Chapter 7
Zack's POV:
I couldn't even divert my eyes from Nadia's when I was talking with her about our friendship, since for the very first time in my life, I was nervous because of a girl who I was supposed to hate. However, when I saw her squeezing the fabric of her skirt and whimpering out of pain, I was so worried that I thought of doing anything to release her pain. And that's when I realized that I cared about her and I didn't hate her anymore.
When I saw blood on the kitchen floor, I seriously freaked out but I didn't want to make her nervous or even show her how much she affected me but she somehow did. Therefore, I kept smirking at her and messing around like usual.
"New beginning" She shook my hand and I could feel the tension that was building up.
"We should go" I stood up and was about to lift her up like I did earlier but she stopped me.
"You know I have legs, right?" She smirked at me but I didn't pay attention to what she was saying and just proceeded doing what I was going to do "You annoy me sometimes, you know that?" She stated when she was already in my arms.
"Who cares" I walked her to my car with a huge smile on my face because she didn't fight me back when I held her tightly.
/*Finally feeling comfortable*/
When I was about to open the car's door, I remembered that my keys were in my shorts' pocket and it was kind of hard on me to get them since I was holding Nadia with both of my arms therefore, I held Nadia with one hand and laid her on the car as she literally hugged me tightly, her breathe fanned my neck, and he other hand reached the car keys and opened the door.
After opening the car's door, she loosened her grip on my neck which left me cold out of a sudden "How was it even possible that I missed her touch already?" I thought to myself as I put Nadia in the passenger's seat then strode to the driver's seat.
The drive back home was pretty uncomfortable and grew tension between us since I kept gripping on the steering wheel and she was looking out of the window without spelling a word; even the slow music which echoed in the car didn't prevent me from hearing her heartbeat.
As soon as I parked the car in the parking lot, she opened the door and started walking away, apparently trying to hide pain she was feeling by clenching her teeth together "What was her problem?" I mumbled to myself, hurrying to her side and stopping her from moving forward.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" I stood in front of her, blocking her way.
"Walking! What else?" She simpered, showing off her set white teeth.
"The doctor said..." I started speaking but she cut me off.
"I know what the doctor said, you are just taking advantage of it" She snapped at me but it only made me want to tease her more.
'Oh how much I loved to tease her!'
"I might put you on my shoulders and walk you in" I smirked at her as she just walked back and twisted her arms to her chest, raising her eyebrows at me.
Without hesitation after few seconds, I walked towards her and as soon as I was about to lift her, she gave up and threw her arms in her the air, defeated. I chuckled to myself, I moved even closer and lifted her in my arms.
"See you always end up in my arms" I walked toward the lobby.
"Just shut up and walk" She retorted but I could see the hint of a smile on the corner of her lips.
Like always, the elevator time was more awkward than the car's, it was basically me, trying so hard to stop myself from stealing glimpses of her and her, catching her breathe and thinking that I didn't notice what she was doing.
However, as soon as the lift's door opened, I strode to the apartment as Nadia entered the code; I walked through the hallway almost running, seriously fighting the urge of dropping her in the middle of the living room because of her shaky breathe on my neck but I finally reached the sofa and I put her gently then went directly to my room to change my clothes.
What the hell was happening to me? I had no idea in my mind because out of a sudden, I forgot everything which had happened and all I cared about was the beautiful girl who was in my arms and I have to admit that I freaked out "Was I falling for her?" I questioned myself running my hand through my hair frustratingly.
I changed my clothes into a black T-shirt and gray shorts then headed to eat something since my stomach was roaring from hunger! I found Nadia in the outfit of earlier standing beside the microwave.
'Great now we match' I looked down at my clothes then at hers.
I remembered how I literally made her wear a skirt on before we leave to see the doctor. I just didn't want anybody to see that much of her skin so I dig in the clothes my grandma already brought us and picked the longest skirt I could find.
I could see the flustered look on her face when I showed up with a skirt on my hands. She just stared at me and didn't even budge to move then after she put her legs in it, she was struggling to lift it up so I raised her by her waist and helped her wear it.
'Where did my caveman ways come? Why was I so protective?' I thought to myself as I walked toward her.
/*Confused*/
As soon as she saw me, she pointed at me to take my seat beside hers with which she was catching her balance. She was catching her breath behind her clenched teeth, which I assumed she was doing to hide her pain, but she was failing miserably.
"Sit, I will put food on plates" I pushed the chair back, totally forgetting that she was bending on it.
In a fraction of a second, my heart looped from its place and all I could think of was that she had to be alright and safe. Hence, I instantly threw my hands around her waist and pulled her up before her face could meet the floor. She stared at me for few seconds as I gazed at her back until she closed her eyes when my hand reached her cheek and caressed it gently while my other arm rested on her waist comfortably.
Nadia's POV:
After 8 hours:
I was literally craving for sleep to at least come near me last night but it didn't happen since I was pretty confused of what Zack had done to me and I kept rolling from side to side, and fighting with my quilt.
I didn't want to skip college again but I couldn't walk on my legs therefore staying home was my one and only option. As a matter of fact, I couldn't do anything because it hurt a lot and the tablets the doctor gave me weren't helpful at all.
I stared at the ceiling for few minutes after I went to the bathroom and washed my face in order to remove tiredness away but I failed miserably so I grabbed my phone and dialed grandpa's number because I missed him a lot although two days only passed through. He only answered from the 3rd ring, which I was grateful.
"Hi, honey!" He greeted me happily "How are you?"
"I'm great, what about you?" I answered him cheerfully "I hope you are doing fine"
"I'm good" He trailed of with a questioning tone in his voice "Where's Zack? is he treating you fairly? If it's not the case, I would have to speak with him about it" He started blabbering with questions.
"He's taking a shower, when he finishes I'll ask him to call you and he is great with me, no need to worry" I tried my best to control my composure since grandpa had always the skill of detecting lies "Now, I have to go get ready for college, I just wanted to hear your voice.
"Yeah, I don't want you to be late" He took a deep breathe "Adam came yesterday, he'll be sparing you a visit tonight or tomorrow"
"I kind of figured that out" I mumbled to myself and thankfully he didn't hear me since I was afraid of Adam's visit.
'He could say anything in front of Zack and he would find out about the injuries' I thought to myself, playing with the quilt, nervously.
"Take care. I love you" I added after being trapped in my thoughts for few seconds.
"I love you too"
I hanged up the phone immediately then cast it on the bed as I tried to stand up to go to the kitchen; I was craving to eat something since I was hungry and my stomach was growling and making weird sounds as I didn't put anything in my mouth since the day before because of what Zack did the night before,
I opened the door slowly, not wanting to wake Zack up and even disturb him but like usual my luck betrayed me, Zack was leaning on the island, wearing some blue shorts only; I was facing his bare back and broad shoulders which showed how muscular he was. I must've been staring at him for too long because chuckled at me, obviously feeling that I was watching him.
'He was going to cause my death' I swore to myself under my breath.
"Done?" He stated, still facing me with his back "I know that you probably counted how many muscles I have"
"You wish" I answered way too quickly which made him giggle then turn around.
"You want some?" He was holding a cup of coffee but all I could see was his broad shoulders and well-shaped body "You want some?" He repeated slowly, walking towards me but no word escaped my mouth.
"No I'm better without" I started blabbering some none sense words.
"Are you sure we are talking about the same thing?" He smirked at me and that was my sign to stop staring at him and at least make a move and get out of there but he had to step in and ruin my decision "About Last night..." He was in front me of in a matter of seconds, holding my hand and staring down at me.
"Never mind" I interrupted him "I'd like to have some coffee" I asked him because it was the only way, so he would just forget about what happened... for the moment only.
"About today, you're staying home, right?" He released my hand but his gaze couldn't leave mine.
"Yeah, I will stay home" I breathed then started moving and threw myself on the sofa because his stare made bashful.
"I will bring you lessons when I come back" He winked at me then walked back to the kitchen and came back with two big cups of coffee in his hands.
The couch was big but from all space, he threw himself beside me, super close to my liking. He handed me the cup and intentionally brushed his fingers with mine adding to the heat on the cup, a special tension that gave me the intention of running away.
A good tension...
"Fantasy a movie night-in tonight?" He smiled at me and god how much it made him look even more attractive if it was even possible.
'What are you thinking about?' My inner voice snapped at me.
"I don't know about that!"Â I Mumbled not sure if I wanted to have more 'awkward' moments with him.
"Why not?" He looked down at me, studying my face.
"No reason, I don't feel like watching a movie" I shrugged off my shoulders.
"Or you are afraid that you'll be distracted half of the movie" He started moving his face closer to mine "You won't even concentrate on it since you'll be gawking at me like you are doing right now" He gazed at me for a while as I was lost in the beauty of his eyes.
I had no idea how or even why I was lost in his eyes but I couldn't take my pair away from them. They hid a lot of feelings and I felt they were mirroring my own. He kept getting closer and closer until we were merely two inches away. We stayed like that for few seconds before I realized what was going to happen next so I pulled back and pointed at him "You'll be late for college"
"I better prepare myself, I am already late" He furrowed his eyebrow at me but nodded anyway "I will call my grandma to come here"
"What for?"
"To entertain you my dear" He replied confidently.
"No need to, I don't want them to worry about us already" I reasoned but he didn't seem convinced so I proceeded talking "What do you think they would say if they see me after two days with you not even able to stand up properly?"
"I would tell them that you couldn't resist my charm" He winked at me then headed to his room.
I couldn't even answer back since he kind of had right; if he didn't affect me a lot, I wouldn't drop the dish and empty glass or even hurt my feet. However, I didn't want to think about it longer so I just laid my head back and tried to think about anything beside Zack but it was a total failure. Thence, I stood up slowly and made my way to my room.
My room was only three feet away from the sofa but because of my state, it took me a long time to even reach the door. Sighing in relief that I was a feet away from my bed, I put my hand on the door'd knob but I never turned it since I felt hands slid on my waist.
Zack's
I dared to turn my head only, after being trapped in my place for few seconds due to Zack's single touch. I peered at Zack who was smiling brightly at me as if I was a beautiful diamond. He lowered his head to my ear level and whispered how cute I was in what I was wearing in a husky voice then he turned me around carefully to face him properly.
I looked up at him and found him already watching me like I was an interested movie that he couldn't miss, his hand reached my already flushed cheeks and caressed them tenderly and I couldn't help butterflies which erupted my stomach with delight. I had no idea what his fingers had but they defiantly made my insides melt.
I felt like time stopped in that moment, and I knew that I was screwed up since I couldn't even make my legs move. Thus why, I blinked several times and looked down in order to break our eye contact. However, before I could walk away, he lifted my chin and leaned down in a matter of a second and pecked the corner of my lips briefly then stared at me for a blink of an eye and headed away, leaving me flustered and annoyed of what he did.
'Oh like you didn't like it' My inner voice stated but I shook my head to leave those thoughts behind.
"You can move, you know" He appeared at the door's frame again with a mischievous smile on his face.
I stood there frozen, I couldn't move nor spell a word, which only made him chuckle loudly before he walked towards me; he looked down at me and beamed "Or you were waiting for me to put you in bed"
He didn't even leave me space to acknowledge what he said because after few seconds, he was already in front of me; he lifted me like he did yesterday, pushed the door with his foot and walked toward the bed, placed me gently and stared at me for a while as I was lost in his beautiful eyes.
"Take care" He kissed my forehead then headed away "By the way, sorry for what I did yesterday"
8 hours before:
The moment he moved the chair I was bending on, I was bounced in the air as the ground seemed closer and closer. However Zack caught me before I could reach the floor and pulled me up immediately. He started looking down at me intensely while I couldn't move my gaze from his. His eyes softened when I gritted my teeth out of pain and his big hand reached my cheek and caressed it gently, which made me shiver and close my eyes due to his warm touch.
My heart started pounding in my chest as I couldn't control my breath; thus why, I pushed him away and walked to the chair to gain my composure again, acknowledging the confused and angry look he had on his face when I started moving away.
"Why can't you just take a seat?" Zack snapped at me angrily, walking to the microwave, as if standing up was a major crime.
"Shill out" I sat slowly as my patience was about to vanish.
"You can say that next time your face meets the ground" He hit the microwave's door aggressively then put two plates full of chicken Lasagna in front of me "Eat"
"I don't think I have mood to" I mumbled but he could hear me anyway because we were alone in a big apartment.
"Yeah right because your stupid lover isn't here" He glared at me, accusingly.
"Excuse me?" I lifted my head to adjust what he just said but all I got was a blank look covering his face "What have you just said?" I sat down, feeling his stare on me.
"You heard me, I am not going to repeat what I said" He clenched his fists.
/*What the hell was happening*/
"So maybe 'MY LOVER' would love to come pick me up" I retorted putting so much pressure on the words in bold.
"You're not going anywhere" He caught my wrist when I stood up "You're stuck with me for a year, remember?"
"I don't care about our arrangement!" I tried to pull my wrist out of his grip but I didn't succeed.
"Well you should care because you're staying here" He yelled at me as I flinched immediately.
"I'm not your real wife, remember?" I stopped trying to release myself "Nothing is going to happen between us so why do you care if I am hanging out with Adam?" I was then shouting at him, which made him lose his hold of my hand, leaving red marks on it.
"I don't know, OK?" He spoke lowly as if he was telling me a secret "I just got furious when I saw you hugging him"
"Have I said anything about Jasmine?" I immediately closed my mouth and mentally slapped myself for spelling those words.
"I pushed her away because she was annoying" He started explaining but I cut him off.
"I don't want to know, because what we have isn't real" I threw my hands in the air, moving them between us "In fact, to call it real, we should at least have something but we have nothing"
"Can't you just shut up?" He screamed at me and in a matter of seconds, he was in front of me stroking the red marks that he caused.
"Don't you dare ask me to shut up" I mumbled because his fingers were distracting me so I took a step back "Nobody asks me to shut up"
I kept mumbling nonsense words because of my nervousness since he kept walking forward while I was stepping back until my back hit the wall. I looked left and right seeking for an escape but I was trapped in my place by his big arms that caged me and left me no place to move.
"You know what's the better way to make a woman stop talking?" He put his forefinger on my lips, which made me stop talking as I was lost in his gaze "Why to tell, I will show you"
He lifted my chin with his forefinger and index, and kissed me sweetly but too quickly "See, it worked" He gestured at my face which was burning hot. Not like the first time in the wedding when i felt nothing, I didn't mind that kiss since a part of me was physically attracted to him a little bit although I kept repeating to myself that I had to stay away from him.
"How dare you?" I snapped at him.
"What?" He lifted his shoulders in defense "Don't blame me if I wanted to kiss my wife"
"I am not your real wife for god's sake" I reasoned but he didn't pay attention to a word I was saying as he pecked my cheek then walked back to the table and continued eating like nothing happened.
"So tasty" He commented with a mouthful "You're in charge with the kitchen from now on"
"You're annoying" I yelled at him.
I stormed out of the kitchen but with a turtle's pace heading to my room, thinking "How could he do that? How dared he kiss me like that? Why did I like it?"
/*A disaster*/
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