Checkmate

The blunder

That night I had yet another nightmare, Grandpa was there as usual. I saw the chauffeur that drove us the night of the accident. I recalled how he kept stepping on the brakes without any avail. He kept shouting to my dad that the brakes were not working. My dad said something but I couldn’t make out his words, everything after that was a blur. I couldn’t remember, why couldn’t I remember what happened that night? As if my mind was telling me to stop trying so hard, my head started to ache, I held my head. “Are you alright pretty flower?” he asked. “I don’t feel so good, my head hurts,” I replied. “Stop trying to think so much, it will only make it worse. Here have some water.” He said. I took the glass and had a few sips. “Thank you,” I said. “Go back to sleep.” He said. When my head hit the pillow I was out. The next day I finished packing, I decided to take a walk to the local park to pass time and clear my head. The walk to the park wasn’t eventful but upon arrival, I started to feel like someone was watching me, or perhaps yesterday’s text had made me paranoid. Brushing it off I decided to sit on the swing, I had my headsets on and my music was on full blast. This way I could feel the wind as I swung while getting lost in the music. It was my escape from the world and its worries. A message came through, interrupting my time to myself. I decided to ignore it but a second one came through and then a third. I stopped swinging and checked my phone. All the messages were from Daniel.

As I was about to text back to tell him where I was his call came through. “Hello,” I answered. “Hello, Knight.” He said. “I was about to text back,” I said. “Oh really, well too late because I left your house already.” He responded. “I see, so what did you want?” I asked. “I wanted to ask you something.” He replied. “Yeah sure, as long as I am comfortable I’ll answer though,” I said. “Fair enough, but I want you to stand up and turn around slowly before I ask you.” He said. “Uhmm, oh-kay…” I said I turned around, and there he was. It didn’t matter how many times I saw this guy, every time I saw him he looked like a gorgeous poster boy every girl had upon her bedroom wall. Yet this time he made my heart beat a little faster than usual and my stomach began to flutter. “You- you- you’re.” I stammered. He tilted his head to the side slightly and smiled. “Hi.” He said with a smile. “Hi,” I said with almost a whisper. He laughed as he looked at me. “What’s so funny?” I asked. He shook his head and reached for my hand that was holding my phone to my ear. I then realized how silly I must have looked at that moment. I didn’t realize that he had ended the call, this guy was right in front of me, and yet I was still speaking to him on the phone. “Oh!” I said with an embarrassed smile. “Your grandpa said I’d find you here.” He said. “Oh..” I shyly said as a blush crept on my cheeks leaving them with a rosy tint. “Are you alright?” He asked. I quickly removed his hand from mine and composed myself. “Why wouldn’t I be alright, I am great,” I said. He smiled again and then made eye contact with me. “It’s been 3 days.” He said. “2 days.” I quickly said. He smiled “So you’ve been counting?” He asked. “I have not.” I quickly said. He considered me for a moment and then said. “If you miss me, you should call.” I opened my mouth to object but nothing came out. I opened and closed my mouth a few times more in an attempt to object but I was blank. What he said caught me off guard. “Why you I miss you?” I asked. My walls were up, I didn’t want to lose my composure especially now that I know about Ava. “I thought we were getting closer.” He said “Oh, yeah. I mean we are sort of friends aren’t we.” I said with hope that he would somehow correct me. He just smiled and said “Sure.” I was sad. I wanted to kick myself for being so nervous and saying things I just didn’t mean. But then again I was protecting myself from unwanted heartache. The irony was the more I tried to protect myself the more exposed I felt. “So what did you want to ask me?” I asked. “Oh that, well it doesn’t matter anymore now that I understand. I will just stay in my lane.” He said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. I wanted to ask more to understand what he meant but I quickly let it go. “Alright,” I said. “I was in the neighborhood and I thought I should say hi to a friend.” He said. “That’s thoughtful of you,” I added. “Yeah, I guess so. Well, let me get going.” He said. “So soon?” I asked. “Yeah, I need to do something.” He replied. “I see, well then. Be safe.” I said. He smiled and waved goodbye. A part of me wanted to stop him and confess my feelings. But a part of me was scared. So I felt the fear and let it e*****e me.

The day of the trip came, even our buses were state of the art. Faust had their bus, it pretty much gave rockstar tour bus vibes with extra luxury. Summoned by them I was told to ride with them because I earned the reward since winning against their leader. For my comfort, I was allowed to bring my friends along. Maddox and Tyson were welcoming and Knox was one I have never spoken to. “Where is Daniel?” Rebecca asked. “He is sleeping in his room,” Tyson said. “Isn’t he going to join us?” Hailey asked. “Since when does Daniel join settings like these?” Maddox asked her sarcastically. “Well, never.” She answered. Tyson just laughed and said, “Daniel prefers his space.” Rebecca got up and went to Daniel’s room. 20 minutes later she came back with Daniel. “We told her you were sleeping,” Tyson says to Daniel. Daniel just nods then gets bottled water from the fridge. He takes a sip and then looks at us. “Hi everyone.” He says. We all greet him and then he looks at me. “You should let your hair down more often Knight.” He says. I give him a weak smile. “Why don’t you sit down and join us?” I ask. He took another sip of his water and then said. “I would love to but I have a really bad headache. If you want to keep me company you can come to my room.” He didn’t wait for a response, he just turned around and went back to his room, I was taken aback and due to the screaming silence so was the rest of the group. “You shouldn’t keep him waiting you know,” Tyson said. I looked at him and then at my friends. “Come on he doesn’t bite,” Maddox added. “I don’t know, that’s a little too weird,” I said. “Maybe check on him, he did say he has a headache,” Liam said. “He’ll be fine, but just check on him just in case Lily. He probably wants to say something he can’t say around us.” Rebecca added. I nodded and then went to Daniel's room.

My palms were sweating and my heart was racing. I reached for the door handle and shut my eyes. As I reached my resolve I decided to not go inside. When I was about to turn around and go back to my friends the door opened and strong arms pulled me in, shutting the door behind me as soon as I was inside. I couldn’t think straight, I was stuck between WTF and tearing my eyes of godly sculptured abs, chest, and biceps. “I was about to go to the bathroom but I saw you turning outside my door.” He said. My mouth was dry, my brain was short-circuiting and my eyes were glued to him. “Lily.” He called out my name. I just couldn’t break free from the spell I was under. I think he called out a couple more times until he had to shake me by the shoulders. I finally snapped out of it “I saw you turning and…” He repeated but I still zoned out somehow. “Huh?” I asked. “Would you like to make out with me?” He asked with a smirk. My eyes went wide and I shook my head but my response was “Yes.” I closed my eyes, shook my head again, and said “No.” Realizing what was happening I turned my back to him and asked, “Could you put a T-shirt on?” He laughed but obliged. “You can turn around now.” He said. “Are you sure?” I asked. “Look for yourself Knight.” He said. I turned to face him and as my eyes landed on the bed I saw a couple of bottles of painkillers. “Is your headache really bad?” I asked. He nodded and I would assume he nodded a little too enthusiastically that he held his head in pain. “Ah, damn.” I instinctively helped him towards his bed so he could sit down. Filled with concern, I sat next to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Lay your head on my lap, I know a trick that can help,” I said. He looked at me questioningly. “Now,” I commanded. He obliged. I began to give him a head massage and he closed his eyes. He was relaxed, his long dark eyelashes curved beautifully just above his cheeks. Now that I had this close view of him he looked so handsome. “Where did you learn to do this?” He asked. “My nanna says it does the trick for grandpa all the time,” I answered. “Your nanna is a wise woman.” He said. I smiled and said, “I know.” I continued massaging him as I admired his long eyelashes but then froze in place when he suddenly opened his eyes. “You have beautiful brown eyes.” He said. He sat up and continued “I feel better thank you.” Feeling self-conscious I attempted to get up and leave but I couldn’t move. I was drawn to him like a magnet. “You’re welcome,” I said in a soft tone. We were sitting so close that I could feel his body heat, as a lock of hair went to my face he instantly tucked it behind my ear painfully slow. His palm softly found its way to my face as we maintained eye contact. I swallowed slowly as his lips found mine. As he tried to deepen the kiss I pulled back in panic and stood up. “I don’t understand.” He said, “Friends don’t kiss, I can’t do this.” I turned to leave. I was about to walk out when he said “Lily, I’m sorry I crossed the line.” I didn’t want to stay and talk it out. I couldn’t think straight. Why was I feeling this way? I wanted to do things with him that scared me. Things I wasn’t ready for.