Chapter 22. She would leave.

The question rang in her mind,  creating a chilling echo.

The bottle in her hand gained ten pounds and she stilled. What could she say that would satisfy his determination to get an answer? By the way, his jaw set,  all traces of his attention wavering seemed impossible.

"Who are you supposed to be?!"

The screech seemed like an answer from heaven and the worse kind of sound.

"Where is your ID?" She pushed on ignoring the stares nearby shoppers gave her. "I don't remember appointing you for this. Look at you." She used her eyes to sweep over Adana's worn-out beanie and jeans, her lips drawn down at the corners and nose scrunched up as if Adana stank.

Storm cleared his throat and stood in front of her,  cutting her hostile reviewing of Adana off much to her relief. "Of course you appointed her." He offered a disarming smile and Brittany visibly melted.

"No,  I didn't," she countered. "I would've remembered making a mistake. Even a mistake as big as this. Now hand over the ID card,  watermelon, or leave." She tried to peek around Storm but he remained in place.

"It's okay,  Storm, I—”

"Won't be going anywhere because you have an ID." Just then,  he placed a rectangular hard object in her palm. "Here."

"What?" Brittany walked around him and snatched the card right out of her shaky hands. "This must be a joke."

That familiar smug smirk crept into his face directed at the confused girl. "Nope, not a joke."

Before she objected further Storm placed his hand on the small of Adana's back sending tiny zings to her thundering heart and steered them forward. But not before taking the card out of Brittany's hands and placing it in Adana's.

"Thank you." She said when she could breathe properly now away from the crude girl's scrutiny. She turned the card over in her palm. "How did you get this?"

"You thought I didn't think this through?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I edited a photo of you  I found on your Facebook account,  printed and the rest was editing."

She looked away as he had turned to take another bottle and observe it like what he did was nothing. He went through so much trouble just so she could join him. But why?

"Don't think I'm done with you," he continued,  "I still want answers but maybe later."

♥♥♥

"And what are you doing standing there like a pile of nothing?"

"I'm talking to you, miss."

"What? Are you deaf or something?"

All the questions went over Adana's head as she stared at the way Helen pierced her skin injecting the pinkish liquid into her arm.

"Come here!"

Oh, no. She snapped back to the present trying to school her thoughts. Helen was seriously taking these drugs to the next level. It had been pills the other day and now a syringe?

She pushed her thoughts back and stepped forward, clutching her school bag in front of her. Horror seized her features when Helen unbuckled and removed the leather belt around her waist, a scowl etched into her sweaty face.

"I don't know what's giving you the courage to ignore me but you better summon that power because you'll be needing it now. " Helen pushed herself off the couch knocking the ashtray on her lap off. "Now lie face down right there."

Adana felt her blood run cold at the command. Not another one. She couldn't take it. Wouldn't take it. After calculating the distance it would take to run up the stairs, she bolted.

After making sure to place the old but solid wooden chair in front of the door, she picked up her phone and looked through the options she had considered the night before.

She would leave. Sooner or later.

♥♥♥

A satisfactory grin threatened to split her face in two as she replied to the text message. Anticipation already bubbled at the prospect of being able to see her new apartment beforehand. The landlady of the place had been nothing but a sweetheart to her and she looked forward to meeting her in person soon.

"So how was the overnight party?" She asked after tucking her battered and scratched-up phone in her bag. "I want every detail, so spill."

Leilani switched foot: a pet peeve when she grew uncomfortable as Adana had learned over time. Her friend cleared her throat and fiddled with the small band on her wrist.

"Yeah about that," she started, "It didn't work out."

"How?" They started moving down the lightly occupied hall.

"I had to leave early."

"Still doesn't explain why though." Leilani had to be hiding something. It wasn't like her to elude questions.

"Can we talk about it later?"

That brought Adana's eyes to focus on her. Her hands were restless,  twisting the band this way and that and her forehead had become slightly sweaty. She clearly wouldn't be opening up anytime soon so Adana decided to drop it.

After the headache-inducing class, she spied a familiar mop of chestnut hair and her suspicions were answered when Storm emerged from the sea of students, his easy aura diffusing any tension in her body.

"Hey."

"Hi."

This was so awkward and for some reason,  her mind flashed to that night. The night she tasted him. Her face heated up at the thought. He had gone back to acting normal the next day as if it had been a mistake. Maybe it was a mistake. An on the spur of the moment thing for him but much more than that for her.

"You never gave me an answer."

When had he stepped closer? His eyes now closed up for inspection, the flecks in them making them brighter. She wondered what shade they would turn to when he grew happier or perhaps smiled more.

She didn't want to admit it to anyone, much less herself but she loved his smile. The small ones he tried to hide when he observed her profile like a creep and the shy one when he wasn't sure how to approach her on something. Did she like him? Yes. The thought disappeared as fast as it came.

"Earth to Adana, leave mars, please." He squeezed her shoulders and she blinked not able to believe her thoughts.

The time to access her feelings would present itself later. Right now, she had to cook up something and fast. But the organ responsible for blood transport in her chest had other ideas as she found herself doing the opposite of what she intended.

"Uh, it was an accident, nothing major really."

His head cocked to the side and the wisps of hair at his forehead caught the light as the wind played with them,  teasing her to do the same.

They now stood under one of the numerous trees in the school compound, the place echoing with movements of the wind. The only indication of occupancy was the training cheers of the cheerleaders in the field.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" He turned to face forward, diverting his accessing gaze from her face. "How did it happen?"

"Something stupid." She attempted a chuckle which died out quickly. "I was handling some ropes and managed to get tangled at the wrists."

"So tight, it gave those kinda marks?" He scoffed. "Look, I'm not some blind six-year-old and I just know something is going on and I'm getting to the bottom of it."

"What does it even matter to you?" She chewed the inside of her lips right after the words left her mouth. Impulsiveness had never been her fort but today,  right now, and with him, she dared to throw caution to the wind. And that scared the daylights out of her.

"It means everything to me," he said unblinking, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It concerns and affects you."

"So?"

"It affects me too," he said, "Anything that concerns you,  concerns me."

A small pause enveloped them as the atmosphere got ladened with emotions under the surface. Anything that concerns her, concerns him? But why?

"Look." His hands came out of his pockets to rub over his face and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Don't ask me why because it's hard to explain."

He moved to stand in front of her and she raised her head to look into those eyes. The same ones sweeping over her face, his eyes cast down to her chest and her face felt the flame of the pink stain of his cheeks. A warm hand cupped her left cheek and he stepped even closer. Close enough for him to radiate warmth unto her front. They were almost touching but not quiet.

"I know this beautiful, fierce girl who hit me harder than any bomb ever could," he continued,  "Her smile is what I wanna wake up to every day.

Everyone has skeletons in their closets but hers haunt her. I see the darkness in her eyes every time she stops smiling and it kills me to know she won't let me take it away."

Adana closed her mouth and licked her upper lip and watched his eyes divert there and back to her eyes. The same ones a lone tear escaped from despite her efforts to keep it at bay. "And who is she?"

"You." His nose grazed hers and his thumb wiped the tear on her cheek. "Please, let me in. I want all of you and not just the mask you put up for the world. I want the good, bad, and evil in you. I want the full package, Adana, and I won't stop until you give in."

His parted lips breathed on hers, giving her time to decide. Adana found herself throwing caution to the wind once again. Her hands held unto his biceps as she tiptoed to close the space between their lips and answer that dull hunger that grew over time since their last kiss.

♥♥♥