the art of loving ; lord tewksbury

six

"What is with your family and trying to kill one another?"

Chapter Six

  The woods were a foreign place to Daisy. When she was little girl, Grant used to tell her stories about the creatures that roamed the area at night. Once, he had even told her that he had spotted a pack of werewolves at the edge of the tree line, which terrified Daisy tremendously. Ever since then, she had vowed to never step foot into the woods unless absolutely necessary. Although Grant had revealed his werewolf sighting had only been a fib to scare her, Daisy still stuck to her promise just as a safety precaution.

However, as Tewksbury pulled her into the woods with him, Daisy couldn't help but feel a sense of calmness. She was surrounded by thick trees— in every direction her eyes roamed, they were met with lush greenery. It was almost soundless, save it for the crunch of dried leaves and fallen twigs under the two teenager's shoes. The occasional sway of leaves in the light wind combined with the fresh air in the atmosphere put her mind at ease, and she let the boy in front of her drag her deeper into the woods.

"Okay, close your eyes," Tewksbury instructed her as he came to a halt.

"Excuse me?" Daisy asked, her gaze returning back to him.

"Close your eyes. It's supposed to be a surprise," Tewksbury said. Daisy stared back at him warily, but lifted her hands to cover her eyes. She felt him walk around her and place his hands on both sides of her shoulders, telling her to continue moving forward slowly as he guided her to his destination. Not long after, they stopped again.

"When I count to three, you open your eyes, alright?" Tewksbury said. The girl nodded in response and he began his countdown.

"One."

Where has he taken her? And why, out of all places, was in located in the woods?

"Two."

   Oh no. What if he had brought her out here to secretly murder her? Had he seen her slightly falter when he mentioned her bruises and saw it as an opportunity to make her vulnerable? Murder victims were always vulnerable.

"Three!"

Come to think of it, it was a pretty secluded location. The place was dense with trees. They were all leafy and tall enough to shield them from view. The perfect place to slaughter someone in broad daylight.

"Daisy, you can open your eyes now."

Daisy peeked through her fingers, waiting for something bad to happen. Even though it seemed pathetic, she had half expected to see Tewksbury with a weapon in his hands, waiting for the right moment to pounce on her and attack her.

But all she saw was him beaming at her, his smile stretched so wide that crinkles were beginning to form at the corners of his eyes. He reminded Daisy of an innocent puppy, one definitely not capable of committing murder. Behind him, a wooden hut was seemingly floating on air.

"Is that a treehouse?" Daisy asked.

"It certainly is," Tewksbury answered, a hint of excitement evident in his voice. "Come on, I'll show you what's up there."