BECAUSE IT WAS YOU

Chapter 10

In the evening, I head out for a stroll.
Having realised lately, that strolls are my kind of thing.

I put on a T-shirt, a lighter shade of pink, and a denim.
As I walk outside of the dorms, I notice the grey clouds.
But the need for a walk, was of much importance.

I walk through the great green trees, as it get a bit chilly.
As usual, I brought no jacket along!
Typical Emma move!

And suddenly, it starts to rain.
The sky goes black, there was thunder and lightning.
Pretty soon, my clothes and hair were soaked in water.
I couldn't run back to the dorms, so I find cover under a ginormous tree.

Hearing the loud thundering and watching the lightning strike, unfortunately, is much more scarier when you're outside alone, finding cover under a tree.

Probably the loudest thunder I've ever heard. It was getting harsher by the second.

I sit down, under the tree. Hugging my knees.
One loud roar and I bring my hands up to my ears, covering them.

A tear rolls down my cheek.
This isn't me.
I would never ever have been this stupid.
I'm being so stupid right now.
This is insane.

Another tear rolls down my cheek. Soon enough, it would be accurate to say, I was sobbing.
Crying.

"Emma!!" It's his voice that I hear.
Jayden?

He runs up to me. Kneeling beside me.

"Jayden?" my voice breaks between sobs. "Why are you here?"

"Are you alright?" he asks me.

"Yes." I reply.

"Come here, put this on." like he did before, that one day, he puts his jacket on me. "Can you get up?"

I nod. And he helps me stand on my feet. He opens an umbrella, holds it above me.

"You're getting soaked." I state the obvious.

"I'm fine. We won't be able to get you back to the dorms till the rain slows down a bit. It will not take long. Come with me." he says.

A little while later, we make it to the cabin in the woods we'd been to before.
He helps me inside and lights up some lamps.

"Let me see if there's anything in here to keep you warm." he says, opening a small wooden cupboard in the corner.

I nod in response.

A while later he walks back to me with a blanket in his arms. 
"Sit here." He probably noticed that I was literally shivering, for he helps me walk to the armchair. 
He helps me cover myself with the blanket and bends down to start a fireplace fire. A fireplace I hadn't noticed the last time I was here.

He places two pieces of firewood on the grate, and crumples newspaper, placing it between the firewood. While he carries out the rest of the process, I look around me, at the place.

When he's done he takes his seat on the other armchair. "Is there anything you need?" he asks me.

"No. You've already helped enough. Thank you!" I thank him. 
As I should, for he had helped me out of courtesy.

He nods.

"This place. What is it?" I ask him a few seconds later. A doubt I wanted to clear out since the first time I saw this place.

He turns to face me. There is at least a one metre gap between the two of us, but with low lights from the fireplace and the lamps, I could still see his eyes shine. Glow, as if they were bright stars in the night sky. 

However, unlike he usually would, he doesn't brush me off with a rude response. He looks at me for a while, which makes my eyes hurt. This eye contact is heating up the entire place.

Or is it the fire?

He turns front again, tilting his head and staring at the wooden floor.

"I have a brother. He went here, until he decided that he needed to go abroad." he explains.

"So this place is... his?" I ask.

"You asked me why I didn't believe in love." he looks back at me. "Do you really want to know why?"

"Only if you don't mind."