Of Guns & Roses

Chapter Two: Gift

“So, you’re telling me — you were the one who saved the guy whom my mom was talking about this morning that almost died because of blood loss?!” Francessca exclaimed, the volume of her voice just kept rising and rising every word which made Blythe wince, flicking her frantic friend’s forehead to stop. Some students are already giving them scandalous looks.

The blonde sighed, nodding to confirm it as she glanced at her hand, closing it after before turning to the now excited France. “Holy crap, Blythe Blazethorne, you’re a freaking hero! I’m friends with a hero!” She yelled, happily hopping as they walked through the corridors like a happy puppy.

Cheeks heating up in embarrassment from her friend, Blythe just slapped the younger’s arm as a warning. “Hush down!” She hissed, apologizing to the students with her eyes.

France just pouted. “What a bummer,” She whispered as they finally entered the school grounds and sat on a nearby bench to continue their conversation.

“But for real, Bly! You saved a life! Wow, you’re such a klutz but you managed to save someone, I’m so proud.” The younger one once again continued her blabbers, squealing and just stopped and pursed her lips together when Blythe threw her another glare.

Shaking her head, the blonde just sighed, her gaze lowering down to her lap. “I just did what I had to do. Your lectures before really helped.” She muttered, and the med student winked at her, laughing after.

“I told you, it will be handy!” Francessca proudly responded, wearing a smug look as she patted her chest arrogantly. Technically, she was one of the reasons why that man got saved. If it weren’t for her lectures about emergency procedures, then that guy probably died already. “I want to witness you doing CPR to someone though, let’s go to the beach soon.”

Blythe pinched France’s side but the latter just laughed out loud because of her tease.

“Seriously, Francessca Smith,” The older woman muttered under her breath, huffing. France just threw her a sheepish grin.

They went to the cafeteria after that to get some food. Francessca treated the blonde banana milk, giving her a smug and proud look once again as she said, “A gift from me after saving that mysterious man last night.” 

Blythe just shrugged and took the banana milk from her friend, seeing no reason for the sudden treat but she will never refuse free drink or food from Francessca.

Classes ended quickly, and the two friends walked home together that afternoon. They even stopped in front of the alleyway where Blythe found Hadax.

Traces of blood were still there, already dry and painted on the ground. Blythe felt nauseous after staring at it for so long, she was not really that afraid of blood but after the incident last night, she became a little bit wary whenever she saw a red thing.

When they reached Francessca’s apartment building, Blythe bid her goodbye and gave her friend a side hug before walking to her apartment building which was just two buildings away from Francessca’s. That struck her that she was back, same old, same old.

Blythe ignored the feeling of being watched throughout the walk home. Shrugging it off and thought that she was just being too paranoid.

///

Almost a week had passed after that incident. Blythe, to be honest, was starting to forget what happened that very night, it started to become blurry whenever she thought of it. Although every single day, she would dream of crimson blood, low pained grunts, and a pair of dark onyx orbs staring right through her soul, piercing her with his intense gaze.

A small part in Blythe wanted to know if the man she had saved was perfectly fine now, wanting for the man to find her and personally thank her for saving her life. But then, there was no need. She witnessed Hadax’s heavy gaze on her, glinting in gratitude when he was being carried towards the ambulance that night. That was enough.

It was just that she just wanted to meet him again, to finally have a proper closure. She still gets anxious whenever she thinks of that man with messy raven hair and onyx orbs, thinking that he died when he was trying to recover from his injury. That wound after all, in Blythe’s speculation, was a gunshot wound.

Until now, she was still in awe. How Hadax managed to stay calm and awake after suffering from that kind of severe injury — he even kept chuckling, laughing, and giggling. On top of it all, could speak a lot despite the great pain he was in.

It made her wonder though, if it was a gunshot wound then… What could’ve probably happened? France had a theory that the man got robbed and fought back, however, the thief had a gun and shot him. It seemed reasonable, Blythe thought so too.

With those kinds of thoughts lingering at the back of her head, Blythe continued living her boring life. Doing the same routine everyday.

However, ever since that very night. She felt something weird — especially, whenever she was on her way back home, even if she was with Francessca.

The feeling of being watched and stared at.

Uncomfortable, it was very uncomfortable. Blythe would sometimes look around because the hair in her skin would just suddenly stand up. Maybe it was paranoia?

She tried her best to ignore it. She also never told Francessca about this because she might just worry her overreacting friend. And so, the only thing she could do was to always shrug off the uncomfy feeling of having eyes glued to her and watching her every move.

“Sheesh, I think I failed my quiz,” The younger woman suddenly said, mumbling as she stifled a yawn. Blythe, who was walking beside her, took a glance at her and timidly smiled.

“That’s okay, not like it’s something new, France.” The blonde snickered, teasing her friend.

Gasping, Francessca playfully slapped the older woman’s arm. “You’re such a great friend,” She sarcastically remarked, twitching her lips up and then crossed her arms, pretending to be sulking which Blythe found a very horrible sight.

“Yeah. I know.” The older woman replied, throwing her younger friend a small smirk.

The both of them laughed at that before succumbing into a comfortable silence. They just continued their journey on the way home peacefully quietly, obviously, exhausted from attending classes and doing schoolworks all day.

However, Blythe almost stopped on her tracks when suddenly, the uncomfy feeling suddenly intensified again. She grew restless, walking closer to Francessca who just gave her a confused look but shrugged it off.

She probably looked troubled right now. The feeling was much heavier today.

Gulping, Blythe shook her head with a sigh, ascending her pace and literally dragged the confused Francessca with her — they almost ran towards the building, gently panting as they reached it.

“Why are you in a hurry? Geez, anyway, see you.” The younger asked, her brow arched upwards before turning away, walking inside her building while Blythe silently stared at her friend, heaving a sigh as she continued walking home.

The familiar building came into view, her pace once again sped up, eager to go home and finally rest, probably watch some movies. She just felt unsafe outside like this. As she passed through the pathway towards the lobby, her eyes caught an unfamiliar slick black car parked in the parking space in front of her apartment building.

She let out a low whistle. That car was high-end. Who might’ve owned that beautiful sexy Mercedes-Benz car? It looked very out of the place in front of her old dingy apartment building.

Shrugging it off, she entered the lobby, ready to walk to the stairs when suddenly, someone called for her.

“Blythe!”

The blonde turned around, already holding onto the old stair railing. A familiar old man jogging his way towards her. “Oh, Mr. Martin,” She greeted with a small smile, bowing a bit. The said guy was the kind landlord of hers. “What can I do for you?”

Mr. Martin halted in front of her, giving a breathless laugh as he shook his head. “Ahh, no, no.” He waved off. “I just wanted to say that you have visitors? They asked me about you earlier and I gave them your unit number.” He added.

Her brow quirked up, fully facing the old guy with a confused expression. “Visitors? I’m not expecting some.” She said, her hand moving to reach for her cheek and scratched it gently in confusion.

Shrugging, Mr. Martin just threw her a small smile. “Well, they look harmless and they’re pretty tall? I immediately gave them your unit number and asked them to wait for a while since you’re still in school because I thought they might be your friends…” He explained, rubbing his nape.

Blythe shook her head. “France is my only friend though.” She muttered, her mind started to run, thinking who might be those ‘them’.

Laughing and giving the young girl a pat on the shoulders, the old guy turned his body a bit, having a purpose to walk away soon. “I think they won’t do anything harm though. I won’t let them wait for you if they were some thug looking guys but they are pretty decent looking. You might know them. You should go there and see for yourself, they’ve been waiting for ten minutes there now.” He instructed and finally excused himself, disappearing like that.

Blythe stayed there at the staircase for a while before finally going to her unit. And as she climbed the stairs, she still kept thinking about her possible visitors. Well, Mr. Martin himself already said they are pretty decent looking.

Finally, after a while, she reached her floor and walked through the corridor, her face painted in curiosity and when she turned to the other side, two figures greeted her which made her halt for a bit.

Their broad backs were facing Blythe so she couldn’t really decipher who might be these… men — judging by their short hair, tall and muscular physique. And they were standing just in front of her apartment unit so they might be the ‘them’ Mr. Martin was saying.

They almost have the same tall height, the one standing on the right had ash blonde hair while the one on the left had a familiar short shaggy raven hair that hit a sense of familiarity to Blythe.

Also, she noticed that they were all wearing black — expensive-looking and formal clothing, like the slick Mercedes-Benz parked in front of the building — these men here look out of place because of their outfits that probably cost a fortune.

They do not belong in this kind of cheap place. One could already tell from a far, the aura they were emitting already gave a way.

So when Blythe approached them, she couldn’t help but to gulp.

“So, you’ve finally arrived,”

Blythe paused from walking when she heard that familiar voice. She was just about five steps away from them, so she perfectly heard what one of the men had said.

The one who spoke was definitely the one with the raven hair. And Blythe would never forget that soft, husky, baritone voice, the same voice that also kept haunting her at night. So, her eyes were glued to the broad back of the man.

When the said man turned around, Blythe’s breath hitched.

She was greeted by familiar intense cat-like eyes with onyx orbs that always appear in her dream, burning her whole. Her body froze for a while, but her gaze never faltered, staring, observing silently.

“Hadax…?” The blonde woman called softly, feet still rooted on her spot previously.

His lips were still the same, red and full, and the corner of it tugged upwards to form a smile, but what caught Blythe’s attention the most was his whole angular face with a very attractive faded short beard.

Because this time, Blythe could properly see the man’s face now.

Onyx orbs, intimidating cat-like eyes, proud sharp nose, firm cheeks, plump red lips formed into an amused smirk, sharp jawline that could cut one’s skin. No, there were no traces of blood on his sturdy features anymore. His face was like those Greek Gods statues, chiseled from expensive marble. He looked like a god himself.

Oh, not just his godly face that caught Blythe off-guard.

His slender yet buffed figure, and long legs that gave him a towering height really made an impression too — now that he was on his feet, and not lying down anymore while bleeding, Blythe felt small beside him even if she was around five foot seven inches — he was definitely a six footer, around six foot three inches. All in all, everything about Hadax caught Blythe off-guard, making her breath hitch.

Who would know that this godly man that screamed elegance, and power was the same person Blythe found and saved last week from blood loss. The same man who got a pool of blood surrounding him, almost on the verge of dying.

.

Blythe never quite expected this at all, she couldn’t believe it. But he hits familiarity to her, this tall man standing a few steps away from her was definitely Hadax.

Very intimidating yet he was smoldering hot, that was a fact. Blythe could feel drops of sweat forming on her forehead. He was freaking attractive, he was the kind of man that could make every girl fall into her knees with his gaze alone. The man that everyone would kill for just to get the ounce of his attention. It won’t sink into her that she saved this same god-like man from dying before.

“Oh, you still remembered my name, Miss Blazethorne. I’m relieved you used the name I prefer to be called.” Hadax spoke, eyes widening a bit in amusement, his arms crossed on his chest, he also emitted a very gentlemanly aura that made Blythe a little bit comfortable and flushed. “And I’m very impressed you could recognize me despite the poor lighting when we met for the first time, mentioning that I was a mess and full of blood,” Added by him.

Bythe hissed a little bit at the mention, awkwardly shuffling on her spot before finally taking a few steps forward — for a brief second, she glanced at the other man, whose she almost forgot that was also present. She then was surprised that he was quite handsome too, he had the same god-like face and aura that Hadax possessed but gentler, deer-like eyes staring at her, lips formed into a soft smile.

“Your voice and eyes gave the way,” The blonde responded gently, giving him a small awkward smile.

Hadax looked rather amused at her reply. He let out a manly giggle. “Nice to hear,” He muttered, then eyed Blythe with a pointed look. “Can we enter your place? We have something to discuss and I’m afraid talking in the hallway won’t be really ideal for such conversation.” then added Hadax with a smile.

Nodding, Blythe immediately padded towards her unit, taking her keys out of her pockets and opened it, failing to insert the keys into the keyhole a few times due to nervousness. Hadax must’ve noticed that because she heard a manly chuckle just behind her that made her cheeks heat up in an instant.

“My place is a little bit small,” Blythe started off as she opened the door, shuffling awkwardly.

But the tall man looked like he knew where this would go so he immediately spoke when Blythe paused. “Ahh, not a problem for us, Miss Blazethorne.”

It was quite relieving to hear that, the blonde was a little bit embarrassed to let them in because her unit wasn’t really that spacious.

Thankfully, she cleaned last night so her place was quite neat and clean.

“Please, just call me Blythe. No need for such formalities.” The blonde said.

Hadax and his companion took off their shoes first and gently placed them on the rack — wearing the extra house slippers prepared on the side, then followed the blonde woman to the living room and sat at the small purple couch she had while the blonde dragged a chair and sat in front of them. They really got some manners even though it wasn’t really necessary.

“My couch looks like a rag…” Blythe thought as she poked her inner cheek with her tongue. Both of them looked so expensive and handsome that her couch really started to look like a rag to her, and she felt a little bit embarrassed because it felt like they didn’t deserve to sit on such a hideous thing.

“Uhm, do you want me to make you guys some tea or something…?” The blonde offered, not wanting to look rude but the raven haired man just gently shook his head, declining the kind offer.

Hadax fixed his blazer before straightening his posture. “We’re not really going to stay for long, I’m here for a reason that you’ve probably guessed already.” He then started off, a gentle smile etched on his sexy lips.

Blythe slowly nodded, she kind of figured that out already. He was probably here to thank her for saving his life. “Seriously, Hadax, not quite a big deal. I’m just glad I saved someone’s life.” She immediately responded.

Barking out a short laugh, Hadax shook his head. “No, no, no. You saved my life, Blythe. It’s quite a big deal to me. I owe you a lot. You don’t know how much of a big deal it is.” He said, making sure to emphasize some certain words.

The blonde couldn’t help but to bite her lower lip. “Just a simple thank you would do, after all, I just did what I had to do…” Blythe replied, her voice trailing off which made the two men chuckle.

“A simple thank you won’t suffice, Blythe,” Hadax insisted, then looked over at his companion, giving him a nod. The handsome blonde man also nodded back, suddenly showing the paper bag he was holding ever since.

“Anyway, I would like you to meet my, ehem, assistant and close friend — Maxem.” Hadax suddenly introduced his assistant, pointing at him. Blythe nodded a bit to the newly introduced man.

Maxem also nodded back, smiling at her sweetly. “It’s nice meeting you, Miss Blythe Blazethorne. I’m very grateful that you saved my boss that fateful night.” He suddenly said, before standing up, walking closer to her. His voice was gentler but rasp and melodic.

Blythe just let out an awkward chuckle and was about to respond that it was nothing when the said assistant presented the huge black paper bag to her. Her eyes wandered, tracing the elegant logo printed on the paper bag and the logo alone made her gulp. Gucci.

“Please, accept that small gift,” The man with shaggy raven hair suddenly politely said, gesturing at the paper bag. Blythe took a glance at him and hesitantly reached for the paper bag, letting it rest on top of her lap as she examined it.

Maxem went back to his seat, sitting down gracefully then silently turned to his boss. Hadax’s gaze remained on her though, still smiling dashingly at her like he was waiting for her to check the gift.

Blythe gulped, shakily opening the paper bag and took the piece of clothing from inside, examining it, and gasped when she realized that it was a black and red cardigan. Not just a cardigan, expensive ass wool cardigan. One could already tell that it was very expensive from the quality of the said cloth alone.

“I-I,” The blonde stammered, looking at the two who were just silently gaping at her. “I can’t accept this. This is too expensive, my cardigan just costs—”

“Nonsense.” Hadax cut her off with a stern voice which made Blythe shut her mouth up almost immediately. The authoritative aura that the taller man emitted just really could make the blonde curl into a ball. He was terrifyingly intimidating but at the same time, very gentleman, and well-collected.

“Please take it, I insist.” He then added with a tone of finality, and Blythe could only bite her lower lip, nodding obediently as she put the cardigan back to the bag and placed it on the floor behind her, finally conceding and just accepted the expensive gift she just received with a heavy heart.

Hadax looked pleased though so Blythe didn’t say anything anymore. “Please, ask me anything and I’ll give it to you.” He then said, looking way more serious and Blythe didn’t like that at all. “I want to repay you fully so please, tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you gladly, Blythe. House? Car? Anything, even money, just give me the amount. Name it.”

That made Blythe gasp. Well, she already realized that Hadax was loaded but not this loaded. She could tell that he was not really showing off his wealth, just genuinely asking what Blythe wanted. Hadax didn’t ask it in an offending way.

“Like what I said, Hadax. A simple thank you would do.” Blythe firmly said. The blonde woman needed a lot of stuff, but she was not that low and she would never take advantage of the raven haired man’s kindness. “This expensive cardigan is more than enough to pay me back, I swear.”

Hadax’s brow twitched, an amused expression painting on his face once again as he leaned his muscular body back a bit. His sharp, intimidating gaze studying Blythe’s genuine expression, another smile forming on his lips.

“Alright then, Blythe.” Hadax conceded, nodding slowly. “Since that’s what you’ve said.”

The blonde let out a soft relieved sigh. She thought she would have to bicker with this handsome man for a while.

Hadax stood up, also Maxem. And that also made Blythe stand up from her seat, almost stumbling backward but the raven haired man caught her arm, preventing her from falling back.

“T-Thank you,” The blonde muttered shyly as Hadax retreated his hand away from her arm.

Blythe couldn’t help but to be amazed at how Hadax has a very fast reflex and quick movements. His hand was so rough, and big too, also very strong.

“Anyway,” Hadax called for her attention, taking something out from the pocket of his expensive black blazer, and then handed it to Blythe. Their hands brushed, and the blonde suddenly felt giddy. “Please, if you need something, just call that number.”

The blonde and smaller woman blinked, glancing at the small piece of paper that Hadax gave her — it was definitely a business card. “O-Okay, will do.” She just responded, and slipped it in her pocket.

That made Hadax smile, and Blythe was swooning again, she had never seen someone this handsome up close. Sure,  She saw some few celebrities but nothing beats this man’s beauty, and handsomeness. So exquisite and rare, everything about him was just godly, and smoldering hot.

“I really do hope your wound is alright now…” Blythe said as the three of them went to the hallway and Hadax just chuckled, turning to her then threw her a wink, patting his side a bit where his wound was located to show her that he was fully fine now.

“More than alright now, don’t worry.” The tall man deeply chuckled, still smiling dashingly.

Flustered, Blythe just nodded while letting out a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness.” She whispered before turning to them. “Please, you two may go home now. It’s getting late after all.”

Hadax nodded, tilting his head a bit. “It’s such a shame that I couldn’t treat you to dinner,” He whispered, and the blonde’s brow shot up in confusion, not able to hear him clearly. The tall attractive man just giggled, shaking his head. “Maybe next time. See you around, Blythe.”

With one last sly smile, Hadax turned around and finally started to walk towards the stairs, he was literally walking like the hallway was his runaway, his posture was just so cool and perfect. Even some neighbors who were outside had their jaws drop onto the floor as the hot men passed through them.

Maxem gave one last nod to Blythe before catching up with his boss.

The blonde could only silently watch as they finally disappeared from her sight, sighing to herself as she went back inside her house and closed the door. She walked to the living room and eyed the huge paper bag.

For the whole night, Blythe was distracted. Pair of black onyx orbs, shaggy hair, and luscious crimson red lips formed into a sly smirk kept flashing in Blythe’s mind which almost drove her crazy.

Hadax was just very dangerous. So dangerous.

///