To Love & Protect

1,124 Words

Posted: August 18, 2018

I grasped my coat at the neckline to pull it tighter to my body. It was later than I would have liked to be wandering the streets, but the girls had kept me over at Raye's temple planning our upcoming trip. I cursed under my breath as the cold air hit my skin.

I should have just taken the Uber with Mina, I thought. But those things always gave me a weird feeling, like I wasn't safe.

As I turned the corner to the high-rise apartments, I realized I was halfway home. I can't wait to put on my fluffy, bunny pajamas and make a cup of cocoa, I sighed.

I suddenly froze with overwhelming fear. Someone is following me. I looked around and saw no one, but I knew they were there. I picked up my pace and almost screamed when someone shouted my name. Wait...

Looking to left I saw Darien Shields, my nemesis for the last four years, crossing the empty street to get to me. "Hey, sweetie. You walking home alone? You know I always meet you when it's this late." I blinked my eyes open wide and then looked around.

"What are you-," I began to ask.

"Doing here? Well, I came to find you. That's what boyfriends are for, right?"

My face felt warm and my hands icy cold. Did he get hit in the head? I brought my hands to my mouth to warm them up, but Darien snatched them. He pulled me close like he was going to hug me and whispered, "How much further is your address?"

I gave him a weird look, but whispered back, "A little over a mile. Why?"

"Come to my place. I'll sleep on the couch and you can take the bed," he said as he dropped my left hand and led me down the sidewalk. "You can leave anytime after first light."

What's his deal and why is he having me... Wait, stay the night at Darien Shields' apartment? My stomach started to dance at the possibilities, but then reality came crashing down. Darien Shields hates me.

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing much, babe. Just finished studying at the library like usual." Why is he talking to me like we're dating? Did I get hit in the head? Or am I having the best-dream-ever?

"No, like, what's wrong with you?"

Darien gave me a funny look and widened his eyes before shifting them else where and then back to me. "Just tired, you know."

He led me another block before we entered one of the nicest high-rises in the city. Darien brought me to the elevators and then walked over to the night security guard. They whispered to each other and at one point the guard looked over at me. He nodded and grabbed his phone. "I'll make the call. You're a good man, Mr. Shields."

Darien walked back over to me and pressed the button on the wall. A ding sounded letting us know it had arrived. I watched in awe as Darien pushed a button for one of the top floors as I knew for a fact that the price went up as the elevator cleared each level.

"I'd like to go home now," I told him. This fantasy was obviously something else. I don't know if he thinks four years of belittling me was foreplay but...

"It's not safe. There's a man that's been stalking and attacking women walking alone around here. There's a sketch of him that's been circulating on the news and there was someone about two light posts from you when I spotted you. I swear it looked like him"

All the blood rushed from my legs so I had to put a hand on the wall of the elevator for support. "Oh my g-, thank you, Darien."

He looked away from me with crossed arms. "It's no problem." I felt a sudden cold indifference from him and wondered what happened in the last two seconds. "I told the night guard to call the police. Like I said, they already have a description of the man so hopefully they'll catch him tonight. That's why I want you to stay in my bed."

He could have just said 'his apartment,' but something about the way he said bed made my stomach dance again. "I can just take the couch, I don't want to kick you out of your room. Besides, you sacrifice good sleep for me? The world would flip on its axis."

Darien laughed as the doors opened to reveal a short hallway. His apartment wasn't far down the way and a quick turn of his key revealed a modest, but modern-styled apartment.

"I'll make you a cup of cocoa to warm you up," he announced after slipping off his shoes. After a couple minutes of little sounds in the kitchen, Darien walked to the couch and handed me a mug. A quick sip told me it was blended with fudgy syrup and dulce de leche; not caramel, but the real stuff.

"You made it the way I like it," I started matter-of-factly. Darien just smiled and leaned back.

"Whether they catch that guy or not, if it's late you can always call me to walk with you. Or if you really detest my presence, I'll hire you a cab."

I scoffed, "I would have thought that you detested me enough to not have offered that." Darien gave me a raised eyebrow begging me to continue, "Well, you hate me, right?"

Darien seemed to choke on virtually nothing. "Hate you? Why would you ever think that?"

"You've been making fun of me for years. You expect me to think that our words were some kind of foreplay?" The words flew out so fast that it wasn't until a couple seconds after they were said, and the look that graced Darien's face, that I realized what I had said. "Um, perhaps I should just turn in for the night."

"You don't want dinner first?"

I shook my head and excused myself to the bathroom. I washed up quickly, but lingered by the sink trying to clear my head. When I finally opened the door, Darien was standing there. Before I could ask him what he needed, he grabbed me and pulled me in for a kiss.

After the passionate kiss, he gave me a few short pecks and cupped my face. "I don't hate you," he said as he moved to kiss me again.