Steal my Heart.

23

Holy shit.

I run towards him as he groans in pain. He had fallen down on his elbows and I could already see blood.
"Is this the way you drive?" I yell at the motorbike rider and he mutters apologies as he gets down and helps Alastair up.

He says sorry to him too and Alastair, with all his big heart and smile, just winks at him. He's tough. I would have probably started crying at the first sight of the bruises but he just lets the pain soothe out on it's own by clenching and unclenching his fists. I think we all have different ways of dealing with pain.

The motorbike rider rides away after a flurry of some more apologies and I turn to Alastair.
"You need to see a doctor now. Come, my neighbour is a medic." I tell him and surprisingly, he relents. His bruises are bleeding and he does care, even though he has this rough exterior and I-don't-give-a-damn attitude.

Mrs. Mrik opens the door and immediately ushers Alastair in after one look at him. She makes him sit on the couch and goes over his wounds.
"These are deep cuts. How did you get them?" She asks.
"A motorbike rider hit me down. But I got lucky he didn't run the bike over me."

"Oh dear. Thanks to Jesus you came here. There would have been quite some blood loss if you hadn't." She coos and I watch them from the living room doorway.

Suddenly, his eyes meet mine and I hold the eye contact. Again, I'm in awe. There's so much that can be said between the eyes. It's a wonderful thing, in a group of people, we don't really meet anyone captivating. But then we see this one person, and we can't take our eyes of them. Not because they're good looking or attractive, but because they radiate a light only we can see. And what adds to the sweetness is, we're that person for them too, because then their eyes find our's and everything else is just a blur in the background. I think, Alastair is that person for me. He's my person.

Mrs. Mrik seems to notice the exchange between us too because the next moment, while applying Dettol on his wounds, she asks me,"Is this lovely lad here your boyfriend Grace?"

I shake my head while Alastair just grins. Why isn't he denying it?
"No Mrs. Mrik, Alastair isn't my boyfriend."

"Oh is it? But he's so charming, you two should date." She says and I roll my eyes. Of course, he's charming and of course I want to date him, but he doesn't like me. He can't. All the moments between us, it's just Alastair's playfulness. He's a player. What more do you expect from him? Even though it hurts, this is the truth.

"Gracie really needs someone." Mrs. Mrik continues as she wraps up the gauze on his right bicep. He looks yummy. Rough, sweaty and bruised. Eek, what am I thinking?

I gasp.
"I know she does, and I have everything she needs." Alastair smirks and I gasp again. So many meanings in a single sentence.
He looks at me and I inevitably blush. Aagh, my stupid cheeks!

"Aah young love. So good to see! You know, Gracie can't find a guy because she's so tall. But you're one big boy." Mrs. Mrik continues her verbal assault and just when I think I can't become red any further, blood rushes to my face.

"Gracie doesn't need a guy. As for her height, I like it. Tall is attractive." Alastair says seriously and I look at him. That's the first time someone's said that. I had always considered my height as my good point but I used to get annoyed when relatives told me that I'll never get a boyfriend. This was a very small thing, but somehow, it meant a lot.

Because you see, we humans are insecure creatures. We constantly need approval and acceptance. No matter how much we deny it, we need love to feel worthy. We just can't do without it. We may have our strenghths, but we'll need someone else to dictate them out for us so that we actually see the light in us. We wait for one person to love us the way we can't love ourselves and when that person comes along, we go till the ends of the world to keep them.

"I ship you two." Mrs. Mrik says with adoration and I almost burst out giggling. Alastair starts laughing and as she finishes dressing up his wounds, he hugs the wiry, old lady.

"You're the sweetest Mrs. Mrik." He says and continues laughing.
"You're a wonderful boy. Keep coming around. And take care of Gracie, will ya?" She says and Alastair shakes her hand.
"I will."

I smile to myself as he gets up and walks over. He groans a little when he stands but that's it. We bid goodbye to Mrs. Mrik and walk back to my ranch.

"You need to change." He says and I realize that I'm still in my soiled clothes.
"You don't need to change at all." I mutter and his eyes twinkle when he realized what I've said. Even I'm a bit taken aback at what I just blurted out.

"Aww Gracie needs Alastair?" He teases me and I poke his freshly put up bandage.
"Ouch." He yelps and my eyes widen in fear.
"Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry." I say.

"I was kidding." He says and I punch him on his arm.
"Go home now. Take care." I say as he backs away towards the gate.
"See you tomorrow Grace."
"Good bye Alastair." I wave and watch him until he disappears down the lane.

I go inside my house and get changed in the shower. I think about what all happened today. My slip in the park, the walk back home with Alastair, his accident, all that conspired with Mrs. Mrik. I feel so overwhelmed about all this. There's a sudden change in my feelings. Stars I didn't know existed in me have lit up and somehow, it feels like nothing will ever be the same again.

•••

Dedicated to Afreen for being an amazing sister and supporter of this story.
Also, next chapter will have a surprise!