Fatal Attractions

Chapter Fourteen

     I looked up to see familiar green eyes.

     "Oh, now you care?" I asked, pulling my wrist free from his grip.

     "What the hell are you talking about? Alex will have a heart attack if he knows you tried to leave," he said, and my heart sank. I assumed Alex had come out of the kitchen and stopped me, but it was Andrew who stepped in.

     "Alex doesn't care," I mumbled, my eyes flicking to the kitchen doors, then back to Andrew.

     "What? Of course he does, it's his job to protect you. You seriously haven't gotten' that through your head yet?" he asked, tapping my forhead with his finger. I swatted his hand away and glared at him.

     "Alex can go to hell," I said, and stalked past Andrew, heading up the stairs.

     "Oh jeez, what did I miss?" Andrew asked, but I ignored him and continued up the staircase.

     "Lena!" he called out again, but his voice fell on deaf ears. I rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and made my way to my bedroom. Once there, I shut the door behind me and let out a sigh of relief when I noticed the door had a lock. I swiftly locked it and sauntered over to the bed, sitting at the edge of it.

     Just last night, Alex had kissed me in this exact spot. Maybe he did it just to mess with me. Maybe he did it to confuse me, or make my life even more of a living hell. Maybe he disliked me from the beginning. Maybe I was just setting myself up by confiding in him. Maybe.

     A soft knock broke me from my thoughts, and I stared down the door.

     "Go away!" I yelled, but the knocking continued. I marched over to the door and swung it open.

     "Are you deaf? I said go-" Nate stood in the hallway, holding a plate of food and a glass of orange juice.

     "I'm just following orders. Didn't mean to inturrupt anything," he said shyly, handing the food over to me. I slowly took it and looked down at the glass plate. Scrambled eggs, pancakes and bacon. I suddenly felt my mouth begin to water. Through all the drama, I hadn't realized how hungry I was.

     "You're not inturrupting anything. I'd just rather be alone," I said, my voice apologetic. I looked back up at Nate to see he was still standing in the same spot, his arms behind his back. He wore a maroon jacket with a plain black t-shirt underneath, black jeans and black boots. His hair was tied in a neat ponytail, making him look more mature, somehow.

     "Then I'll leave you to that," he replied, turning to walk away.

     "Wait," I said, before I could even stop myself. He turned on his heel and faced me again.

     "Yes?" he asked, and I licked my lips nervously. Was I that desperate for company?

     "Can I ask you something?"

     "Sure," he nodded.

     "Do you get along with Alex?" I asked, and his eyesbrows lifted in surprise.

     "Um... We tend to keep our separate ways. Why do you ask?"

     "Just curious... He seems difficult to get along with," I said, truthfully. Alex wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. He was more like the cloud.

     "You get used to it after a while. Do you not get along with him?" he asked, and I felt my pace quicken. How would I answer that without implying that he was being a complete dick?

     "I just don't think he enjoys being my protector. Like he wishes he would've been assigned to someone else," I said, and Nate's brows furrowed in what looked like mass confusion.