A Twist Of Magic

Chapter Seven

I jumped and blinked slowly, trying to focus on my surroundings. I was still lounged on the sofa, the book that I'd been reading resting gently in my lap. Clearly I'd fallen asleep. As I glanced at the clock I realised that it was almost midnight. My footsteps were heavy as I slowly stood up and wandered into the kitchen. As I stood at the sink, pouring myself a glass of water, I frowned as I heard raised voices. I listened closely, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. My ears pricked up as I recognised Daniel's voice. It seemed asthough he was having an argument with someone, but I didn't recognise the female voice.

My head snapped up as a strange woman entered the room. She was walking briskly whilst pulling on her jacket. Clearly she couldn't wait to get out of here. I frowned as Daniel rushed after her, trying to button up his shirt at the same time.

"Serena wait!" he called after her.

"Oh so you remember my name now!" she snapped, as she stopped and turned to face him.

"You're overreacting." Daniel sighed.

"You said another woman's name whilst we were in bed!" she exclaimed indignantly.

"I apologised, I don't know what else you want me to say." Daniel said quietly, sounding slightly embarrased.

"You're an arse hole." she snapped, before quickly walking away, slamming the front door behind herself.

Daniel sighed and slowly turned around. I saw a flicker of embarrasment on his features as he noticed me for the first time. My heart fluttered for a moment as he turned to face me and I saw that his shirt was still unbuttoned. My eyes lingered on his chest for a brief moment before I quickly made eye contact.

"That was awkward." I said quietly, trying to diffuse the tension.

He nodded slowly and pulled a beer out of the fridge.

"What did you do?" I asked curiously.

"You already know what I did." he said shortly.

"I'm such an idiot." he added, angrily running his hand through his hair.

I nodded slowly, watching him as he downed the beer. My heart thumped against my chest as he watched me closely as he slowly stepped towards me. His eyes flickered to my lips as his head gradually inched closer to mine. I could feel his warm breath against my face and could virtually taste his lips. I flinched slightly as his lips gently brushed against mine. As much as I wanted to succumb to my feelings for him, I couldn't allow myself to become vulnerable again. I quickly turned my head away from him and sighed. He scoffed and angrily flung the beer bottle into the bin.

"We're not together anymore Daniel." I said quietly.

"Yeah and this is why!" he snapped.

"What are you talking about?" I frowned.

"Everytime I got near you, I would get rejection." he said quietly.

"You just couldn't stand the fact that we weren't sleeping together." I stated, becoming slightly angry that he was blaming me for everything.

"It wasn't just that, whenever I got near you, you would flinch and recoil from me. It's like I disgusted you!" he exclaimed.

I fell silent and stared at the floor, knowing that he was correct. Yet at the same time he couldn't have been further from the truth. It wasn't him that I was disgusted with, it was me. I had been so haunted by what had happened that I couldn't tolerate Daniel being near me. Part of me felt guilty that I'd shut him out, but I had to find a coping mechanism to be able to deal with everything.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. Even as I said the words I knew that it sounded futile. I hadn't realised until now that he had been hurting too.

"It was even worse when we stopped communicating. I couldn't stick around to watch as I slowly lost you." he stated.

"Just tell me what I did all those years to make you hate me." he almost pleaded.

"It wasn't you Daniel." I muttered.

"Please don't say 'it's not you it's me'." he snapped.

"But it's true." I insisted.

He sighed and shook his head. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Clearly having this converstaion had dug up old memories for the two of us. Impulsively I leaned forward and kissed him gently. He was surprised for a brief moment before he quickly recovered and kissed me back. I shivered slightly as I felt him place his hand on the small of my back to hold me close. Our lips moved gently as I closed my eyes and relaxed against him. After all these years I'd forgotten how Daniel could make me feel.

We sprung apart as the front door burst open, the force of it banging against the wall. Daniel kept his hand on my waist as we watched four people enter the apartment. Two of them rushed along towards the bedrooms as the other two walked towards us.

"I'm agent Dylan Rhodes, the two of you need to come down to the station with me." he said.

My head snapped round as I saw Jack, Merritt and Henley in handcuffs being dragged into the room by the other two officers. Daniel sighed and held out his hands for Dylan to handcuff him. I winced slightly as they roughly pulled Daniel's hands behind his back.

"You too." Dylan stated, turning to me.

"She stays here." Daniel hissed.

"No, she's coming with us." Dylan argued.

"But she hasn't done anything!" Daniel yelled as they dragged him away.

Dylan sighed as he placed the handcuffs on me and dragged the four horseman and myself away.