Chasing Sapphire

21. HALF-NAKED

"No, you can walk around in towel." he said and then took a pause. "I mean, if you want to. Not that I want you to... Um... Fuck. Sorry."

I smiled sheepishly while enjoying his embarrassment. To save him from misery, I changed the topic of our conversation. "Bella will be awake soon."

"She is already awake." he told me. "She just ate a bowl of cereal and said she wanted to take a small walk."

"Oh, I should check her then." I said and then excused myself to see how her injuries were.

I made my way out of the door and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion when I found her kneeled beside the front wall of Connor's house.

"What are you doing?" I asked on reaching her. She was whispering something under her breath, probably doing some kind of spell. Instead of replying to me, she kept her focus on whatever she was doing so I waited until she was done with it.

"Protecting this house from werewolves so that what happened to my house won't happen again." she said once she was done with it.

"Oh." I whispered.

"Do you think it was Atticus West who started the fire?" I asked as we both started walking on the street. Cold wind was blowing, ruffling our hair into a mess.

"Yes. Or maybe it was some other werewolf. Who knows how many werewolves are chasing after you." she answered with a shrug.

I shivered as I realised how much danger I was in. "Will they ever stop?" I said in a frustrated voice.

"No, not until you're dead." she said and then looked at me. Her eyes were laced with pity for me.

I fought the urge to cry on hearing this. So many people wanted me dead and that thought alone was enough to make me hate my life. Why me? Why do I have to be the chosen one? Who do I have to sacrifice my life to kill them? Why was my blood so cursed?

°°°°°

I spent the day doing my work after Bella and Connor both left the house for their respective reasons. My thoughts were taking a depressive turn so I tried my best to keep myself busy. Thankfully, all my important things were in my bag that I had taken with me to the library so nothing was harmed, except some clothes. Bella said she would go to shopping with me tonight so that we could buy some new clothes for us.

When the doorbell finally rang at 6, I made my way to the door. Hoping to find Bella, I opened it but my eyes bulged out of my sockets when I found Atticus West standing there. He had his famous blank look on his face, while his tall built towered over me. He was wearing all black, which made him look more evil than he already was, if that was even possible.

God, I hate this man.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in an unwelcoming voice.

"I heard about the fire." he said and decided to step in but couldn't. Something was blocking him, as if a physical barrier.

I smirked as I remembered Bella's spell. "Sorry, this house is protected against all evil." I replied as I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

His eyes pierced into mine in the most bone-chilling way as he said through clenched teeth, "That girl couldn't even save herself. How would she save you?"

"Do me a favour and leave." I said nonchalantly that seemed to anger him more.

"Sooner or later, you'll have to go with me Sapphire Carson." His voice was filled with a promise. "Nobody else can protect you."

"Is this a threat?" My voice was weaker than before.

"No." he replied with a straight voice. "And well, whoever caused the fire must be a smart person. That girl Bella is better off dead."

This filled me with rage and I balled my fists to stop myself from punching him. "Fuck you." I cursed out loud.

The gleam in his eyes returned at this as he replied, "Such words don't belong to an innocent mouth like yours." My cheeks turned red in anger and embarassment and I contemplated about shutting the door on his face.

"What's going on here?" It was Connor who was walking towards us. He must have returned from work. "Mr. West, I think you should leave." he said when he noticed the expression of anger and fear on my face.

Atticus' blue eyes bored into Connor's green ones. Connor didn't know what he was up against. For him, Mr. West was a rich jerk which he was, but there was much more about him that he didn't know. Atticus could kill Connor in an instant without getting a crease on his suit.

"Sapphire, tell Mr. Hunt that he shouldn't come between us. The result could be disastrous." Atticus said in a dangerous voice without looking at me. Conner stiffened behind him and I eyed him with caution.

After his car finally left, I shrunk inside the house and attempted to calm my ragged breathing. Connor passed me a sympathetic look and we both walked inside towards the living room. 

______________________