I Love You (Eu amo você) {MJ FANFICTION}

Chapter 14

She always had to pass the petrol station to get home from her night class.

The scent of gas was intoxicating and had a sedating effect on her when it filled her nostrils. She felt herself relax and her legs move even slower than they had been seconds prior.

Across the gas station she re-joined the pave walk where she strolled easily with her books in arm, staring out into the night. It was dark out and not very well lit at this time, save for the odd streetlight. As she travelled she hadn't been looking downward and soon she stumbled over something laying in the middle of her path.

She tripped up a few paces, and her pen clattered to the ground having slipped from her grasp. As she turned back about to pick it up she finally managed to make out the solid lump she'd tripped over and when she did, her scream seemed to invert itself and go down into the pit of her belly as she stumbled back.

A dog lay dead on the sidewalk, its mean eyes glaring past hers, it's teeth still bared and vicious looking.

Half it's leg was missing and she thought she could see part of it laying in the street nearby but couldn't be sure.

She decided the pen wasn't worth the crippling fear and anxiety and instead of reaching down she started a wary slow pace backward again, as though the animal would spring up at any moment and chase her. When she felt that she had put enough distance between her and the frightful creature, she finally burst into the run she had been envisioning when she first lay eyes on the beast.

She took off, hitting a sharp turn down the street. Her sandals got caught multiple times on the uneven sidewalk as she ran until she felt the strap suddenly burst and she was forced to succumb to the fall that was inevitable to follow. Her leg burned as it grazed along the pavement and she came to a stop somewhere under one of a handful of streetlights on the block.

She tried to get her bearings and as she did so, she heard the unpleasant screech of tires pull up beside her.

Lia looked up and saw that the car was all black and it's sudden appearance scared her enough that she turned onto her backside edging back out of the light and further into the shadows, hoping she had not been seen. The door opened and a man stepped out.

"Ah boy that looked like it hurt." He said and she shuffled back panting. "You alright?" He still approached and bent down to look at her leg that stuck out in view under the lamp light. He seethed. "That's a nasty graze, you're bleeding." He said matter-of-factly as he reached out to offer her a helping hand.

She glanced warily from his hand up to his face and swallowed thickly. The driver's eyes remained concealed behind dark shades which was very odd considering the time of day, and she suddenly heard Adriana's warning of strange men in black cars chiming in the back of her head.

She shook her head until he gave up, retracted his hand and instead crouched down to her level trying to see her better. He picked up the book before him on the ground and chuckled a little as he read the cover aloud.

"Becoming bilingual."

The title had rolled off his tongue and by now she could recognise his accent like the back of her hand.

It did however, confuse her when he simply gathered her books and lifted them up for her to take.

"You outta be more careful next time." He said gently and she felt her panting erode down into slow calm breaths when she felt assured that he didn't appear to be an immediate threat and furthermore that this wasn't somehow one of Gonçalo's men who she imagined might be hunting for her.