Midnight Playground

Chapter 25

Cassie's mind just couldn't catch up with recent events. Her feelings had been numbed by the cold and her very soul felt heavy within her body. She couldn't seem to appreciate what was happening at present, in fact, her mind barely even registered it.

"What were you thinking, wandering out in this weather?" Alec scolded, his voice edged with teasing. He gently placed a towel upon her head, using his hands to roughly rub the material against the wet hair. He pulled her head from side to side, as if trying to wake her up but it was no use. Cassie didn't speak, she didn't know what to say to him. If anything at all.

"I would be worried about you catching a cold but I don't think you're actually capable of it." He laughed at his own joke, continuously ruffling her hair with the towel. When she didn't respond to his taunts, he stopped what he was doing, the smile momentarily dropping from his face. Silence befell them, a situation that wasn't normal for them. He quickly tossed the towel aside and knelt on the floor, cocking his head to the side slightly.

"Cassie." He said, his voice obviously full of concern. At the sound of her name, Cassie began balling her hands into fists, rigidly lowering them onto her lap. She felt her heart clatter around in her ribcage and a sudden jolting feeling erupted through her body. She glanced down, just to catch her breath, inadvertently stumbling upon Alec's smile. She jumped once again, this time from the heat prickling the back of her hand where he had covered it with his own.

"Look at me Cass."

She couldn't, even if she wanted to. And it was purely down to her own stubbornness. Maybe his tone had meant to come out a little nicer than it had but in this instance, his words had come across stale and cold.

+++ He's impatient +++

She could tell that it was true by the glimmer of a frown on his lips. And it wasn't the first time she had been getting those vibes from him. Before, she had placed it down to him wanting to work in law, after all his voice would have to hold at least some authority. And yet she knew this wasn't the case tonight. His questions had turned into demands. And his suggestions? Orders. IT wasn't like she didn't like that confident side of his. He'd always had it. The first time that she had met him, she had been disgusted by him. Seriously, who propositioned a strange woman like that, just minutes after meeting each other? No name, no hello, nothing! They had been perfect strangers in every way possible.

Cassie felt a tickle in her throat at the memory and she felt a smile lift the corner of her lips. Alec must have noticed it too because soon after a broad grin began playing upon his face, his eyes glinting expectantly.

It was Alec.

Every day since their last encounter she had tried not to think about him. She had tried every hour of the day to remind herself that everything that she was doing, was to protect. But those were all lies. The truth is, Cole had just been the excuse she had needed not to see him anymore. His existence in her life had been so strong that it had frightened her. She had wanted to leave him. And Bastien. She had wanted her foolishness to be put to an end. She had long since realized that the more she cared for them, the greater the hurt would be in the end. She knew that it was wiser to simply walk out of their lives for good. It was better that way! It was the only logical option! And yet, when her eyes locked with his, she lost all trail of thought.

"Hey Alec." She murmured, slightly in self-loathing. She'd allowed him to take her to his Dad's house and now she was alone with him, in his room.

"Hey yourself." He chuckled, washing away all of her anxieties at once.

It was at this point that she almost wished she hadn't done what she did next. Almost. She picked up the abandoned towel from the floor and gently placed the cotton against his wet cheeks, where the rain had dripped down from his hair. Her actions must have startled him because instantly his face had stiffened, causing her own hand to still. Her cheeks pinked slightly but before she could retract back, his hand shot up. He grasped her wrist, his stare transfixed upon hers. She caught a gasp in her throat as her heart beat quickened. If she had wanted to look away, that urge had seemingly died out as she stared into the hypnotic gaze of his eyes, flakes of gold trapped within his honey coloured irises. For a split second, she had wondered why she had never noticed something so great before but the heat against her lips brought all other thoughts to an abrupt end.