Shadow Girl (Ongoing)

Chapter 9

*Nathalie*

It turns out that working on the field entailed a 15-hour training. It's 8:00pm by the time I finally get home. My leg muscles are on fire and I feel like there isn't enough water in the world to quench my thirst when I race to the kitchen and take big gulps from the faucet.

My legs are still shaking and I feel like I can't stand for long. I slide down against my kitchen cabinets, concentrating on not throwing up. I put up a strong front at the center, in front of all of the FBI personnel and the other trainees, who were all much older than me. But it was all hitting me now. The laps, the pushups, the fighting.

I slowly get up, flinching at the soreness of my stomach and limbs and drag myself to my bedroom, where I plop onto the bed. Not two seconds have passed when there is a knocking on my door. I try to reason with my brain to get up and see who it is, but my body would not respond.

They'll go away, I tell myself as I close my eyes and feel the powerful pull of sleep coming over me.

I jerk up from the sound of a loud clash that came from somewhere in my apartment. The sound of a male grunt heightens my senses and I frantically push off from the bed and hide into my closet. 

I feel dizzy and nauseous as I strain to listen to my intruder's movements. He is coming into my room. I initially planned to hide in my spot, but a sudden boldness overcomes me and I aim from my position.

After a few deafening seconds of silence, a figure stands before my bed. 6-foot tall at the least, lean built. I can take him. When he is directly in front of my closet, I strike him from the back. He yells expletives as he falls to the ground. I grab the lamp from my night stand and prepare to strike, but he trips me and pins me under his weight, restraining my arms above my head. Struggling against him is useless; I can't move an inch. At this point, I know I'm losing.

I will not give this man the satisfaction of a scream, so I clamp my mouth shut and try with all my effort to break free once more.

"Nathalie it's okay! It's okay!"

When I register that the voice that has been screaming at me is familiar, I stop struggling and squint through the darkness at his face.

"Donavan?!"

He releases his hold on me and relaxes. "I was worried about you so I broke in to see if everything was okay and then you attacked me...I didn't mean to hold you down like that. Are you okay?"

I'm still lying underneath him and there is pain in my arms from where I struggled against his grip. I sit up, rubbing the soreness. In the darkness, I can see that he is focused on my arms too. I can't see his expression so I'm not sure what he's thinking.

"I'm fine, sorry I attacked you like that. I got scared." I get up and find the light switch. It burns my vision and sends a pulse of pain through my head, but I need the light.

Donavan gets up and approaches me, "Nathalie...", he reaches for me but I turn away and head to the bathroom. I can't look possibly worse than I feel.

I feel him standing in the doorway as I rinse my face and towel-dry it. I turn to find his eyes roaming my body. My face, my  arms, my still-trembling hands. His expression darkens. 

I take in his appearance for the first time. He's dressed semi-formally, with a clean shave and brushed hair. He smells nice too.

Oh, no.

Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no.

"Donavan, I'm so sorry. I wasn't feeling well and I completely-"

He cuts me off and pulls me in a tight embrace, lifting me a little so that I'm on the tip of my toes. 

I'm too stunned to say or do anything, so I let him embrace me. 

He pulls back, studying my face. He lifts his hand and traces something on my cheek. His touch is so light I can barely feel it, but then his finger trails to the skin on my jaw and I wince in pain and look away. 

"Nathalie, look at me." 

But I can't. I'm too embarrassed. I just want this day to be over. 

"Nathalie, please, look at me." He gently moves my face toward him, his hand cupping my cheek. 

I wait for him to ask me about my wounds. He must have realized by now that they can't possibly be from our struggle. I have twenty three excuses and alibis ready. Eight of them are believable. 

But he just watches me without speaking. His eyes bear the question that his lips won't utter. 

Why is he quiet? 

"How did you even get in?" I break the silence. 

"I'm good with buildings. I used to break into my mom's apartment all the time when I was a kid," his lips are lifted slightly on one side at the memory, but his eyes are devoid of any humor. 

I want the specifics of that answer but I decide to save it for another time. 

It's too much to look at his handsome face and his observant blue eyes, so I look down. 

"I'm really sorry that-" 

"Don't apologize to me," he lifts my chin to look at him again, "come on, let's get you something to eat and put some ice on this." His finger lightly taps the part of my jaw that is now throbbing.

In my kitchen, Donavan watches me in silence as I ravenously eat the pasta he'd just boiled. 

I guess this counts as a dinner after the game? 

There is only one issue that I need to settle... 

"So...how was the game?" I say after swallowing a big gulp of spaghetti. 

"It went okay. We won." 

"Oh, that's more than okay. That's great!" I look at him, trying to get a gist of what he's feeling right now. But he just shrugs and looks down. I'm so confused by this dynamic. What are we doing? 

I guess he's disappointed by our "dinner." 

When I finish all my spaghetti, I get up from my seat and stretch my limbs, yawning. 

"You're tired. I should probably get going." 

"I had a long day," I nod. 

His eyes darken at my answer and it looks like he wants to say more but he stays silent. Instead, he nods and gets up from the table too. 

"I'll see you tomorrow then." 

I nod, sleepily, and begin to lead him to the door when I register what he just said.

"Wait. Tomorrow?" 

"Yup. We have to make up for today," he says, smiling. "And, because you karate chopped me back there, you owe me." 

I know enough about social interactions to know that he's teasing. I feel really appreciative that he hasn't addressed my appearance and the wound forming on my jaw, so I'm in a light mood and decide to entertain his answer. 

"And what do I owe you, Donavan?" I say, rolling my eyes and trying but failing to hide my smile. 

He pretends to think about it for a while. "You, for a day. Tomorrow." His tone is playful but his expression is serious. 

"What do I have to do?" 

"Just spend the day with me." 

"Making up for a dinner with a whole day hardly seems fair, Donavan." 

"Making up for a dinner and karate chopping me." 

I can barely contain my laughter. "Oh, I see. That makes more sense." 

He smiles at me, his dimples showing. 

"It's settled then." 

I sigh. "It's settled."