The Pursuit

Twenty Six

TWENTY-SIX 

A gasp escaped my mouth, and I took one step back. My eyes were locked with Caleb's remorseful ones. He knew that I recognized the witch besides him. Then I flicked them to the Liv. Her name brought a sour taste in my mouth. She was eyeing me curiously, giving me a once-over that the other one did in the living room. Although I knew in my heart she was more of a threat than her friend.

"Caleb, she just barged in!" The guy next to me explained grabbing my elbow in a tight grasp.

I yanked it out of his hold shooting him a glare. "Let go of me."

"Kristoff, it's all right." Caleb finally broke his scary silence. "I know her."

"You know me?" I asked outrageously. My mind was spinning with all kinds of scenarios of what was happening in this current moment. "Fucking shit, Caleb. I know you too! It's not like we're friends or anything more." Sarcasm dripped heavily in my voice. 

He sighed rubbing a hand over his face. I couldn't help but notice Liv's hand still on his shoulder. Following my gaze, he shrugged her off and came over to stand in front of me. "I didn't mean it like that." He clutched my upper arms into his hands. They held me in place.

I squirmed out of his grasp unable to get away like I did with the Kristoff guy. "Don't touch me."

"Do you trust me?" He stared into my eyes begging for me to listen to him. Right then, I could only focus on him, even if his ex-fiancee was only a few feet away. "Nothing seemed the way it looked when you came in."

I closed my eyes cursing the universe why everything terrible had been happening to me. I think I already had my fair share of karma before. I couldn't bring myself to respond to him in front of an audience. 

"Let's go upstairs and talk." He took hold of my hand after he came to the conclusion that I wasn't trying to get away anymore. "Kristoff, we'll be right back. Can you handle the stove for a minute?"

"Caleb, I'm not done talking to you!" The bitch opened her mouth and yelled after him. I cringed outwardly at her nasally voice. 

"Yeah?" He looked over his shoulder at her vexed face. "Well I am."

I was too irritable to gloat at his statement. He led me up the modern staircase to his indoor balcony-like of a bedroom. It wasn't a totally secluded room for privacy since it was open to the great room below. Once both of my feet were above the last step, I wrenched my hand from his and crossed my arms together in front of my chest.

"Bethany..." He had let his voice trail off at my name. "Bethany, I don't know where to start."

I whisked around and raised an eyebrow at him in incredulity. "How about start with the most obvious thing in the world right now? What is Liv-" I spat her name, "doing here?" I addressed the large elephant in the room.

"My friends, they surprised me by coming to Seattle. I had no idea they were coming." He explained. Caleb looked troubled. His face were full of creases. Too bad. I wasn't going to comfort him. "Didn't you see the text messages I sent you? If I had known you were coming anyways, I would have sent them away."

I didn't answer him but pull out my phone from my bag which was still on silent. Right there blinking up at me were messages from Caleb saying he cancelled the dinner date. It felt like he stabbed me in the heart. "You wanted me gone so you can spend time with your buddies and the woman that stomped on your heart after leaving you?"

"No! No, I didn't mean it like that."

I snorted. "You haven't been meaning a lot of things tonight, Caleb. Is she the reason you came to my place last night distraught? I just want to know the reason for her being here. Your friends, fine, but her?"