If I Tell Him

Chapter Two

He sat in the very far corner of his place, eyeing the intruder as she stirred. This house was already cramped enough; having another person made it even worse.

It was basically one giant room with a sitting area, kitchen, and his bed and such all spread out. That way, it was easy to heat with the fireplace, which he liked. As of now the setup seemed anything but convenient.

He had considered sleeping in his shed for the night instead of sitting on this stool, but what if she got sick in his absence? Besides, the shed wouldn't fit him and Talon, and he was worried his dog might jump on the woman and crush her, thinking they could play. Riftan didn't want to leave him out in the cold, either. So that was out of the question.

The weird thing was she didn't appear to be sick, at all. Once inside and stuffed in a shirt and as many blankets as he could find, her pulse steadily came back. He put a hand on her forehead once or twice, but the woman wasn't warm enough for a fever. Outside the bruises on her face, and possibly others, there wasn't any visible problem. No, it just seemed like she was in a deep sleep at this point, and he was getting aggravated.

This wasn't a damn vacation spot.

He was chilly too, but that was fine. Riftan gave her all the blankets, because it would seriously be a pain if a random woman died on his hands. At least one person would be foolish enough to think he'd done something wrong. He looked at his hands.

Or perhaps they'd be wise.

"Wha..." His eyes snapped towards the woman as she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes as the long tresses of hair rolled down her shoulders.

He stayed silent, not bothering to let her know of his presence because she would soon catch sight of him. And she did, with curious grey eyes- then, as if remembering to be scared, she sqeaked and hid herself under the blankets.

Ever so cautiously, her pale fingers maneuvered them so that she could catch another glimpse of him through the opening, only her eyes visible. But it looked like fear got the better of her, and she dissapeared once more.

"W-Who are you?" He humorlessly chuckled, looking through the windows into the now clear sky. She was already terrified of him, but that was to be expected.

"Only your knight in shining armor," He rested his head on a hand, quietly surveying the shivering mountain of blankets. "The fuck were you doing out there?"

Silence.

He sighed.

"I suppose we can start with names then. Riftan Calypse." He drawled out, thinking of what might have happened to her. It could be a shipwreck- But how the hell did she get out here, and where were her clothes? Was she walking along the shore maybe? He didn't understand why she had come this far down- town was at least thirty minutes away. And then what, someone knocked her out?

It could be rape. That would explain her botched face. No; he wouldn't ask too much. Anything she was going to explain wouldn't be a happy story. The best thing would be to take her to town and let her family know she was alive, as soon as possible.

"Uh...I'm Maximilian..." Hiding the last name, huh?

"Your family live around here?"

"Yes, well, k-kinda. Not really here, but like c-close to here, ah..." She stuttered out, and he raised an eyebrow. This was getting absolutely no where.

Then her stomach rumbled. He found himself suppressing a smile.

"What's t-that smell?" Her face, foremost the tiny red nose, came from under the covers and he pointed to the pot.

"Don't get too excited. It's just reheated stew." He couldn't eat last night, so he stored the food and began heating it when he woke this morning. The intoxicating smell wafted through the entire house. He might have thought the ravenous look on her face funny, if the circumstances weren't so disturbing.

Riftan stood up, pretending not to notice the way she shrunk back in fear as he searched through his chest of drawers. Finding what he was looking for, he took the pair of pants and threw it at her face.

"I'm going out, so get dressed. Then we can eat." She hurried to take it off of her head, but the blankets were a hindrance.

"But where-"

He had already shut the door behind him, walking briskly away. It was not the time to have thoughts like this.

Talon followed him from where he'd been pawing at the door to get in. Shortly before the woman had woken, he let the dog out to go, and now he had picked up a stick so that Riftan would play with him. Letting out a soft smile, he took the wood and threw it, watching the dog exercise in powerful strides with the sea stirring innocently beyond them.

Riftan glanced towards the house, but quickly turned back with a blush as his pet had already returned with its toy. Taking up the stick, he threw even harder than before, the whole time chastising himself.

He never paid much attention to women, hating to be touched or played with, but having one half-naked in his bed, though completely covered, was different. Thankfully he hadn't seen much of anything last night as it was dark, and he was only trying to make sure this person lived, but now unfamiliar and sinful desires rose up in his body. What the hell was wrong with him?

Whoever she was, whatever vague answers he got didn't matter. Because he was taking her to town today and never thinking about her again. The dumbass people who let a frail woman outside alone in such weather would deal with her. When Talon came back the umpteenth time with his stick, Riftan hurled it so hard it almost reached the water. This wasn't his problem at all.

"H-Hey!" When he turned around, Maximilian was standing just outside the door, bowl in hand. He could see the steam coming off of it.

His clothes were ridiculously big on her, so big she had used a rope to keep the pants up, and the ends pooled over her feet. When he noticed her hair blowing in the light breeze, Riftan was sure his own was a complete mess. He caught himself before he smoothed it back, dropping his hands to his sides. It was of no importance.

She shifted from one foot to the other under his gaze.

"I already h-had one bowl..," She trailed off, turning red. It made her freckles stand out more. "And you must b-be hungry, too."

He tilted his head. Walking towards her, he took the food, beginning to spoon some into his mouth as he looked back over the horizon. Talon had dropped the stick, now set on zooming in circles and biting the wind. He heard his companion giggle at the sight.

"Thank you, Maxi." The name was pretty, but a mouthful. From the corner of his eye he could see her give him a look, but she silently accepted the nickname.

"Anyways, c-can I have seconds? Please."

He looked at her then. From her cute, pinched face to the way his clothes swallowed her. Not to mention the extremely short stature of this person; maybe she should eat the whole pot.

When his eyes met hers again, she looked like she was squirming out of her skin, a strawberry if only her hair was green.

He thought of saying so, but didn't want to get slapped. Riftan cleared his throat; then he broke their eye contact and nodded towards inside.

"Have thirds."

-----

Note- Idk anymore I hate the chapter and then I really like it so I don't trust myself 🙂 also fun fact, I thought I bought my friend a face mask for her bday but it was actually one you're supposed to put on ur ass help 😭 life is too hectic rn

but I hope this one's okay 🏃🏾‍♀️