Is This True Love? (DNF)

Chapter 79: The Stream

I apologise that it took me a while between uploads.
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George POV.

His hand was on my back, talking proudly as we continued to walk. He was saying all sorts of things about his life, about how much I’d enjoy it here. I nodded at everything that he said, not entirely focusing as I instead took the opportunity to look around and admire the grounds.

Part of me wanted to go and wander around just to see what was here however I couldn’t with his restrictive hold on me. “We could do this everyday.” Clay smiled, seeming happy and content in his own little world, unaware of my agitated expression. “You and I could go on a walk, admire the garden which I have meticulously designed and cared for.”

“Yes, that might be nice.” Was all that I could say, keeping my head down and not really caring to be completely fair. I wanted the opportunity to go wandering on my own, to not have the fear or restriction of being held somewhere against my will. That is a large part of the reason why I had fled the dome in the first place.

“And I remember that you quite like the arts, statues and stuff. If you found any statues that you liked I have plenty of space for them.” He waved his free hand around eagerly. “I have been wanting to put statues in for years, but have never found anything that I felt suited the space since I want it all to be perfect.”

There it was once again, another example of him trying to do something based on something that he heard about me from the show. I had liked statues when I was younger: the big, intricate ones since I enjoyed being able to climb on them. It was just like how I liked climbing up trees. Then I’d pretend they were houses or mountains in a game of play-pretend.

It was becoming more and more apparent by the hour that Clay didn’t seem to know too much about me. My love of picnics, gardening, and statues had all been phases of my life years before I met him. None of them had anything to do with what I liked now. Yet he thought they were all that I liked now and was investing a lot of time to show these features off.

My hands balled into fists, and the blond noticed the way that my arms tensed before continuing as though nothing happened. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t try anything, or he might have just not paid any mind regardless. Clay was pulling me quite fast though, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep up with him if he wasn’t holding me and it almost made me trip over myself.

“Can we sit down for a moment?” I questioned. “You are moving too fast Clay.”
“But we have so much to see. I want to show you the vegetable garden. I have a lot of lettuce growing, just like you grew for the gardening contest.”

“You can show me in a minute.” I reassured, and after he examined me for a moment he gave a small, tentative nod. His grip loosened on me enough to let me walk free over to the stream and I knelt down beside it. The trickle of the water was soothing, mixing with the quiet whisper of the breeze.

It was sweet and peaceful, a calming aura surrounding the entire area even for someone like me who wasn’t the most fond of gardens. I was kneeling alongside the gentle water and dared my fingers closer to brush across the surface which had the appearance and feeling of a deep blue velvet.

However it was admittedly cold, as it would be. The water itself was bound to be close to freezing temperatures, so there was a question as to why I would willingly want to be sitting here, even on a day when the beauty of nature was more beautiful and present than the chilly temperature.

Standing behind me was Clay, who seemed to be fine with just standing back there and watching the interaction. This felt admittedly strange to me, since I had offered for both of us to sit down and enjoy the area and take a break from walking. He could have easily sat himself down and joined me but instead he preferred to stand and watch.

I returned my attention back towards the stream instead of continuously focusing on the blond. If he caught me staring for too long he may have taken it as a sign that I was ready to go when I still wanted to stay.

Truth be told I found it relatively annoying, the way that he had the demeanour of someone supportive and loving. The demeanour of someone who understood what I had gone through and wanted to help me flourish and become a better person because of it. At this point in time Clay was anything but that.

The blond took any chance to try and forge a connection with me, one based on some obscure hint of knowledge that was a decade old at least. It was growing exhausting at this point of time. I wanted to be able to just live life without having my own history being used to try and win me over or manipulate me.

I could tell that the person in my reflection wanted the same thing. He wanted the opportunity to live life without someone who's love stemmed from the heartless life within the TV show that I managed to escape from. Despite how much I truly loved him, Clay couldn't give me that life. He was too obsessed with my past.

My hand dipped further into the water, basically enveloping me in ice as it went down to the bottom of the stream, swallowing up to my wrist. The bottom of the stream was a bed of rocks, many of which were too large for me to grab or hold in any significant way, but there was one I managed to grab in one hand, squeezing it and lifting it out of the water.

“What are you doing George?” Clay seemed concerned, yet he still didn’t try and approach me at all. I tried to hide the way that my teeth chittered and my face paled as I pulled the rock onto the grass in front of me. The blond wasn’t able to see it and I stood up, putting the rock back into my hand.

“Just thinking.” I spun around, hiding the rock behind my back as I approached him. Thankfully the blond didn’t question that as I walked towards him. He wrapped his arm around my waist, not noticing that I was carrying something. Then he connected our lips, pulling me closer to him.

The blond continued to kiss me for a few moments and my hand tightened around the rock. After he backed away I glared and forced the rock up, swinging it around and hitting Clay in the side of the head and forcing him to stumble to the ground with a groan.
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1206 words

Final chapter tomorrow.