Melora - A Christian Young Adult Fiction

Chapter 3 - Ocean Eyes

"You turned out to be such a waste of time, Miss Fribelle," Jim muttered to her, hands tied back as they made their way out of the building.

"So stupid of you to kidnap me in the first place, sir," Melora said mockingly.

"I see... your dear keepers haven't taught you any manners, especially when you talk to someone older than you." He snorted.

Melora scoffed, rolling her eyes, and fought back the urge to say something back at him. When they reached the garage, Jim spoke again, "I can't take you back to your dear orphanage to waste my time again. They will dump you back to where you belong." He jerked his chin at a blue SUV ahead of them.

Melora decided it would be best to ignore his words and focus on 'the' they he had referred to. She noticed a boy standing next to the blue SUV, talking to another one who sat behind the wheel.

More strangers.

Melora hated strangers and immediately disliked the idea of traveling with them.

As they got closer, the boy next to the car turned around and Melora held her breath as his gaze traveled to her. He dropped his hand from the door he was holding onto and straightened himself as he saw her. He appeared to be around twenty and his eyes locked with hers as she neared them. Melora wished him to look away, but he didn't even blink. So she dropped her gaze from him instead and looked away, suddenly feeling the heat all over her body.

Melora grew nervous and uneasy as she always did whenever boys looked at her. She tried not to look at him again, but her eyes refused to cooperate.

He was very handsome, tall, and slim—yet worked up, with light brown hair that fell nicely onto his forehead. He had blue eyes that were still staring at her, with intensity. His face was completely unreadable, especially with that intense stare on. His hair was such a mess and she thought it was sweet.

She pulled herself together and turned away from him again, attempting to slow down her now-racing heartbeats. She looked over at the other boy behind the wheel, slightly older than the other, who also happened to be staring at her, but not as intensely as the first one. This one seemed rather amused at her sight, which only irritated her.

"So, this is MeloraFribelle?"

Melora's heart suddenly jumped as she heard the voice of the intensely staring boy, her attention immediately shifting to him, meeting his blue eyes. Her heart began pounding against her chest, and her whole body caught fire as a result of his stare and now his voice too. It was as though she was hearing a male voice for the first time. But no, there was something special about the way it sounded; it was attractive, deep, calm, kind, and firm... tugging the strings of her heart. She looked away too quickly, composing herself from staring back in admiration.

"Yeah, this is little Miss Fribelle from Twicken-Twickenham," Jim answered in amusement, irritating her more. "And you're to dump—"

"Cut that off!" Melora interrupted him with a hiss, narrowing her eyes into slits. She was trying her best to get a hold of her sharp tongue that kept loosening a lot more than usual today. "You're so irritating."

Without her permission, her gaze traveled to the staring boy whose gaze was still fixed on her. She gulped when she met his gaze, her glare softening instantly, and looked away. A strange sensation filled her stomach like she had never experienced before.

Jim laughed, "And you're so out of manners." He said. "Now, I don't have time to waste. I've got important things to do." The mocking in his voice never left. "You, Miss Fribelle, mustn't raise your voice, be a good and quiet girl, okay? These boys, the Redwood brothers," he motioned his hand toward the one behind the wheel and the staring boy, "Alfred and Edward Redwood, will bring you back to your Twicky-Twickenham. While I..." He glanced down at the watch on his wrist, "I need to attend to some urgent business."