Sunflower fields & The Bad Boy

Shadows on the Wall

- CHAPTER TWENTY THREE -

I slam the laptop shut, jumping at the sound of his voice. I felt like a kid who had got their hand stuck in a cookie jar. My face heated up and I could only imagine the bright red blush that I was wearing. He didn't move from behind me and that made me even more nervous. I heard him exhale sharply in annoyance. His shadow faltering before shifting away. Then it went quiet again.

"He left." Matthew said as he picked up his laptop that I had shoved to the side in fright. He sighed, offering me a hand from the floor. I let him help me to my feet, brushing my bottom for any bits of grass that may have somehow got caught on my clothing. Patting at my clothes was a habit I had picked up from my grandmother before she died.
How did I not hear him walk up?

Good job Amelia, you have gone ahead and made things even more hard for yourself.
They had just started to accept me.

Evening turned to night quickly. Ignoring the boys was hard and tolling on my stomach that was begging and screaming at me for food. Another unhealthy habit of mine was to miss meals until I was on the brink of starvation and considering I hadn't had breakfast and lunch today I was almost desperate. My body couldn't take it anymore as the sweet smell of homemade bolognaise sauce, drifted through the entire house. No doubt going to be a lasting scent till tomorrow morning. So I sat at the dinner table in my usual spot, trying to ignore the piercing stare from the opposite side of the table. It didn't falter the entire dinner. I only looked up at him once, towards the end of the meal. He didn't look angry and that somewhat surprised me. Elijah was amused at my reaction, a feeling that I didn't quite precipitate. A playful looking Elijah frightened me more than his usually gloom and doom theatrics.

I knew the second that my body hit the mattress, I was getting very little shut eye that night. Insomnia. Something that had haunted me for years. It was either that or nightmares. I was doing a fine job at pretending I was asleep until a someone opened my door without knocking, letting themselves in. I held my eyes tight together, trying to keep an even breathing rate. I hoped desperately that it was just Rosa checking in on me, something that she had started to do more often. I was almost shaking in anticipation. Peering through small slits in my eyes, I tried to make sense of the tall dark figure. They had broad shoulders, that I knew held strong muscles. The shadows cast on them and the wall behind wavered and warped, heightening my anxiety to panic.

The person moved closer to the right side of my bed. I still couldn't see their features but they were dressed in black anonymous clothing. A hand wraps over my mouth, warm and calloused. A muffled scream barely reaches my ears and I grab at the sleave of their hoodie in a panicked desperation. Yet I didn't miss the way that my skin zapped with electricity at the touch.

"Shhh... it's me." I relaxed into the person's hand as I realised that that it was Elijah. His voice unmistakable. It was husky and rough. I felt like I could breath again, my shoulders slumping into my pillows and my hands falling from Elijah's sleave. He looked handsome as always, his features striking. The O'Connor family had stunning genes, all of them worthy to be models and yet Elijah and Ashton get tangled up in murders.

"Oh my God." I released in an exhale as soon as his hand left my face. I almost missed the closeness as his face pulled into a grin. It wasn't malicious but at the same time it wasn't how you would smile at child. I shrank back a bit, not expecting his reaction. It was in that moment I knew I had to be careful of Elijah.

He was the type of boy that you don't realise you're in love with till it's too late. The fall hard and quick type, which was something I couldn't afford to get mingled up in.

His eyes twinkled with excitement, "Want to go on an adventure?"