You might not be sympathizing to my lost dog situation. Why would you? You don't know Simba. You couldn't care less. Nobody is that selfless that they want to be emotionally invested in someone else's dog.
I got Simba when he was just a pup. Baby golden retrievers who looked like he knew what smiling was. He would let his tongue hang lose and squint happily. He's not greedy when it comes to food. He would wait his turn shyly. He would let my aunt's cat dig in his bowl and just look at it until someone moved the cat. Whenever he'd sploot on the ground, he'd look like a rug. He loved squeaky toys and would never pass on fetching. To this day, I don't know the sound of his growls.
For the longest time, I believed he has dog ADHD because he couldn't stay focused on anything more than three seconds, making teaching him tricks a living nightmare. On walks, he'd never try to run after cats if he saw them. Sometimes, he'd push the door of my room open with his head and make his way in, poke me in the leg with his cold, runny nose than head back out. Just to signal that he was there.
I'm not trying and paint Simba as this special, overly smart, heroic dog you see in movies and books. He ain't no Lassie and he definitely isn't Airbud. I am a fair owner. I acknowledge his dumbass dog moments.
But listen carefully : A dog is a dog.
Simba's not smart, but he's not completely stupid either and he listens to commands. In those woods? He was onto something. He didn't just take off like a rocket ship to follow an invisible squirrel in there. He was following something that ran off when it saw him. It ran off fast, far and without a sound. No matter how exited Simba is, he always listens to command and comes back.
Today was out of character.
I shrugged it off. I shouldn't have.
But how could I care about the invisible squirrel when my beloved pet, loyal friend and longtime companion was lost?
I wanted to scream until my vocal chords tore in half.
"What are you doing in my house?"
Those words embarrassed me for a second then nothing.
I was exhausted and drowsy, really drowsy. Something was wrong with me because I actually forgot for a second where I was. I had really bad brain fog.
I was a shivering, cold, tired, confused mess.
My senses came into awareness again when Alexander walked into my view but quickly everything blurred up and a shiver went down my spine. I wanted to throw up.
What's up with me? My heartbeat was slowing down and everywhere hurt.
Alexander halted. Looked at me for a second. Then his smile disappeared and in a flash, rushed towards me, a serious look on his face.
"Alexa, what's wrong?" He asked, alarmed and Jay's smile also disappeared while he came closer, curious.
I just looked at him with no response. He was wearing an expensive looking blue navy suit and his hair was neatly slicked back in a way that made him seem dangerous and professional. He was dressed like the CEO of a hotel chain, and so was Jay.
He looked hot. And god help me, I needed "hot" at the moment.
"What is it?" Jay inched closer then gasped, "What the hell happened to you?" he eyed me up and down.
I think the fact that I was passed out on the ground in that house finally hit them both and they looked at me, worried. Alexander slowly took my face in his hand than grasped. He cupped both my cheeks then dropped his hands to my neck.
"Isn't this an abnormally low temperature for a little human?" he asked and Jay put a hand on my forehead then jumped.
"You're right. She's got hypothermia!" he frowned while putting his hands everywhere on my face to check. I felt my eardrums sink into my skull at the volume of his voice. I shivered in my place and Alexander took out his phone.
Hypothermia! That would explain the nausea, muscle fatigue, sensitive hearing and brain fog. I felt like I was nearing a coma. My breathing was so slow.
"get the electricity running" Alexander ordered before turning his phone flashlight on and aiming it towards me. I felt my pupils burn from the blinding light and I squinted while lowering my head.
God, please turn that off!
"Right away!" The man standing at the door finally spoke then bowed before leaving quickly.
"Look at you!" Alexander's voice got so low, it almost sounded like whispers. He looked like he was ready to cry from pity, "You all banged up and bleeding.." he took my arm and tried to drag me out of my corner but I flinched and backed off.
Please don't move me, I'll throw up right here. I was comfortable sitting very very still where I was.
I repeat; Do not move me!
"was someone chasing you?" Jay asked looking at my muddy clothes.
Rather I was the one doing the chasing..
I slowly put a hand over my eyes to cover them from the light.
For the love of god, stop aiming that thing at me. Please!
Alexander noticed immediately then directed the light away from me before grabbing my jacket to look at it confused.
"She's got hypothermia even though she's wearing pants and a thick winter jacket?" Alexander asked puzzled and Jay narrowed his eyes at me.
"Females skin is thinner than males overall, and especially a teenage human, still, it's not that cold out..." he bemoaned, then crouched next to Alexander before touching my humid jacket then raised his eyebrows in surprise, "wait, she's wet?" he asked then looked me up and down, "did you fall in the lake?" he suddenly realized and I swallowed.
Yes, I very much did.
"Oh, that explains it" he got up, "Immersion in cold water causes quicker heat loss..." he looked at my sad, shivering ass on the ground, "She definitely fell in the lake.." he confirmed to Alexander and I flinched, "hey, we need to do something fast!" he suddenly panicked.
No, don't panic! If you panic, I'll panic! It's not a big deal! I'm fine! The water dried off my skin practically. It's just my clothes that were damp now.
"Water did this to her?" Alexander seemed like he wasn't biting what Jay was saying. I don't know if I was seeing things but it looked like his heart was breaking in half, his hand traveled up and down my arm, "You're bleeding!" He grabbed my elbow then pushed the hair out of my face to look at my cut forehead. He looked like he had no idea what to do with me. Like someone just presented him with a wooden robot that got snapped in half and he saw no way of fixing it. He sounded like my blood was the most terrifying thing he'd ever seen. He took of his jacket and put it on me quickly.
It felt nice. It was warm. The inside was satin and it smelled like men cologne. His phone dropped on the ground and the light from the flashlight flew everywhere for a second, making me realize something.
He was using a flashlight? Which means, it was dark? Dark like...nightfall?
It was night time!
I panicked.
"H-how long was I out? What time is it?.." I finally managed my voice low and hoarse and my throat sore.
The fog in my vision dissipated and was replaced by panic and sudden awareness for a split second. Everything came back to me.
"I'm fine!" I murmured and yanked my elbow out of his grip, Alexander frowned.
SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!!!
My aunt's going to wonder where we are. The nurse is going to flip out and call the police. Simba! Simba's a goner! He's going to spend the night outside in the woods and get attacked by bears or wolves or foxes.
"I ha-h-...I have...I have to go.." I mumbled and tried to get up.
Had all fluids in my body not been frozen at the moment, I would have shed a few tears.
Simba...
My god, MOVE Alexa! Do something! GET UP!
Sadly, my willpower was too demanding of my physical ability. And apparently, I lost all coordination and my legs turned into wobbly jelly. I almost fell back on the ground had Alexander not caught me instantly in his arms and seized the opportunity of me finally moving to bring me closer to him. I was as rigid as a board. My feet were dangling off the ground as I felt my eyes close and my head drop against his chest.
I just wanted to die right then!
"She can't leave, she's dying out..." Jay grabbed my wrist to check my pulse like it was normal. Like they saw dead bodies all the time.
"WHAT?" Alexander shouted and Jay stiffened and let go of me.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound blunt.." Jay scratched his ear, "Hypothermia is a completely normal response to cold in humans. It means her body's shutting off her organs to preserve heat so her brains keeps working, her heartbeat slowed down and she's barely breathing already.."
He was talking like I had the flu and not a life threatening condition with a death rate of 15 hundred people a year.
I felt Alexander squeeze me in tighter against him. Bad move! Bad move! Don't squeeze my chest with your stupid uncontainable strength. It hurt. It was cutting off my sad, shallow breathing in half.
I coughed my sandy dry throat off and my entire upper body convulsed and the rib pain came back. I felt a screeching, agonizing pang in my heart; I couldn't help a whimper from escaping my lips. Once he heard that, Alexander gripped me harder, getting seemingly frustrated.
Oh god! He gripped me harder!
Please let go of my corpse! Please just drop me down on the ground and let me die right here on the beautiful marble checker lobby tiles!
"Her body's shutting off... from WATER?!" he shouted again, "Are you fucking with me?...Not even a bacterial infection from the lake or anything, just the WATER ITSELF?.." he spit and Jay backed off, slightly threatened by his temper. Alexander was glaring at him like it was the stupidest thing he's heard. Like Jay had better come up with another explanation right away.
"Don't snap!" Jay attempted to calm down, "I'm not lying! Why would I do that? And stop jerking and squeezing her like she's a puppet, you're going to send her into cardiac arrest.."
Cardiac Arrest? Sure. Why not. I mean we already hit the health hazard dumpster, might as well scoop everything out while we're at it.
The chandelier in the lobby lit up suddenly and Alexander took one look at my white wax figure face. He saw the tree branches scratches all over my cheeks and Jay breathed out.
"Look, instead of standing here debating and denying what I'm saying, we should act, if her breathing gets anymore shallow I'm going to have to perform CPR on her..." Jay stopped talking and I felt Alexander's whole body tense, "...she needs...well, the nearest hospital is an hour from here.." Jay scratched his head then looked up the stairs before looking at Alexander's chest then clapped his hands together twice, "Okay, here's what we do! Leonard said the rooms were done, the heating system's not working but...there's beds, blankets...and we're in luck since you have a higher body temperature than all of us combined...you get what I'm going with this?..." Jay raised his eyebrows at him.
"Can't we lay her in a hot bath? Won't that be faster?" Alexander asked and to be honest, that wasn't a dumb idea.
"Don't! That'll cause severe irregular heartbeats leading up to heart failure.."
Never mind.
Alexander stood up firmly and I already had started to drift off to wonderland. To be honest, I stopped caring what happened to me by now. Weather I was driven to a hospital, taken upstairs or left on the ground. I was falling into a comfortable numbness.
"Leonard!" Alexander called and the guy who turned on the light came out of the door.
"yes sir?" He bowed slightly.
"Get the heating systems running, get a doctor and a maid, and cancel all my meetings..."
"c-cancel the meetings? but sir..." he started and Jay jumped.
"Leonard, this might be an atrocious time to argue !" Jay widened his eyes at him and he stopped talking.
They both looked at Alexander's dark grim face and then Leonard left and Jay took a step forward.
"Here's what we do, first of all, stop grabbing onto her like that, she's not a squishy toy, you're restricting her breathing.." he slapped his hand off my waist and Alexander let go and I finally took a breath in. Some small shred of life was brought back to me.
Thank you Marie mother of god!
"Remove the wet clothes and put her under a blanket upst..."
I drifted off. I didn't hear the rest. I didn't care. The next time I was snapped back into consciousness was when Alexander's warm silk jacket was removed from my chest and I shivered again and grabbed onto it without opening my eyes or realizing I was in a bedchamber.
"Are you awake?" A husky voice whispered and I opened my eyes with great difficulty. I didn't want to wake up, I just wanted the jacket back on me. I was in an ice cold bedroom, on an ice, cold bed.
The lights were off. I heard the zipper of a jacket. My jacket. Then two warm hands grabbed my back and pulled me slowly towards a hard chest and slid my jacket off my arms. My head fell on this person's neck. The body heat was heavenly. I pushed against this person, not knowing who they were but at this point, I'd throw myself in firewood if it meant heating up quicker.
Needleless to say I couldn't feel my fingertips. My legs? They might as well be unscrewed off my torso and put in a briefcase. I wouldn't have noticed.
Suddenly, something weird happened. I'm not stupid. I got that this person was taking off my wet, clothes. But what happened next was this man, that was providing heat and support to me, once noticing I was clinging to him, started taking off his own button up shirt. I tried to open my eyes but a sharp headache crawled inside my brain and I breathed out.
I was going to throw up. I felt it.
The button up shirt of the man came undone and I was gently pressed against his bare chest. His arms enveloping me in and it was pure ecstasy. It felt like a mixture of delightful burning, warm tingles and an incredible feeling of safety and comfort.
"Is this better?" a soothing voice asked and I finally recognized it.
I raised my eyes towards Alexander. I couldn't exactly make up his face in the blur but I knew he was looking down at me. I think I managed to nod but I might just have dropped my head on him again. I felt him try to squeeze me against him and I panicked.
No please! Don't! Don't squeeze!
I think Jay provided some solid advice while I was in a coma because he was being more gentle. Didn't jerk me around and held me with barely any pressure on my chest.
I wanted to say some words of appreciation. He was being caring, gentle and putting in effort. He didn't have to do all of this. He could've asked Jay to drive me to the hospital even if I died on the hour long ride. I wasn't his problem.
I parted my lips to say something nice to him.
"Simba.." I whispered. Like it was the most important piece of information I could ever provide before my death.
"who?" his voice was gentle, although he sounded like he was busy doing something to my top.
"I lost Simba...in...the..w......woods..the..." my voice was struggling to come out so I just dropped the talking for now. Instead, some really dry sobs came out of me involuntarily and I squeezed his bicep in my tiny fingers without realizing in.
"Who's Simba?" he murmured and I sobbed again.
"My dog..." I blubber in tears, "If something... happens to him I'll...i'll never live with m-myself!" I pathetically cried out before drifting off once more. This time feeling my top tearing at my back along with my bra...
Let me shove an idea in your head real quick.
You and I are made of protons, electrons and neutrons. Those particles are almost entirely made of exploded ancient stars. We're made of stardust. In other words, you and I are at least one way that the universe knows itself.
And yet, we still know nothing.
Have you ever wondered how old the human species was?
It's 200.000 years old.
We can't even prevent ourselves from killing one another, we lack the resources to explore our own ocean yet we speak of colonizing Mars in order to preserve our species in case of a nuclear third world war. Do you know how much of planet earth we've yet to explore? 65%.
How egocentric, am I right?
We have 200 thousand years of experience on this place, yet we barely know anything about anything. The biggest scientific explanations for our existence are mere theories. Yet, there are still people who are so incredibly self-absorbed, that they can speak about their faiths and believes with an unshakable certitude. Sometimes following the smallest shred of semi-proof.
You're never completely sure of anything.
Why am I bringing this up out of the blue? Well, I learned this lesson tonight.
You see, I spoke with certitude about the Hellhound story being fake. About that wolf existing in the woods and being just a plain old black wolf that some folks saw and got all creative about. It seemed like it linked perfectly and made sense in every way I wanted it to.
I slept that night.
Although it didn't seem like sleep, it was more like a weird state of worn-out consciousness.
Sleep paralysis?
No, it wasn't that. I could perfectly move, but my experience was so vivid yet so unreal.
I woke up in a warm bed. I barely recognized the room I was in as the one Alexander brought me in. I had no sense of time but judging from the light of the bright moon coming in from the window, it was the dead of the night.
I didn't feel like a deceased body anymore. I could move my fingers and my toes again. I missed them. I was warm and comfortable. I was wearing nothing but Alexander's white button up shirt and I shivered at the thought that he had undressed me and most likely seen everything.
It's okay. The situation called for it. I'm not that much of a dumb prude.
Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room and I could make up general shapes of furniture. As I was noticing a chair and a vanity, my eyes fell on a shadowy figure standing in the corner, facing me.
I flipped my shit.
For real.
This is what my nightmares are made of. A shadow eyeing me from a dark corner while I'm in bed.
My heart beat got so loud and fast, I'm pretty sure the dark figure heard it. Cold sweats went down my neck and back as I stayed as still as a mummy. Sinking my face into my neck and praying for the blanket to cover up my face entirely. My eyes fixated on the figure, hoping that maybe when my vision gets more adjusted to the dark, I'll realize it was just a coat hanger.
Unless coat hangers can move, I highly doubt it was one.
The figure's head snapped towards me, and its eyes were red. That is when the story of the Hellhound came back to me.
Was it my subconscious playing tricks on me? Was it sleep paralyses? No, I could move. It made no sense. What demonic entity made its way into this empty most likely hunted or cursed manor?
Have I died from the hypothermia? Was that it?
Was I facing the Hellhound of Black Pine Wood?
The figure suddenly came towards me and I started to hyperventilate. I opened my mouth to scream but its tight hand sealed my lips shut.
I felt it on top of me. It was huge and strong. I closed my eyes in fear or seeing something I didn't want to. It felt life-threatening and uncanny.
If I've ever said with certitude that the supernatural was a product of human imagination, now was the moment that belief was shaken to the core.
We know nothing of this world!
The hand that held my mouth shut was tight and another hand slapped my shoulder against the pillow. Pinning me down. My chest was rising up and down in frantic breathes and once it took notice of that, the figure's hand moved slowly, from my shoulder to my chest, bringing the blanket down with it. It grazed my left breast and pushed down so my breathing slowed, but the hand didn't stop then, it slowly moved down to my hip then my thighs and squeezed in slightly and I gasped.
This dream suddenly felt weirdly sexual.
I panicked and raised my hands to do something but whatever was on top of me was incredibly fast. It grabbed both of my wrists and pinned them on both sides of my head. A slight feeling of déjà -vu creeping its way in as Alexander did that to me before in his house. I felt the figure lower against me and its body heat was agonizing. It felt like burning fire was consuming me. A set of lips nibbled on my left ear as well as a warm breath that fanned the skin of my neck.
My eyes flew open, and it was morning.
I sat on the bed, cold sweats running through my spine.
The hell kind of dream was that?
I looked around and this room was absolutely beautiful, yet the unwavering feeling of eeriness still lingered. I remember the vanity and the chair I saw during the night. I breathed out. The house was now a lot warmer than I remember.
Just a dream. Shrug it off.
Or was it?...
I heard a yawn and a sneeze. I recognized both of those distinguished sounds and I jumped. I looked down at the bottom of the bed and there he was.
I couldn't believe my eye.
"SIMBA!" I yelled and his head snapped at me. His tail wagged from side to side and he kept his laying pose, "come here baby!" I almost yelled and his tails wagged quicker but he just lazily lay there, not listening, "come on!" I tapped the bed and he jumped on it in the span of a second and started shoving his nose in my face.
Oh my god! You're ok!
"I love you!" I don't know why I made sure to say it to him. Other than commands, words hardly mean anything to him, but a part of me still hoped he understood it.
I rubbed his face and kissed him just about everywhere on his head.
Happiness! Bliss!
Compared to yesterday, this day was magical.
I suddenly noticed my elbow was bandaged and so was my forehead.
I looked on my left and my eyes fell on neatly folded clothes with store tags on them. A white shirt, grey sweatpants and a pair of Uggs.
Was this mine to wear? What about the clothes I wore before. They must be dry by now. I got out of the covers and realized I was in Alexander's shirt, still.
Poor thing gave me both his jacket and shirt. I felt so bad. He must have been cold too. I grabbed the clothes on the chair and a phone fell on the ground.
I gasped.
It wasn't mine. I thought it was. Actually. It was the exact same one as mine except this one looked brand new. I pressed the home button and the phone unlocked. I frowned.
This is so weird. There were two calls from "Aunt Maries House" and about 35 from "Mister Wilson" and like fifty from unknown number. All the calls stopped at 9:46PM.
My Sim card was in there. Did Alexander get me a new phone?
I can't accept this! It's bad enough he saved my life, gave me his clothes, got me new ones, found my dog, took care of my injuries, now he was replacing my damaged items?
I put the clothes on and walked to the exit. Muscle pain still very present in my entire body and soreness in my legs from all running. When he saw me heading for the door, Simba jumped up and went ahead of me to it, his tail wagging. He wanted to go out.
I don't know what it was, but I had PTSD now and shooed him off the door.
Yeah, nice try!
I'm going to lock him in here and come back with a leash. Yesterday ain't gonna happen twice, that's for damn sure. There was no way I was going to take the risk and let him lose in this house. A door leading outside might be open somewhere.
I walked into the hall filled with doors left and right. I needed to find Alexander. I have to thank him. I'm returning the phone and from now on, I'm being nice to him.
I can't believe how kind he was towards me yesterday. Just for finding Simba, I can never pay him back enough.
I was wrong about him. He's not a selfish spoiled brat. He can be caring and selfless sometimes.
I walked down the stairs and there it was, this lobby again.
I looked at the corner I sat in shivering yesterday. Painful flashbacks about losing Simba came and I grimaced.
This lobby was damn beautiful though. The floor was checkered marbles. The stair rails were thick black iron. There were two statues of angels on each side of the stairs. I could see a balcony up on the wall and do you know how big a house you need to have for there to be a balcony view of your own lobby? The ceiling was painted and a big golden chandelier was hanging from the center.
I heard sounds coming from a door behind the stairs and I walked towards it.
I shyly opened the door to what seemed to be a dining room. It was weird. Some parts of this house were dusty and unused like the lobby and the hall, but some parts were spotless like the room I was in and this dining room. There was a long table of eight chairs on each side and four big windows with red curtains draping over them. Before I could feel my jaw drop at the beauty, I spotted him.
And he spotted me way before because when I finally noticed him, he was already eying me.
He was sitting at the head of the table, a cup of coffee in his hand and a Macbook in front of him.
I headed towards him, not being able to keep myself from looking everywhere. There was so much to see. Paintings. Vases. Pillars. Bookcases. Statues. Him.
"This room is so pleasant to the eyes..." I whispered.
"It is now.." he smiled at me and I looked at his beautiful blue eyes.
That hit me. Hard.
What smooth, smooth, talker. I felt my cheeks go slightly red as I shyly neared him. He was wearing a black button up shirt that was open at the collar. His sleeves were rolled up at his elbows and were his shoulder always this broad? He had a watch and a ring on his index finger. Somehow, he seemed very intimidating.
I rested my hands on the head of the chair next to him and just stayed silent.
Wait, what DID I want to say? I don't know why but I had nothing to say at that instant.
He tilted his head with a smile at my silence.
"Hey there.." he simply said and I blinked.
"Hi!" I don't why but I really needed to hug him tight against me. I swallowed and shook that idea off.
Talk about something. I had many things to say but I was blanking out.
"how are we feeling now?..." he asked.
"much better, thank you!" I nodded.
"good, no problem."
"no, I meant, thank you for....everything. Yesterday and...this morning.. Simba..." Did I forget how to make English sentences? Why was I so awkward?
He smiled and looked me up and down.
"Hungry?" he asked and I shook my head.
"No. How...how did you find Simba?" I wanted to know in case it happened again. How DO you find a lost dog so quickly? Simba had an ID microchip but Alexander didn't know that.
"Sent a couple of wolves to look for him.." he smirked and I blinked.
I SHOULD HAVE PAID MORE ATTENTION TO THAT JOKE.
But I didn't...
"care to tell me how you fell in the lake?" He asked me in return and I tensed up a little.
Oh god, he's going to realize something I've been trying to hide this whole time; That I'm stupid.
"I was...trying to catch up to Simba and um...I couldn't stop in time..slow reflexes...kinda.." I mumbled and he frowned then leaned in closer.
"can I ask you something?" He started and I nodded hesitantly. He slid his coffee mug through the table to me and looked up, "how hot it this coffee?" he asked and I looked down at the cup, confused.
Huh?
Is he asking me to try it? He already took a sip from it. How does he not know how hot his coffee is. Or maybe he was complaining that it wasn't the temperature that he ordered.
It looked like it was steaming though. I drink my coffee hot as well so I took his cup casually and meant to raise it to my lips but before I could do that, I quickly felt the burning in my hands through the porcelain of the cup and it kept getting hotter in the span of seconds, a yelp escaped my mouth while I let go automatically.
Ok, that was goddamn boiling.
His reflexes were insane because he caught the mug the second I let go, before it hit the chair and poured all over my chest. Not a drop fell.
"Jesus, are you drinking Molten Lava?" I barked, shaking the heat out of my hands and he stared at me, incredulity in his face.
"Could that have burned you?" he asked and I frowned.
"It already DID!" I raised my red palms towards him and he looked baffled.
"why didn't you let go before it burned you?" He scolded and I blinked.
I just told you I had SLOW REFLEXES!
Um..I don't know...How does anybody willingly burn themselves? Because they don't expect the thing they touch to be that hot.
Wait, how is HE holding it just fine?
"So, you have low tolerance for basically everything? Cold, heat and pain..." he asked and I threw my hands in the air.
"Low toler.. what the...did you heat that thing on the surface of the sun?!" I accused while pointing at his cup and he chuckled. Without another word, he raised the cup to his lips and took a sip while maintaining eye contact. I took that as a giant middle finger to me.
Well, fuck you too, Alexander!
You know what, I take it back. He's is not caring and selfless. I amlost forgot all the shit he put me through. I think if Jay wasn't there, telling him what to do. I'd be dead by now. Now that I think about it, Alexander stood there, jerking me and squeezing me and telling Jay the Lake water couldn't have given me hypothermia.
I swear sometimes, he lacks complete normal human common sense.
I put the phone I found on the table and he raised his eyebrows at me.
"I can't take this, I'm going to use it to call my aunt but I'm returning it right after!" I announced and he frowned.
"I have no use for it, I bought it for you!" He blinked.
"no, Xander, it's too much!" I shook my head, "You already saved my life and found my dog, I don't even know how to thank you for that!"
His lips stretched in a smirk while he closed his laptop and leaned back on his chair. Eying me up and down and I wondered why he suddenly seemed so attentive all of a sudden.
"what did you just call me?" he asked with a satisfied grin and I blinked.
"huh?..." I was confused.
"What did you call me?" he repeated and I looked to the side before looking back at him.
"Xander..." I barely whispered.
Should I not have? Does he hate being called like that or is it only specific to certain people?
He chuckled and I sunk in my place.
"What? Isn't that what all your friends call you?" I stuttered and he bit his lips.
"We're friends?" he asked and honestly, I had no answer to that.
I mean, are we? Aren't we? Does he want us to be? We've been spending a lot of time together this past month.
"Jesus, okay fine, I'll call you by your full name." I shook my hands and he frowned.
"No, I don't want that now! You called me "Xander", stick to it!" he almost threw a tantrum and I frowned.
Is he five?
"you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me so you calling me "Xander" was off putting..." he smirked and I tilted my head to the side.
"Not going to deny that, but we've gotten a little closer over time..." I analyzed and he nodded.
"oh, especially yesterday, I undressed you!" he looked at my chest with a grin and I backed off.
"that's all you did right?" I swallowed and he raised his eyes at me, curious.
The dream came back and I started to see similarities between the darkish figure in my room and Alexander. Manly. Strong. Tendencies to pinning people down. I wondered if it was a dream or not. I Also couldn't help the blush in my cheeks.
"Did anyone come in my room yesterday?" I asked.
"Doctor Harry checked on you a few times, but he left once he figured you were fine, why?!"
He got a doctor for me? Holy!
"I was just...it's nothing..." I shook my head before sitting down, not being able to look at him in the eyes for some reason.
That dream was haunting. Did my brain mix up Alexander undressing me, with the Hellhound story and threw it into a weird movie?
"Did you have a wet dream about me?" he smirked and I choked before getting back up on my two feet!
"what the...NO!" I screamed and his grin got bigger.
"I'm going to take that reaction as a yes.."
No! No! No! No!!!
He slid the phone through the table with a sudden serious face.
"take it!, it's yours..." he ordered.
I took it in my hands and looked down.
"I'm going to call my aunt and give it back"
"if you don't want it, It'll go in the trash and I already called your aunt yesterday" He got up and I remembered how flipping tall he was. Then it hit me.
What did he say?
"you called my aunt?" I parroted and he nodded innocently.
How did he even...what did he, when?
"Told her I was a friend and we met in town, you felt sick and needed to stay the night at my place, she asked why you weren't answering calls and I said because your phone died, is that ok? Should I have simply said the truth?"
"No!" I jumped. He did good!
Oh my god, so he got me a phone, a doctor, found my dog and he covered for me with my aunt.
I looked up at him in disbelief and he had a confused look.
"why do you look displeased?" he asked and I widened my eyes at myself.
"no, not at all!...it's just...thank you!" I breathed out with my hands on my heart.
I was putting off calling my aunt this whole time. I was wondering how I was going to explain everything, that I lost Simba, got hypothermia and ended up in the woods until nightfall. He fixed everything.
Have I thanked him enough?
"Thank you for...taking care of me, the doctor, the bandages, the clothes, the phone and..my aunt, my dog..and just caring in general, you didn't have to do any of that, if there's anything I can do to repay..."
"Have dinner with me!" he interrupted and I coked an eyebrow at him.
Come again?
He took a step towards me and gently grabbed my other elbow.
"Tonight?" it almost sounded like a plea.
That came out of nowhere.
Wait, wait! Wait a second. What?
Was he asking me on a date? After he saved me from death?
I can't. Right? I don't know why yet but I know I shouldn't accept.
When I thought about it, I only saw reasons to say "Yes", but my subconscious was telling me to refuse.
"Xander.."
"We'll be even.." he implored and I blinked, "we already slept together, I should at least buy you dinner.." he smiled and I my jaw fell open.
Hold it!
What did he say?
"SLEPT TOGETHER?" I screeched and he flinched.
"I warmed you up and it's not like you pushed me away either, you clung to me more than anything..."
Okay, it made sense but tell that to angry Alexa.
"you slept with my naked cadaver in your arms?"
"to be fair, I was half naked too since I gave you my shirt..."
I turned to leave but he quickly grabbed my waist and put me on the table while I was squirming like a turtle flipped on its back.
"let go!" I shouted and he inched himself between my legs and put both his hands on each side of my legs on the table. I recon he loves doing this because it imprisons me. His blue eyes bore into mine and his face was now serious.
"I had to. I did nothing else. I would never fondle or touch you in an inappropriate way while you're passed out, even though the idea crossed my mind and holding back was hell..."
"THE IDEA CROSSED YOUR MIND?" I accused and he froze then frowned like I was stupid.
He leaned in closer and looked at me carefully.
"having you, undressed, in my arms, in my bed, for an entire night. I'm touched you think I'm so pure the idea wouldn't cross my mind; but I'm not a monk Alexa..." he spoke slowly as to make me understand and then breathed out at the face I was making.
I was making a face I just don't know which one. I know my muscles were tense.
He looked exhausted then ran a hand in his hair.
"I warmed you up and left! I know I made it clear before that I was more than eager to nail you in a heartbeat but the situation wasn't quite fitting.." he professed and I let out a groan and pushed my face in my palms.
Jesus fucking shit! How can he just blurt out stuff like this. The situation was awkward enough.
I felt my entire face go read and my ears were now fuming.
"eager to nail you in a heartbeat", honestly, probably same here.
Wait, urg..nevermind. I'm not even going to deny it...
Yes, I did just admit that.
"Why are you so patronizing? You're the one who had a sex dream about me.." he whined and I almost fell through the table.
Stop talking! La, La, La, I can't hear you! It wasn't a wet dream and it wasn't about you.
"forget it!" I raised my palms and tried to push him off so I could get down but he stayed put.
"what about dinner?" he insisted again and I shook my head.
"Whatever just get off, let me down!" I pushed again, averting his eyes.
He finally moved and I got down quickly. I was going to head back to my room so I can get Simba and head home but he grabbed my arm.
"Don't leave the house!" he commanded and I frowned.
"I have to go back home!"
"Don't leave!" he repeated more sternly and I looked up at his face. He seemed serious.
"I'll be back for dinner, chill! I need my stuff"
"What do you need?" he asked and I stepped back.
Um, I don't know. A shower. My toiletries. A hug.
"I need to go home!"
"you're not leaving, I called Doctor Harry to come check on you again! if you need anything today, I'll make sure it's brought to you here.."
Why is he so pushy? Is it because I almost got myself killed yesterday?
"Stay here, have breakfast!" he ordered and before I could say anything he called out.
"Isabella!"
Who?
A woman came through another door behind him almost immediately. She was dressed in a cleaning service uniform and pushing a food cart.
I had no idea there was another person in the house other than him, Jay and that third guy I saw yesterday.
Speaking of, where did Jay go?
The food cart came into view and I widened my eyes.
Wait, how many people were in the house because all the food in there seemed freshly prepared?
There were muffins, waffles, cheese, croissants, blueberry oatmeal, fruits, macaroons, orange juice, coffee, three types of jam, butter, eggs, honey and a big vase with white roses in the middle.
She started putting stuff on the table for me and I felt my jaw drop.
I heard a phone ring and I felt Alexander push my shoulders down so I landed on the chair and he kissed the top of my head which completely threw me off guard. He grabbed his ringing phone out of his pocket.
He actually gave me a kiss!!!
"I have to go, if you need anything, tell Isabella!" he instructed while patting my head before turning towards the woman and pointing at the coffeepot.
"That's too hot for her!" he warned before taking the door.
Not going to lie, he can be really cute sometimes!
I didn't see him for the whole day. Doctor Harry came by. I was fine. I called Aunt Marie. I don't know what Alexander said but they all seemed very chill. The nurse actually praised him and kept calling him "That very articulate gentleman"
Isabella is a really warm and gentle Hispanic woman in her late thirties. Apparently she worked for Miles Estate for over 15 years. A little too invasive though. She actually tried to help me bath. Now I don't know how other people do it but we bath on our own in my household.
Before bath time, I asked for a toothbrush, shampoo, a loofah and soap.
She came back with another cart filled with bathroom essentials and products. Skin care, masks, essential oils, hair dryer, straighter and curler, make up and I just barely touched anything.
I don't know who was sending this stuff in or paying for it. It seemed like a waste since I was only here for a day and this giant manor wasn't occupied.
Still; that was nothing.
I was faced with an actual problem right after.
I was in a short white towel. In my room. She combed my wet hair and got out because I didn't want to get dressed with her in the room. But when I turned to look at the clothes she displayed on my bed, I frowned and just stood there.
Okay, this is getting ridiculous.
"Isabella, I can't wear this!" I said as I opened the door. She was standing right outside and looked at me confused.
"Is there a problem with the size?"
"There's a problem with what it is!"
"It's a dress, for dinner!" she simply explained and I rolled my eyes.
It's a red, velvet, backless, V-neck dress with a high slit on the left leg.
This is way too sexy for a simple dinner with Alexander. Who picked this?
"I can't wear this; it's...too much..." I hesitated.
"It is the only dress we purchased, I'm terribly sorry! We thought he'd like it on you.."
You know what, no!
"Where're my previous clothes?"
I honestly don't care if I go with jeans and a top. It's better than whatever the hell this was.
"In the washing machine" she continued and I shook my head.
"No, not the ones I was wearing today, the ones that are mine!"
"Oh, those were thrown out! The top and bra had been torn!"
They threw my clothes out? Oh god!
I got her inside in order to probe.
Let's do some digging shall we. I wanted to know who was sending stuff in I didn't ask for. Who was this "we" she kept talking about? She said she couldn't answer that.
I figured she must know a lot about Alexander but whenever I tried to ask about him she'd shrug it off. I did manage to find out a few things; that breakfast I had, those waffles and muffins and Macaroons, a chef made it before I woke up!
He called for a personal chef. Also, he wasn't supposed to stay in the house, they had booked a hotel in the nearest city but he stayed anyway and finally, he had two meetings yesterday and two more today that he cancelled because of me. I felt awful. I hope that's not going to come back to him.
And yet, with all he did, he was asking me to have dinner with him.
Call me crazy but...I don't know...Does he like me or something?
Or did he just saw my boobs and decided he wanted me in his bed for real.
I wore the dress and shut up.
For all the trouble he went through, I'll do this one thing for him. I hope I manage to find out what he's after.
She curled my hair and gave me a pair of beautiful silver earrings. Obviously, I'm not keeping any of this after I'm done. I'm sure he'll say it's mine and it'll go in the trash if I don't take it but I don't care.
She put my hair up with one single pin. I don't know how but it was beautiful and holding up pretty good.
Once 7 PM rolled around. Jay finally came in my room.
I opened the door and he took a look at me then smiled.
"Are you trying to kill him?" he smirked and I didn't really get what he was saying but before I could tell him this dress wasn't my idea, he spoke again.
"I'm taking you where you'll be having dinner. Follow me."
I frowned.
"Wait, we're not eating in the house?" I asked and he shook his head.
"No, he figured there was a more private place for you two.." he said going down the stairs and I followed him almost tripping over the heals.
Yeah, I head black heals on. Don't look at me. I was just going along with what I was given.
"More private? Absolutely no way!" I refused and he threw his eyes at me.
"Don't worry, he's not the forceful type"
"Oh really?" I droned and he chuckled.
"I get your point" he continued then shook his head, "not regarding intimacy with girls anyway. He won't do anything you're not okay with. But sooner or later you'll be throwing yourself at him willingly.." he grabbed a coat on a hanger once we neared the door and threw it on my shoulders.
"Not in this lifetime." I said while sliding my arms through it.
"You'll see.." He opened the door, "by the way, Victoria says "Hi" and told me to say "I called it!" what was that about? She said you'll understand.."
I pursed my lips.
"Yeah, your girlfriend is an oracle. She predicted the not-so-distant future with incredible accuracy! I should have listened to her more carefully" I moaned and he smiled.
"Smart isn't she? That's my girl.." he looked so proud as he opened the car door for me and I couldn't help the smile while getting inside.
The cherishing look in his eyes made me envious. How adorable? You don't see love like this today.
We drove for what seemed to be an eternity. We left Greendale an hour ago into the neighboring city. The sun was setting when we neared the port of the area and I figured a sea food restaurant at most.
Boy did I figure wrong. Because Jay kept driving until we neared the far end of the port. I walked out of the car and there was no building. I looked at where Jay was headed and I finally got it.
A private yacht.
If he was trying to show me how loaded he was, I already knew that.
"That's where we're eating?"
"Do you get sea sick?" he asked and I shook my head.
"No, it's just...Isn't it a little extra?" I frowned and Jay chuckled.
"It was extra the minute he asked you for dinner, he doesn't usually take girls on dates..."he suddenly stopped talking then scrunched his noise, "probably shouldn't have said that" he continued and I followed him into the entrance.
Wait what that for real? Was this the first time he's taken a girl on a date? I am so confused.
I walked inside and was greeted by a Stewart. A man in a white and blue uniform with a big happy smile.
"Please follow me, miss!" he said while taking my coat and leading me inside. We walked through a beautiful sitting area with sofas and flat TVS and a bar but we took the stairs up into the deck and I was hit with the salty smell of the ocean. The sky was a beautiful deep blue that faded into an orange hue which reflected on the calm water. I saw one table for two brightly lit with candles and then him.
He was facing the ocean behind the table, his back to me, his phone in his ear, his other hand in his pants pocket. He was wearing a dark navy suit.
I finally understood.
Those school days he misses all the time. He works. I'm guessing with his dad. When I walked in this morning into the dining room, he was on his laptop, working. Right now, he was on a call, working. He was supposed to be on meetings this whole time which he cancelled because of me.
"dinner will be served" the guy announced before leaving.
Alexander turned around and his eyes caught me. He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. He came towards me then stopped and eyed the dress.
"I didn't choose this." I cut him off before he made any comments.
"I'm giving a raise to whoever did..." he smiled.
The golden light of the sunset was hitting his face along with the wind. He looked devilishly handsome. I was going to melt in my shoes. I looked around at the place we were in. the boat left the port and started moving slowly towards the deeper waters. I could see the glistering lights of the city in the distance.
"This scenery's beautiful"
"I can see that" he kept his eyes on me. The scenery was behind him.
"You're not looking at it"
"I'm still enjoying the view.." he retorted and my cheeks lit up.
I can't. He's too much to handle.
He walked towards a chair and grabbed the back, waiting for me to sit down. I was confused when the nurse called him an "articulate gentleman", now I got it.
"Thanks.." I shyly whisper while sitting down and he went to sit facing me but before he did that, he took off his jacket and put it on my shoulders and a chuckle escaped my lips. He noticed it and smiled back.
"Just being cautious..." he stated.
The dress was backless. To be honest, I was a little chilly. The ocean wind was cold. It was not hypothermia status. Compared to yesterday, this was nothing.
"I'm fine!" I reassured and he sat down then tilted his head while eying me.
"I noticed this about you, yesterday when you were barely breathing, you said "I'm fine" as well" he started and I tried to remember but I couldn't, "not only are you prone to death by anything remotely hazardous, but you'll also ignore your body's cry for help.."
"I had urgent matters to take care of, I didn't have to time for..."
"Death?" he cut me off and I pursed my lips.
Ok, he had a point.
"Let me ask you a question, mister "everyone but me is vulnerable", if you fell through freezing lake water, how would you feel?"
He kept quiet for a moment then frowned.
"It happened to me, although I didn't fall but willingly dived in" he started and I raised my eyebrows at that statement, "to answer your question, it felt refreshing, I walked out of the water and jumped in again, there was a bunch of us actually.." he continued and I believed him, "shocked?" he asked at my silence and I shook my head.
"No, I read about people with incredible control over their own physiology and autonomic nervous system" I explained and he smirked.
"Scientifically explaining the unknown is a mechanical response in some people..."
How dare he!
"Are you saying there's a non-scientific explanation for your condition?" I asked and he smiled.
The Stewart came in again with our food. Gorgeous looking, delicious tasting luxurious food.
I'm not even surprised anymore and I hardly doubt Alexander was trying to shove his money in my face. He looked like he was just living his normal life.
"I have something for you.." he handed me a paper that I took hesitantly before I jumped.
"A+ ?" I screamed and he smiled. Like that was the reaction he was hoping for.
He got an A+ at Henderson's make up quiz. Which means the B- is the only awful grade I have. I'll ask for extra assignments to get more credit and fix that one too.
It's getting better!
I threw my eyes up before looking back him, irritated.
"Why did you pretend to be an illiterate monkey during all those lab hours?" I asked and he chuckled at the expression.
"You were so serious; I wanted to get a rise out of you" his laugh was so cute.
"You did a great job, I had given up on life for three weeks.." I put the paper down and lifted my eyes so they met his.
"What did I ever do to you so that you'd try to get a rise out of me?" I frowned and he looked like he was thinking carefully about it.
"The moment Henderson announced you'd be my partner you looked like you wanted to throw yourself out of the window" he tilted his head, "I've never see that reaction before in any other girl.."
"Please.." I rolled my eyes and his smile got bigger.
"Don't believe me?"
"I do" my smug attitude evaporated.
What, I didn't want to pretend like he wasn't popular and then he'd go out of his way to prove me wrong, resulting in him kissing some girl or whatever.
"So I bruised your ego and you decided to get back at me?" I asked and he shook his head.
"Not really, you became very witty once infuriated and it was really funny for us.."
"Us?" I asked then understood, "you, River and...Cole.." as I said that last name, my voice got lower and he noticed. He leaned back on his chair and looked at me carefully.
"you have a crush on Cole, don't you?"
You know, if he said those words to me like a month ago, I'd jump on the table and howl at the top of my lungs trying to deny that claim. But right now I just kept a bored face and simply voiced a "not anymore.."
It was the truth. I wasn't actually into him that much. I don't know why.
"could it be because you're developing a crush on someone else?" he smirked and now I wanted to howl.
"NO !" I jumped, "No! I don't okay! I don't like...No! I don't like anyone right now and..no!"
Take a shot every time I say "no". He smiled and god damn it, it's like he was still getting a rise out of me without even trying.
"Now that I know that you can get A pluses, there's no way in hell I'm accepting any other grade" I changed the subject again to grades and he took a sip of wine.
"For the record, you didn't accept the C+ to begin with..." he smirked and I nodded.
Oh right. I was uptight from the very beginning.
I suddenly remembered that week he was out of school and that girl whom he asked to write the assignment. Christina. I can't believe I forgot the name of my aunt's caretaker but I remembered the girl Alexander had sex with. I felt a little cramp in my stomach at the thought but quickly shrugged it off.
The food was gone. The wine was still being refilled and I was going easy because alcohol was not part of my daily diet. I expected him to go ham but he didn't drink that much either. At times it felt like he just wanted me to talk and would rather be gazing at me in silence.
We got up from the table and walked around the deck. It was night for about an hour and a half. We were in the middle of nowhere. Salty ocean smell and water splashing sounds all around us. The yacht was well lit and we could make up tiny specks of light in the distant city as well.
It was nice.
At one point, we stopped moving and I was leaning on the rails. My back to Alexander. I don't know why but I thought I spotted dolphins not so far in the distance and I wasn't sure if it was the yachts lights playing a trick but I was dead set on seeing them again to make sure.
I didn't want to move anymore. I kept leaning in because in the waves, I could make up shapes of tails but it was hard to tell. Suddenly, my hair pin was taken off and my hairdo fell open into lose curls. I snapped my head towards Alexander annoyed that he broke my concentration.
"Are you asking to be thrown overboard? Give that back!" I tried to snatch it out of his hand but he was too fast and too tall. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Isn't this preschool flirting?" I sassed and he leaned into my face with a grin.
"You're looking for dolphins, who's the preschooler?" he retorted and I swallowed.
Right as I was about to answer, in the corner of our eyes, we both caught a dolphin jumping out of the water right near the edge of the boat and diving back in. I saw the tail and the fin and everything clearly and I jumped as well.
"See? SEE?! I told you I saw it!" I leaned on the rail a little more to spot it again underwater but I felt two arms wrap around my waist from behind and I was brought back against Alexander's hard chest. He put his head on my shoulder and his lips grazed my ear.
"Don't lean on the rail like that" he murmured and I felt his hands tighten on my waist, "you'll fall.."
His breath on my ear. His scent. The feel of his arms around me. The tingles everywhere his skin touched mine. His chest against my back. My heartbeat. How I fought the urge to turn back and wrap my arms around his neck bring him down towards me so I could kiss him.
I realized something;
I'm in love with Alexander...
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
Hello, did someone order an update? Comming right up!
Someone asked me about the length of my chapters, this one was 24 pages on MSword. I don't have a specific length in mind when I write but I do try not to go over 20 pages usually. I stop the chapter when there's a conclusion to be made. That's my cue.
I hope you guys enjoyed this one. It was supposed to go up in two days but I decided to post it right after I read a comment someone left saying that they checked for updates everytime they came on the website and it got me all warm and fuzzy inside I thought what the hell, let's give it to her !
I'm weak and I don't respect dates. Don't come for me.
Thank you for the support. You guys are amazing!
How do you react when you realise you're in love with someone? It's kind of tricky when it's someone you kept saying you hated. Your pride gets in the way kind of..