I would like to dedicate this chapter to Raznimz. Thank you so much for being there right from the beginning. Your comments inspire me always. Thank you so much for being there...
>lots of hugs and kisses<
-dreamer37 (Shine Hope)
Chapter = 14
Cherryl groaned when the shrilling sound of alarm clock along with the rain playing drums on her window pane reached her ears. She turned over, trying to block the noise that thing was making from her bedside table. After trying to sleep for five minutes she sat up and punched the 'off' button. Grudgingly, she got up from her bed, grabbed a towel and made her way to the washroom.
After getting dressed in her usual attire she grabbed her side bag and made her way out of her room. She was hit by a strong smell of something burning as soon as she stepped down the stairs. She heard the clattering and sizzling sound coming from the kitchen and made her way towards it.
As soon as she saw what was happening she felt like fleeing from the house.
Claire was in the kitchen; cooking.
To say that Claire was a horrible cook would be an understatement. It was illegal to use Claire and cooking in the same sentence.
"Good morning my lovely ladies." Her mother's enthusiastic voice reached her ears and she turned towards her.
The huge smile her mother was bearing turned into horrified expressions when she spotted Claire in the kitchen, trying to turn some gooey thing in the pan.
"Good morning my dear mother and darling sister. I made breakfast for you both. Come on, take your seats." Claire said and transferred the gooey thing into the plate.
Both Cherryl and her mother looked at each other and then around the house trying to find an exit but one look at Claire's angry glare made them drop their unwilling bodies on the chairs. Claire placed the plates with brown sticky material in front of them, followed with a glass of some mango juice. Cherryl grabbed her spoon and poked the food, cautiously as if it would turn into some jelly like alien and run around the house.
"What is this?" Their mother asked and let out a nervous laugh.
"These are my special pan cakes." Claire replied enthusiastically.
"Pancakes! These are pancakes?! Aren't pan cakes suppose to be round and spongy and solid." Cherryl said in a horrified voice.
"These are my special pancakes. If they would just look like normal pancakes how would they be special." Claire let out a laugh, looking at Cherryl as if she was dumb.
"Are you sure this thing is edible? It looks more like a paper glue or something..." Their mother murmured taking a closer look at the thing in her plate.
"Would you two stop complaining and start eating." Claire glared at them making them shut their mouths.
Cherryl said a silent prayer and scooped some of the material into her spoon. She gulped and parted her lips to let the spoon enter her mouth. As soon as 'Claire's special pancakes' entered her mouth her taste buds wailed in terror. She instantly gulped down the sticky thing without even chewing and then washed it down her throat with the mango juice. She was about to torture herself for second time when she heard someone blowing their car's horn. She immediately dropped the spoon and shot up from her chair. She grabbed her side bag.
"That's my ride. Bye guys. See you later." She said and started making her way towards the front door, glad to escape the evil recipe of disaster. She heard her mother's terrified gasp.
'Sorry mom but today you have to face the 'special pancakes' alone.' She thought and avoided looking at her.
"That must be your hot-shot boyfriend." She heard Claire say from behind her in a playful tone . She stumbled a bit when she heard the word 'boyfriend' but steadied herself and let out a nervous laugh.
With few more strides she was out of the house, on her front porch. She hurriedly walk to the familiar black Volvo and slid inside the passenger seat. She took a deep breath when she the car started moving.
"Good morning." Damien's voice, colder than winter's morning chilly winds, reached her ears.
She turned towards him in surprise, unaware about the reason for his coldness only to find him busy glaring at the road ahead.
She dropped her gaze and murmured "Morning.."
Now, pancakes looked more appealing to her than sharing a ride with a bipolar beast boy.
After a silent uncomfortable ride, college building appeared in front of them and Damien parked the car in an empty plot. Cherryl looked at him from the corner of her eye, unsure about what to say. Finally she took the decision, he saved her last night so it was totally agreeable of her to ask him about his well-being.
"Are you alright?" She asked in a low hesitant voice.
"I am fine!" He snapped at her, making her flinch.
She felt her own anger making its way to the top. He was flipping at her without any reason. She was just trying to be nice. She shook her head, feeling stupid and hurried out of the car. She walked inside the building without any backward glance but she felt the heat of his gaze boring into her back throughout the way to the main entrance.
Damien banged his fists on the steering wheel as soon as her figure disappeared among the crowd. He felt so infuriated that he wanted to shred someone into pieces. Whatever he has acquired with her from last few days was all going to go in vain all because of Samuel.
He was just having his morning meal in peace when Samuel disturbed his mood. Mrs. Faulkner was giving him some tips when Samuel has interrupted with a lousy comment.
"This is a sight to see. Prince Damien Richards, famous for having princesses, duchesses, all the ladies from the corners of the world falling at his feet, taking tips from Mrs. Faulkner on how to woo a college student." He had said laughing tauntingly.
Thinking that he was just teasing him, Damien has ignored his comment and continued chewing his breakfast lazily.
"Well, Master Damien I suppose you have lost your charm. Why don't you take some from me instead of bothering the old lady?" Samuel has said with a teasing smirk but there was an arrogant glint in his eyes which doesn't go un noticed by Damien. It was then that his temper started increasing.
"She isn't even worth trying. She's just some average girl, nothing special. Girl's like her die for attention from guys like us. She's just being difficult, just drop her already. She's not worth your attention. Hell! She's not worth anyone's attention. She's being arrogant about God knows what. You can have far better girls than her, true beauties. I can introduce you to some of them." As soon as Samuel has finished his sentence the growl that escaped his mouth was from his beast's side but the arrogant prince inside him knew that every word Samuel has said was true. He stood up from his chair and the bowl of cereal was hurled across the room.
He was a prince in line to be a King, arrogance was what he has inherited and every time that dark haired girl has ignored his approach, it has left a huge dent in his ego. He was furious at the beast residing inside his body who favoured that girl more than anything but she on the other hand try to avoid him in every possible way. He felt humiliated but he couldn't do anything about it. He knew his beast needed that girl more and more with each passing day and soon he will become more adamant about having her near him. His beast has chosen her and he couldn't do anything about it.
"Damien, are you in love with her?" Samuel's voice reached his ears making his blood sizzle.
He was feeling angry beyond imagination at Samuel's accusation. Love was a long forgotten emotion. People say you fall in love only once in your life and he has had his taste of the bitter forbidden fruit. The scar he has haven't gone till now and he was not a fool to put himself through the same torture again.
"I buried that emotion long time ago." His words came out in a low growl, echoing across the room and then he was out of there without another word.
Damien shook his head and sighed. Whatever he was doing was for his beast and he was glad that it will be over in a month. Then he will be free of all the weird emotions his beast make him feel about Cherryl. He heard the bell go off and hurriedly walked out of the car towards his first lecture.
Cherryl felt his presence before she saw him. He lazily walked to his usual seat, next to her and slumped down. She could tell that he was still in a sour mood by the way he was tapping his pen impatiently on the table. He jumped out of his seat and was then out of the class before anybody could have moved as soon as the bell rang.
Next class went by just like that. He even avoided sitting next to her. It wasn't like she cared. It was good for her only that he has finally gotten his senses back. All the madness will stop now but still there was a tiny part of her heart, just the size of a rice grain, which was sad and hurt by his behaviour. She wanted to tore that part away, fry it and then feed it to her neighbour's dog. She clenched her teeth when she heard a giggling sound coming from the back of the room where he was seated next to some make-up shop.
'What in the blazing hell is wrong with you! This is what you wanted! He has finally left you alone! Damien Richards is finally out of your life! Close the chapter and throw the book in the Pacific ocean!' She scolded herself and turned her whole attention towards what Professor was teaching.
Soon the class was over and he was the first one to walk out. She stuffed her books in her bag and slowly made her way to the cafeteria. She grabbed a tray and added a sandwich to it and some orange juice box. She turned around only to bump into someone making her tray fall to the ground. She stared at the culprit who doesn't even bother to say sorry only to cover back in fear from the ferocious glare pointed towards her from certain blue eyes.
She grabbed her juice box and hurried towards the table from where Nicky was waving at her frantically. She took huge calming breaths when she was finally seated among her two chattering friends. She sipped on her juice quietly, trying hard to pay attention to Nicky's adventure story of fighting with some deadly virus.
"So, I heard you are helping Mr. Hot-shot with some college assignment." Nicky asked her out of blue. For a while she was confused but then she remembered the lie she told Rose.
"Y-yeah.. I was helping.. It's over now." She said quietly and sipped her orange juice.
"Oh..." Nicky replied looking at her suspiciously making her fidget in her seat.
"Look, whose being desperate again." Rose said laughing lightly gazing at something behind Cherryl. That saved her and Nicky turned her attention to where Rose was looking and snorted. Out of curiosity Cherryl turned her face to where Rose and Nicky were looking, regretting immediately.
Ashley and Damien were sitting alone at the table. Ashley was talking enthusiastically while Damien was twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers with a bored expression on his face. As if sensing her eyes on him he looked towards her and his lips curved upwards in a taunting smirk. She glared at him and turned around in her seat.
She wasn't jealous, not at all. She was just angry about the way he and guys like him move on from one girl to another, having no idea how their little spree to have fun end up killing so many innocent dreams of so many girls. If some other girl would have been in her place then she would have surely be bawling her eyes out by now. She sighed and shook her head.
This time she was the first one to dash out of the cafeteria as soon as the bell rang leaving stunned faces of Rose and Nicky behind.
Her next two lectures flew by without any trouble and distractions. She ignored Damien's presence throughout the third lecture and he was absent in the forth, so it was no problem for her.
Finally the bell rang ending her last class. She lazily stuffed her books in her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She was dreading to go to the parking lot. She doesn't want to be anywhere near him for now and staying in college wasn't a choice. So, she dragged her reluctant body out of the college building, to the parking lot at a snail's speed.
When she stepped in the parking lot she was surprised to find black Volvo nowhere in sight. He has abandoned her. She snorted at herself and looked up towards the sky only to find dark clouds glaring back at her. She sighed, feeling glad that at least it wasn't raining. As soon as she took first step towards the road leading to her house, rain started pouring down on her and she was drenched from head to toe in next five minutes.
"Great. This was what I needed right now." She muttered to herself and continued walking. She was sure that God would be laughing at her from the heavens above.
She groaned and stomped done the road in hurried footsteps.
She finally made it to her house and was glad when she finally stepped inside its warmth and closed the door behind her. She rushed into her room to changed her clothes as she was freezing. She grabbed some cargo pants and an oversized t-shirt and hurried to the washroom. After taking a warm bath she changed into fresh clothes. She left her dripping hair open to dry.
She looked at her drenched side bag and frowned not knowing what to do with it. She left it for later and hurried downstairs to tame her hunger. She decided to make some hot chocolate. She grabbed her favourite black mug only to find a sticky note inside it.
'I am going out of town with some friends. Let me know when Claire decides that she have had enough cooking experience for now and I'll hurry back. Don't tell her this is the real reason that I am running away from the house. Dispose off the evidence as soon as you have read it.
love you,
Your adorable Mom'
Cherryl laughed lightly and crumpled the note then threw it in the dustbin. She busied herself in making the hot chocolate.
She was about to add the chopped chocolate chunks into the saucepan when the door bell rang. She frowned. Thinking that it might be Claire she walked to the door, casually and opened it. When the door opened revealing the person behind it she froze at her spot not knowing how to react, feeling numb from inside out.
Damien had no idea what he was doing standing outside her house but he was here. He had no one in this world to call his own but his beast has changed that for him. He stared down at the girl standing in front of him. He had expected her to close the door on his face but she stood there gaping at him. He knew he behaved like a total moron and messed things up with her. After going for a run he has gotten his senses back and he wanted to apologize to her for his beast's sake or he was sure he'll end up going on a killing spree soon.
"Look.. I know I behaved like a jerk and I am truly sorry about that." He said the words with as much sincerity as he could muster up.
Cherryl stared at him not knowing what to say. He was drenched from head to toe, his hair was dripping wet. Then she noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt, only jeans and that his feet were bare too. She was sure he must be freezing due to lack of clothing. Her kindness got the better of her and she stepped aside.
"Do you want to come in?" She asked urging him to get inside. She knew she was going to beat herself up for this later.
After hesitating for a while he stepped inside and she closed the door behind him. She made her way to the kitchen and he followed. There was a dining table just behind the counter and he made his way towards it. He plopped down on the chair while she walked inside the kitchen.
"Would you like some hot chocolate?" She asked in a low hesitant voice.
"Sure.." He muttered and looked around the room.
After ten minutes she plopped down on the chair in front of him and placed two mugs of hot chocolate on the table. He grabbed his and took a sip, sighing in content.
He looked at her as she sipped her hot chocolate slowly. She was wearing casual clothes, no make-up. Her wet hair was open, forming a dark curtain around her face. His eyes trailed a drop as it dipped from one of her hair strands onto her nose and then travelled down to her lips. His mouth felt dry as a sudden urge coming from his beast hit him like a nuclear bomb. He shook his head and gulped down the whole dark chocolaty liquid in one huge gulp to distract his mind in order to prevent himself from jumping on her.
He set the cup down and sighed.
"I am really sorry about the way I behaved. I hope you can forgive me." His words were even more sincere than before.
"T-there's n-nothing to apologize about..." She started hesitatingly. She just wanted him to leave her alone. She wanted to slap herself furiously for even inviting him in.
"Cherryl..." Her name coming from his lips made her skin crawl making goose bumps appear on her body and she gasped.
Before she could have said anything she heard the sound of giggling coming from the direction of her sister's room and she looked around in panic. She was stupid to invite him in knowing that Claire could walk in on them any minute. Her mother and sister were already teasing her about him, she doesn't want to get it more worse.
"You have to go." She said and stood up from her chair. She hurriedly walked to the door and he followed.
She opened the door for him to walk out but he didn't move.
"What are you doing? Just go." She whisper yelled at him looking around in panic.
"Say that you forgive me and I'll leave." He said and smirked.
Claire's laughter sounded even more close.
"Fine. I forgive you. Now please leave before my sister see you." She said and urged him to move.
Noticing how scared she was made him smirk and he felt like he's going to enjoy her nervousness for a while.
"I don't feel like going." He said with a teasing smirk.
"Have you lost your mind. Please, just go!" She looked at him with wide terrified eyes.
"Well.. a hug can change my mind.." He said and his smirk turned into a grin.
She stared at him as if he has lost his mind. She was about to start yelling at him when she heard Claire calling her name.
Without another thought she jumped into is arms and hugged him tightly hoping to squeeze the life out of him and he would drop dead next minute but his husky chuckle in her ear was proof enough that he was very much alive and was enjoying her misery. She heard him sigh and stepped out of his embrace.
"Now leave!" She tried hard not to scream at his smirking face.
"Ok then see you tomorrow." He said and chuckled at her panicked face.
He took his time walking out increasing her nervousness. Door closed shut behind him as soon as he stepped out.
Cherryl relaxed a bit when he was finally gone. She leaned against the closed door and sighed.
"What are you doing standing there? I have been calling you from last ten minutes." Claire said looking at her sister quizzically.
"Uh-nothing. I was on my way towards your room." Lie went out from Cherryl's mouth smoothly.
"OK..." Claire dragged out the word.
"So, what were you calling me for?" Cherryl asked trying to change the subject and it worked.
"Oh! I just wanted to tell you that I will be going out for dinner tonight so don't bother waiting up for me and I'll be late... very late. You can call your boyfriend over if you want. I promise I won't tell mom." Claire said and winked. Then before Cherryl could have said anything she walked back to her room, skipping happily all the way.
Cherryl shook her head and walked towards the kitchen. After cleaning the mugs and saucepan she has used to make hot chocolate she made her way upstairs to her room. As soon as she closed the door a gush of cold wind hit her face. She stared at the open window which she was sure was close when she went downstairs. She walked up to it.
She was about to close it when her eyes landed on her bedside table where the vase with the red rose rested and to her surprise there were two flowers in it. Now she was sure that someone was definitely in her room. Still confused she closed the window. She was about to turn back when she caught a glimpse of Damien's back as he made his way towards the forest. He walked a bit further and removed his jeans. Now he was standing there only in his boxers. She should have turned around then but her body decided to go into a frozen state, paralysing her. Even her eyes refused to blink. And just like that the last article covering his body disappeared too, leaving him totally naked from head to toe. Warmth spread through her body and she was sure she must be as red as the roses in the vase, from head to toe.
Right then he decided to turn around. She somehow moved her frozen limbs and ducked in time to prevent his eyes from falling on her. After sitting there for a few minutes, calming her heart she finally stood up again only to see the back of a black furry animal disappearing into the darkness of the forest.
She stood there gazing into the forest till her feet started to ache. She took a deep breath and fell back on her bed closing her eyes in order to prevent the up-coming headache. She suddenly felt lost, not knowing where her life was taking her
Maybe she'll soon end up in an asylum, locked in a cage like an animal and she was sure that 'he' will still find a way to reach her.
She smiled at her last thought and shook her head. She was going crazy for sure and 'he' was the reason.