Chapter 5
1197 Words
Alice POV
Call me stupid, but I stayed the night. And hated everything about it.
The way his sheets smelled good enough to eat,
and the way he stared at me. Even the way he easily picked me up and put me on the counter.
It felt as if he couldn't keep his eyes off me, and I never had that before. Being curvy, I was not at the top of every boy's wish list in high school. I dated, sure, but they never seemed to have a problem keeping their hands to themselves.
Drake did.
It was in the way he ogled me. The way his fingers curled into fists at his sides.
Everything about it screamed for me to run, but he feared this little redheaded woman, so I had no reason not to trust him.
He'd had plenty of chances to harm me if he was going to do it. As he said, he lived right next door. How hard would it be to break in and do whatever it was that he wanted to do?
I rested my head against his pillow and winced at the pain. She must have knocked my head into that dumpster hard.
I prayed I never saw her again, because my pride wouldn't allow me to walk away.
Drake knocked on his own door and walked into the room with me. I tried to avoid those too-blue eyes and his ebony hair. It was the perfect contrast. I had always loved a dark-haired man.
"Here," he said, bringing me ibuprofen and water. "Take these. It'll help. Do you need anything? Do you sleep with the TV on? Or the ceiling fan?"
I popped the pills into my mouth. "The ceiling fan would be nice."
He reached up for the strings, and I noticed a sliver of skin between his t-shirt and jeans. He was pale, but so toned and fit that it made me uncomfortable.
His gaze slid toward mine, catching me staring, which I played off by fiddling with the sheet around me.
"Thanks. I need to be up by 6 AM, and my phone is dead. Could you wake me?"
The corner of his mouth pulled into a smile that I didn't understand.
“Will you be up?”
“Sure thing. I'll be up. Call me if you need me. I'll be out and in to check on you."
I turned my back to him and barricaded myself in the blankets. The smell of him lingered in the room, and I hated to admit how much it knotted my stomach ... in the best possible way.
***
The next morning, some hands woke me. It was a light shake, bringing me out of my dream and into the present.
I sat up quickly, my head spinning until I gathered myself.
Drake stood beside his bed in a pair of sweats, and a t-shirt.
Oddly enough, he didn't look like he'd just crawled out of bed like I was sure I did.
“Is it 6 already?” I asked, looking out the window.
"It is," he said. "I made some coffee if you'd
like some. There is also a sausage and
cheese croissant on the table."
I blinked several times, wiping the sleep from my eyes to give myself a break from staring.
He was too awake and put together for my liking. Not to mention the visible muscles in his biceps.
"Okay. Thank you. I need to go back home
and get dressed. I have to be at the school at 8 for my internship." I swung my feet down and stumbled forward, catching myself on the nightstand.
"Wow," Drake said, grabbing my waist.
Electricity shot down my body at his touch.
I pushed away from him and grabbed my head. "I'm fine. Just needed to find my
footing. Thank you for everything."
Drake shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. "Take it easy today.
You don't want to do too much. Is your head hurting?"
"No, my headache went away. I just feel a little dizzy."
Drake nodded. "Good. Come on. You can grab your coffee before you go."
I followed him into his kitchen, getting a good look at his apartment. It was scarce of decorations or personal items.
"You really should go into design."
Drake stopped by the coffee pot and
smiled over his shoulder. "It's my passion, can't you tell?"
I smirked and took the coffee he handed me. “Thank you. I appreciate all your help last night. I’m glad it’s over now.”
A look crossed Drake's face that I didn't like. "What's with that look?" I asked, waving my finger around his face.
He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure how over it is. She seemed upset. I think you should watch your back. I wouldn't put it past her to come back to the restaurant just to taunt you."
I shifted my weight. "What's with her? Did you two date or something? How do you know her?"
I tried to sense if he was lying or not, but I couldn't tell.
"I know her from school, and around. Our circles
interact occasionally."
I pursed my lips at the vague answer. "Okay, Mr. Talks-A-Lot. Thanks for the coffee," I said, grabbing the sausage croissant.
"And this. Hopefully, I won't need a caregiver anytime soon."
Drake followed me to the door. "I don't mind."
I turned to look at him. His gaze was intense, his face showed no sign of laughter or any indication that he was joking.
Not knowing what to say, I stepped over toward my apartment and slipped the key I had gathered from my belongings on his table, into the keyhole.
When I opened the door, a chill of cool air nipped at my skin, and I felt something was wrong.
I felt Drake staring at the side of my head. "What's the matter?"
He stepped over, pushed the door open,
and slid in beside me.
Drake stopped in the doorway. "Someone has been in here," he said. "Someone ransacked your
apartment."
I felt nerves travel down my spine, and the feeling of someone following me.
I stepped in beside him and covered my mouth. My cat scurried from the bedroom toward me and stopped at my feet.
"This couldn't be the girl from the diner." Drake didn't look convinced. "Let's call the cops," he said. "Maybe they'll find something on the cameras."
I walked over toward my living room where most of the mess was and picked up the broken frame that held my favorite picture of me and my dad.
I had never wanted to hunt someone down and strangle them to death.
Drake pulled out his phone but stopped. "I know that look. Don't do anything stupid, Alice. Promise me."
I nodded and turned my back to him. I did not want to promise anything. I was pissed and I was scared.
Drake began to rattle off details to the police behind me over the phone, but I couldn't focus on anything other than the redhead's face, and how I
wanted to mess it up.
- Writer
