The Deadliest Desires

Chapter Four

Chapter Four – Keaton

If only women knew how big of a pull they have over us guys...

Lilia and I walked home, mostly in silence. My arm around her shoulders and her head against my torso. Her breathing relaxes me even though my nerves are on edge. Lilia saw something and it scared her. When she's scared, my skin crawls and my heart throbs. I'm scared from the urge to protect her. And it scares me how much I do want to protect her even though we haven't known each other for that long.

            I get pulled out of my mind and my thoughts when Lilia puts both arms around me and holds onto me. She hides her face into my shirt. I don't know why considering its all sweaty from running. Every couple of seconds she would readjust her head and squeeze me. My arms circled around Lilia protectively and I hold her tightly. I feel happy knowing she safe right next to me. 

            “I don't know why... But I can really go for some hot chocolate...” she whispers into my shirt. I feel her laugh and she looks up at me with her big doe eyes. If only she knew how those eyes affect me. “Can't you go for some hot chocolate?”

            I nod amused by her sudden cravings. I imagine slurping down hot chocolate. Yum! “Ya but the hot chocolate must include the mini marshmallows. Those are good,” I smile.

            Lilia laughs and nods vigorously, “That's a given.”

            “So how far are we from your house?” I ask her. I look around the forest and I can't tell. I haven’t' been here too long.

            Lilia looks around and then down the path, “I'd say about five minutes walking distance.” Her phone beeps on the strap on her arm. I let her go as she checks her phone. Like an eraser, whatever is on the phone erased her smile and turned it into a frown. “Shit!” she whispered as she put her cellphone back on the strap.

            “What?” I ask her. I try to peer at her cellphone but the screen is already black. That leaves all the answering to Lilia.

            Lilia shakes her head, “It's nothing.” Again she wraps her arms around my waist and  nuzzles her head into my chest. I wrap my left arm around her and my right hand pushes her dark hair away from her face. She looks up at me with sad eyes, “I just... I just want to get over some drama.”

            I nod. I'm not going to interrogate her about something she's obviously not comfortable speaking about. My mind starts to wander... Do I make her feel safe? What are my feelings towards her now? Could she ever like a guy like me? What do I know about her? How can I get her to like me more than just a friend? Thoughts and questions just continued to spin around in my head. I looked down at this beautiful, innocent girl holding onto me with her eyes closed and I can't help but compare myself to her.

            “What are you thinking about?” she asks quietly. We start to walk out into the clearing near her house. I peer up from her head to see the big, old Victorian house sitting on top of the even larger meadow. That house has its own kingdom.

            “Nothin' important,” I smile down at her. I can tell she doesn't believe me by the way she rolls her eyes and then closes them only to let a sigh escape her soft lips. I mentally kick myself for only thinking of her beauty. I don't even know this girl. I don't even know her freaking age! I am a fucking pig. A pig, pig, pig!

            Suddenly Lilia's head perks up and a smile fills her face, “Aunt Sadie?” Lilia breaks away from me only to start sprinting towards the house.

            What the fuck! My protective instincts take over and I'm running after her screaming her name trying to stop her. Why is she so happy? This need of wanting to wrap my arms around her and keep her out of harms way starts to make my muscles and heart ache. What is going on with me? Finally I reach her house and but she's already inside. I run past the front door and into the house to see Lilia standing in the middle of the living room hugging a fairly young woman that looks a lot like Lilia and her mother. Same black hair, same doe eyes, and same smile.

            “Well do we have here?” asked the older woman as she gave me a polite smile. She walked over to me and shook my hand.

            “Aunt Sadie meet Keaton. Keaton meet my Aunt Sadie from my mother's side,” beams Lilia. She kisses her Aunt on the cheek and smiles at me.

            “A pleasure to meet you Keaton. You seem to make my only niece very happy,” Sadie smiled. She patted my shoulder and smiled down at Lilia. Lilia is shorter than both Aunt Sadie and her mother. “Make sure she stays that way. One can only have so many heartbreaks in their life before they don't see the beauty in life.”

            I nod. That is actually a real good motto. I'll try to remember it but hey... I'm a guy. I probably won't. Lilia takes my hand and steers me to the old kitchen where I can smell food. My stomach growls involuntary and Lilia laughs. “Hey... A guys gotta eat,” I laugh along with her.

-

            Aunt Sadie cooked some chicken noodle soup right before she left leaving me alone with Lilia and the house. I finish slurping down the chicken noodle soup trying to hold onto my manners. But it's hard when you’re hungry and amazing chicken noodle soup is just sitting in front of you... Tempting you. Lilia already finished eating and she doesn't eat very much. I cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher as Lilia found a movie that we could watch. The sun is starting to set making the house seem more alive than ever. The stain glass sends shapes and colors through the house while the normal windows let the colors of the sun illuminate everything.

            “I found a great movie!” Lilia yells.

             I walk in from the kitchen and see that she's holding out Zombieland. One of my favorite movies right there. Not a bad choice. If she loves zombies, that's good. If she's scared of zombies, blood, and guts... Even better. You can't go wrong with this movie. If only girls could see the up side to this. Lilia runs over to the DVD player and shoves the DVD in. She turns around and smiles, “Do you want a drink... Or popcorn... Or anything for that matter?”

            I shake my head. I sit down on the couch and stretch out my legs a little. They feel a little sore but I barely notice. Lilia walks over with a remote and presses play as she sits down on the couch next to me. We start watching and making fun of Columbus (the main character) and pushing each other around. After the first half hour, Zombieland starts to get very interesting. Lilia and I have both settled down. My arm around her shoulder's as she leans on me. Needless to say... We are pretty content right now.

            Lilia, surprisingly, doesn't mind blood and guts. She laughs at all the jokes and explains stuff when I miss it. If I still don't get it she rewinds the movie a little bit so that I can try to understand. I start getting curious about her and the way her mind works. Who is this girl and how can I get to know her? When the movie’s over, Lilia was already sort of dozing. I didn't move an inch when her eye lids finally drooped and her breathing slowed down. I smiled as she mumbled stuff under her breath and fidgeted a little.

            The front door opened and Mrs. Halloway walked in with a smile.