Victoria's pov
I turned in my bed as I heard a ringing sound in the back of my mind, pulling me from my melodious slumber.
I groaned loudly as I threw the pillow over my head to block out the noise, but to my demise, it continued to sound through the room. I assumed it was my alarm, so I made a mental note to get rid of the incredibly annoying thing.
Forcing my eyes open, I grabbed my phone in hopes to shut it up, but I was stunned to see that it was only 12:30 a.m. Confusion dawned on me, and I rubbed the sleep from my eyes to check again, but the time remained unchanged.
‘If it was still night, then my phone wouldn't be going off’, I thought to myself. The sound boomed through the house again, and that's when I realized that it was the doorbell and not the phone
Who the hell?...
I climbed out of bed and wobbled my way over to the bedroom door, trying to get my feet awake too. A yelp of surprise escaped my lips when I saw a tired looking Luka standing in front of me.
He looked like a five year old who had a nightmare and came to sleep with his parents. Awe.
"What is it Luka?" I asked in a baby voice, smiling a little. He looked a little confused but chose not to comment.
"I heard the doorbell going off multiple times and I don't think it was my place to answer it so I came here to wake you up." He yawned as he ended. He looked so cute when he's sleepy.
Making my way downstairs, I came up with multiple ways to kill the person behind the door as it rang one more time.
"What!" I practically yelled as I yanked the door open. A shocked looking guy around my age stood in front of me. His eyes roamed down my body slowly, then traveled back to my face, and I visibly cringed under his intense gaze. Creep.
"Can I help you sir?" I snapped, already bored and irritated.
"Uh-I came for Luka" He simply informed me as if he didn't just ruin my date with Taylor Lautner.
I stared at him blankly. Is this guy for real? Did he really think I would murder his friend or something? I was about to slam the door in his face when I heard Luka speak behind me.
"Caleb. What are you doing here this late?" He looked as confused as me. Waiting to get his ass kicked. That's what he's doing here.
"Your friend here called me and told me you were here so I-"
"I told you to come IN THE MORNING! Now you're gonna pay for interrupting my sleep." I interrupted him before he could finish, giving him my best glare.
He looked at me as if he's just actually seeing my face. He looked to Luka, then to me, and he did that a couple more times before I saw a smirk playing on his lips. I didn't understand what was amusing, so I glared at him with my arms crossed over my chest.
"I see you have a type bro" he smirked at Luka, glancing at me for a while. "She looks oddly familiar. Too familiar" I saw Luka stiffen beside me at his words.
At that point I no longer cared and I was awfully too tired, so I spun on my heels and made it for the stairs, ignoring his statement. I knew it probably wasn't wise leaving two strangers in my house, but when I'm sleepy I don't think about anything.
"Take him if you please, or leave him till tomorrow. I don't care just don't wake me up again" I glanced around for a quick second as I said that last part. I saw that Caleb had invited himself inside and was getting comfortable on my couch. He better take his damn shoes off.
"Can he stay here till tomorrow? I'm too exhausted to drive all the way back to the pac--- I mean home" Luka called out while I was already halfway up the stairs.
If I was awake I would've interrogated Luka on his slip-up, but I had no energy. I simply mumbled a 'hhmm' and made my way back to my aunt's room.
Caleb was going to get a piece of my mind when I wake up tomorrow.
***
I threw myself over the bed after snoozing my alarm for the fifth time this morning. I was never really a morning person, and I realized it more and more each day. I mean, I'm not a day or night person either but the mornings are the worst.
I should really beg for my Saturdays off at the hospital; I like my weekends free and open. Even though my shift was just till midday, it's still quite exhausting.
After finishing my morning routine of sitting and staring at the wall, I made my way to the shower to get ready for work.
Getting ready was always my favourite part of the morning. I could never get used to putting on my white scrubs that looked like they were made exactly for my body. I added my signature red lipstick, and pulled my hair into a high ponytail. I was about to head downstairs for breakfast, when I heard a manly scream coming from the living room.
Rushing to the rescue, I stopped dead in my tracks as I took in the scene in front of me. I almost burst my lungs as I laughed loudly like hyena once I saw what the commotion was all about.
Caleb was standing on my coach with a terrified expression on his face, while Luka had my broom holding out in front of him like a protective sword.
I slowly walked towards them with a smile on my face as I picked up my fluffy white cat, Twinkle, putting them out of their misery.
I couldn't believe that they were scared of my cat. She's so cute and harmless.
They looked slightly relieved, but then I remembered I owed Caleb something for ruining my sleep. I glanced towards him with a devious smile on my face, as I saw him tense up once again. He picks up fast.
"Caleb?" I sang in a sweet voice, causing him to gulp audibly. "I think we should have a little chat about your little visit last night" I took a step closer as he watched me closely, getting ready for me to pounce.
"I was just looking out for my friend. I had to make sure he was okay and-" he stopped as I took another step. It's time.
I held Twinkle tightly as I shoved my hands forward so she was directly in front of his face. She hissed and yanked her paw towards Caleb's face as he dashed off to the kitchen in a swift move.
She must've really hated him, because out of all the people I ever brought home, she was always friendly to them.
I couldn't contain my laughter as I dropped her to the ground and she made her way behind him to the kitchen. Good. I hope he learned his lesson.
"You know that wasn't very nice. Those things are pure evil" Luka shivered, seeming a little traumatized. He amazes me more and more by the second.
I simply chuckled and made my way towards the kitchen for breakfast. Caleb came into view and I was shocked to see that he looked slightly relaxed, eating my Nutella on a spoon.
"Well of course you may eat my food" I retorted sarcastically, but his smile made me know he didn't pick up on it. Idiot.
He cleared his throat as he turned to look at me. "Well I would officially like to thank you for accommodating my friend last night" He acknowledged in a formal and authoritative tone.
He took me off guard with his quick change in demeanor, but I simply nodded, making him know I didn't mind.
"He told me what happened so I'm grateful that you were there in time"
"He told you?" My tone and face only held shock, which made him look at me quizzingly.
"Yes why wouldn't he?" He asked as if it wasn't a big deal. Was this a regular thing for him? I simply shrugged while making a Nutella sandwich of my own.
"I just thought-"
"I should really search for that asshole who hit him with his bike and left him there unconscious" He grumbled through gritted teeth. What?
"Well there's no need for that now Caleb" Luka butted in as he entered the kitchen. “Victoria here was kind enough to take me into her home and offer me her help. I'm fine"
His eyes were pleading to me to not push it, so I nodded in understanding but gave him a look that says 'we're gonna talk about this'.
"Well if there isn't anything else, I think we should be on our way" Caleb said as he got up from his seat. I frowned a little but said nothing.
This can't be goodbye just yet. I had to know that he won't pull a stunt like this again. As if reading my thoughts, Luka asked Caleb to go get the car ready while we talked.
"So are you gonna hide it forever? I mean, how can you be completely safe if nobody knows that-"
"Stop Victoria" He bit sternly, clenching his jaw in the process. "I don't need to be on suicide watch. I'm perfectly fine "
"No you're not Luka! You just tried to jump off a freaking cliff!" I whisper shouted the last part just to be safe.
"I know what I did okay! It was just a rough day. Why do you care anyways? Before last night you didn't even know I existed" Well that's true but I'm not heartless.
"I just care okay? I'm not a bad person for trying to save your life, and I'll do it again if I had to" I folded my arms over my chest to show my determination and stubbornness.
"Stop trying to save me! Stop trying to fix me okay? I don't need to be fixed or saved; I just need to live my life. So please stop trying to change how I am now!"
I had a feeling this just went a little further than our conversation. It was like he was talking to someone else; his family, maybe?
"Luka.." I sighed.
"No Victoria. I don't wanna hear it okay" I frowned at his interruption. I didn't understand why he was being so defensive with me. After all, he said it himself--I don't know him.
"Okay okay" I gave up, holding up my hands in surrender. "I'm not trying to save you, fix you or change you. Let's just-let's just be friends"
He studied me for a second, as if waiting for me to add more to that statement.
Stepping closer to him, I put my hand on his cheek as a sign of comfort. It was weird and I only realized that after it was too late, but it always worked with Nick so I gave it a shot.
I saw him stiffen for a while, then his eyes softened for a second, but it was gone in a flash as if he was contemplating my offer. I even felt him...shiver at my touch? I tried not to focus on it too much. My hands were cold after all.
"Okay but no trying to change me" he said stiffly and I smiled victoriously. "But I don't know how this will work because you won't see me again unless I come into town and I barely do that" He added with a frown, evoking a frown of my own.
"Where do you live?"
"Um.. Out of town, deep in the woods" His tone was telling me not to ask further questions, so I didn't. Such a mysterious guy. I like it.
"We'll make it work," I told him confidently. I couldn't just let him slip away, he peaked my interest.
We exchanged numbers for better communication and I made my way outside to head to work. As I drove off, I glanced in my rear view mirror, where I saw them pull away in the other direction.
Throughout the day, all I could think about was how conflicted he looked when he was contemplating accepting my offer to be friends. I couldn't help the hurt that ran through me as I thought that maybe he didn't like my personality.
I'm typically always on the edge and I may have a temper, but I have a big heart and I'm capable of friendship.
But deep down I knew it didn't really have anything to do with me; there's something else that made him doubt it at first. Maybe more than one thing.
I really don't intend on pushing him away, so I knew I couldn't push him to talk about or do things he doesn't want to. I do, however, have to get through that shell of his, no matter how hard it is. No pun intended.
This may be difficult, but I'm up for it. I'm Victoria Deslandes after all, and I love a challenge.