Burning Paradise

Chapter Eleven

I look up at Rhys and smile sheepishly. He gives me a stern look and then sits down beside me, "So?"

"I don't really know." I admit, "Some stupid sleazy paparazzi person might have seen us together. I'm sorry, are you mad about it?"

"No." Rhys shakes his head, "It's okay, I don't mind. Your mom seems quite confident that you're not in the wrong kind of company."

"Well, I'm not." I point out, "You and Avril don't really count as bad company, do you now?"

Rhys leans in and whispers in my ear, just loud enough for me to hear, "I'm a fallen angel. Does that count for anything, beautiful?" I look at him, my eyes wide, and then glance at Avril. She pretends that her latte cup is suddenly the most fascinating thing in the word. I look back at Rhys, who is still waiting for an answer.

"Er..." I say and then scramble to my feet, "I'll get you a latte." I join the queue, sighing in relief. There is no way I can answer that question. I look back apprehensively to see Rhys grinning at me. Avril has gone. I look toward the entrance just in time to spot her auburn hair flying out of Starbucks. I sigh and then realise the guy is waiting for me to order. "Sorry. I'm sorry." I apologise, "I'd, er, like one latte, please."

"One dollar, twenty five." The spotty, nerdy teen replies. I hand him the change quickly and then stride back to the table, setting the latte down in front of Rhys who is not moving his gaze from my face. It's making me uncomfortable.

"So? You didn't answer my question." Rhys raises an eyebrow, taking a sip of the hot drink.

I look at him steadily and cross my arms, "I am not going to answer the question, Rhys."

"Why not?" Rhys says. His eyes go cloudy and he looks distant, as if he's thinking of something. Then they're back to normal. I don't reply, I just stare out of the window. I jump when a voice hisses in my ear, "Why can't you answer my question, Donna? Is it hard for you? To decide whether I'm good or bad? Whether I'm a hero or a villian?"

I don't look at him, I just stare at the tale nonchalantly and try to ignore Rhys. But that's not possible. Not if he has anything to do with it. "Come on, Donna." He whispers temptingly, "Are you not going to tell me, baby?" He trails a finger down my arm, taking my hand gently in his. My heart thuds erratically and Rhys chuckles huskily as if he had heard it. I look at him. His eyes are cloudy again, with that distant look in them. "Donna, tell me. Are you scared?"

I wrench my hand from his grasp, "Stop being a jerk, Rhys. What are you doing? Please stop it."

Rhys' eyes are suddenly shiny again, without that hazy look in them and he asks, "What did I do?"

"Huh?" My eyebrows draw together, "What do you mean?"

"Did I hurt you? Did I -- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Rhys looks concerned and nervous.

"You didn't -- What's going on?" I ask, taking his hand, my earlier annoyance forgotten.

"I just, I..." Rhys' eyes look everywhere but at me, "Can you do me a favour?" I wait for him to continue. "Don't follow me." Rhys says and then he gets up, storming out of the café. I stand and follow him anyway. No way am I letting this go. Something happened to Rhys and I want to know what that is. I'm not going to ignore it. Outside on the sidewalk, I look around frantically. I can't see Rhys anywhere. It's like he disappeared.

Then I see his dark hair bobbing up and down in the crowd. I follow it, unwilling to take my eyes off him, elbowing people sharply as I go, making them cuss at me. Us Americans -- charming! I call his name but he doesn't turn once. He swerves left into an alley. I shove a throng of people out of my way and jump into the alley.