Haunt You x Conrad Fisher

Chapter Twenty-Four

Elena

"I'm going to show you the control you're been seeking," he said. I repeated what Conrad said again in my head to myself. Control. The control I've been wishing would come back to me since I was sexually assaulted. How did he-

Last night. I must have said something while I was drunk. I felt my ears start the ring and my throat cage in. No one knew how much I still struggled with my control now. I've done the therapy and I've had the meltdowns after the first couple months but since then I have been able to hide it well enough from my family. I made my family believe that I was okay now- and for the most part, I am. But the fear of losing control of my mind and body not by choice again, still lingered in the back of my mind.

I felt rough hands lightly grip my bare shoulders and my attention returned to the boy standing in front of me. The sensation from his touch sent a rush of heat throughout my body. His eyes were soft but frantically searching if I was okay.

"You okay, Medina?" He said, his tone soft like he was afraid I was about to break down. I'm not surprised by how gently he was being since he saw me completely lose control a couple days ago.

I cleared my throat and stiffly nodded yes not saying anything else. I let a shaky breath out trying to control my breathing.

He looked into my eyes and waited as if he was searching for something more as if he could tell I'm not okay. After a few seconds, he released his grip from my shoulders and took a step back. A small teasing smile appeared and my heart fluttered. "You still remember how to surf, right?"

Conrad was trying to distract me. I let another breath out feeling my body starting to return to normal. "It's been years since I've gotten on a board," I answered honestly. "But, I'm sure I can still out surf you like I did in the past."

I watched as Conrad tilted his head back and laughed. "You know, I don't remember that part happening, Medina," he said.

"Of course you don't, how many times have you been sacked since then? I think your head has taken too many hits, it's forgotten vital information," I smirked, crossing my arms.

Conrad's eyes briefly lowered towards my chest as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. I swear I saw a hit of red fill his cheeks. His gaze moved back to lock with mine and he gave me a lazy boyish grin. I rolled my eyes at him trying to mask the shyness that was occurring. His boyish cute looks were still adorable.

"Fyi, I had a great o-line and didn't get sacked that much," he paused as if he was reminiscing about something. "But, it has been a long time since I've seen you get on a board. You used to love surfing though, no? I remember you always begging to come surf with me and Daniel."

"First of all, I don't beg," I said, pausing. I noticed a quick second of heat flash through his eyes. "Second of all, it was mainly because I wanted to hangout with-". I stopped myself. I almost said 'you'. The sole reason I chose to learn to surf all those years ago was because I wanted to hangout with Conrad. At that time, Conrad was obsessed with surfing. So as foolish as child me was then, surfing became my new favorite thing just so I can be close to him.

He laughed, "okay, nevermind, that doesn't matter anyways. I would rather you get in a wetsuit and surf during the day for safety matters. But, the important part is, do you remember how it made you feel when you got on the board?"

How it made me feel? I scrunched up my nose trying my hardest to remember how surfing made me feel. All I remember was feeling my happiest because it was one of the few times Conrad looked at me in public with the softest expression that was normally hidden in my bedroom for only me to witness.