Beneath The Moon

CHAPTER 3

I woke up feeling weary and tired. I sat up slowly and grabbed my phone. No messages, no missed calls.

After a quick shower, my stomach rumbled, and I went to the kitchen and ate the leftover apple pie I had last night alongside my milk. Seeing the carton of milk made me miss my mom.

I finished my breakfast, slipped my phone into my pocket, and stepped out, locking the door behind me. Dave was waiting for me on his new red bike.

“Want a ride?” he said, and I grinned at him.

“How did you get this?” I asked, and Dave smiled and slapped the seat.

“My uncle bought this for me and said I should be delivering the parcel with this baby here,” he said, and I nodded, not wanting to waste any time.

Dave mounted, and I mounted behind him. He started the bike, and soon we zoomed off the paved roads of Neonhaven.

The city was bursting with activity. Men and women going about, cars speeding by, and children and teens going to school. Sometimes I wonder what all these people are doing right now.

“We are here,” I said when I saw the familiar building I was going to be working in. Dave whistled when he saw the tall, massive building.

“Are you kidding me? Do you work here, Diana? My God, we’re going to be rich soon," he said, grinning, and I punched him playfully.

“Bye, Dave, I’ll see you soon,” I said, and he nodded and winked at me, mounted his bike, and drove off.

Remembering what happened yesterday made my mood sour, and as I stepped in, cold, air-conditioned air slammed into me.

As I walked in, Meera smiled in greeting, and I went upstairs and went to the office I was to work in.

Meera had told me Mr. Varane was not around yet. I glanced around the spacious office and stared at the city below.

My mind was threatening to go haywire anytime from the information I got, I needed to get answers.

I turned to the laptop on the desk, powered it on, and started researching. A knock disrupted my research, and I shut down the laptop.

“Come in!” I yelled, and Mr. Varane came in looking older. His face was gaunt, worry lines were evident on his forehead, and his dark hair fell to his temples.

The only thing that hadn’t changed about him was his build. He was still tall and still always wore suits.

“Sorry for hanging up yesterday,” he started, and I groaned.

Can’t this man even let me get angry with him for once? I had to admit that I was mad at him yesterday.

Yeah, for hanging up, but mostly for keeping the truth from me and letting me suffer in foster homes.

"Alright,” I said.

“But why did you hang up?” I asked, and he stared at me hard.

“My phone was bugged, I was being monitored yesterday, and I had to change phones ten times yesterday,” he said, and my eyes bugged.

I was tired of my shitty phone, and here was someone saying he changed phones ten times yesterday.

“Seriously, Mr. Varane?” I asked, and he smiled wrily, then his expression turned serious.

“Believe me, Diana, I had to take you from your home to a foster home to keep you safe.”

“I had to act like you never existed to keep the tabs off you, and when the timing was right, I had to bring you back, but now the enemy knows,” he said.

I glanced at him, trying to figure out if he was joking, but he looked damn serious.

"Wait, who the f**k is after me, and why?” I yelled.

Mr. Varane stared at me sadly. He slipped out a small pack of gum, opened it, and popped some into his mouth. The smell of mint filled my nostrils sharply.

“I can't say. I do have my guesses, but one person always comes to mind,” Mr. Varane said.

“Who? Tell me, please.” I begged, but Mr. Varane should raise his head adamantly.

“I will tell you when the time is right, right now you might be in jeopardy, so too much information might be dangerous to you,” he said, standing up.

“I should be going to my office now, and you should start working right away and stay safe.” He straightened up his suit and walked out of the office.

I let out my breath and did my graphic design for the company and submitted it for review.

I checked my phone, and the time read forty-thirty. Jeez, I have to go home now. I packed up and said bye to Mr. Varane, who looked busy on his computer.

He only smiled and sent me on my way. I came out and waited at the bus stop for the bus going my way, but none seemed to be coming.

I started to feel hungry after minutes of waiting, and I decided to go to a restaurant across the street.

I ordered a pepperoni pizza, and when my order came, I devoured my meal. As I was eating, my attention fell on a powerfully built guy.

He sat at a table, slowly chewing a huge pile of steak, and when he raised his face to mine.

Oh God, my knees started to buckle even while sitting. The guy was so perfect, with sea-green eyes, well-maintained eyebrows, and a perfect nose.

There was his mouth, his lips were well-coloured, and he was the most tempting guy I had ever seen.

I must have been staring for so long because he scowled and went back to his meal, and my head got clearer.

I cursed and finished the last of my pizza, and the bartender brought a free bottle of water.

I mentally noted the name of the restaurant. I gave a glance at where the handsome guy had sat, but he was gone.

I sighed in relief. Staring at him made my head fuzzy and gave me this light feeling. I stepped out of the restaurant and crashed into someone's back.

I was sent flying back onto my ass. I closed my eyes in embarrassment and anger.

I could hear some college boys and girls snickering. I opened my eyes, and sure enough, the person I crashed into was the guy from the restaurant.

“Watch where you're going to miss,” he said, his deep voice doing strange things to me inside. This only made me madder.

“Why don't you move out of the way yourself? Move your sh*t out of people's way.” I yelled and slowly shut up when his eyes hardened.

I wasn't normally afraid when one gets psycho, but this dude's eyes were like those of a stormy sea. His usual stoic expression scared me, and I stood up and backed up slowly.

“I am sorry,” I quickly amended.

His green eyes didn't even soften, they hardened the more, and I could swear, they flashed yellow.

“Better be,” came his deep voice, so cold and laced with anger. I should have apologised and left, but I don't know what came over me.

I started to get angry at his tone like he was the boss here. Who the hell did he think he was?

“You know you should smile or laugh often,” I told him.

“You look like a psycho,” I said.

“I am,” he said. His expression even got fiercer, but I was too angry to even feel fear. He stared at me coldly.

“I don't know what cockroach-like you would be thinking that you would not watch where you are going. Good day.”

He stared at me, and his eyes briefly became yellow. He turned on his heel and stormed off.

I watched as he stormed off, leaving me wondering whether I was dreaming or not if his eyes had turned yellow.

Who the hell was this guy? My phone buzzed then, and I brought it out. It was a message from an unknown source.

I clicked on it, and a single message was all I saw. It was read, Watch.