Come In

Chapter Five

I was stunned into silence. A pair of icy blue eyes glared up at me for a second, before the ice melted and recognition set in. I gaped at the hooded man for what seemed like an hour before he yanked himself up into a sitting position.
"Hi" he said. His voice was like velvet and gravel at the same time. It was deep and had a scratchy sound to it, almost as if it pained him to speak. But at the same time, it was luxurious and enchanting. I realised that I hadn't replied.
"Um..." I gulped, unable to maintain enough moisture in my throat to form coherent words. I thought I saw a hint of a smile on his red lips.
"Do you remember me?" he enunciated every word perfectly, deliberately. His accent was slightly off- it was American, but it sounded like it belonged in a movie from the fifties.
"Yes" I breathed, "you... saved us. From those..." I didn't know whether to say 'people' or 'things'. I settled for not finishing my sentence at all. He knew what I was talking about. I noticed that his pale white skin had a slightly blue-ish tint to it, especially where he had started to grow some stubble. Gosh, he was pale. Paler than me- though my skin was more of a translucent pale- his was gloriously white, alabaster against his red lips, and dark eyebrows.
"You live on the streets?" I whispered, and suddenly brought my hand to my mouth. How rude! I didn't even think about saying that before it happened!
"Yes" he uttered with a laugh, peering around him at the concrete that was to be his bed for the night. It hurt my heart to think about him, lying in the cold, on the unforgiving concrete floor. I'd like to have thought that I was being compassionate to him as another human being, but really, I just couldn't stand to see him uncomfortable. Although he was the one who had done the saving, I felt oddly protective of him. I decided to do something rash, something I would never have done- not for anyone else.
"Listen, my mother is away. I've been terrified since... well, you know. Jumping at any noise, constantly looking over my shoulder. It's driving me crazy, and I know for a fact that the Police wouldn't be able to do anything against that guy. You probably know that too. In fact, you probably know a lot." I realised that I was rambling. He had his eyebrows raised, humour glittering in his eyes.
"What I'm saying is, I would feel better, and safer, if you were to come and stay at my house. I'm cooking dinner, there's more than one empty room that you could use, and a working shower. And central heating." I said, not really sure whether I was completely sane or not. This guy was a complete stranger, who just last night yanked someone's head off of their neck. But I felt completely safe around him, and I didn't know why. I looked down at him. He was frowning, looking down at the floor. He still wore his hood, which was concealing his hair- I didn't know why that bothered me so much.
"I feel safe when you're around. I don't know why." I admitted, hoping that he didn't hear me. His eyes shot up to mine, and I saw pain in his features. He frowned down at the floor again.
"You say," he muttered, "that I make you feel safe?" He looked up at me, confusion colouring his face. I merely nodded in reply.
"Please, it won't be any trouble. Surely you can't pass up on a terrible, home cooked meal." I said, trying to lighten the mood, but my humour was masked by how my voice was trembling. He chuckled anyway.
"Well, I suppose I can't say no to that." He said, smiling a heartbreaking smile. He got to his feet, and I realised just how tall he was. He had to be at least six foot five.
I smiled and nodded.
"Lead the way, ma'am" he said holding his arm out. He was impeccably chivalrous.
I lead him back to my house, throwing a couple of inane questions his way, to which he answered perfectly politely, and replied with some small talk of his own. It was easy to talk with him, which almost worried me. Almost...

"Uh, so here we are" I said, staring at my door. This was the first time I felt awkward in his presence, and I didn't know why. Unlocking the door, I gave him a sheepish smile. He gestured for me to walk in first, and he followed me in.

I'd almost forgotten that I had been cooking when I left, but the smell of Chinese Five Spice had lingered in the air.
"I'll just go finish the food" I muttered, walking into the kitchen. It only took five minutes to finish- I had done most of it beforehand. I loaded two plates up, and brought them into the living room, where the hooded man was sitting. I almost dropped the food.

He had taken his hooded jacket off, and was sat on the sofa. His hair, as I had guessed, was as dark as his eyebrows, and fell in a tangled mess above his eyes. However, it seemed like it had been styled that way deliberately- the perfect Bed Head look. He wore a plain navy jumper and black, skinny jeans.

My hand trembled as I gave him his plate and cutlery. He smiled warmly at me, revealing perfect, white teeth. His smile dazzled me. I regained control of my body, and sat down in the arm chair that sat across from the sofa.

"By the way," I said around a mouthful of food, "I never caught your name." This hadn't bothered me before- in fact, it didn't even register with me until now. He had just been 'Hooded Man' in my mind and I was content with that. But I felt like I had to break the silence, which was beginning to get awkward.

"My name's Cam" he said with a smirk. Cam. It was a nice name. He looked to be about nineteen or twenty, I noticed.

"How old are you?" I asked without thinking. I saw a glimmer of panic in his eyes, but serenity overtook before I could be sure. He smiled wryly.
"I don't even know your name yet." He said, raising his eyebrows at me. I gulped.

"Right, sorry. My name's Anna. Uh, Annabeth." I don't know why I added my full name at the end. I preferred people to call me Anna. I didn't think a lot when Cam talked to me, I'd noticed.

"It's nice to meet you, Annabeth." He said. I nodded,
"Yes, it's nice to meet you too, Cam." I was surprised at how calm I sounded.

We finished our dinners, making more small talk. He seemed completely at ease, which made me feel more comfortable. Any thoughts of the fact that he was a stranger who had beheaded a man, had completely left my mind. I knew in my heart that he was a good man.

"Well, I'm kinda exhausted, so I'm going to go to bed. Would you like me to show you to a room?" I said as I finished washing the dishes.
"Sure, thank you Annabeth." He nodded.

I lead him up the stairs, and to the first room on the left. It was our guest room, and it was always set up and ready for visitors, with plain blue sheets on a single bed, a small wooden chest of drawers to the left of the bed, which was both a chest of drawers and a bedside table at the same time. A plain, silver lamp stood on top.
The only other thing in the room was a stained, wooden wardrobe. I gestured to Cam that this was his room. He smiled as he peered in, craning his neck through the doorway. I was entranced as the muscles on his neck danced not a foot from my eyes. I took a fluttering breath, and his scent hit me. It was indescribable- chocolate, roses, citrus, cloves- so many different scents and all of them were hypnotising. There were a few scents there that I couldn't pick out, and I didn't care to.

I blinked a couple of times before regaining control of my mind.

"If you'd like to use the bathroom, it's at the end of the hall" I explained, pointing to the door that was right outside my bedroom.

"Thank you so much for this, Annabeth." His face was only inches from mine as he said this. I realised that he had to lean down to be this close. I couldn't move or think about anything other than his red, plump lips, and the heavenly scent that he emitted.
Too soon, he was gone.

We said goodnight, and I walked down to my room, an prepared for bed in a daze. My mind would not leave that man that was not three yards away from me.