put down the blush and went for a pale pink lipstick. "On a date?" I suspected cheekily.

Mom huffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Melindia. Don't come up with such silly assumptions," she chastised me as she started to put on a pair of pearl earrings. "Lauren Miles, the head of Heatherton's garden society, is having a party today and she personally invited me to be a guest. So that's the real reason I'm getting all dolled up today."

I giggled at the term 'getting dolled up' and then went to help her put on a pearl necklace that matched with her earrings. I took a step back as Mom fluffed up her curly hair to give it more definition. "Melindia, is it alright if you take out the pie in the oven?" she asked me as she went about to prepare her purse. "I have to remember not to forget it when I go to the party."

I nodded and left the room to go downstairs to the kitchen. Grabbing and putting on a pair of oven mitts, I pulled open the oven door and carefully took out the pecan pie that had been baking inside it. The aroma of baked pecan nuts and sweet maple syrup wafted in the air, and I sighed at the deliciousness of the scent. But I had to bear in mind the reminder that the pie was not for me, and left it to cool down on a cooling rack. To quench my hunger for the freshly baked pie, I took out the leftover apple cobbler from the fridge and heated it up in the microwave for a minute. When the microwave dinged, I took it out and tucked into the equally-delicious cobbler, savouring the taste of apples and crust.

As I was about to finish the cobbler on my plate, the sounds of heels clicking down the stairs could be heard, and then Mom came rushing into the kitchen, looking through her small purse to check if she had missed anything out.

"Keys… Phone… Powder… Alright, everything's set," she proudly announced, just as the honking of a car could be hear outside. "Oh! And that's Lauren here to pick me up right now. I will be back before eight, Melindia."

Taking the pie dish that had now cooled down to acceptable warmth, Mom kissed me on the cheek and called out a goodbye before heading out the door. Just a few seconds after the door had closed shut in her wake, the sound of a car driving off could be heard. Very soon, the still silence of the house began to set in.

But as I was washing the plate I had used, I now was faced with a dilemma. Although I usually loved to have the whole house to myself, there was nothing to do at home and I was beginning to feel bored right now from lack of company.

I needed something to do and someone to do that something with, and so I headed for the telephone and dialled in the number of the person I had in mind.

"Hey there, Springtime!" Henrietta's bubbly voice answered on the other end of the line. "What has you calling me on this glorious weekend?"

Sometimes, I don't really understand why Henrietta has got to be so loud so often. But then again, this was one of the traits I loved about her as my friend; she was lively and active and there was always something to do with her.

"Hey, Henri," I greeted back. "You busy today? I'm seriously bored right now and there's no one at home, so I was wondering if you'd like to come over, or if you want to hang out someplace else."

A hiss of disappointment was what I heard next, followed by Henrietta saying apologetically, "Gee, Mel… I really would love to right now… I mean, I haven't been to your house in like forever! But… I have a date in an hour with this guy I met at the cafe yesterday."

I stopped her, saving myself before she could continue to explain to me how she had come to know this guy and go on a date with him. "I get it. I understand," I told her assuringly, hiding the disappointment I truly felt. "Don't worry about it. Go and have fun."

"I'll make it up to you, okay? I promise that I'll do something you want to do. Anything you want," she promised.

"I'll hold you to that," I told her, before adding just for the sake of being nice, "Have a nice date, Henri."

When we had exchanged our goodbyes, I put down the phone and proceeded to look around the empty house, suddenly feeling unsatisfied by the fact that it was empty and boring at the very moment. I thought about watching a movie on television, but that would make me some sort of couch potato on such a beautiful weekend. And then I thought about lying down in the garden and read a book while I enjoyed the warm sunshine.

At that thought, I realized that it would be better to spend it at my secret pomegranate tree instead of the garden. It was not really such a bad idea; I could get some peace and quiet, but I would also be out of the house and in the comforts of the park. Heck, I might even have a picnic!

Decision made, I immediately went in search for the only straw-woven picnic basket we had, which I found lying in the back of one of the kitchen cabinets. I then prepared a Tupperware of heated-up apple cobbler with a cluster of red grapes at the side and a small bottle of cranberry juice, keeping both the food and drink into the basket. A quick trip to my bedroom upstairs resulted in a change of clothes from my tank top and short shorts to a casual knee-length shirt dress that was perfect for this warm yet breezy Saturday afternoon. I also grabbed a good book and added it into the basket when I went downstairs once again.

A quick check for my phone and keys later, I was finally out of the house and on my familiar route to the park. As I walked at a comfortable pace, I walked past some familiar friendly faces, like Mrs Luciana Eldridge the sweet elderly woman who owned the local bookshop, Mr Michael Hopper who had at times helped out with electricity and plumbing problems at home, and Kelly Treston who was the president of the high school and always ordered flowers from our shop during special events.

However, not everyone I walked past gave me a friendly greeting.

When I was already in the park and on the pathway that went alongside the lake, I had unintentionally caught the unwanted attentions of two burly men who were seated on a bench nearby. When they caught sight of me, they immediately started to voice a string of wolf-whistles and cat-calls.

"Hey there, baby!" one of them hollered excitingly. "You lonely? Come and join us!"

I only gave them a sideward glare and a haughty sniff to show them that I wasn't interested in their advances, and just continued walking.

"Yeah, sweetheart!" the other exclaimed. "Fancy giving us your number while you're at it?"

Unable to endure that idiocy now, I turned my head to them and narrowed my eyes in warning. "Not interested in you prats," I spat at them poisonously, not breaking my stride and continued to walk away.

I thought that it was finally the end of it and I could finally make my way to my tree in peace.

How wrong I was, because I then realized by the incoming sounds of their voices that they were actually starting to follow me.

"We ain't gonna leave you 'til you give us your number, pretty face," the same guy hollered. "We want to spend some time with you."

"Yeah! Get to know you a lil' bit! Don't be a prude!"

At this point of time, I started panicking and increased my walking pace, hoping that someone would see me and realize that I was in trouble. Unfortunately, it only seemed to excite them even more to the point where they were really chasing after me now. Now, I felt like a hunted down animal, trying desperately to escape its would-be captors.

But all of a sudden, a familiar deep husky voice growled angrily, "Leave. Her. Alone."

I did not stifle the gasp of surprise and relief at the sound of that voice, and I stopped in my tracks and turned to see Aiden, who might have appeared out of nowhere, standing in front of me, acting as a sort of protective barrier against the two burly jerks.

One of them, the hollering one, did not take too well to Aiden's sudden interference in their 'chase', and immediately grunted in annoyance, "Hey, man. Move the hell away. This little lady was bein' rude and not giving us her number even after we asked her politely."

"'Politely'?" Aiden snorted insultingly. "Two assholes like you wouldn't even understand the real meaning of that word, let alone know how to act like it towards a woman who clearly wanted nothing to do with you. Guess you're just too much of dumbasses to see that."

The other burly jerk scowled at the insult, and planted a hand on Aiden's shoulder as he warned, "You heard my pal, you Goth pretty boy. Move. Away."

I then took a step forward, wanting to intervene before Aiden could get hurt. It was already obvious from the contact of the jerk's hand with my saviour's shoulder that things were about to get physical, and seeing that Aiden was more leaner in figure as compared to the bulky forms of my two chasers, I clearly cared more about his well-being than mine at this moment.

But suddenly, something amazing and confusing happened.

Aiden grabbed the meaty hand that was on his shoulder and gave it a seemingly slight squeeze, but it had been enough to draw a howl of anguishing pain from his competitor. The jerk whose hand was trapped in Aiden's hold fell to his knees as though the weight of the world had suddenly been placed on his shoulders like the Titan Atlas, and his face crumpled up in an expression that managed to portray the excruciating pain he felt. His scream of anguish only increased in volume when Aiden squeezed slightly more, and only one thought made me shock and confused.

Did I seriously just hear bone crack?

At that moment, Aiden released his hold on the hand, and both men now looked at him with a look of complete fear. Without hesitation, both of them scrambled away, wanting to escape before he could get his hands on any of them.

But Aiden did not give chase. He just looked at them – glared, most probably – for a few seconds more, before finally turning around to face me. His black eyes were burning hard with anger and tension, but the fire seemed to have extinguished into a gentle look of genuine concern and worry when he focused all his attentions onto me.

"Are you okay?" he asked hurriedly with utmost concern, taking a step closer towards me. "Are you hurt? Did any of those vile creatures hurt you?"

I did not reply immediately, still a bit shaken by then terrifying fact that I had just been hounded and the confusing thought that Aiden had actually managed to break the hand of a man bigger than him.

I was then pulled out of my daze by the feel of his hands gently grasping my elbows. I looked up, and saw that his face was just mere inches from mine. "Melindia, are you alright?" he questioned once again, his voice rising with anxiety with each word spoken through his lips. This close, I can truly see how far the worry he held for me went.

Numbly, I started to nod my head in reply. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm alright… They didn't hurt me… They didn't even touch me… Thank goodness…" I stammered slightly in a heap of relief, taking deep breaths to slowly calm myself down.

Just then, I was suddenly pulled into an embrace, and I froze in surprise.

Aiden was hugging me protectively, holding me in a way that care and affection was very prominent. I had my face pressed against the curve of his neck, and I could inhale his scent. He had a very unique scent; like warm earth after a rain shower – petrichor was the name, as it was something Greek-ish that I had learnt – with a lingering hint of something slightly ashy, like smoke. He smelled so intoxicating and addictive.

I was suddenly aware of his voice speaking softly right next to my ear, "Thank goodness, you're alright… The thought of you getting hurt is so unbearable…"

At first, I thought about asking Aiden to back off a bit, because he was hugging me and that was kind of awkward. But it was at this moment that the hunch that had been borne from the first time I had met him started acting up again.

I began to have the strange feeling that this was not the first time I had been with him in such a way. It was as though some really miniscule small part of me from deep within my being was trying to tell me that I had once breathed in his very delectable scent and I have been embraced by him in such a comforting manner. That very small miniscule part of me from deep within my being was trying to tell me that this was not the first time.

Before I could even comprehend that thought, I found myself raising my own arms to wrap around his torso. In just a few short seconds, I too was hugging him back, tightening my arms gently around him and pressing my face into the curve of his neck ever so slightly.

We were suddenly hugging each other so closely and tightly.

I knew I shouldn't have acted in such a way, because we were still getting to know each other and were not actually at that stage where we could get touchy with each other already. However, I told myself that hugging him back in the manner that he hugged me was the most natural thing to do right now, and I had that strange hunch inside me to thank for it.

When we both pulled away at the same time, Aiden's hand never left their gentle grip on my elbows. He looked at me with a soft caring look; a look that could actually make me feel safe and comforted, like how I felt when I was in his arms.

I could not tear my eyes away from his for a while, still entranced by the beauty that he possessed. It made me feel warm inside to think that he was actually concerned about me, and had come to my rescue from my unwanted harassers. In a childish thought, I was the damsel in distress, and he was my knight in shining – the black leather jacket that he had one did have a slight shine from the sunlight – armour that had come to save me from two horrible ogres.

Suddenly, a little voice inside my head was telling me that I had been staring at him for an unnecessarily long amount of time, and I then began to shake out of my stupor. I blinked rapidly and said, "Uhmm… Thank you, Aiden. Thank you so very much. I am so glad that you were here right when I needed help. If it hadn't been for you..."

I was stopped short when Aiden's lips quirked into a small smile, which immediately helped to lighten up his facial expressions. "I'm just glad that you're alright, Melindia," he stated in a relieved voice. "And don't worry. I'll always be there when you need help."

His eyes then drifted downwards to where my hands were, and he caught sight of the picnic basket that I was (surpisingly) still holding onto.

"You're going on a picnic?" he asked with a curious raise of his brow. "By yourself?"

I could only nod my head in reply, keeping quiet as I replayed that little moment from just a few seconds ago in my mind.

"At the pomegranate tree?"

"Yes."

Without a change of expression or tone, he then stated, "I'll go with you."

Without waiting for me to say anything, he just took hold of the picnic basket and went on to carry it in his own hand. Meanwhile, his other hand grasped my now free hand and he held it gently as we began to make our way to the thicket where my pomegranate tree was.

I managed to walk at a steady pace alongside him, but I was too distracted by the touch of our skins pressing together, and the fact that drop dead gorgeous Aiden Pater was actually holding my hand and going on a picnic with me.

Author's Note:

Alright. I've been keeping this in for far too long. Do not read the rest if you do not want to hear me sap.

I've been very disappointed with the lack of responses for this story. Not just reviews in particular, but any sort of responses, like Favourites and Follows and Views. This is already the 6th chapter, but still I am stuck at 11 reviews from up to Chapter 4, and had a decline in views since CHAPTER 2.

The reason why I didn't update on Monday for Chapter 5 was because I simply forgot. Perhaps, the lack of responses has already given me the notion that nobody was going to be interested in this story any longer, and I was beginning to feel afraid that writing fanfiction was already starting to be a chore instead of something I loved to do.

It's also disappointing to know that this story might not be successful as my others, despite the fact that I had spent most of my hiatus working on it and had already completed 17 chapters of it, which will be published as according to the update schedule. So it's a bit sad to know that maybe, this hard work might not be much appreciated.

But still, I shall persevere, and just continue on with the updates, as well as continue writing the future chapters of this story. It may not be as well-liked as how I would like it to be, but I will just live with the fact that I like the way the story is going so far.

Muse of Fanfiction