I ran.
Pure terror filled me as I bolted down the gravel driveway straight for my car, locking myself inside and quickly putting it into reverse. There was only one thought running through my aching head and that was 'RUN!' As I began to back out of the driveway a man appeared seemingly out of nowhere, forcing me to slam my brakes on, stalling my impala. My heart was thumping wildly and I swear I was about to completely lose my mind. Not only was there some very threatening looking claw marks on my front door but I had also just nearly ran someone over! This was not a good start to my new life!
"Who the hell is this?"I muttered, frustrated, tired and still very much frightened by my experience. The man walked casually over to the drivers side window and tapped on it gently, a broad grin spread across his face, no trace of annoyance at having been almost ran over.
I eyed him carefully. He looked to be around 30 maybe a little younger, his face was rugged and unshaven, but this suited him completely. His hair, brown with natural flecks of reds yellows and oranges, was pulled back into a small, loose ponytail. But what caught my gaze more than anything else were his eyes. They were a very light brown, and, just like his hair, was flecked with beautiful reds and oranges. It looked odd but very beautiful at the same time.
I was brought back to reality as he tapped the window again and gestured for me to roll it down. I did so, feeling suddenly flustered and embarrassed that I had been staring at him so openly and for so long.
"Off out so early?" He spoke in a deep soothing voice which instantly swept away the fear that had gotten me so riled up in the first place. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Nova, the landlord. You spoke to my father on the phone yesterday as I was unfortunately wrapped up in a meeting." He smiled warmly, his eyes literally sparkling in the sunlight as he crouched down further so that he was now eye level. "You must be Zak? Pleasure to finally meet you." He held out a huge calloused hand, which I timidly took in my own.
"Nova?" I questioned, checking that I hadn't misheard him.
He nodded and chuckled, "bit of a strange name right." He looked up at the house, releasing my hand as he did.
My heart sank and eyes widened in fear of what he might think when he saw the door. What if he thought i did it. Would he kick me out? I had literally nowhere else to go. In a blind panic I stumbled out of the car, almost falling to the ground in my hurry. Standing next to him made me feel powerless and very small. He was huge! His body was toned, muscular and tanned and to top it off he had at least another foot on me. He looked down at me, his dazzling eyes holding mine before shifting away as they raked over me, eying me up as I'd done to him. It made me feel awkward and I fidgeted where I stood looking at the gravel as I couldn't hold eye contact any longer.
"What did you do?" He asked.
Panic surged through me and before my brain could process what he was actually talking about my mouth opened, "it wasn't me I swear. I have had the worst night! Something was outside all night pushing and banging on the door and that was on the door when I opened it this morning." I took a shaky breath and was about to go on rambling when he held up a hand, silencing me.
"Not the door. We have wolves and bears in the area and I will explain to you later how best to ensure they don't come so close again. I'm talking about your hand." He grasped my wrist gently and pulled it up. "This is one hell of a bruise kid."
I was about to grumble at him for calling me a kid when I clearly wasn't but instead a yelp escaped my open mouth when a sudden rush of pain raced through my hand.
"Sorry, just checking that nothing was broken. It doesn't look like it but it's better to be 100% so come on." He said.
I was about to ask him what he meant but before I could he was walking back down the driveway, pulling me in tow.
"W-wait! What are you d-doing?" I struggled to release my arm, but failed. This stranger was literally dragging me down my driveway at this point and I stood no chance of winning any battle of strength against this god-like man. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to try, not that digging my feet into gravel did any good whatsoever.
"Relax kid. I'm just taking you to see the doctor, don't want this hand getting any worse do we." He huffed in annoyance as we stepped out of the drive.
I was suddenly rendered speechless and any form of protest had vanished from my mind as my eyes fell upon his car. It was a Beatle! He'd obviously customised it to keep up with the times but the basics were still there and it was the best one I'd ever seen. I had a little passion for classic cars and this one had topped the list. It was an off white colour, sporting thin blue racing stripes and it just looked amazing and I couldn't help but stare.
"What do you think?" He chuckled as I closed my mouth in embarrassment, which had fell open upon seeing the classic car. "Come on, get in." He called as he passed me and clambered into the drivers seat.
I did as I was told, ashamed with myself for not even putting up a fight, but something inside me was completely at ease with this man and I didn't understand why.
We drove in a comfortable silence, the soft hum of the engine was music to my ears. The inside had been reupholstered, keeping to the original image of the car, the only thing that was new was the radio and speakers that had been installed, along with the touch screen system that most new cars had nowadays. I looked out of the small window at the passing village. It was busier than I thought it would be. People were strolling along getting their daily shopping or chatting with friends. No one seemed to be in any rush and this was what I found odd. City life was always busy meaning you had little time to truly enjoy the finer details in life. A soft sigh escaped my lips. I was already missing my hometown too much, the feeling of familiarity was something that I now prayed for especially after the night I'd had. Being here, in an unknown village, being driven to some unknown doctor by this stranger scared me. It made me feel completely alone and I didn't like it.
A hand materialised on my knee making me jump in surprise at the sudden contact. I looked round at Nova and he smiled at me before bringing his eyes back to focus on the road.
"Its ok. You'll soon get used to things here. Everyone is friendly and we look out for each other as it's only a small town. It won't take you long to find a place for yourself here." He patted my knee gently, reassuring me, before putting it back onto the steering wheel.
My cheeks flushed hot and I fidgeted, feeling suddenly very aware of myself. "I-it's the first time I've been on my own so it's a bit overwhelming I guess. Plus I didn't get any sleep last night either so I feel a bit out of it I guess." I tried to explain without sounding like the child he thought I was but clearly failed when he chuckled.
"Don't worry. I'll be here if you ever need anything." His voice was soft and i found it quite soothing to hear.
A few minutes later we pulled into a small clinic. This building looked to be brand new, unlike the others in the village which all looked worn and dated. I quickly followed Nova into the building after he had opened the car door for me. He had clearly found amusement in my flustered expression because he even went as far as to bow slightly, further making my cheeks burn red.
"Id like to see Micky please." Nova said to the older lady as he came to a halt at a desk with a small sign hanging above it reading reception.
She smiled sweetly at him, "he's already waiting for you. Room 7." She pointed down the hall and went back to sorting her papers.
"This way kid." He said and I had no choice but to follow him, unwillingly, when he nudged me forward with a firm pat on my back. I didn't like doctors or hospitals of any sorts, it was a phobia of mine, that and spiders. My pace slowed and I found it hard to move my feet as we neared the room that the doctor was waiting in. I felt suddenly hot and sweat stuck my bangs to my forehead a little. I was working myself up for no reason, I knew it and I did it every time but I just couldn't stop myself from doing it.
Nova seemed to notice my reluctance and came to stand in front of me. "Whats wrong kid?" He put a finger under my chin and tilted my head up to face his, raising an eyebrow in confusion when I shook free and took a step back out of his grasp.
"I just don't like these sort of places." I mumbled feeling very insecure and very embarrassed.
Nova scratched his head a little in thought before he sighed and come to stand beside me. In one swoop he'd hooked his arm around my waist and hoisted me up over his shoulder, placing a firm hand on my back to prevent me from escaping.
"O-oi! Put me d-down!" I struggled but his grip on me didn't loosen.
"Now, now, don't fight me kid. It'll only take a couple minutes then we can get out of here. I'll even buy you an ice cream if your good." He joked.
He managed to open the door to room 7 and went in, closing it behind. "Alright Micky. Here's your patient. He's a bit unruly so be prepared." He snickered as he threw me roughly onto the bed and sat by my feet, a hand remaining firmly on my chest, stopping me from escaping.
"Thats not how you treat a patient Nova." The doctor sighed and shook his head with a small smirk on his face. "I'm Micky, the villages doctor and surgeon. What's your name kiddo." I eyed the man carefully as he spoke. He looked like a typical doctor, smartly dressed, short light brown hair, pale skin, quite good looking but very plain and ordinary. He smiled politely as he waited for me to respond, his eyes crinkling at the edges.
"Zak." I mumbled.
"Alright then Zak, Nova tells me you've injured your hand. May I take a look?" He moved forward and I shuffled backwards. Micky raised an eyebrow in confusion before smiling softly in realisation. "I take it you don't like doctors much judging your reaction." He smiled softly again and came to stand next to the bed regardless.
"N-no I don't." I said, trying to shuffle away from him.
Nova sighed. He grabbed hold of my good arm and pulled me up off the bed and onto his lap. My cheeks flushed and I struggled under his grip to try and break free. "Come on now kid, it's gonna take even longer if you don't keep still." He whispered in my ear. His husky voice sent chills down my spine, which made him chuckle as he wrapped his thick arms around my waist and held me gently to him, pressing my back into his muscle bound chest.
"Mind if I take a look?" Micky asked for a second time, smirking slightly knowing that I couldn't go anywhere now.
"Fine." I grumbled, admitting defeat.
Micky took my hand in his cold one and examined it carefully. "Im going to apply a little pressure, tell me when it hurts okay." He glanced up as I nodded my approval before he went about prodding my palm in several places waiting for me to state that it was fine and didn't hurt. He moved to the centre of the back of my hand and did the same. I gasped and pulled back when a sharp pain shot through my hand.
"Sorry. Bare with me for a second." Micky said as he gripped my wrist with one hand and continued feeling my hand with the other.
"Ouch." I sucked in a deep breath and fidgeted in Nova's lap. He held me tight, knowing that I would bolt as soon as I got the chance.
"Right, there's definitely no broken bones, just muscle and tissue damage from the impact. For now I'll bandage you up and it'll heal completely in about two weeks.' He grabbed a wad of bandages from his desk and wrapped my hand up gently, ensuring he didn't cause me anymore pain.
"That wasn't so bad was it?" Nova whispered into my ear, again sending a shiver running down my spine. I grumbled in response which had him chuckling softly, his chest rumbling against my back.
"Can I just ask you to sign here before you leave please." Micky said handing over a payment form. "Theres no charge today, but I still need you to fill it out." He explained as he handed me a pen.
"Erm, I-I'm left handed." I said looking at my neatly bandaged left hand.
Nova chuckled behind me, "here, let me." His arms moved from my waist and quickly signed the papers.
"All sorted then. Come back in two weeks and I'll check it for you. It was nice meeting you Zak." Micky smiled as we left.
We remained silent the whole way home, mainly because I was embarrassed about the whole ordeal still. Nova parked his Beatle behind my impala and got out, walking swiftly to my side and opening the door again.
"T-thanks for that." I felt suddenly nervous as I stood and moved away from his car so he could shut the door.
I turned towards the house and froze in shock. "What the..." I began as I stared at the house confused. The front door was now free of those claw marks, the window had been repaired and they all looked like they'd been cleaned. The pieces of rotten wood had been replaced with new ones and the weeds had been trimmed down and were no longer waist high and looked to have been sprayed with weed killer so they would be ready to be pulled out of the ground by the morning.
"I got some people in to do a bit of cleaning while we were out. I meant to have it cleaned and done up about a month ago but forgot to arrange it. It would've been done if you had waited a day or two before moving in. My father said you were very adamant on the phone about moving in the same day." Nova said coming to stand next to me.
"Well my circumstances were a bit rushed and I really needed somewhere to go." I shrugged as I looked away from the hulking man standing next to me.
"Well whatever kid, it's partially done now and I'll arrange for the rest to be done at a later date. Is that okay with you?" Nova asked.
I nodded in response and trudged towards the house. I could hear Nova following but I really wished he wasn't. The man unsettled me greatly, but not in a bad way and that was the problem. I felt completely at ease and safe around a strange man that I had nearly ran over only a few hours ago and it was very unsettling in my mind because I just didn't understand why. I mean, yes, I was gay and this fine specimen of a man was completely taking my fancy but that wasn't enough of an excuse for me to feel safe was it?
I slowly entered the house and couldn't help but gasp. The hallway was now sparkling! Literally! The scent was pleasant and a welcome change from the musty smell, the old wallpaper had been stripped off and it looked as though some sort of treatment had been put on the bare wall as it still looked wet. The wooden banister had been replaced with a new and much safer one and the carpet that had lined the stairs had been stripped away, so had the laminated floors, leaving the original wooden flooring exposed. Walking into the living room I saw that the spilt beer had been cleaned up and the floor had also been stripped down to the original wood and sanded smooth. The walls had been stripped and treated also and the curtains removed along with the old battered rail. The kitchen had been scrubbed clean and was now sparkling like new, the soft hum of the fridge-freezer echoing in the silent room. The damp patch across the ceiling still remained but it looked as though it had been wiped up a little at least. My only hope was that the upstairs had also been done to match so at least it would be more comfortable instead of sleeping on a smelly damp floor.
"They got a lot done in two and a half hours. I'm impressed. Although there was a lot of people brought in to cover the house so it's to be expected." Nova smiled down at me, making my heart skip a beat.
"T-thank you." I stammered. I clutched the front of my shirt in a trembling hand as I felt my cheeks flush once more.
Nova came and stood in front of me, his massive size was daunting and scared me a little. I watched as he slowly brought his hand up and gripped my chin, pulling my face up to his. They were centimetres apart. I could feel his breath hot against my cheek, his eyes held mine before I tore them away, pulling free of his grasp. But not for long.