Devil on the Rooftop [Book 1]

Chapter 49 - Arisa

I promised myself I would put Khaleel to the back of my head. I made up my mind about suppressing my curiosity because at the end of the day, it always landed me in a heap of trouble. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't mine to like—not after Matilda opened up and shared her feelings with me. I couldn't betray my only friend like that and I couldn't let him in with all that aggression he harboured. Liking a guy who threatened to push me off the rooftop wasn't any better but at least I could survive his wrath. Having already knocked him on his butt made me confident about it—but the thought of surviving the former wouldn't be possible. Not without wiping blood off my hands. To me, Loyal was the lesser of two evils. To me, Khaleel was the devil on the rooftop.

As luck would have it, he was waiting for me outside the manor. He was leaned against a black car with tinted windows, which I assumed was provided by the Wilson family. Loyal wanted Khaleel to watch over me today, for obvious reasons, and it took everything I had not to go against it. It was for Loyal's peace of mind and for my mother's—that was how he had worded it. How could I refute that? I couldn't. Still, I didn't trust the delinquent to behave around me. More than that, I didn't trust myself not to waver while he followed orders.

When I reached the car door, Khaleel stood up straight. My filthy mind recalled the structure of his build underneath that school blazer. The shirt had been cleaned and ironed, erasing the splatter of red from yesterday.

"New uniform?" Khaleel asked.

"Tomasia lent it to me," I said, patting the chequered skirt down. It was a little longer than what I was used because it was custom made for the student body president. My small hips couldn't fill in her elegant size. The blouse and blazer were loose too but I was fine with the baggy look.

"You're swimming in it," he commented.

"It's better than nothing," I said, taking a second to make sure the blouse was tucked into the skirt properly. I wasn't sure what I stepped on but something tripped me and I almost fell over. Khaleel's reflexes were fast and impressive. He got a hold of my waist and kept me up-right. His warmth melted through the fabric and gave me goosebumps. It took me a second to realize his hands were beginning to graze my sides. My lungs tightened and my knees began to buckle but I was determined to ignore all of it.

"Let's set some boundaries shall we?" I said, taking a cautious step back. I got inside the car and clicked my seat-belt in place. Khaleel went around to join me from the other side.

"To Jackheights," he instructed the driver. I couldn't see the man's face, only the back of his balding head. I watched him start the car and steer it out of the driveway.

Yesterday, I would have never imagined going to school with an assigned bodyguard and chauffeur. I would have never imagined making out with Loyal Wilson either. I didn't latch onto him because I felt bad about his upbringing. I latched on because he trusted me with the truth. I really didn't think he was capable of opening up to anyone like that.

I wanted Loyal to come with me to school this morning but he had some family business to take care of. I didn't have the heart to insist anything because of how serious he looked when he told me.

"What's with that face?" Khaleel's comment caught me off guard.

"Why aren't you wearing your seat belt?" I countered, not wanting to address my own problems at the moment. Not with him anyways.

"Jackheights is not far. I don't need it."

"So, you just provoke death on a weekday?"

Khaleel shrugged.

"Put your seatbelt on, please."

"I'm good. Thanks."

I unbuckled my seatbelt, shifted down to his side of the car, and reached my hands out to do him a favour. I regretted it the moment he adjusted his posture. I tried not to look at him while reaching for the strap. I secured it in place and disregarded the familiar scent wafting from his chest. Soap and cedar, that's what he smelled like—it was strangely alluring. I clicked the belt in place and made the mistake of meeting his strong and beautiful gaze.

"What were you saying about setting boundaries before?" Khaleel teased.

"Safety trumps that," I replied, moving back to my spot. My nerves were kicking in and reminding me not to get comfortable around this troublemaker. His fists weren't the only dangerous thing about him—his presence was strong enough to envelop everything in a two meter radius.

"What else trumps it?" Khaleel probed.

"What?" I scoffed.

"I'm asking because I want to know what I'm working with here."

"Why are you so strange?" I asked, buckling up. Heat creeped up my neck but I refused to let it reach my cheeks. "Honestly, I don't get you."

"You're one to talk."

I raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

His eyes narrowed and his voice crisped into a strict tone. "Why didn't you run away?"

I had no response so I let silence fill the space between us. I checked to see if the driver was listening in our conversation, he wasn't, or maybe he was and I just couldn't tell. I wasn't in the mood to talk about my kidnapping. Not with him...but it seemed like Khaleel wasn't going to stop delving until he got a straight answer.

"Why did you think you could take those dipshits all by yourself? You should have ran."

"Oh yeah, I should have ran," I feigned a laugh. "It's not like they would have caught up to me or pushed me around the park. There were only ten of them!"

A hint of darkness flashed in his eyes. He looked calm but the way he puffed up his chest told me he was fuming inside. "It would have been better for them to push you around with witnesses."

"There were no witnesses!" I snapped.

The driver met my gaze through the rear view mirror. I took a breath to calm down and readjusted in my seat. There were a lot of things I would have done differently yesterday but thinking about them now was a waste of time.

"Why are you victim blaming?" I grumbled. "They only kidnapped me because they thought I was Loyal's girlfriend."

He blinked with firm intention.  "Are you?"