My throat dries up instantly, my heart pounds through my chest threatening to burst. A swarm of emotions flood my system and I have no idea how to respond.
My first instinct is to run, to get out of this situation as quick as I can, but I can't risk drawing attention to myself when I am meant to be dancing with George.
And every fiber in my being wants to stay. Needs to stay. Needs to find out if he shot me to save me, or if I was simply a hit and miss.
My body feels frozen suddenly, the warm air disappearing as quickly as my temporary peace of mind.
How the hell did he find me here? How the hell did he get in? How the hell did he know who I am when I am technically dancing and in a white dress?
I bite my lip anxiously, feeling my pulse beat through my bottom lip. I couldn't face him. Not yet.
I had spent so much time in anger and distraught and feeling so broken within and without, I was at a loss of what to feel.
My fear is quickly replaced with fury, as I think about my ribs that are shattering in this dress, and the bullet wound in my shoulder, that stopped me from dancing with my husband to be.
The pressure builds in my head like a tonne of bricks.
"Why are you here?" I spit venomously.
I turn swiftly in my dress to find Cole's electrifying eyes much closer to mine than I expected. My heart explodes in my chest. From fear. From excitement.
"Despite what you may think of me, I've only been trying to protect you." His face inches near mine as he whispers, placing his hands on the railing behind me, boxing me in.
"Protect me? So I guess you were just protecting me when you put a bullet through my shoulder?" My voice elevates, then comes back down quickly as I realise I don't want to draw any unwanted attention to myself.
My eyes meet his with intensity. Swirls of concern, regret, anger and fear linger in the pits of his eyes. He's reflecting with anger, regret and injustice and I can see he remembers just as much as I do. And the pain that dragged me down with it.
He stays silent, the only sound of cicada's buzzing in the warm night.
"Why are you here, if you're not gonna kidnap me?" I stay still under his grasp, like I did at the restaurant. Cool, calm and collected. It was not the time to bolt yet.
"I'm here to warn you." His eyes flicker away from mine underneath the mask. I feel my heart pound in my chest, threatening to burst, and prickles of heat invading the skin on my cheeks from his breath.
Fear and urgency surge through me. "What's going on, Cole?"
My eyes flicker behind his face and towards the lively party going on past the double doors of the balcony until Cole's deep voice draws me back to him.
"My Dad, he's planning something big. I don't know what, but just-" His voice is heavy and laced with concern, drawing me closer instinctively. "Be careful. You can't trust anyone."
"I can't trust an-"
"You two make such a lovely couple." I step back from Cole immediately at the sound of my grandmother's voice, Cole staying in his place with a smirk.
The same grandmother in which I was told could not make it tonight from flight delays after going to Rome. I guess she pulled a few strings. I hadn't seen her since leaving, and often didn't see her more than twice a year. I always loved seeing her, just not today.
I falsely smile, avoiding the gaze of my grandmother, hoping she hadn't recognised me yet with my mask on and my change of appearance since she last saw me.
YOU ARE READING
Damn Straight, Your Highness
Teen Fiction"Drop it." He said. "You drop yours." My voice wavered. The light glimmered on one side of his face, the rest engulfed with darkness. Somewhere behind the barrel of his gun, I could see the pain in his eyes, the betrayal. I was on the verge of tea...
