I was getting dressed for dinner. I had to look nice- who knows how many more people were staying in this place? Though, being a Monday night, I doubt that many were staying.
I wore a pair of dark jeans- no, I hadn't forgotten about Ian- and a cute white sundress-like top- I hadn't forgotten about Jake, either. I thought about wearing heels, but I didn't want to trip down the flight of staircases, so I settled with ballet flats. I'm not really much for makeup, but today I put on a touch of mascara and lip gloss. Deciding to leave my hair down, I grabbed a sweater and headed downstairs.
I was about half way down the stairs when I realized I had no clue where the dining room was. I inwardly smacked myself for not asking. I was reaching the end of the stairs, and was so concentrated on figuring out a way to find it that I tripped down the last ten or so stairs!
I stumbled, and grabbed onto the railing, but still went down. I was falling, falling, falling, and would have continued falling till I fell flat on my face, but someone caught me just in time. You're wondering, Who? It's not that hard to guess. Just think of a certain person who seems to be in the most unexpected places.
Ian- yes, Ian Kabra, do you think I know any other Ian?- saw me falling and quickly caught my shoulder and waist. I fell into his chest- it was like marble, seriously- and rubbed my head. "Good thing I wasn't wearing heels," I murmured. The last things I saw were Ian's almond-shape dark eyes filled with concern- then I blacked out.
I woke up in a warm, comfy bed in a quiet room. The lights were very dim, so it took a minute for me to focus on my surroundings. I soon realized that it was the room I was staying in. I heard soft, furious whispering.
"Ian, look at this! They've put it in the American Teen Weekly that you tripped her! That's not right! What are they thinking? Who reported this?" I recognized the voice as Natalie's.
"Nat, calm down. I'm sure this is just all a misunderstanding." That was Jake.
"Guys, give it a rest. Now you've woken her up." Ian was looking at me. He was sitting next to the window, while Natalie and Jake were sitting on the couch. Ian looked very tired, as though he had not slept in a while. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, and a few buttons were undone. His usually flawless jet black hair was slightly ruffled.
Even so, he looked devilishly handsome, and looked more like a regular human being than a gorgeous alien-super model. Natalie and Jake looked a little more rested.
"No, it's all right, I woke up on my own." My throat felt dry and I felt kind of drowsy. "What happened?"
Ian opened his mouth to talk, but Jake beat him to it. "After you fell, Ian caught you and carried you to the nearest bedroom. We called the nearest doctor, and he said that you were fine; your head might hurt a little bit due to the air pressure, after falling down all those stairs. You've been out the whole day since last night, and it's Tuesday, 11 pm."
I listened quietly, and then Natalie said, "Yes, it was a good thing Ian was there, or else everything might have been so much more worse."
I was about to say something when the door flew open. A very angry Dan Cahill barged in. He had grown tall; quite a bit taller than me, I hate to admit. His dark blond was longer and his jade green eyes were furious.
"Kabra! What the hell did you do to my sister?" He noticed that I was awake, and asked, "Amy, are you alright? What did he do? I read in this that he tripped you." He held up a Japanese newspaper.
Ian looked at him. When he spoke, his voice was filled with an anger I had never heard before. "Daniel, I did nothing to your sister. Nothing. Someone fed the press with this story, and I doubt anything we say can change their minds. This is the perfect story for the media, innocent 39 clues winner gets tripped by jealous competition. But the story came out about two hours after she fell, so the only people who could have told them is the doctor or anyone at the Kabra Estate."
Dan still looked angry, when Natalie quietly spoke up. "Dan, it wasn't Ian. Ask Amy." Dan looked at Natalie like she was a ghost, not realizing she was there. Then he tore his gaze away from Natalie and looked at me questioningly.
Are they lying? Even after all those years, we could still understand each other's thoughts.
No, it's true. Ian caught me after I fell down a flight of stairs.
All right, I'll believe it,He agreed. But who could have twisted the story like that? I bit my lip.
Someone who doesn't like Ian. Dan rolled his eyes.
Oh, that narrows it down!
I was about to "say" something else, when Jake asked, "Dude, are you going to ask her, or just keep giving her those looks?" Dan looked at Jake.
"Who are you?" Jake held out his hand. "Jake McGuire. You're obviously Dan Cahill." Dan seemed to like that Jake knew his name, so he shook his hand and gave Jake a half smile. Then he looked at Natalie.
"Uh, Natalie? I think I might stay here, just, you know, till Amy's better and we figure this thing out. That ok?"
Natalie smiled (I've never seen her do that to anyone other than Ian and the press) at Dan and said, "That's fine, I'll get you a room. Come on!" At that exact moment, Jake's stomach grumbled.
He smiled sheepishly and said, "Wait up, I want something to eat. I need Doritos; how can you British people live without Doritos?" He walked out with them.
Then it was just Ian and me. Lovely. Oh wow, I think his sarcasm's rubbed off on me.
"What are you smiling about?" I had no clue I was actually smiling. "Nothing…just…nothing." Ian smiled, too.
"Nothing." He looked out the window and ran his hand through his hair. I had the sudden impulse to run my hand through his silky, smooth, hair. It was like an invitation to- what am I saying? Rambling on about Ian Kabra's hair. It must be because of the fall.
I sat up and was about to stand when Ian took my wrist and said, "Oh no, Amy, I don't think you should get up until you're completely well. You might fall again." I didn't argue; I was feeling a bit woozy.
He let go of my wrist once I was in bed and walked over to the window. I wanted to thank him, to thank him for all of this, but he wouldn't let me get up. So I said, "Ian, come here."
He turned and walked over quickly. He looked concerned again. "What is it? Are you all right?"
I looked up at him and said, "Bend down." He did, and suddenly our eyes were the same distance. He looked at me questioningly. I threw my arms around him and hugged him. He stiffened in shock, but quickly relaxed and returned the hug. He was warm, and smelled exactly how I remembered, like clove.
Suddenly he let go, and I remembered who he was. Ian Kabra, breaker of hearts. And I was Amy Cahill, of the broken heart. At least one good thing came out of that.
I got to touch his hair.