Broken Without You

CHAPTER 14

Emily's pov

We disappear behind the branches and continue walking.

His hand intertwined with mine somehow gives me comfort.

I feel safe around him, protected.

I trip on a few rocks and twigs on the ground by thankfully manage to stay upright.

Everything is dark, the path is narrow and long.

As we walk further, I notice the trees are slowly being replaced by stones.

The only thing guiding me is Axel and the faint flash coming from his phone.

"When are we going to get there?" I whine, not wanting to continue further.

The longer we walk, the more frightened I become.

He doesn't respond and keeps going.

"You aren't going to kill me are you?" I ask, worried.

"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already." He says. I can feel the smirk on his face, even in the dark.

The path starts to become more visible, and I see a wide opening in front of us.

We get closer and I'm preparing myself to see what Axel was talking about.

Just as we're a few step away, Axel stops. And I bump into his back.

"Ouch." I say and rub my nose.

"Why did you stop?" I furrow my brows and ask.

He turns around with a black velvet cloth in his hands.

"Wha-...You're going to kill me aren't you? I knew it!" I exclaim, frantically looking around, planning my escape.

"Relax Emily, I don't want you to see anything before we actually get there." He says with a soft voice, trying to ease my nerves.

"Will you let me blindfold you for only a few minutes?" He asks gently.

I think about it. Should I allow him to blindfold me and take my most useful sense away?

What if he's a psychopath who has been planning my murder for years and my vacuous readiness to follow his every command will only make his job easier.

Having thought of all this, I make up my mind.

"Okay". I say quietly.

I'm probably being too naive by blindly trusting him, quite literally, but what intelligent decision have I made ever since I met him?

He faintly smiles, happy with my decision.

He slowly places the cloth over my eyes and quickly ties it behind my head.

My world turns dark and I can only rely on my senses of smell and hearing.

A second later, he grabs my hand and we resume walking.

We finally get off of that path and I feel something that resembles the feeling of grass beneath my feet.

We walk further and stop.

I for some reason smell water in the air.

Then I hear it, the steady burble of splashing water.

Before I can say anything, Axel removes my blindfold.

It's slightly painful to open my eyes at first, but when I do, the sight before me is worth the wait.

We are inside an open top cave, surrounded by high stones. I look up and the moon is shining brilliantly bright, with stars scattered across the night sky.

I gasp as I gase at the beautiful waterfall splashing and feeding the plunge pool.

I look at Axel with awe and find him looking around and taking in this beautiful place.

"Axel this is beautiful." I say, not believe my eyes.

"It is. It looks even better at night." He comments.

"Come let's sit by the lake." He tells me and sits down.

I follow him and take a seat beside him.

The ground is cold and slightly moist, but not enough to dampen your clothes.

"You don't believe how happy I am that you brought me here, who wouldn't want to see this magical place after a long day of work." I say.

"I'm glad you like it." He says and lays on his back, with his head resting on his arm.

I mimic his position and lay down next to him, looking up at the stars.

"Do you know constellations?" He asks.

"I don't actually." I murmur.

"Well, I'll teach you one tonight." He smiles.

"See that over there? On the right? Next to the bunny shaped one?" He asks.

"Yes." I giggle.

"That's Cassiopeia." He says.

I look at it closely, it's made up of brighly lit srars arranged in the shape of a W.

"It's basically the sappy saga of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia and their never-ending celestial romance." He says.

"Cassiopeia is one of the brightest constellations, and this time of year it's easy to spot. Just look for the diagonally hanging W or M arrangement of stars in the northwestern sky." He adds, he seems to be so passionate about stars and their untold stories.

"Wow, that's so interesting." I tell him.

"When did you start being interested in stars and constellations?" I ask, wondering what got this complicated boy into reading stars.

"When I was about five or six." He adds quietly, seeming deep in thought.

"Oh, did anyone teach you?" I ask.

His body tenses and his face hardens.

I can't help but feel like I said something wrong.

"My mother." He says.

Before I have a chance to respond, he changes the subject.

"So, want to learn some more constellations?" He asks, eyes never leaving the sky.

"Sure." I say, and he continues teaching me, pointing at different arrangements and telling me their meanings.

I sit up, and he does the same.

"That one's really beautiful." I say and point at a group of stars, forming the shape of a heart.

"No, you are." He says, looking deeply into my eyes.

My eyes widen and I look at him.

He extends his hand and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

His sparkling eyes bore into mine, he leans closer, his lips inches away from mine.

Is this it? Am I going to have my first kiss?

Just as our lips were out to touch, Axel's ringtone ruins the moment.

He takes his phone out, the caller id displays the name of the caller.

Catherine