Melaine

Chapter 5: Her Eyes

He rolled onto his left side, stretching his legs out of the comforter in wake of morning and snuggled into his pillow when his hand accidently met with a wet space beside him. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, as his hand felt the indent left in the mattress next to him. He opened his clouded eyes, blinking back the fogginess of sleep and sat upright  against headboard, and saw the yellow stained pillow that was wet underneath his palm. He had never been into taking shower before going straight to bed, dripping wet, rather sleeping with his body sweat since he had always liked the messier side of his life rough like his sex encounters and the smell that lingers in the air. So sure of himself it was obviously out of the question that it could've been his doing. The white bed sheet was scrunched and slightly warm which was apparently giving evidence as if someone had slept next to him. He shrugged it aside knowing that he often had a habit of moving towards the middle of bed at night, occupying most of the space during his sleep. He strode towards the bathroom in his boxers that even weren't on his body, sleeping completely naked in the hot evenings of summers. He took care of his morning business and stood in front of mirror scratching the light stubble on his jaw that needed to be shaved. He turned on the tap of washbasin, running water when his eyes caught a glimpse of red mark on his neck. He leaned forward, observing his neck closer and cursed himself aloud upon seeing a love bite.

"Fuck Rohan! When did this happen?" It wasn't even there last night before he went to bed, nor he was drunk enough to forget he that didn't make out with anyone let alone brought someone home for the night. His finger pressed on the red mark and he winced, frowning at the sight of it. Now he really suspected if someone had been in his room last night but again, the question itself was who could it have been. He wondered if it was Sam's prank and he swore to himself if it turned out to be true, Sam is dead for good. He stepped underneath the hot spray of shower; his palms pressed flatly on the wall as he dropped his head forward letting the water soothe his aching muscles of shoulders and back. Steam filled the shower, fogging the glass casement of shower room. Rivulets of water ran down his black hair to the bridge of his nose and beads of water caught between his lips that were slightly parted fanning out his hot breath. He felt her warm hands snaked around his torso.His eyes snapped open standing in the steamy shower, alone with his imagination. He sighed and took the towel from rack wrapping it around his hips.
When he walked back into his room, he saw Melaine through his window sitting at the dining table enjoying her hot steamy mug of coffee. She raised red mug to her lips looking up at him and he noticed that she smirked into the mug while taking her sip.

"What's that Rohan?" Sam pointed towards the mark that he failed in hiding by flipping his collars up. Sam narrowed his eyes at him, when he got all defensive, and the shorter of two tugged his collar lower revealing the red mark.

"A hickey?", Sam must have said it louder than it's necessary earning strange looks from girls in the corridor of both shock and jealousy but mostly, the second.
"Woah, dude! Ysually you are the one giving to girls but it's quite unbelievable someone gave you the one...". Rohan had pushed Sam into his locker holding his arm behind his back.
"Sam, you did it?" He asked ignoring the people in the corridor, besides, since when did he give a damn about people concerning his actions.
"What are you talking about man?"
"You pulled a prank on me, didn't you? Rohan grimaced whispering in Sam's ear.
"Rohan, you aren't my type but get back off, you idiot! The way you're pressing down yourself on me it's giving wrong impression to everyone.!" Rohan snickered at Sam and pulled back ready to throw punch at him, and to his tease, Sam kissed his knuckles making the boy groan.

"I swear on my baby I didn't do it", Rohan looked at Sam's innocent face, that had never been closer to the innocence but given he swore on his 'red car', whom he could die for indeed, he believed Sam for a moment. He marched inside the class and went straight towards the end where Melaine was sitting. He settled beside her and caught her staring at his hickey.

"What?" This whole business was getting on his nerves.

"It's interesting that someone gave you a love bite in the middle of night and you're dead sleep without sensing anything."
 He opened his mouth but her words had had him at the liability of being speechless at the logic. How come he didn't realize someone in his room last night?

Melaine placed the grocery bags on the kitchen counter and washed the vegetables and fruits in the sink before putting them in refrigerator. After coming back from school, she first went to market for shopping. With the money left in her wallet, she bought grocery and other food snacks for kitchen pantry, along with washing powder, toilet papers, soap to shampoo and personal care products much to her embarrassment, which she had to pass at the payment counter. Melaine put coffee beans, food cereal and pasta packets in the cabinet closing the lid and took apple from the basket on table biting it before she went to do the laundry.

 She carried the basket of washed clothes in the backyard and started stringing them on the line that she had tied herself and clipped the shirts and bed sheets in place. She saw him-in his black wife beater and shorts that showed his toned arms and calves-drying laundry in his backyard and cussing at the clothes. He caught her admiring his form and walked towards her smirking where she had been leaning over the rope clipping the pillow case.

"I thought you don't come out in open air." He joked crossing his arms that flexed his muscles. She was in yellow top and daisy dukes showing off her slender legs and a band aid on her upper thigh, that he resolved not to ask about. Her hair were in loose side braid that suited her face cut, softening her face features.
"Your eyes...", she snapped her head towards him covering left side of her face. He must have noticed her uneasiness, she thought and immediately composed herself, dropping her hand lower and tried not to show any nude expression on her face. It's her fear in the eyes, upon which he used to feed and seek pleasure. And now, she would never show any expression, especially that of pain and fear for she believed that he could smell her like a hound from afar and chase her down through her scent.

"Your eyes are beautiful, they are big", his compliment sent tinge of pink in her cheeks but she soon recovered, reprimanded herself for acting on impulse and covering her eyes.
"You don't have anything else to do than annoying people?" She retorted.
"Yes, I have other business like asking wellbeing of my neighbours", Rohan replied resting his elbows on the wall.
"So, how are you doing?"
"None of your concern", she picked up her tunic from the basket and put it on the rope.
"Did you take lunch?"
"I ate rat poison in lunch."
"I feel bad for poison though mothballs are more tasty", he chuckled.
"Anything you want from me?" Melaine felt her words sounded so wrong in many ways on her tongue and she could bet he would've thought the same. If only she could read his piercing eyes that were staring right through her soul and she wondered, how much of her nakedness he could see just by looking at her. She leered up from eyelashes at him who hunched over the wall which separated the both, and leaned in so close that she could feel his breath on her lips. Their lips were merely centimeter apart that she could close the distance between by lifting her chin if she wanted. But the moment, before it could be savored, had been ruined when the cloth line got disengaged and all the clothes, and sheets fell on the wet grass.

 
"Shit!" Rohan cursed looking up at her annoyed face.

 
"I will wash them for you again". He climbed over the wall and gathered all of the clothes before giving a quick peck on her cheek leaving her dumbfounded.

Melaine placed the dishes in the dishwasher and washed them. She dried the plates with towel and stack them in the rack. She wiped her hands and went upstairs to her room locking it. She came to stand in front of the mirror and covered left side of her face. She peeked between her fingers, her reflection stared back at her when she lowered her hand. Those eyes, looking back at her weren't the dark brown eyes of Melaine but blue eyes of his true self, and a face of that monster.