HIDDEN (Hide Or Die)

Chapter 14

ANDREW'S P.O.V.

It might come across as creepy when I tell you, that the first time you saw me wasn’t the first time I saw you. But trust when I say that not once did I have bad intentions. You were just…. Too captivating.

I’ve known you for many years, you caught my attention with your deep sage eyes. Yet, it was the way you held yourself in utter confidence that pulled me in.

I had a plan, it was supposed to be a smooth sail where I can tell you who I am without scaring you away… When you invited me into your room, I almost believed the wild waves could be tamed.

But then what happened the next day… I pray I won’t walk away with tears blearing my sight the next time we shall meet.

I love you.

I regret telling you this way for I wished for you to hear me say it. But the pain you put me through was enough to drive away my original intention.

His words echoed off in my head over and over like a record on repeat, I didn’t sleep, didn’t get a wink of it. Not when I had to take his letter apart, decipher every word, to understand what he meant. Going through the archives of my memory, sifting through to find a time when I had made him cry.

Did I really? Because I couldn’t remember. Hell, the thought of hurting my angel had my stomach clenching in a knot of unbearable ache. That thought stuck, and it kept on repeating in my head. I had hurt him.  And I didn’t even know it…

But perhaps he meant something else? It was unlikely, his words were chosen to send a direct message… but perhaps– perhaps it was a figure of speech I didn’t know existed? It had it be. For our encounters were always chaste and quiet. I couldn’t possibly hurt him enough to bring out crystal-like tears out of his beautiful sky blue eyes.

Sky blue eyes… teary… why was I thinking of him now? He has nothing to do with this dammit. As if my head wasn’t crammed with enough as it is, guilt had to weigh down on me now out of all times.

I love you his words sent tingles all over my body. And as I closed my eyes, I saw him. Standing over me, gazing at me with his innocently wide eyes. I could see his lips forming those three syllables behind his mask. In a voice smoother than butter and sweeter than honey; filled to the brim with a genuineness that left me racking in the aftermath of an intense shiver.

He said he was in love with me. With me. Plain boring Andrew who couldn’t stand up for himself when his thoughts differed from others’. Me. I couldn’t comprehend why such a mystical creature as breathtaking as him would go for someone as simple as me…

I did consider it being a joke, but the open window in my bedroom and the white envelope that had my name scribbled so elegantly across the front; was enough indicator to let me know exactly who it was from. It was soft and graceful just like him.

It couldn’t have been anyone I know, considering that no one in my school had that nice of a handwriting otherwise my English Literary teacher would be ecstatic instead of uptight all of the time. I think she wishes feather pens and quill ink to come back instead of flat screens and e-pencils that work on glass.

I was surprised when I wasn’t repulsed by his confession. Strangely enough; I felt relieved, relieved that he loved me. My heart fluttered every time my eyes skimmed over his words. It’s like the rock that kept weighing me down was gone and now I could float up to cloud nine. And I wasn’t exactly sure why...

Excitement soared through me as I basked in the fictional scene of him telling me this to my face, the words whispered so softly. His eyes holding a warmth enough to get rid of the chills from my ever-cold body, as he confessed to me.