Without The Words

Chapter 32

It seemed that every step I took, the vibrations of my anticipation shook the ground. My heart thudded a gentle beat in the depths of my chest as I entered the fancy gates of the track.

Mr. Lee was right. Everything about this day was beautiful, and I felt envious of the people that were going out tonight. Birds sang a song in the distance, their chirps growing muffled by the bursts of the Halloween breeze that caused Mr. Lee's curls to gently blow around.

I stood to observe him from afar, thankful that his eyes had not yet found their way to me. His long fingers twisted and pressed on something that appeared to be a watch, although it had a bulkier, black cover that proved it wasn't.

His eyes were deeply concentrated on the object strapped around his wrist, his attractively sharp, angled jaw clenched together. He licked his lips and the veins in his neck seemed to pop out. My stomach clenched as I noticed the finely detailed muscle in his calfs- and how thick and muscular his thighs were. How was it possible for him to have such a masculine and oddly sweet look to him?

"You can do this," I whispered to myself. I blew out a breath of air and proceeded over to him while the voice in my head screamed at me to run back inside and skip practice.

When I walked over to him, Mr. Lee turned around and a small smile tugged at the corner of his plump lips.

"We're going to be running three and a half miles, if I can get this stupid timer to work," he said casually as he focused back on the device. "Your shoe is untied, by the way."

And of course, when I looked down, my shoe that I had so carelessly tied had both laces undone.

"Sorr-" My pathetic apology got interrupted by his husky and stern voice.

"Sorry?" He asked. His fingers let go of the watch and he looked straight at me. His eyes absorbed every feature of my face and it felt as if I could literally melt away.

His gaze turned hard and uncomfortable, his fists clenching and unclenching as if he were about to punch something. Surely he couldn't actually be mad, but why the hell did he look so murderous?

"Did you just apologize for your shoe being untied?" He questioned me softly, his voice immediately switching to an awfully captivating whisper.

I couldn't move or speak. I didn't know why I couldn't react to him, but I heard so many different voices in my head that all I wanted to do was lay down and close my eyes.

"What could have possibly made you think that you need to apologize for something as silly as that?" He asked, his blue eyes dancing around my face, flickering from my stone expression to my untied shoe.

And then, as it usually happened, everything once again slowed down when his body made contact with mine.

It was such a simple thing. Him placing his fingertips on my dirty shoe, but I felt every single moment of it. His fingertips ignited a nerve in my body that shot up straight to my face, and all at once my body relaxed and color in my face flooded back in.

"Poppy, you don't need to be so scared. Nobody is going to hurt you. Your mother is not going to haunt you," he said quietly, his eyes engulfed in emotion and his voice thick with dysphoria.

Holy shit. I could hardly think straight, but what I did realize was that he just prevented me from having a panic attack. It all began to click in my head. When he comforts me, my fears drop away.

I stared down at him as he tied my shoe, his crouched form making his buff shoulders quite visible underneath his white t-shirt.

"Y-you just saved me," I whispered inaudibly to him. "Thank you."