The minutes stretched out. They stayed there seated in their seats with eyes locked on each other for what felt like an eternity. She frowned eventually, just a slight crease formed between her eyebrows. Her steady gaze on him studied his expression; pained as if he's contemplating on telling her the truth after all. Of the reason why she felt that he's hiding something, she couldn't comprehend, she just felt so. She could hear her pulse, every heart beat indicated the time prolonged with no explanation.
"You're being really shady," she stated quietly, pulling her gaze away from his beautiful face and stared down at the table separating them, her eyes trying to focus on the carvings on the wooden table.
"I want to tell you," she heard him say in a hushed tone.
"But?" her voice soft, the word barely escaping her lips.
"I can't," he sighed, exasperated. She heard him inhaled deeply and heard, rather than see him run his hand through his hair.
A part of her hungered of information, of some sort of explanation, but another did not want to ruin what they had, despite its shadiness. Arya had a fighting battle in her heart, one she wasn't sure she would be happy with if either wins.
Slowly, she sat upright on her chair. She looked down at her knotted fingers and for a moment she just stared. She could feel Elijah's unwavering gaze on her, waiting for any sort of response. Her breathing was steady, her mind a blur. As if she was operated by something else rather than her own mind, she picked her bag up and stood up, much to Elijah's surprise.
"Arya," he immediately got up, his hand reaching for hers to stop her from leaving.
"No, don't," she said quickly, successfully hiding her hand away from his bewitching grasp. She had to do this fast or she would change her mind. She took a deep steady breath and bolted out of the cafe, hiding her face as she ran down the street, each step further away from Elijah.
She wasn't sure what she was so upset about. The fact that it was clear that he was hiding something? Or was it because he was hesitant to tell her? Why would he tell her anyway? She asked the question to herself and scoffed, thinking it was ridiculous of her for acting so seeing that they haven't known each other that long.
As she laid on her bed, her eyes staring at the blank ceiling above her, her mind wondered if he would scurry off after her little episode. She got called a snob often, simply because she preferred being alone than encircled with her associates, but she didn't mind that. She liked her little cocoon. She was a lone wolf. All was fine until he strolled into her life with his little book, dashing face and captivating personality - as if he came from another era all together. Then, somehow, she just felt as if she was dependent on him. That she looked forward to seeing him seated at their little corner every night. That she felt butterflies fluttering in her belly, something she had never experienced before. Her heart sped when he closed the space between them and his touch, oh how she longed for his touch!
She was about to fall into a deep slumber when she heard a loud thud against her window. Eyes wide, she clutched her blanket closer to her chest, as if it served protection by doing so. Her mind went into a whirlwind as it imagined the worst possible scenarios. Slowly, she sat up on her bed and her eyes went to her window. Except, she didn't find anything there, rather, a dark shadow looming at the corner across the room, its outline taking the shape of a person. A set of pearly white teeth shined as the figure smirked. She felt her breath got caught in her throat, along with her voice, preventing her from screaming. Her heart pumped faster, her breathing became shallow and frantic and her mind was screaming for her to screaming.
But she couldn't make a sound.
