Here I'd thought my day couldn't possibly get any worse, but no. The universe just had to come and prove me wrong.
I averted my gaze. Maybe he would just continue walking and ignore me.
"Taylor?"
Or not. "Oh, it's you." My voice sounded flat. Even to my own ears but I was beyond caring. He was one of the last people I wanted to see right now. Thank God I hadn't cried.
Killian stopped in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking out the night view. "What are you doing here by yourself?"
"None of your business." I smoothed my face into a polite fuck-off expression. Maybe he could take a hint.
"Fine. Where's your boyfriend?"
"Also none of your business," I clipped out and turned my head away. Of course, he couldn't take a hint. Or he just chose not to.
"What's wrong? You didn't deny it this time."
"I'm good." Alright now move along. Nothing to see here.
He crouched down, leveling his head below mine. "Let me take a wild guess then. Your douche boyfriend ditched you and now you are stuck in the woods on a Friday night, probably lost or you would at least be walking, with no way or means to get home, but at the same time, you're just too stubborn to ask anyone for help? Or," he added with a nod at the broken phone, still clutched between my hands, "your phone either died or broke. Does that sum it up?"
I glared at him. Slowly, I lifted my hands and clapped a few times. "Wow, amazing deduction skills Sherlock. You should major in criminology and become a detective or something. Now, shoo. You can move along."
He put a hand to his chest, his brows raised in mock surprise. "I'm impressed. Your stalking game is really on point tonight. I've been leaning toward criminal justice as my major—"
I worked my jaw. "Are you always such a massive pain or am I just special?"
"Who knows?" He lifted one of his massive shoulders, indifferently.
My temper spiked. "Well then go and be one somewhere else." The little voice in the back of my head told me that it wasn't in my best interest to be mean to the only person who finally showed up in the middle of the woods and could possibly help me. I gnashed my teeth and shut it down.
Killian didn't seem fazed at all. On the contrary. He balanced on the balls of his feet, completely relaxed, and surveyed me with a sort of calm interest that ticked me off even more. I looked away first. Fine then. If he wouldn't leave then I would.
I jumped to my feet but regretted it almost instantly. My legs wobbled under the pain stabbing my ankle. It was definitely not fine. I cursed as I lost my balance but Killian's hands gripped my forearms.
"So you're not a lost, but an injured idiot."
"You should learn how to take a hint!" I snapped and pushed his hands away.
He kept speaking in that annoyingly calm tone. "And you should learn when to ask for help."
A breeze picked up, tousling through the heaps of fallen leaves. I managed to suppress a shiver. "I don't want your help."
He snorted, straightened back to his full height, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Well, you know what? I don't want to particularly help you either."
I paused at his words. I had kind of expected him to insist on it... "Good. You can move along the—"
"But sometimes," he interrupted me, an edge creeping into his tone, "You need to help someone even if they don't want it and sometimes even stupid idiots should accept help even if they don't want it."
I gaped at him. Did he just call me an idiot twice? Yes. Yes, he did.
Before I could react, he bent forward and in the next second, I went airborne as he swung me over his shoulder and promptly started down the road.
"Hey! Put me down right now!" My fists pummeled his back but he ignored me.
"Sure. I will put you down," he said casually as if we were out on a nice midnight stroll. "As soon as we are out of here."
"I said I don't want your help!"
"You keep saying that but in the end, you still need it. If something were to happen later, what would everyone think knowing I left you here? I'm not going to risk it and take on that burden for you, just so you can stew in your own misery for a bit longer."
"I'm not stewing—"
"Let me put it this way. Would you leave an abandoned, lonely puppy behind, shivering and weak in the rain, just because it bares its tiny teeth a little?"
"I'm not some abandoned weak puppy, okay? And...besides, it's not raining," I added more quietly.
"I think you're shivering enough without the rain, but alright."
My mouth opened but nothing came out. I'd thought I'd hidden it well...
"How about this?" he continued. "If you tell me how you would've managed by yourself, I will put you down."
My lips pressed together.
"That's what I thought."
His dry tone was really pissing me off. "You know what? You're like the most annoying person I have ever met."
"Right back at you," he countered.
We both fell silent. His shoulder pressed into my stomach and I grimaced. "This is really uncomfortable. At this rate, I'm gonna puke because of—" The world spun and suddenly I was back on my feet.
His hands gripped my arms as I swayed trying to regain my bearing. He leaned down, searching my face and suddenly my breath caught. He was entirely too close. "Did you take something?"
"What?" Where did this come from?
"Did you take something," he repeated in a serious voice. "Drugs."
My mind flashed to the pills I had taken earlier. "N—no." I flinched at my stutter but then again I hadn't taken drugs. At least not in the sense he was asking.
"Are you sure?" His hazel eyes bore into mine. What the hell? Why did I have to answer to him anyways?
"Not that it's any of your business, but yes," I said with more emphasis this time. "Are you going to ask me how much I drank next? Or if I smoked? Do you want to know my blood type as well?"
His features relaxed. "Why not? Mine is O by the way. You should remember that in case of emergencies."
"Don't worry I will make absolutely sure there will be no mistake if that hypothetical emergency ever arises."
Killian let out a dry chuckle and crouched down, his back to me. "Get on. Unless you want me to continue carrying you the other way." I sighed, grabbed his shoulders and he hoisted me up. "Are you more comfortable now? Or would your highness prefer a princess carry?"
"Just...shut up," I mumbled. The faster we were out of this forest the better.
His back and hands felt unnaturally hot. Some sort of survival instinct must have taken over because my frozen limbs hugged him a little more tightly, trying to soak up his body heat, and I was too tired to fight it. My nose filled with a mixture of soap, sandalwood, and something uniquely masculine. Of course, he had to smell fucking great.
Silence surrounded us. Our argument had distracted me but now my eyelids grew heavy and my head dropped. If I just rested my eyes for a few seconds... My cheek touched his shoulder and I jerked, suddenly awake.
"You can rest a bit." His voice had a deep, husky edge to it that was strangely pleasant to my ears. And why did I even notice that?
"I'm not tired." As soon as those words left my mouth I had to suppress a yawn, my eyes tearing from the effort.
He shook his head. "Of course, you're not. Even if it's just to spite me right?"
"Exactly," I said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Getting out of the forest took us at least half an hour. Killian's arms had to be straining under my weight but he didn't complain. He also didn't stop or take a break. So, I didn't complain either.
Finally, voices carried through the thick trees, and the parking lot opened up in front of us. A small group of people stood in a circle beneath a streetlight. Only a few cars were left. My heart perked up when I recognized one of them. I didn't know she was back.
I touched Killian's shoulder. "Let me down."
He heaved a sigh but let me down anyways. I balanced on my left foot and took a deep breath. "I'm good," I said with a side glance to Killian who hovered next to me.
"Yeah, I'm gonna wait and watch this first."
I clenched my fists and started limping toward the others. The pain was there but it was bearable. Somewhat. Thankfully, no one turned around until we were nearly upon them.
Cody was the first to catch sight of us. "There you are." He gave me a quick once over, but I leaned on the familiar car next to me pretending as if my ankle wasn't screaming in agony. "You good, Tay?"
"Peachy." I scanned the parking lot but the person I was looking for was nowhere to be found. If possible, I would prefer not to take the same car back as a certain someone. "How come you guys are still here?"
Cody's gaze flickered to Killian for a brief second. "Well—"
"Cody was worried," Killian quipped in. Cody shot him a look I couldn't quite decipher but it was gone quickly. It made me wonder if Killian had just lied but then again, why would he?
A warm feeling fluttered in my chest. Cody and I hadn't been specifically close but he was always respectful. And nice. It was hard not to like him. I caught his eyes and sent him a small smile, mouthing my thanks. His eyes wrinkled and the corners of his mouth lifted in response.
A quiet scoff sounded next to me. Oh yeah. Mr. Know-it-all was still here as well. If he thought I would be grateful that he carried me off against my will he had a long way coming. Although he did sort of help. But that was beside the point.
"My phone died. Did you see Suzy by any chance?" Suzy was the only one out of Jessica's group of friends I actually liked.
Cody craned his neck looking around. "She should be around. Wait a second." He took out his phone when suddenly a breathless, short girl with shoulder-length black hair materialized next to him.
"I'm back," she said. The impish grin on her face immediately drew attention to her almond-shaped eyes, twinkling with mischief. "Man, I had to pee so bad. Maybe I should bring diapers the next time we hang out at the lake. It's so unfair that you guys have it easy! I walked into the forest for more than five minutes to make sure no one was around and then it got super creepy and I had to run back, oh, Tay!" She finally caught sight of me and then I was crushed in a tight hug.
I had to step back to regain my balance and my expression crumbled.
"Hey." I couldn't hide the strain in my voice but her weight disappeared as quickly as it came. I braced myself against the car again and lifted my head to see that Killian had snatched the back of her hoodie and she was half dangling in his grip. It looked so hilarious I nearly laughed despite the throbbing pain in my ankle.
"You're just the same as ever, huh?" Killian remarked dryly.
Huh? Did they know each other?
She harrumphed and her small fists started hitting his arm. "Let me go, idiot."
"You're not even greeting me?"
"Later. Tay is my favorite. You're like somewhere farther down that line." Her hands spread out wide.
My chest fluttered for a second time tonight. I glanced at Cody and back at her. Maybe I should give the people around me more credit.
"Did you drive Suz?" I asked her.
"Yeah, why? Do you need a ride?"
"Yeah."
Her eyes lit up. "Don't worry, I gotcha. We can ditch these losers and grab something to eat on the way, I'm starving anyways."
Something in my chest broke away.
Killian sighed and finally let go of her. She flipped her short hair back, straightened her clothes as if nothing had happened, and marched forward, unlocking the car I was leaning on. "Let's go."