Forbidden Desire

[42] Blissfully Unaware

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

The night was shrouded in darkness, the only source of light was the soft moonlight which wasn't doing much to lighten up the busy city of France. Majority of people were soundly sleeping in their humble abode, while some others were either engrossed in movies or were planning on partying up till dawn.

The pair of two friends residing in the Renaissance Hotel of Bordeaux weren't any different.

Sirena and Levi were deep into the depths of sleep, hugging their pillows tightly against them. The latter was sprawled on the puffy bed like a starfish, his one arm unknowingly draped across the former's stomach. Their quiet snores prevented the room from drowning in silence.

It was around three in the night, when Sirena began shifting in her place. She woke up from her lying position and sat up straight, staring drowsily into space while rubbing her moderately blurry vision. Her throat felt parched and dry, the scratchy sensation almost resembling the one that a desert has.

She glanced beside her and saw that her bestfriend was still deep into oblivion, much to her dismay. It was obvious that she was afraid of the dark, a phobia she had developed from enduring years of abuse. The unpredictability of what there might be lurking beneath the depths of shadows never failed to increase her paranoia, a feeling that she is all too familiar with currently.

There was an overwhelming urge growing within her to poke him in the shoulder and wake him up, so that he could watch over her and make sure the monsters don't pounce on her. She knew damn well that it wasn't the monsters she was afraid of, rather it was a certain man who managed to control her senses even while being countries away from her.

She shook her head and tried to psych herself up before placing a foot on the cool marble floor below her. A gust of air blew onto her face from the air conditioner, which was right across their bed. Her fuzzy sock worn feets padded quietly against the surface, taking her further into the darkness where there lingered God-knows what.

Her heart was racing. There was something off. As she made her way across the room, a sense of unease washed over her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, heightening her senses completely as the feeling of being watched multiplied by tenfolds. She moved her frantic eyes here and there, desperately trying to figure out what was wrong.

There was nothing visible, though. She concluded and hoped that it was nothing but her mind playing silly tricks on her. She was a twenty-one year old adult for God's sake, even a young kid is probably braver than her. Exhaling deeply, her hands finally found their way to the plastic bottle of water that was kept on the glass desk.

Tasteless liquid rushed down her throat urgently, soothing the dryness from before successfully. A sigh of content left her mouth, as she twisted the cap back on the bottle's opening and set it back down. She took her hair band out of her wrist and was about to tie her long hair into a ponytail, when a loud creak came from behind her.

Sirena froze, her troublesome hair long forgotten as she snapped her head around and turned on her heels.

No one. There was no one. Levi was still sleeping on the bed and she was standing beside the desk, where did the noise come from then?

Her previous courage started to shatter with each passing second, as she staggered back slightly in fear. The thick silence in the room was replaced by her panicked breathing. The shadows started to appear much deeper and darker as well, only adding to her list of undeniable fear.