"I knew his world moved too fast and burned too bright.
But I just thought, how can the devil be pulling you toward someone who looks so much like an angel when he smiles at you? "
- I Knew You Were Trouble
******
I was torn between getting out of the sheets to confront him and pretending to be asleep so as to eavesdrop the conversation. The latter looked like a better option if the failure rate of me trying to get any kind of information out of him was accounted in.
The phone call didn't last for more than two minutes and the only information I got was that Ian knew those two men and that Ian was not what I thought he was. Him being a secret agent crossed my mind a plenty of times while I was wide awake on the bed after listening to the call, secretly. Ian, after cutting the call slumped back on his bed and went into deep slumber straight off. Or maybe he was pretending too.
There were a lot of possibilities here. Him working in some underground illegal organization. Him being a prince of some country which looked ridiculous. Because come on, him a prince? That can happen only in some crappy romantic novel or movie. Him as a secret government agent or an undercover cop also popped up which again didn't seem likely and Ian's physique can very well vouch for that. I was grinding my brain gears thinking about those two armed men, our running, him acting almost cool being shot at and the phone call. No matter how differently I tried to interpret the conversation with varying perspective angels I couldn't arrive at any conclusion. It was like the whole matter was a huge fudging mystery.
I don't know when I fell asleep but when I woke up the next morning, or to say almost noon, I found the adjacent bed empty with no trace of Ian in the room or in the bathroom. There was a note on the bedside table which was in between our beds.
I'm going out. Will be back around 4. Order whatever you want to eat. Don't open the door to anyone other than the food service or me.
My heartbeats shot up reading the last line. Sigh. Guess from now onwards I have to be careful. It was only yesterday that I was standing in front of the fluid mechanics class weighing my options to either skip the class or not. And now I'm worried about my life running and hiding from a danger I'm not even familiar with.
Plopping down on the bed, I stared at the ceiling and the water damped spots on it. They need to install some damp-proofing system or else the whole ceiling will rot in no time and fall. I was actually missing my classes and even Prof Gellar. I was missing Lily and Keith. I was missing mom and dad. Hell, I was even missing mom's new hubby, Elliot, and dad's fiancé, Sarah. Seeing my utter hatred towards those two, it's saying a lot.
My phone was in my apartment and Ian's phone was with him. I could have used the telephone provided in the room but it was only connected to the reception table and worked only for the building and not outside. There was no other way of communicating. I was stuck here. The thought of being stuck made me panic more. I knew panicking at this moment won't help me so I thought of taking a shower. A shower would definitely clear up my head.
I jumped out of the bed and went to the bathroom. It was a tiny room with just a shower head at one corner, a W.C. at other and a wash basin on the opposite side with a hazed mirror fixed on the wall above. Glancing at the floor, I cringed at the thought of my clothes touching the floor while undressing so I decided to take me clothes off in the room itself. I grabbed a towel from the closet and took a sniff of it first. Hmm. Chemical detergent smell. Clean. I undressed in the room and wrapped the towel around me. Taking a warm shower was a good idea. It didn't help greatly but it definitely sooth my sore thigh muscles and cleaned off the thin layer of dirt from my skin that I gathered last night running for my life.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I padded towards the T.V. set opposite to the beds with dripping hair and a towel wrapped around me and switched it on. There were only handful of channels but thankfully there was a music channel which was playing Britney's songs in a row. This perked me up and my hips already started to sway to Womanizer. Raising the volume, I started to move my body with the beats while singing along the song. After two more songs, I thought it was better to get dressed and then continue dancing.
With the songs playing continuously I dropped my towel on the floor and wore my undies. At that very moment, Toxic started blaring and I couldn't help but close my eyes and move with the music. It was so addictive that I forgot all about dressing up and climbed on the bed and started dancing. The moves I was making could've made any nun close their eyes.
I was completely into the dance and the music. I didn't even heard the door opening and someone stepping in until I heard a sharp intake of breath and my least favorite word.
"F*ck!"
I opened my eyes and turned my head to the door. And to my utter embarrassment, there he was with jaws hitting the floor and eyes raking my body. I immediately sat down and covered my body with the blanket and screamed, "Out! Get out!"
He was in some kind of trance which broke when I shouted. He scrambled back outside shutting the door behind him. Is it possible to die because of embarrassment? No? But I think I might just die because of it. My heart was thundering inside my rib cage. There was also a huge possibility of me turning into a puddle of liquid with the rising temperature of my body which was also causing me to turn a deep shade of red.
"Ahem. Can I... come in now?" I heard him from behind the door.
"No?"
"Huh?" Arg!
"Chas! I got to come in. Just dress up immediately."
Oh god! Oh god! Oh god!
I haphazardly pulled on my clothes which actually were my pajamas. Thank the lord that because of last morning encounter with Ian in my shorts and tank top, I decided to wear long gray pajama bottoms with a T-shirt last night. I sat on the edge of the bed wishing for the floor to open up and swallow me whole. The door creaked opened and Ian stepped in. My back was facing the door so I couldn't see what his expression was. I was too mortified to turn back and see what he was doing.
"So...I...ah....went out to get...some...." His voice was sober and it seemed that he was also embarrassed by what happened. Good. That means I'm not alone in this. I was listening carefully to what he was trying to say but in mid of his sentence, he broke out into fits of laughter which made me snap my head to his direction. My eyes narrowed on his hunched over figure while he was guffawing clutching his stomach. I slumped down on the bed with my face pressed against the pillow. He will never let me live it down.
After few more minutes of him laughing out his lungs and me drowning in my misery he spoke. "I never thought of you as an exotic dancer. Nice moves you got there." I raised my head and slammed it down again with force.
"Were you practicing those steps to seduce me this night?"
"Arg!" I sat up. "First of all. Get over yourself, you prick. Second, I thought I was alone in this room. Third, you wrote that you'll be back by four and now it's still two. And fourth. Ever heard of knocking?" I yelled the last line.
"Why would I knock when I already have the key? How could I've known that you were practicing for the audition for the part of an exotic dancer? My work was done so I thought there was no point in staying till four so I came back... If you wanted privacy than you could have hung a do not disturb sign by the doorknob outside. But if you ask me, I really liked your performance. Especially, that hip thrust." To emphasize it he actually did that move which notched up my blushing.
I groaned hiding my face in my hands. "Can you...just forget that it ever happened?"
"How can one forget such a memorable thing?" God, I want to strangle him.
"Can you, at least, promise not to speak about it again?" I said through gritted teeth.
He mused for a minute and came up with a brilliant answer. Sarcasm. "No."
"Ah! Come on!"
"Okay. Fine." I took a breath of relief. "But only if you dance again like that in front me. Exactly...like ...that."
I threw a pillow towards him in response which he caught easily before it could hit his stupid face. He dropped the pillow on his bed and walked around mine to get to the bathroom. Before closing the door he hung his head out. "And, yeah, if you think it's unfair that I got to see you almost naked and you didn't and want to even it out you can very well follow me in." I threw another pillow at his head which again missed as he closed the door swiftly.
"Prick! Jerk! Idiot! Agh!" I pulled at my hair and let out a scream. If I stay here anymore I will either kill him or commit a suicide. I need to get out of here. Going to my apartment was dangerous. That I myself had accepted. But I could always go to Lily's dorm or better yet mom's home. Yeah. I will go to Lily's dorm first. It's not that far from here. Then I'll arrange my travel to mom's home. That's it.
I did a quick planning and left the room without making any sound. I didn't have any money so walking till Lily's dorm was the only option. It would take me approximately twenty to thirty minutes. It's a long walk but I have to take. At least, it was better than staying here and ripping my hair off the scalp.
It was hot outside and dots of sweat were already forming on my face. I took a quick sweep of the surrounding with eyes and took a right turn. People were bustling through the street and vehicles were blaring horn. The thought of Ian not finding me in the room and getting worried crossed my mind by I shrugged it off. He was better off me if the situation was really that dangerous. Anyways I shouldn't have gotten into it in the first place.
Passing a bakery, I caught the smell of freshly baked buns and croissants. My stomach rumbled reminding me that I haven't eaten anything since morning. But since I had no money, it was better to suppress my hunger right now. Once I reach Lili's dorm I could eat as much I wanted.
I walked weaving through the throng of people. I felt a prickly sensation of being watched at the back of my neck. I looked over my shoulder and scanned the crowd. No one suspicious. Thinking that it was because of heat I continued my walking. Again I felt it. Halting my legs, I did a three sixty degrees scan of the surrounding. If I hadn't focused on carefully I would have completely missed those two men standing near a shop across the road. My heart jumped inside my chest seeing them.
Knowing that I saw them, they advanced forward to cross the road. I resumed my walk and fastened my pace. This was so not happening. I glanced back and saw them on the same footpath following me. My heart rate accelerated as the distance between us decreased. I had to do something spontaneously to throw them off my track.
I took a sharp turn towards right and ran. I took turns after turns hoping to lose them but whenever I glanced back I would get a glimpse of their faces. And they were getting closer too. Either they were really fast or I was too slow. Maybe both. I crossed the road and tried mingling with a crowd waiting for a bus.
I wasn't planning to get on a bus because I had no money whatsoever to buy a ticket. I would surely get kicked out on the curb. When a bus stopped in front of the bus stop I tried freeing myself from the crowd but someone pushed me towards the bus. The more I tried to escape more I was pushed forwards. I wriggled through the crowd when the door came nearer but again someone grab me by the waist and hoisted me up the bus.
It all happened so fast that when I understood where I was standing it was too late. The door was closed and the bus was already moving. The only good thing that happened was those two men were left behind. I could see them running behind the bus. It was too late for them also.
I didn't know if I was grateful to the person who helped me get away or be angry with that person to have pushed me onto a bus when I clearly didn't want to. I turned to see who that person really was. My eyes widened like two saucers when I saw him.
"Ian?"
Should I be glad or sulk in dismay?
******
Hi!
I don't have much to say this time. Right now I nursing my swollen jaw. Cause my wisdom tooth thought that it'd be fun to push out when there is actually no space for it in there. I'm high on painkillers so maybe there is a possibility that there will be more grammatical errors in this chapter than the previous ones.
Be a dear and ignore them. Anyways I'll be editing the whole story when it's completed.
I hope you liked this chappy. If so please click on the little star below.
Tell me what do you think about this chapter and the story so far.
I'm thinking of changing the book title. If you guys have any suggestion I'd love to hear it.
Stay gaga!
--Jags