Chapter 66

Chapter 66
Arlo was determined.

Every morning, he sits by the porch. It overlooked the entire field that gently sloped down until it's bordered by a dark forest.

From his spot, he could see everything. 

It’s what Arlo always wanted, to stand above everything, a place where no one could touch him. A place where he could hover his hand over the heads of the people, and pretend that he was controlling them with a thread attached to his fingertips.

He sat there with an untouched coffee he brewed himself because of the absence of staff members in the villa.

With his elbows pressed against the chair’s armrest, he observed, he waited.

This has become his routine.

Not because he liked the lush scenery, but because of her.

Kerri.

Every day, without fail, she appears.

Her striking blonde hair glowing as the sunlight bounced off her, running along the edge of the property. 

Every day, she returns. 

Arlo wanted to assess her. To know and strategize what to do to make her submit. But her behavior was unexpectedly odd that he couldn’t see a pattern here.

Even when the sun had almost set, she came to do inexplicable things.

‘Trivial’ is what Arlo told himself. 

One time he saw her digging the ground, the other day he saw her tying vines like braiding a hair. She does all these things with a seriousness, as if she was constructing a kingdom. 

At some other time, when she left, Arlo was curious to see what she had been doing and went to check.

He saw a makeshift shelter made with sticks and stones. Too small for a human and too big for a critter. It looked more like it was meant for a dog.

Sometimes, Arlo sees her climbing a tree. 

That habit of hers irritated him so much.

Because if something happens to her on his property, he’ll have a lot of work to do.

Aside from that, he hated that she was reckless. Kerri climbed trees with no calculations, no worries. She did it while laughing at herself and yelling proudly once she reached the top.

Arlo would sit there, watching, listening to her childish triumph. And somehow, her being around did something strange to him.

His grief from losing his family didn’t fully disappear, it did not soften, but it loosened just enough for him to breathe again.

The moment he spots a blonde girl trespassing onto his property, his mind stops from circling on dark thoughts, the funeral, the buzzing life, the responsibility shoved onto his shoulders. 

Instead, he began thinking about what in God’s name Kerri is about to do this time. Dig holes? Climb trees? Make shelters for lost strays?

‘Trivial’ he told himself again. Yes, it was trivial, but it’s effective. 

Her presence was intoxicating. He craved her. He wished she’d come a little closer to his villa. He was thinking of ways to make her submit to him. Because control is familiar territory. 

The next day, Kerri arrived much earlier. 

She was already perched precariously on top of a tree branch before Arlo could even settle down on his seat. 

He watched her try and reach for something above her.

Arlo looked unimpressed.

‘She’s going to fall,’ he thought to himself. 

It was obvious. Arlo had predicted based on the size of the branch she was dangling on, and from her estimated weight that she was shifted to the wrong side.

When she finally slipped, Arlo was not surprised nor flinched.

He simply stood up and began walking in her direction.

From that height, she wouldn’t get any serious injury. That’s why Arlo was not alarmed.

When he reached her, she was still lying on her back, eyes half open, in a daze.

Arlo stood beside her then leaned closer until his face hovered above hers.

Upside down.

The irony, now the tables have turned.

He didn’t speak for a while, he just blinked a few times at her. 

Kerri’s face was smeared with dirt, leaves sticking out from her hair and her eyes slowly fully closing.

“Reckless,” Arlo commented, but when Kerri didn’t respond as he was expecting, worry began to creep up on him.

He lowered his gaze and found a scrape on her leg that was already bleeding.

Something coiled in his chest.

Suddenly, even though he wasn’t there during the accident, images of his family in that car crash flashed in his mind. 

It was a minor injury, but he couldn’t help but become paranoid that if something happens to Kerri, he wouldn’t be able to see her anymore. 

Immediately, Arlo crouched down, sliding one arm underneath the back of Kerri’s knees and one arm behind her shoulders. 

He lifted her with ease and made his way back to the villa.

Once inside, he gently placed her on the sofa, then he fetched a damp cloth. He walked back to her side and began cleaning her injury, treating her with the tenderness he didn’t know he had.

This was the first time he treated anyone like this.

“Did I die?” Kerri suddenly spoke after stirring from her spot.

Arlo almost jumped back from surprise since he had been staring at her face up close. 

He had always been looking at her from afar, so being this close to her felt different.

“No,” he cleared his throat, taking a step back and watched as Kerri sat up.

She looked around until her gaze landed on Arlo, “You again,” she said dryly.

They stared at each other until eventually she relaxed after realizing Arlo saved her and even treated her injury.

“Thank you,” she said.

Arlo widened his eyes, then comes a small grin, “So you do have manners,” He walked back towards the table to fetch something.

“Only when I’m talking to someone who prevented me from getting eaten by small critters in the forest,”

Arlo returned with a glass of water and handed it to Kerri, “If you knew the forest was dangerous, why go there in the first place?”

Kerri greedily chugged the water first before answering, “That’s why I’m making it safer,”

‘By making unstable shelters?’ Arlo thought, but he didn’t say out loud. He just sat across from Kerri and clasped his hands together, waiting.

“This place is huge,” Kerri commented, setting the glass on the coffee table in front of her. “And you have all this to yourself?” She met his gaze.

“Yes,”

“You don’t have a family?”

Arlo ignored the question.

“Why aren’t your parents looking for you?” His voice was sharper than intended, but Kerri dismissed it.

Because even though she was young and mostly naive, she could see if someone was lonely. And Arlo, sitting there in front of her, was the loneliest person she had ever seen.

“Oh, they’re busy,” she answered.

“With what?” he asked again.

“With life, I guess.” She shrugged.

That answer gave Arlo what he needed. 

Her parents were neglectful, and it shows. How could they let their daughter roam around the mountains on her own? If he wasn’t there, then she would have been in trouble.

“Well, since you saved me…” Kerri abruptly stood up, as if the injury on her leg was nothing more but a scratch. “I’ll repay you.”

Arlo scoffed. 

He already has everything.

What could Kerri offer him that he didn’t have?

“With what?” he raised a brow at her.

She didn’t answer, she just flashed a playful smirk at her and somehow Alro already knew it was going to be an eventful day.