Bed of Nails

Chapter 8

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I kept willingly following the lion to his den.

I don't know how far he lives because I have been following him for the past half hour. I have followed him to a completely different neighbourhood. All the roads and alleys look the same to me. I don't know how I'm going to find my way back. For a second, I thought we were walking in circles. But then a question crossed my mind. Why would he walk in a circle? I think we are near his house because he suddenly stopped walking. I stopped too. He kept standing in front of two turns. Is he deciding which way to go? Has he forgotten where his house is? I was near the big tree. My half-body was behind the big tree trunk, and my other half was out of it. I kept looking at him with furrowed brows, but my heart jumped out of my chest when he suddenly turned around. I immediately hid behind the big tree before he could see me.

Thank God, I was half hiding behind it. My heart was beating so loudly. I could hear the loud drumming of my heart in my ears. I had closed my eyes and hidden my face behind my eyes. I was hoping he had not noticed me. What if he has seen me? How is it possible? I hid behind the tree before he could see me. So many doubts started to rise in my head. I need to calm down first. I took a deep breath to calm my heart. Once I calmed down, I again peered to see him, but to my dismay, he was not standing there anymore. I lost him. My face fell. Where did he go in such a short time? If I still want to find him, I don't know which turn he took. I will end up going nowhere. My shoulders slumped in disappointment. I exhaled loudly and turned around to find my way back to my house.

But as soon as I turned, my breath caught up in my lungs. I found icy blue eyes looking down at me. My eyes widened in fear, and I took a few steps back, and my back collided with the hard bark of a tree trunk. When did he walk behind me? I was so strung out that I even stuttered in my mind. I swallowed hard because of the way he was looking at me. He took threatening steps towards me, making my heart beat even faster. He was cutting the distance between us. I pressed my back more into a hard tree trunk, wanting to create distance. My face winced a bit when the hard bark poked my back. I kept standing there like a frightened cat, with both my hands grabbing the strap of my bag. He placed his one hand above my head and hunched his frame to my level. His lips again had a cut, and there was a red bruise on his cheekbone. I lowered my eyes when I found myself staring at his lips more than needed. My heart kept beating wildly in my rib cage.

"How long were you planning to follow me?" he questioned in his rough, manly voice, making a big lump form in my throat. Goosebumps formed on my skin. I lifted my surprised eyes to look at him. He knew I was following him from the start. Maybe that's why he was walking in circles. I felt like a fool. I was so proud of my stalking skills a few minutes ago. I pushed a lump down my throat.

"I—I was not following you," I said in a firm but timid voice. It was the first time we were talking. I didn't want it to be like this. He raised his eyebrows when I said that.

"Then why are you hiding behind the tree?" he questioned, again in his rough voice. His voice is so rich, it sends tingles down my spine.

"Hiding me? Why would I hide?" I said it with little confidence, not wanting to accept the fact that I was following him like a lost puppy.

"You tell me," he said, looking straight into my eyes with narrowed eyes and moving his face a little forward. What is he doing? Why is he moving his face near me? I thought and thought about how to answer him, but nothing came to mind. It suddenly went blank. I bit on my lower lip in distress. His icy blue eyes flicked to my lips, following my small moment. I couldn't oversee our proximity.

"I was exploring this place, and I just happened to see you only ten minutes ago." I blurred it without thinking.

"And you decided to flower me again," he scoffed. His eyes kept looking down at me without any wavering in them. I felt like the biggest fool again. He knew I was following him from the start, and I was still making things up. I felt so embraced. I never wanted our first conversation to be like this. My grip on my bag straps tightened even more because of the way he kept looking down at me. He must be thinking about how stupid I am. I was ready to bolt out of here any second. On top of that, our proximity was messing up my head. Before I could step away in embracement, he pushed himself away from me.

"Follow me," he said, turning around and starting to walk. I kept looking at his back with wide, surprised eyes. He stopped and looked at me with raised eyebrows because I had still not started to follow him. I braced myself and started to follow him. I have messed up everything. What if he thinks I'm the kind of weirdo who stalks guys? I started to feel even more stupid. I kept following him with my eyes cast down. He again stopped suddenly, and I bumped into his back.

"Sorry," I mumbled, and I stepped away while rubbing my head.

"Go straight and take a left. You will be in front of the school gate," he said, and I nodded without even looking at him. I walked forward, but suddenly he took hold of my hand and pulled me to his hard chest. A gasp left my mouth, and my heart started to beat fast. He wrapped his other hand around my waist, pressing me against his hard chest. I looked at him with startled eyes. Our faces were only a few inches away from mine. My heart was ready to jump out when he said the next words, looking straight into my eyes.

"Don't dare to follow troublemakers like me again. You won't end up in good places," he said sternly, sending chills down my spine. His words made me forget how to breathe. He had heard me that day. He said that, and then he let me go. It made me stumble on my feet to balance myself. With a last warning look, he walked away.

At that moment, I realised I was already in his bad books.

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A/N
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