Chapter 8 - Again In A Fucked Up Situation

• I know that I am drunk, but there is not even a single chance that I have imagined or heard anything wrong. What should I do now? Should I offer him the bike to go wherever he wants? But how can I give my bike to him? I am not even the owner of this bike. What if he stole it? Oh, come on, he doesn't look like a thief. {Oh, that's crap. I also didn't look like a thief before, but I used to steal things, didn't I?}
• I groaned and went in the direction where he went. "I should at least ask him if he needs help. He saved me for God's sake." I looked around for a few good minutes, but he was nowhere to be found. Did I come in the wrong direction? When I was unable to find him anywhere after five more minutes, I finally gave up and went back to my house.
• I groaned in irritation when I saw myself in the mirror. "That stupid bastard ruined my white shirt." I removed the shirt and crop top and groaned again when I realized that there was not even a single chance that I could go to sleep before cleaning this mess. So, disheartened, I went to the bathroom and took the first aid kit from there. I cleaned my wounds and applied medicine to them.
• Normally, whenever I got hurt or got in any accident like that, I would feel pissed off for days, but today was different. I am not feeling bad or anything. I am actually feeling good that this time there is someone who came to help me out when people usually avoid getting in trouble. I went to bed and covered myself in my warm duvet. I don't even know when I fell asleep, but I do know one thing: I am surely going to have some beautiful dreams of a certain man with great muscles and the most beautiful grey eyes I have seen till now.
• Three days later -
• It's been three days since that awesome night, and no matter how happy I was after our little encounter, I am way more anxious and irritated from the last three days. I am unable to get him out of my mind, and that stupid man vanished into thin air as if he never existed. He is in my mind the whole time, the things that I have even not noticed in him before I know all the things by now. The way his chocolate brown hair were styled, the way he walked, the way his eyes roamed all around whenever he is talking....I didn't know having a crush on someone is also that much hurtful when you can't see the man you have a crush on.
• And if you are wondering about my mom, then yes, I didn't go to meet her again. I got the information from the nurse that daily a few people come to meet her in the hospital, and they even stay there at night. So this again proves my theory that I am only safe in Greenville for a little time now...{I really don't want to leave this place. I actually started feeling at home here.}.... But still, I am in a way better spot now than I was years ago. At least I have developed a skill that is surely going to help in earning some good bucks enough to afford a good life.
• "Earth to Arya," Elina's voice startled me. "What are you daydreaming about?" she asked me, and I released a tired breath.
• "I am bored, Elina. I really wanted to go back to the studio to work, but my hand is not steady because of these injuries," I said to her and placed my head on the table while looking outside the diner. "I have been creating new designs on paper for the last three days, and now my hands are itching to design those designs on someone's body," I said to her sadly, and she chuckled.
• "You should have thought about it before speeding on your bike," she teased me, and I rolled my eyes.
• "Your taunts are not helping, Elina," I whined and turned my head towards the diner's door. He should have rejected the offer on the spot. I huffed and closed my eyes. The diner was busy as always, with people coming and going out, enjoying the company of their loved ones. I sat there, totally depressed because of a guy's ignorance and my mom's betrayal.
• Suddenly, Elina patted my head. "Oh my God, Arya, look," she whispered, and I whined again.
• "I am not interested in staring at any hot guy that you think is handsome, Elina," I said to her and removed her hand from my head.
• "Umm, hi," as soon as his voice rang in my ears, I stood up with a jerk, throwing the chair on the floor with full force. Suddenly the whole diner became silent, and everyone was just looking at me, while I couldn't help but stare at the person who had just vanished in thin air three days ago. Elina was standing behind him, shaking her head in disapproval.
• "Hi," I said awkwardly while straightening the chair and sitting on it. "I wasn't expecting you here, though," I said to him, and he sat on the chair in front, while Elina ran inside the kitchen.
• "Well, I know that you asked for lunch, but I will not deny dinner either," he said and placed his hands on the table.
• "Don't you think you are three days late?" I said to him, narrowing my eyes, and he scratched the back of his neck with a nervous smile.
• "Well, something urgent came up," he said to me, while I nodded. What should I say to him when I am not even able to figure out why I am mad or why I want an explanation for his sudden disappearance?
• "It's alright, so what do you want to eat?" I asked him when a very excited Martha and Elina came towards us with a lot of dishes. I facepalmed myself when they started setting all the dishes on the table. ..{Who fed these ladies sugar, for God's sake?}.. Diego looked at me with confused expressions, and I couldn't help but glare at both of them in total embarrassment.
• "You ordered all this?" Diego asked me, but Elina didn't give me time to reply.
• "Oh no no. Arya never eats so many dishes at a time. These all are from my side," she said cheerfully, and Diego looked at me in confusion but didn't say anything, just nodded.
• "We should let them enjoy their lunch, Elina," Martha said to her, and not so secretly winked towards me, which made me even more embarrassed. When they went away, I groaned in embarrassment and covered my face with my hands.
• "Please don't comment on anything about this," I said to him and removed my hands from my face while he chuckled and took a bite from the pizza served.
• "Believe me, I also have a mad lady in my life that does the same stupid things," he said, smiling fondly. "How are your injuries now?" he asked me as I also took a slice of pizza.
• "Well, it's not bleeding anymore," I said, and he nodded. For half an hour, we didn't say a single word, and our focus was solely on the food in front of us. Although I could see Elina glaring at me from time to time, I ignored her clearly. If she thought I was going to converse with anyone while food was in front of me, she was definitely wrong.
• "That was awesome," he said, and I nodded in agreement.
• "It is," I said, closing my eyes. I couldn't believe that I was extremely mad at this man an hour ago, but after sharing a meal with him, my mood had improved.
• "So, who are they?" he asked, and I opened my eyes to see whom he was referring to. I found him looking awkwardly at Elina and Martha, who were not even trying to make it obvious that they were overexcitedly talking about him.
• "The blonde one is Elina. She is the owner of this diner, and the redhead is Martha, her friend. All the bakery products come from Martha and her husband's bakery," I explained, and he nodded.
• "And what are you to them?" he asked, and I frowned. "Don't take it the wrong way, but they are acting as if you are their daughter, and they are trying to set you up with me." His last statement made me flustered, but I couldn't blame him when these two ladies were acting like two teenage girls.
• "Well, they have known me for a good few years now, and although we are not blood-related, you can call us a family," I said, getting up from the chair. "I am not sitting here anymore, or they will surely drill holes by staring at us for so long." He nodded and instantly stood from his seat.
• "Good idea. But first, I have to pay the bill," he said, and I waved my hand in dismissal.
• "No need. I will tell them to deduct it from my salary," he looked confused by my statement, which made me explain things to him. "Well, I work in Elina's husband's studio, so I have already told them to deduct all these expenses from my salary before giving it to me." He nodded, and we both walked out of the restaurant.
• "Are you taking your bike home?" he asked me, and I shook my head negatively.
• "Nope, I have eaten a lot. I really want a long walk," I said to him, and he nodded. "But if you want a ride somewhere, you can take my bike if you want," I told him, and he shook his head negatively.
• "I like long walks, and I travel a lot, so using vehicles doesn't seem very appealing to me. On foot, you get to explore more places than with vehicles," I nodded in agreement with his statement.
• "I can't argue with that, but I can't deny the beauty and peace of bike rides either," I said, and this time he nodded. "Do you need a drink right now?" I asked him, and he looked at me as if I had grown two heads.
• "After eating all that, you're still up for a drink?" he asked me, and I nodded.
• "Well, a drink is not food, and it's not like I'm taking something strong. Just beer," I said to him, and we started walking towards a nearby bar. I bought a couple of beers and came out.
• "You want some?" I asked him, and he shook his head.
• "I don't like the taste of it," he said. I shrugged and opened a can of beer. "So, what do you do, Diego?" I asked him. For a few minutes, he looked as if he were thinking very hard.
• "Well, you can say that I'm in our family business," he said, and I nodded. "And you?"
• "Tattoo artist," I said, and he stopped in his tracks. I looked at him while taking a long sip from my beer. "I think I shocked you," I said while chuckling, and he looked me up and down.
• "You didn't look like one," he said, and I laughed out loud.
• "Well, it's not my fault," I said, and he came beside me.
• "No, seriously, I have not met a single tattoo artist who doesn't have any tattoos," he said, and I chuckled.
• "Well, no tattoo artist can live without getting inked according to me, at least. I have tattoos, but they are hidden underneath my clothes," I said, and he nodded. We walked for a few minutes in silence, and I realized that we were near my home now. I was about to say something when I heard the snapping of a branch near us from the forest. Diego instantly came in front of me, and he looked extremely tense.
• "Go inside," he said with authority. I couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. I knew that someone was in the woods, watching us, but I couldn't see anyone. He took a step towards the forest, but I grabbed his hand. Like that day, this time also, I felt a little shock from his body, but it wasn't a shock kind of shock; it was more of a soft tingle.
• "Don't go there," I said to him, and he actually stopped. "This doesn't feel safe," I added, and he turned towards me. Although his body was still tense, I could see a little softness in his eyes. He placed his hand on my hand softly.
• "I will be back in an hour." Before I could say anything, he removed my hand from his and walked into the woods. I wasn't feeling good about all this, but I went inside the house, took the gun, and sat on the corner of the road. My nerves were on edge for all the time that I spent there. Many times I heard a few weird noises, and many times I imagined him coming out of the woods, but every time I was wrong. By now, I had drunk four beers, but he still wasn't here. As soon as I saw the time and realized that it was already over an hour, I got up to walk into the forest. (Yeah, it feels like suicide, but he helped me when I was in need, so if there is even a single percent chance that he is in need of help, then I am surely going there.)
• I walked a few metres inside the woods. I saw the back of Diego, but he wasn't wearing his shirt anymore, and there was blood on his torso. I gasped and walked towards him. "Oh my god, Diego, are you alright?" I ran towards him and turned him towards me. There were animal claw-like marks on his abs and chest. "God, you are badly hurt," I said, but to my surprise, the wounds that were in front of my eyes a second ago started to heal themselves automatically. I widened my eyes and raised my head to look into his eyes. I fell on my butt when I saw his extended canines and glowing eyes...