The known stranger

4. Dark woods

"Ella?" A familiar voice called out, there was a ringing noise in my head and it felt unbearably heavy, I opened my eyes forcefully to see a pair of amber orbs looking at me peculiarly.

"Ethan?" I whispered, confused; it took me a few seconds to recall everything.

"Are you okay?" He said softly and placed both of his hands on the trunk behind me, caging me in between, night had fallen all around us and the only source of light seemed to be radiating from his angelic face, which was uncomfortably close to my own, our breaths mingled in the cold frost. "I..." I began to speak but crouched my head in between my hands.

He picked me up bridal style and within seconds we were on the ground, he held me by my waist sending jitters down my spine and pressed me lightly against the tree because my legs felt too wobbly to be supporting my body on their own. "What are you doing here" he asked in a grave tone that had me shuddering from fear, his amber were eyes frowning, maybe he was pitying me.

"I was hiding" tears welled up in my eyes but I wiped them and looked away, he picked me up again and started carrying me "close your eyes Ella" I liked the way my name rolled out of his tongue, I could get used to listening to it, I closed my eyes while heavily leaning on to him, I liked the heat that radiated off his body, only because I was too tired to be embarrassed of our close proximity.

When I opened my eyes after 10 seconds we were approaching what looked like an ancient cabin in the middle of nowhere in deep woods, it was a lovely two storey stone house, masked in moss and creepers that were adorned with flowers so enchanting yet unfamiliar I couldn't take my eyes off them.

"These flowers" I gulped "I've never seen them anywhere before". My eyes fell upon a single blue one that was kind of transparent like glass, but it appeared to be oozing luminescent blue light into its surroundings, "wow" I was taken aback.

"Yeah...my mother grew them" Ethan said, he studied them very carefully for a few moments and then opened his mouth to speak "but to be honest I've never really paid attention to them that way, before" he whispered.
"Well they're pretty aren't they?" I said mesmerised. He looked at me and smiled, a genuine smile that warmed up my heart. I lowered my gaze and sucked a breathe-in hopes of stopping a mad blush that was finding its way to my cheeks for no damned reason. I looked at him and he grinned devilishly "yeah they are" he said while looking down at both my cheeks.

Stupid girl.

"Come inside" he placed his hand halfway behind my shoulder and took me inside, the whole place was enveloped in a rich and sickly sweet flowery-earthy-herby aroma. I loved it. I inhaled deeply, the scent; instantly it made me feel giddy like a work of a spell.
It was pitch black once we stepped inside, but it hardly took Ethan a few minutes to lit up the fireplace with logs. Heck this whole place seemed to be pulled straight out of a Grimm's brothers fairytale, I looked around as he installed candles everywhere, the ground floor was an open space except for the area that resembled a kitchen, the whole area was very vintage-y yet maintained and cleaned, furnished with rich wood and leather

"Do you live here?" In the middle of woods ? I meant to add.
"No" he said and cleared his throat "it was my mother's old home/hideout she showed me this place when I was about 13, it's old though" he scratched his neck.
"Oh, it's lovely! Like a secret paradise amidst of a scary forest" and I meant it. I looked down at my wet shivering self, he fetched me two towels and went upstairs. I removed my heavy overcoat and shoes along with the wet shirt that was sticking to my skin, I was in my tank top and icky wet jeans now. I went near the fireplace to absorb some heat and started drying my hair with a towel.
"These are the only spare clothes I managed to find and they're mine" he said after handing me a long t shirt and pyjamas "you can change upstairs" he said and went to the part of the cabin that resembled kitchen. The t shirt went down to my thighs and the pyjama was inches too long for me, but hey I wasn't complaining.
I treaded down hesitatingly, I needed to call Emily to let her know that I was safe, his back was turned at me as he whisked something in a jar.

"Umm Ethan" I said tucking a piece of hair strand behind my ears, he turned and looked at me up and down and turned right back, I could still tell that he was smiling.

"I need to call Emily and get home immediately, I left my phone in my car" I hoped she wasn't freaking out but knowing her all too well I knew I was in trouble.

"I doubt that you'll find any network in this area kitty" what did he just call me?

He finally turned towards me and handed me a cup of hot chocolate "I'll drop you off but you need to have something warm first unless you want to die of hypothermia." He chuckled but his eyes were tight.

We sat on two separate armchairs near the fireplace, I sipped and looked at him from under my lashes, he was looking at me intently, sending shivers in my whole body.

Despite of some warmth oozing throughout my body from the chocolate and his intent stare, I still felt cold, Placing the cup on the counter table beside my seat, I rubbed goosebumps on my arm, Ethan instantly got up and fetched a blanket, wrapping it around me.

"Thanks" I mumbled.
"Mhmm" he grunted and went on too sit on his armchair.

"So, what were you doing in the middle of these dark woods Ella" he asked in a low but demanding tone.

I wrapped the blanket more snugly around me and leaned back on the armchair, the rising flames in the fireplace made a crackling sound; I eyed the odd skulls that were placed on the mantelpiece, they looked like primate skulls of various shapes and sizes, on both sides of the fireplace were large bookshelves stacked with books.

"Are you still cold?" He asked in a caring tone after a minute.

"No, I'm not now." I said feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole situation."....I needed to get gas and none of the gas stations in the area were open, so I decided to drive to St. Regis; it was pretty secluded due to heavy rains and..I ran into some drunk assholes and I think...ttt-hey started to follow me in a blue van" My voice was crackling by the end.

"Oh" he merely replied, his expressions weren't very welcoming, his voice tight.

"Then my car stopped in the middle of nowhere..I.I didn't know what to do so I ran off towards the woods." I concluded very out of breathe, I looked at him with my tear laden eyes and wiped them, embarrassed.

"Don't cry Ella, don't make it more difficult for me" he said through his gritted teeth, frowning. I saw something sinister flash through his eyes, which made me gasp for air, he looked genuinely scary. Why did it matter to him anyways ?

He ran a hand irritably through his hair "Ella?" His voice contained, livid.

"Yeah?" My voice was weak.

"They didn't hurt you in anyway, right?"

"Nooo" my voice came across very hoarse, I cleared my throat quickly.

He nodded and looked over my shoulder, inhaling and exhaling sharply while I looked at him trying to control my own breathe.

The day had already wore me off and I could hardly keep my eyes open, but I needed to get to Emily.
"But how did you find me?" I paused "Were you looking for me?" I realised how absurd it probably sounded but I couldn't help but wonder, his eyes snapped back at me, he kept looking into my eyes very intently till I couldn't take it anymore and looked away. "I went to your house in the evening, Emily told me you didn't come back from school, so I left my number. She called me at 8 asking whether you were with me." He gulped down and clenched his jaw.
"What time is it now?" I cut him short, beginning to freak out a little.
"A little past 10.....she then told me you were going to get gas for your car..." he looked at me briefly as if contemplating whether to tell me something or not, I didn't break eye contact this time.

"I caught your trail in this area"
What did he mean by that? I rubbed my forehead, trying to comprehend everything. I was in middle of woods in an isolated cabin with an almost "stranger" who supposedly saved my life but I didn't feel an iota of fear. We sat in silence for a while as I focused on my thoughts, my eyes felt heavier as the seconds passed by, the last thing that I remembered before drifting off to sleep was Ethan's face lit by soft, flickering light of the fireplace.