Lurid Tale of Bradley

Chapter 5

"THERE you go, Brad."

He winced in pain and looked at his already bandaged foot. "Thanks for taking care of me, Cara," he said, forcing a smile to cover the pain he was currently feeling.

She gave him a soft smile in return, then offered him the painkiller and water. "No problem. Just take a rest for now." She stood up from the bed with the medicine kit in her grasp.

After his encounter with Kyle, he didn't waste time and called Cara through his phone. He felt relieve when he spotted her running toward him and dialed the number of the nearest emergency center.

It's been five days ever since that happened, but the face of Maddie and Kyle kept on hunting his mind. He had even thanked God for delivering Cara into his life, because if it weren't for her, he wouldn't be in this good situation.

"Hey Brad, I should go home now. I'll tell our boss that you can't walk due to your sprained foot," she said when she went in from the bathroom to put the kit.

He nodded. "Okay. Thanks again, Cara."

She meekly smiled, making him stare at her beauty even though she wore black rimmed eyeglasses and braces on. "Call me when you need someone to take care of you," she said in a soft voice.

She walked out of the house that made his whole system stops on functioning; as if the place became all quiet and incomplete.

The anxiety hits him when he realized one thing: Maddie will appear any time soon. He knew that after Kyle spat those words, the news would be passed towards her.

His eyes shifted down on the cast surrounded his swollen foot and thought about what Kyle is capable of doing. He's not just a somebody, but a dangerous one that is not easy to deal with. He only wanted to make the girl be better by visiting a psychiatrist, but Kyle didn't agree with that.

That's what confused him the most. A brother should always think about what's best for his little sister, yet he didn't want that thing.

He even blamed me for making her life be better!

He felt sympathy for the girl, yet, her brother will be a hindrance to it. He only wished that the girl may be healed someday.

The next four days seemed to be well. His aching foot finally healed all because of Cara's help. She visited him to cook food, clean the house, and give him a hot bath. He felt like he was being a bothersome to her, but she insisted.

"Good morning, Cara," he greeted while sitting on his own chair in the office.

She stopped typing on the keyboard and lifted her gaze onto him. A smile formed on her lips, making him gawk at her once again. "Good to see you here, Brad."

He chuckled and gestured his now fully-healed foot. "It's all thanks to you," he said, having a genuine beam.

After his shift ended, he grabbed his things and quickly stood behind Cara, who is still busy on doing her job.

"Hey." He tapped her shoulder to get her attention, then she turned her head to get a better look at him. "Aren't you done with that?"

She shook her head. "Nope, not yet," she said, staring back at the monitor again.

That caused him to shrug his shoulder. "Well, I guess I should head home."

She only nodded then he walked out of the building while carrying his own bag and stuff. When he passed the dark alley again, a sudden jolt of antsy rushed in his system reminding him the unfortunate encounter with Kyle.

But to his luck, he didn't see him once again. That made him feel relieve and strode out of the dark path.

"THE soup is great, Brad," Cara said as she took a sip on the milky-ish liquid.

A smile made its way on his lips because of the compliment he had received. "I never knew you would like it. But thanks, anyway."

She placed the fringe of her hair behind her mild ear then giggled. "Well, you're welcome. Thanks for inviting me over," she said in a low tone.

It was Friday evening, and he cooked soup that he had learned yesterday. He decided to invite Cara to be his first taster to judge how it tasted. What the woman said awhile ago made him be proud at his own work, now that it's his first time cooking for a woman.

Sure, Maddie already had experienced eating his food, but it's nothing special. Compare to what he had done tonight, Cara's food was more unique.

After they eat, she insisted to wash the dirty plates and spoons. Bradley sat there as he watched her form doing a woman's job. Cara wasn't that beautiful, but what she did in the last four weeks made him stare at her like she was a goddess.

His attention travelled on her short hair that reached her delicate shoulders.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Cara?" he asked abruptly, staying still on his seat.

She wiped her hands on the white towel and looked at him straight. "Boyfriend?" She chuckled when that word slipped out of her mouth. "Commitments are just a waste of time. You'll promise on that someone to be always loyal, but in the end that promise will only break," she said then scoffed.

When she spat those words, Maddie entered in his mind all of a sudden. As if what she had said strikes into him; a promise they had shared to each other is now broken because of him.

He nervously beamed that made his lips tremble. "I... I was asking if you've ever had a boyfriend before."

She sat beside him and looked at him face to face. "Well, I have ex boyfriends. But, no one lasted since they only used me to make their exes jealous," she said, shrugging at the same time.

She removed her nerdy eyeglasses off of her eyes and wiped the smudges throughout the glass. He stared at her in awe as she continued to clean her precious eyesight saver.

"You know, Cara?" he murmured, making her stopped on her business and looked upon him while narrowing her eyes. His hand made its way onto her warm cheek, caressing it like a special gold. "You're beautiful. I suggest, just wear contact lenses."

Her cheeks started to have a shade of red that caused her to pull away in an instant.

"Uh... Thank you, Brad," she muttered, while avoiding his gaze.

Utterly confused, he raised his thick brow up. "For what?"

She bit her lip then released it as her eyes shifted onto his. "You're the very first man who have ever complimented me," she said in a soft tone, embarrassment laced in her words.

"Why? Don't tell me, all of your exes had never said that to you?" He grabbed her eyeglasses and slowly put it on her eyes, examining her features. "See? You're beautiful with or without eyeglasses on. Just be true to who you are, and people will easily fall for you."

At first her head was casted down. But when he said those words, her head lifted up and met his forest-like eyes, making hers to widened because of the unknown feeling she felt at the moment.

He genuinely smiled, taking her hands in his and squeezed them in a light way. "Trust yourself, Cara. Nothing's impossible, it's your choice if you will make it possible," he said, removing his hands from hers then stood up.

"If only that thing was my motto in life, I would never ever be involve in it," he added then stared down at her. "C'mon! Let me take you home. It's getting late."

He didn't know why, but Cara became silent with shocked expression in her face all along the walk.

To be continued...

Author's Note: Hey there sweeties! Hope you liked the chapter I've made.

Feel free to vote and comment.

Truly yours,
creepy_stalker199