>>Clio
I honestly don't know what was going through my mind. I would never pull a stunt like this.
Never!
But when his lips came onto mine, I felt my heart flutter, I felt my chest expand and my breath get caught up in my throat.
The kiss started out really soft and it made the butterflies in my stomach go wild! Then I felt it get a little urgent, filled with passion and desire. I could feel his hands come around my waist and hold me tightly, pulling me closer to him as if he couldn't get enough.
I was taken aback by the sudden intensity of the kiss, but my heart raced as his lips ravished mine and I couldn't help but respond to it.
The feeling was so weird yet so good, that I could not describe it in words.
There was a weird electric sensation that rose in my body then and I felt stupefied. Shivers went down my spine, and I felt my knees go weak as well.
Like literally
Gravity did its job and pulled me down because I couldn't keep myself up, and I almost fell
!!!
But Matthew's instincts were fast, he caught me before I hit the floor. Grabbing me by the arms, he looked at me with a worried expression, "Are you alright?" He straightened up as he gently made me stand up straight again.
My breathing was a little off along with my heartbeat. There was a tingle on my lips and a tinge of tightness in my chest while I stared back at him blankly.
"Clio?" As he called my name, I came back to my senses.
And that was the moment when I realized what had I done.
My cheeks flushed bright red and my feelings began to overflow with horror
"AH!" And I don't know where I got the sudden strength from but I jumped away from him and stood up, "I'm sorry?" The words just escaped out of my mouth and it didn't even make sense to me.
He stepped towards me, "What? Sorry?"
"Oh! My God!" I shook my head in horror and turned around to run away.
"Clio!" He came after me as I ran into his office and I have to admire his speed. He caught me immediately even though I'm a good runner. I don't have much stamina but I am fast.
He grabbed my waist with one hand and pulled me around making me halt as my gaze met with his.
His hands came to my waist, on either side, and he picked me up and sat me down on the couch's headrest.
!!!
Then he trapped me with his arms as he rested his hands on both sides of my hips, "Where are you running off to?" He looked at me with a stern gaze, as if he was offended that I took off.
An alarm blared in my head and I felt dizzy, "Um," I brought my hands to my face and hid my flushed cheeks from him, "I don't know," I peeked through my fingers that covered my eyes, "I'm confused..."
There was a knock on the door.
Matthew stared at me, "Did you not like the kiss?"
My heart skipped a beat, "Um, I don't know but," I gulped, then licked my dry lips, "But I'm a guy..." My voice trembled a little, "Didn't it bother you?"
"..." He paused for a moment, "I don't think I care about your gender," He kept his eyes on me, "But are you really a man?" My heart skipped a beat at his words
There was another knock on the door, this time louder
Liar
I don't know why I thought that, but his answer made me think that. My feelings felt heavy, as if it was burdening me.
Not care about gender? People have bullied me for it, for faking it. My family broke because of it and my life was ruined because of it. My ex didn't touch me and cheated on me and that was most likely because of how I'm not normal too.
Because I was a little different. And then I ended up in a bad situation...
"You should answer the door," I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him away.
"Wait," He tried to grab my arms, "Clio, we need to talk." But I moved away, not giving him a chance to.
"No," I looked away, "Forget about it," I hopped off the headrest, "Please,"
"No," He replied, "Why should I?" He looked confident, like he was sure about it all.
"This was a mistake," I answered and the door opened this time. Matthew didn't look away though. He kept his eyes on me and I saw how his expressions turned darker.
As if I had broken his heart.
"Matthew," But as soon as the person who entered the room called his name, he looked away.
"Chris?" He looked at her and so did I
There was a weird look in her eyes, oddly familiar.
But I didn't have the time to dwell on it because this was the perfect time to escape and I didn't waste a second there. I turned around and left.
Matthew noticed me, and even took a step towards me, but then stopped and let me leave as Chris walked over him.
***
OH! My God!
Why did I do that?! Why did I kiss him? What is wrong with me!??! I went ahead and did that and made the whole thing weird!!!
I shook my head at myself as I was walking home.
WHY!
Just WHY!?!?!?
It can't be!
Am I really falling for him?
I pursed my lips
How absurd?
That's impossible
Until a week ago I was head over heels for Nolan... Feelings can't change this fast!
...
Can they?
I got to the apartment, so lost in thought I failed to notice that people were standing in the hallway. I sent Bizy a text that I was taking a half leave and came back home but I never would have thought that would be the worst decision I had made in a while.
I let out a sigh
But why would I even fall for someone else when I've already gone through so much shit? Am I stupid or something?
"Oh!" There was a voice I didn't pay much attention to, "That's the new neighbor." Someone was introducing me.
My heart felt heavy. What happened in that moment that I felt so drawn to him?
"Him?" The other person looked at me
It was almost like there was some invisible bond there or something. It sounds crazy but that's the only explanation I have.
"Yeah, he never introduces himself properly and runs away."
I reached my apartment door and took out my key, then finally looked up as I inserted the key in the keyhole and looked to the side.
!!!
Only to see Dani standing in the hallway, in front of his apartment door, with another person. A person I knew just as much as I knew Dani.
My heart skipped a beat as I looked at Kagan, Dani's friend from school while Kagan looked back at me with eyes just as wide as mine.
"Dani," There was malice in his voice as he glared at me, "Don't tell me you don't recognize this bastard," He took a step towards me, and I noticed the limp in his leg.
I felt so scared at the moment I couldn't move. Especially because Kagan recognized me immediately. I was not expecting a situation like this to happen. It was all so sudden, it temporarily made me freeze in fear.
"What?" Dani took a step towards me as well and furrowed his brows, "You know him?" He glanced at Kagan, "I mean, he did look familiar-"
"It's not a he!" Kagan cut his friend's words short, "This is a freak." Kagan took another step towards me, anger flaring in his expression and eyes, "It's that same freak who did this to us!" He slapped a hand over his leg with a limp.
A jolt of terror surged through me, an electric shock that rippled through every nerve as the realization hit that I was caught.
Dani paused for a moment, he then looked at his right hand, one that had a deep scar etched on it and I noticed his hand was shaking. It was probably because his nerves were damaged during the time I stabbed him.
I gulped, and finally moved my hand to twist the lock on the door.
"You little!!" Dani screamed at me and I opened the door in a panic as he sprinted towards me. I ran inside while Kagan followed.
But,
I couldn't close the door in time. Just as I shut the door, it got stuck at the end because of a hand.
"Oh!" I saw his eyes through the crack, "You bitch," Full of anger and hate, "I can't believe I didn't recognize you," With a burst of violent energy he opened the door making me fall back on my butt in response, "Because now that I looked closely, you haven't changed much."
I didn't waste any time in scrambling back onto my feet though but there wasn't much use of it since there wasn't any place to run.
"It's quite funny," Kagan entered the room behind Dani, "We were just talking about you." They both made their way in and I staggered backwards.
My breath caught in my throat, the air suddenly thick with an acute sense of vulnerability. The heartbeat in my chest thundered like a war drum
God...
No...
"You got away that time," Dani stomped towards me and I zoomed backward in fear, "But not today." He took out a pocket knife, "It's time for revenge."